This is a request for advice and assistance, but I hope it will be of interest to others who may have a similar problem. My basic problem is that I want to play digital files through an older stereo system, but here are some details. Also, I have checked the forum to see if there is a similar answer elsewhere but I could not find one.
First, my current environment. I have about 120 CDs all of which I have ripped to FLAC format (thank you dbpoweramp). From that format I can easily rip it into any other format I want to. I also have a Pioneer VSX – 817 amplifier. This was the last high-end Pioneer amplifier they made before they went into HDMI inputs, and it provides pretty good sound. Currently I have to play all my music through a Sony Playstation unit which has an optical connection to the amplifier, so if I want to play a CD I must turn the TV on, turn the Playstation on, navigate through the Playstation controls and then listen to the music. I also need to have two large drawers full of music below the TV, and to keep it all tidy otherwise there is adverse commentary from the better half. It's too much work, to be frank, and I would win kudos from the better half if I could retire the CDs to the basement.
The other item of background is that I also have a wifi N network.
What I would like to do is have a really simple way to play all the music that I have digitized into the Pioneer receiver and control the content through my Smartphone. Please note I do not mean sending the music by Bluetooth or over the wifi: neither will play acceptable quality music. I tried setting up a DNLA server off my PC but over the wireless N this did not work well and after a day of mucking around I gave up.
Now I have looked online at the Media Streaming devices: particularly at the new Western Digital TV. For it I would copy my music onto a 16GB USB stick, hook up an optical cable to the receiver and then use an Android remote to manage the music, which remains on the USB stick. Ideally I would keep the music in FLAC for simplicity, but if push came to shove I would convert the music to 320k MP3.
From what I could read, the WD TV will do this. This is the model WDBPUF0000NBK. Noel Leeming have it on special at $150.
I’ve also looked online at the Roku 3 but it seems more fiddly and the FLAC support is not native to it – it is a recent add-on through firmware update. Also you have to supply it with you credit card during setup, though this can be disabled later on. I do not really want to do this. The Fire TV doesn’t do USB unless you root it which looks way too hard. I haven’t looked at the other options.
The WD TV looks pretty good and the Android app looks excellent on paper. My question is whether anybody has done this and what were the results? Also, if anyone has a better approach to my problem, please tell me.
