Squeezebox network music player - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Squeezebox is a network music player from Logitech

Logitech

Logitech International S.A. is a global provider of personal peripherals for computers and other digital platforms headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland. The company develops and markets products like peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, microphones, game controllers...

(by acquisition of Slim Devices

Slim Devices

Slim Devices, Inc. is a consumer electronics company based in Mountain View, California, United States. Their main product is the Squeezebox network music player which connects to a home ethernet or Wi-Fi network, and allows the owner to stream digital audio over the network to a stereo...

). It plays internet radio

Internet radio

Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...

or digital audio

Digital audio

Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...

streamed

Streaming media

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...

to it across a home network

Computer network

A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....

, either Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

or Ethernet

Ethernet

Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....

. Squeezebox (version 3 and above) also streams a variety of popular music services, such as Pandora

Pandora (music service)

Pandora Radio is an automated music recommendation service and custodian of the Music Genome Project available only in the United States. The service plays musical selections similar to song suggestions entered by a user...

, Slacker

Slacker (music service)

Slacker Radio is an interactive Internet radio service available in the US and Canada. Listeners can access the service on the web, through mobile apps on multiple smartphones as well as on Slacker Personal Radio Players and other devices. It allows users to create and share customized music stations...

, Napster

Napster

Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...

, SomaFM

SomaFM

SomaFM is a listener-supported, commercial-free Internet-only streaming music station, which started broadcasting out of founder Rusty Hodge's basement garage in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, California...

, Mediafly, Live365

Live365

Live365 is an Internet radio network where members can create their own online radio station or listen to other Live365 broadcasters' online stations. As of October 2006, there were about 6,500 active stations, some of which play niche genres seldom heard on AM/FM radio...

, Rhapsody

Rhapsody (online music service)

Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...

, Last.fm

Last.fm

Last.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....

, Spotify

Spotify

Spotify is a Swedish-founded, UK-headquartered DRM-based music streaming service offering streaming of selected music from a range of major and independent record labels, including Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group, and Universal. Launched in October 2008 by Swedish startup Spotify AB, the service had...

and Sirius

Sirius Satellite Radio

Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...

among others.

There are two different running modes:

Standalone mode connecting to an internet server, without a PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

.
With a Squeezebox Server running on a home PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

, server or on network-attached storage
Network-attached storage
Network-attached storage is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS not only operates as a file server, but is specialized for this task either by its hardware, software, or configuration of those elements...

devices.

Both the server software and large parts of the firmware on recent players are released under open source

Open-source software

Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...

licenses and can be extended by the user (in Perl

Perl

Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...

and Lua respectively).

SliMP3 (2001)

The first-generation hardware requires Squeezebox Server to run, which is free

Free software

Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

software. It is wired-Ethernet

Ethernet

only and natively supports one audio format, MP3

MP3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

. Squeezebox Server can transcode

Transcode

Transcoding is the direct digital-to-digital data conversion of one encoding to another, such as for movie data files or audio files. This is usually done in cases where a target device does not support the format or has limited storage capacity that mandates a reduced file size, or to convert...

other audio formats to MP3 on the fly, using the LAME

LAME

LAME is a free software codec used to encode/compress audio into the lossy MP3 file format.-History:The name LAME is a recursive acronym for "LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder". Around mid-1998, Mike Cheng created LAME 1.0 as a set of modifications against the "8Hz-MP3" encoder source code...

MP3 encoder.

Squeezebox (November 2003)

Second generation hardware, also called SB1 to avoid confusing it with the Squeezebox product range. The SB1 originally used the same display as the SliMP3. Main feature additions included optional 802.11b Wi-Fi, support for uncompressed PCM/WAV

WAV

Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...

/AIFF

AIFF

Audio Interchange File Format is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices...

audio streams, and headphone, coaxial and optical S/PDIF

S/PDIF

S/PDIF is a digital audio interconnect used in consumer audio equipment over relatively short distances. The signal is transmitted over either a coaxial cable with RCA connectors or a fiber optic cable with TOSLINK connectors. S/PDIF interconnects components in home theaters and other digital high...

outputs. It also requires Squeezebox Server to operate. Slim Devices offered a bitmap display upgrade for this hardware, but that is no longer available. Some units have a 40×2 Noritake character display

Vacuum fluorescent display

A vacuum fluorescent display is a display device used commonly on consumer-electronics equipment such as video cassette recorders, car radios, and microwave ovens. Invented in Japan in 1967, the displays became common on calculators and other consumer electronics devices...

, others have a 280×16 pixel Noritake bitmap display.

Squeezebox2 (April 2005)

Third generation hardware. Features included optional 802.11g Wi-Fi, native support for more audio formats (FLAC, WMA

Windows Media Audio

Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...

, Ogg

Ogg

Ogg is a free, open container format maintained by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The creators of the Ogg format state that it is unrestricted by software patents and is designed to provide for efficient streaming and manipulation of high quality digital multimedia.The Ogg container format can multiplex...

), upgraded 320×32 pixel greyscale bitmap VFD display, visualizers, bitmapped fonts.

This model has infrared remote control, analog outputs, volume control, headphone jack, coaxial

Coaxial

In geometry, coaxial means that two or more forms share a common axis; it is the three-dimensional linear analogue of concentric.Coaxial cable, as a common example, has a wire conductor in the centre a circumferential outer conductor and an insulating medium called the dielectric separating...

and optical digital outputs.

The Squeezebox2 supports numerous audio formats including MP3

MP3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

, Windows Media Audio

Windows Media Audio

, Musepack

Musepack

Musepack or MPC is an open source lossy audio codec, specifically optimized for transparent compression of stereo audio at bitrates of 160–180 kbit/s...

, Monkey's Audio

Monkey's Audio

Monkey's Audio is a file format for audio data compression. Being a lossless format, Monkey's Audio does not discard data during the process of encoding, unlike lossy compression methods such as AAC, MP3, Vorbis and Musepack....

, Apple Lossless

Apple Lossless

Apple Lossless Apple Lossless Apple Lossless (also known as ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec), or ALE (Apple Lossless Encoder) is an audio codec developed by Apple Inc. for lossless data compression of digital music. After initially being proprietary for many years, in late 2011 Apple open sourced...

, FLAC, Shorten

Shorten

Shorten is a file format used for compressing audio data. It is a form of data compression of files and is used to losslessly compress CD-quality audio files . Shorten is no longer developed and more recent lossless audio codecs such as FLAC, Monkey's Audio , TTA, and WavPack have become more...

, WAV

WAV

Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...

, AIFF

AIFF

Audio Interchange File Format is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices...

, Ogg Vorbis, and unencrypted AAC

Advanced Audio Coding

Advanced Audio Coding is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates....

. Of these, MP3, Windows Media, FLAC, WAV, AIFF and Ogg Vorbis are natively supported by the player firmware; the remainder are automatically transcoded by the Squeezebox Server host software into one of the player-supported formats. DRM

Digital rights management

Digital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...

-crippled AAC from the Apple

Apple Computer

Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...

iTunes Music Store is not supported.

Squeezebox Classic (SB3) (November 2005)

The Squeezebox Classic, aka Squeezebox3, aka SB3, aka Squeezebox 3rd Generation, has the fourth generation hardware. The features and most of the technical specifications are identical to that of the Squeezebox2. A new board and chassis design are used, as well as a new remote and internal Wi-Fi antennae. With the introduction of the "Duet" Squeezebox3 was renamed "Squeezebox Classic".

Dimensions: 7.6"W × 3.7"H × 3.1"D (192 mm × 93 mm × 80 mm) including stand.

Transporter (September 2006)

Fifth generation hardware. Features are similar to Squeezebox v3. Geared towards audiophile

Audiophile

An audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to recorded music, usually in a home. Some audiophiles are more interested in collecting and listening to music, while others are more interested in collecting and listening to audio components, whose "sound quality" they consider as important as the...

s. Additional features over Squeezebox v3 include dual 320×32 pixel displays, front panel buttons and tactile feedback knob, redesigned backlit remote control, balanced (XLR

XLR connector

The XLR connector is a style of electrical connector, primarily found on professional audio, video, and stage lighting equipment. The connectors are circular in design and have between 3 and 7 pins...

) and unbalanced audio outputs, balanced and unbalanced digital inputs and outputs (AES/EBU

AES/EBU

AES3 is the standard used for the transport of digital audio signals between professional audio devices. It is also known as AES/EBU and is published by the Audio Engineering Society and as part of IEC 60958. It was developed by the AES and the European Broadcasting Union and first published in...

and S/PDIF

S/PDIF

) (inputs for operation as a standalone DAC

Digital-to-analog converter

In electronics, a digital-to-analog converter is a device that converts a digital code to an analog signal . An analog-to-digital converter performs the reverse operation...

), RS-232

RS-232

In telecommunications, RS-232 is the traditional name for a series of standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals connecting between a DTE and a DCE . It is commonly used in computer serial ports...

serial connection for external control, Infrared

Infrared

Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...

input and output.

Squeezebox Duet (January 2008)

This new design consists of a more sophisticated remote, called the Squeezebox Controller (aka SBC) with a display (like the Sonos

Sonos

Sonos is a consumer electronics company based in Santa Barbara, California. It was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane, who previously founded Software.com. The company’s main product is the Sonos Multi-Room Music System.-History:...

), and a simplified network music player, called the Squeezebox Receiver (aka SBR) connecting to the stereo. (The SBR can operate without the Squeezebox Controller although it is not supported by Logitech and is recommended for advanced users only). Additional SBRs are sold separately.

In the default power save mode for the Squeezebox Controller it takes 30 seconds to one minute to recover from sleep-mode which makes it impractical for muting sound instantly or other actions with the remote that need immediate response - unless it is left in the charging cradle where it will not enter sleep mode.

To disable this power save mode:

On the Controller navigate to Settings/Advanced/Factory Test/Power management.
Leave the default settings for Sleep Timeout but unselect Suspend Enable and Wireless PowerSave and then save.

This will cause the Controller to reconnect more quickly but will use up more battery life.

Differences between the Squeezebox Classic and the Squeezebox Duet include:

The SBR does not have a display (only a multi-coloured status LED), instead relying on the Controller for its user interface.
The SBR does not have a headphone jack.
The SBR does not have an infrared receiver.
The DAC from SB3 is a Burr-Brown 24-bit DAC, and the one on the SBR is a Wolfson 24-bit DAC.
The total harmonic distortion
Total harmonic distortion
The total harmonic distortion, or THD, of a signal is a measurement of the harmonic distortion present and is defined as the ratio of the sum of the powers of all harmonic components to the power of the fundamental frequency...

on the SB3 is less than -93.5dB (0.002%) and on the SBR is less than -88dB (0.004%).
The Squeezebox Classic costs US$300 and the Duet $400.

The Squeezebox Controller is the first unit in the Squeezebox line that runs on SqueezeOS, an embedded Linux distribution. These devices are less "slim" than the previous Squeezeboxes. The Squeezebox Radio and the Squeezebox Touch are also SqueezeOS based.

Squeezebox Boom (August 2008)

In a departure from previous models the Boom combines Squeezebox functionality with a DSP

Digital signal processor

A digital signal processor is a specialized microprocessor with an architecture optimized for the fast operational needs of digital signal processing.-Typical characteristics:...

, a 30 W

Watt

The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

integrated amplifier

Integrated amplifier

An integrated amplifier is an electronic device containing an audio preamplifier and power amplifier in one unit, as opposed to separating the two. Most modern audio amplifiers are integrated and have several inputs for devices such as CD players, DVD players, and auxiliary sources...

and bi-amped

Bi-amping

Bi-amping is the practice of using two audio amplifier channels to power a loudspeaker with multiple drivers.-Description:Bi-amping is the act of using a single loud-speaker system, that is one channel of a speaker pair, with one channel handling only low frequency information and the other channel...

stereo

Stereophonic sound

The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...

two-way speakers

Loudspeaker

A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...

to produce a self-contained device which requires only a network connection (either wired or wireless) and power. Without a network connection, the Boom can still amplify and play a line level

Line level

Line level is a term used to denote the strength of an audio signal used to transmit analog sound between audio components such as CD and DVD players, TVs, audio amplifiers, and mixing consoles, and sometimes MP3 players....

signal from an external player through a 3.5mm mini-jack

TRS connector

A TRS connector is a common family of connector typically used for analog signals including audio. It is cylindrical in shape, typically with three contacts, although sometimes with two or four . It is also called an audio jack, phone jack, phone plug, and jack plug...

plug.

Squeezebox Radio (September 2009)

Squeezebox Radio adds a color screen (2.4") to the all-in-one design of its older sibling, Squeezebox Boom, but only in a mono

Monaural

Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction is single-channel. Typically there is only one microphone, one loudspeaker, or channels are fed from a common signal path...

configuration. The Squeezebox Radio can be powered by an optional proprietary battery

Battery (electricity)

An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...

pack, made available in March, 2010.

Squeezebox Touch (April 2010)

The Squeezebox Touch is the functional successor of the SB3, and has a couple of new features:

4.3" colour touchscreen
Touchscreen
A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus...
Play songs stored on memory card
Memory card
A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...

or USB disk, although it can only handle playlists of 100 songs or less when doing this.
Supports audio with a sampling rate
Sampling rate
The sampling rate, sample rate, or sampling frequency defines the number of samples per unit of time taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. For time-domain signals, the unit for sampling rate is hertz , sometimes noted as Sa/s...

of up to 96 kHz.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.