Media Consolidation

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networkn

Networkn
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#132382 20-Oct-2013 14:28

Music Sources:

iTunes (November 5th will see about 10 albums added here or via Amazon)
Ripped MP3's from CD's stored on Digital Media Like DLNA Compatible NAS Unit
Amazon MP3
Google Music
CD's (Unripped as yet)

Devices that need Access:

Home PC (W8)
Laptop (W7)
Home Theatre System (AirPlay Compatible)
Galaxy Phones (2)
Galaxy Tablets (2)
iPod Gen4
iPod Gen5
Car (Currently my Ipod Gen4 is in there connected to the BMW iDrive, but it's almost compatible with my Galaxy S4 via USB Cable (Side benefit of Charging), but not via Wireless.

I ideally want to find a way to have ALL my music seamlessly available to all my devices with the least fuss at all. Google Music scanned my Itunes folder and "matched" it, so there is a lot of stuff available there, Amazon "matched" my CD Collection purchased through them to Amazon MP3.

I just feel like I have files all over the place, not being nicely synced, and in lots of different libraries.

I really like the Foobar Music Player.

Open to suggestions.

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#917750 20-Oct-2013 14:44

Unless you some really really unique music items by far the easiest option is to ditch your entire collection and just subscribe to a service like spotify, rdio, deezer etc.

All the music you want will then be available on all your devices at all times.

timbosan

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#917811 20-Oct-2013 17:22

I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?

mattwnz

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#917813 20-Oct-2013 17:33

Does it really matter that you have music all over the place? One advantage is that you have multiple copies. YOu could every so often just copy the music from your master source onto the other devices

networkn

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#917827 20-Oct-2013 17:41

timbosan: I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?

FLAC for specific albums I use as reference material for any upgrade or new equipment I have, MP3 320K for the rest.

Agreed about crappy quality of steaming services. I have NICE speakers, and NICE headphones.

networkn

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#917828 20-Oct-2013 17:42

mattwnz: Does it really matter that you have music all over the place? One advantage is that you have multiple copies. YOu could every so often just copy the music from your master source onto the other devices

It does matter, except that playlists don't sync, and keeping track of where the music is can be frustrating. Often I go to play a bit of music in the car and find the music from my CD collection isn't on it, or I go to play music on my iPod to find the music is on Amazon.

NonprayingMantis

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#917853 20-Oct-2013 19:32

timbosan: I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?

well most people won't notice the difference, especially not on most of the devices listed in the op (ipad, iPhone etc)

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networkn

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#918834 20-Oct-2013 20:19

NonprayingMantis:
timbosan: I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?
well most people won't notice the difference, especially not on most of the devices listed in the op (ipad, iPhone etc)

I would prefer not to go down the music subscription route, the lower quality nature of the product is something I'd notice.

NonprayingMantis

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#918842 20-Oct-2013 20:55

networkn:
NonprayingMantis:
timbosan: I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?
well most people won't notice the difference, especially not on most of the devices listed in the op (ipad, iPhone etc)

I would prefer not to go down the music subscription route, the lower quality nature of the product is something I'd notice.

Have you tried? And I don't mean just play them yourself. Close your eyes and get someone to play a track from spotify and the same track from your own collection. See if you notice.

You probably will, but worth a try. :)

NZtechfreak

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#918923 21-Oct-2013 08:24

I'd just get everything on the NAS, will work with everything, give you the quality you want, tagging etc will be consistent as only the one library being maintained. Don't really see another option that is truly going to tick all your boxes otherwise.

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afe66

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#918979 21-Oct-2013 10:10

+1 for NAS

A.

jarledb

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#919119 21-Oct-2013 12:38

timbosan: I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?

Spotify high quality streaming has Ogg Vorbis 320 Kbit/s stream. I doubt you will be able to distinguish between that and CD-quality in a blind test.

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1080p

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#919210 21-Oct-2013 14:19

jarledb:
timbosan: I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?

Spotify high quality streaming has Ogg Vorbis 320 Kbit/s stream. I doubt you will be able to distinguish between that and CD-quality in a blind test.

Precisely. It does not matter how nice your kit is if your ears can't distinguish streaming audio from CD audio (which 99.99% of people cannot do).

NZtechfreak

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#919212 21-Oct-2013 14:22

1080p:
jarledb:
timbosan: I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?

Spotify high quality streaming has Ogg Vorbis 320 Kbit/s stream. I doubt you will be able to distinguish between that and CD-quality in a blind test.

Precisely. It does not matter how nice your kit is if your ears can't distinguish streaming audio from CD audio (which 99.99% of people cannot do).

That may be true, but he has said he isn't interested, so whether you are correct or not is quite irrelevant to the OPs needs.

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networkn

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#919213 21-Oct-2013 14:23

1080p:
jarledb:
timbosan: I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?

Spotify high quality streaming has Ogg Vorbis 320 Kbit/s stream. I doubt you will be able to distinguish between that and CD-quality in a blind test.

Precisely. It does not matter how nice your kit is if your ears can't distinguish streaming audio from CD audio (which 99.99% of people cannot do).

Yes I would admit this to be true, I wasn't aware of the 320K streaming when I made my original assertions. I'll have a look. It's still not my preferred method of solving this problem.

I still like to buy and "own" my music.

NZtechfreak

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#919228 21-Oct-2013 14:56

networkn:
1080p:
jarledb:
timbosan: I was thinking about the same idea for my collection, however streaming services offer crappy audio quality, and there are no HD streaming services in NZ.

networkn - when you RIP is it to uncompressed (FLAC, etc.) or MP3 (if so how compressed)?

Spotify high quality streaming has Ogg Vorbis 320 Kbit/s stream. I doubt you will be able to distinguish between that and CD-quality in a blind test.

Precisely. It does not matter how nice your kit is if your ears can't distinguish streaming audio from CD audio (which 99.99% of people cannot do).

Yes I would admit this to be true, I wasn't aware of the 320K streaming when I made my original assertions. I'll have a look. It's still not my preferred method of solving this problem.

I still like to buy and "own" my music.

From your statement about your needs and wants where your music is concerned, I think the only way you will get the control and ubiquity you want is to curate your own collection and make it available via your NAS (and local storage where supported, since the NAS makes that simple too).

Spotify is a good service, and if it has all the music you want then probably a good option. For myself there was a not insignificant portion of my collection unavailable through Spotify, so Spotify couldn't be a one-stop shop for me, there would have inevitably been some fragmentation. Since that is essentially the core of your problem to begin with it may not be for you either, even if you're happy with 320K.

Twitter: @nztechfreak
Blogs: HeadphoNZ.org

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