[Pingfloid]

Hi zzffnn.
 
I am quite happy with the Logitech Squeezebox Touch as a stand alone player. The first time that the HD is connected it takes about 45 minutes to scan all the files, and about 15 or 20 minutes to rescan, which is a good time to let the tubes warm up. But sometimes the unit freezes, so now I am mainly using 32GB SD cards that are faster and run with no problem at all.
I am lucky that the Squeezebox Touch can connect to the Wifi of a hotel at the neighborhood, so I can also listen to the radio.

 
The Western Digital HD TV worked perfectly playing FLAC files (attached to a 4" screen) except for the non-gapless issue that you have mentioned. It used to take from 2 to 5 minutes to scan the library (15 or 20 minutes the first time).
 
Finally, I will probably use some old small laptop as a server instead of a NAS, because I am missing a little bit of equalization (with some recordings, the Sennheiser HD650 sound better adding a little bit of bass boost), and it is not possible to use EQ with the stand-alone Squeezebox Touch or NAS. Only by installing a plugin at the server.
 
The ideal thing would be a device like the Logitech Squeezebox Touch but with a more powerful CPU inside, so it could run the Squeezebox Server and all kind of plugins without the need of a computer. The Squeezebox Touch as stand-alone uses a light version of the Squeezebox Server called "Slim Server" because it doesn't have the power to run the full version of the server software.
 
Those units with a small text-mode display do not seem convenient for browsing large music libraries. I love the display of the Logitech.

 

[zzffnn]

Thanks Pingfloid for your comments. I am interested in the WD TV live (what I like: $62, can drive USB hdd's reasonably, small footprint, remote, flac and optical output). I can not tolerate Sqeezebox's 15 min re-scan and my 1.5TB music library is too big for any current SD card. The 5 min re-scan time from WD TV Live sounds more reasonable (granted, my library may take longer scan time than yours).
 
What is the brand / model of your cheap 4'' display screen? I was not able to find anything similar using US Google Shopping (I found lots of huge ones, which I would not want -- already have one that takes lots of desk space).
 

 

[gattari]

The next generation of windows 8 tablet will be solve the maior problems.
I like android but with a win 8 mini tablet I will be capable to attach a device as hiface or similar to my amp dac to get out the best sound quality.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Pingfloid]

Quote:

What is the brand / model of your cheap 4'' display screen? I was not able to find anything similar using US Google Shopping (I found lots of huge ones, which I would not want -- already have one that takes lots of desk space).

I was using a WorldTech WT-TFT413 4.3" TFT LED monitor that I bought for $18 in Bangkok, but I would not recommend going so cheap because the small letters are quite hard to read (I could gess the names because I am very familiar with my collection of CD's, but it is not easy). Or perhaps the problem was with the small fonts of the WD TV Live. They can be changed using a custom firmware, but I was too lazy to try it.
 
http://en.carvisual.worldtech.asia/wttft-sid1568.aspx
 
Try to search "car monitor" or "mini lcd monitor" on ebay
 
 
Gattari, I share your expectations about the Windows 8 tablets. That will be an all-in-one solution.

 

[zzffnn]

Quote:

I was using a WorldTech WT-TFT413 4.3" TFT LED monitor that I bought for $18 in Bangkok, but I would not recommend going so cheap because the small letters are quite hard to read (I could gess the names because I am very familiar with my collection of CD's, but it is not easy). Or perhaps the problem was with the small fonts of the WD TV Live. They can be changed using a custom firmware, but I was too lazy to try it.
 
http://en.carvisual.worldtech.asia/wttft-sid1568.aspx
 
Try to search "car monitor" or "mini lcd monitor" on ebay
 
 
Gattari, I share your expectations about the Windows 8 tablets. That will be an all-in-one solution.

 
Thanks Pingfloid.
 
I found 2 cheap options as monitor for Western Digital TV Live (in case someone wants to do the same thing):
        1) A $20 3.5'' car monitor without wall wart  (have to DIY a wall wart):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B0045IIZKU/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all
        Here is some info on how to use it with a media player
http://www.amazon.com/review/R9DS2EX28ONAJ/ref=cm_aya_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0045IIZKU#wasThisHelpful
        2) A $53 7'' LCD TV:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-TFT-LCD-TV-Monitor-with-USB-Card-Reader-Car-Home-Adaptor-Digital-frame-/140790971767?pt=Televisions&hash=item20c7cbbd77
        or some $50 portable 7'' TV that can accept video RCA input
http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Curtis-RT701A-7-inch-Portable-LCD-TV-Refrubished/6689127/product.html?cid=123620
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Digital-Prism-7-Portable-Digital-HDTV-481217-ATSC-710/20656599
 
For now, I will probably use a VGA to RCA video adapter ($3 shipped from Amazon) with my old/big LCD monitor and see how it works. I may try one portable TV in the future. I can not DIY option 1) .
 
A Windows 8 tablet that can drive external hard drives and output digital (e.g., USB) will be interesting too. I hope it will be affordable though.