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Foreign networks

Paul's Posts — 22 September 2011

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Foreign networks

I am aware that many of our readers find home networking a foreign, overly complicated concept and hope perhaps someday the need for the network will just go away.

It will not.

Networks are becoming more commonplace every day and that’s a good thing.  Remember that as something becomes ingrained into our society it gets easier to use.

Think of a network like the phone.  It wasn’t too long ago that phones were introduced and the phone network was something complex and hard to manage: the operator had to place long distance calls for you.  Now we call anywhere in the world without a thought, over the network.  Originally, each home had one phone and adding a second was an expensive ordeal.  Now every room has a phone connector tied into the home’s phone network.

Next came the TV network.  For years we watched TV from signals broadcast through the air.  Then cable TV network arrived and before you know it, the single cable outlet in the home became a cable outlet in every room, thus forming a home network connected to the cable network.

Even closer to home, your family and friends form networks.

Data networks through the home will be commonplace within a very short period of time.  Streaming music over that network will be commonplace as well.

Beyond home networks is the biggest network of them all, the internet which connects all the home networks together.  Streaming music over the big network will follow the home network revolution – allowing all of us to share high resolution audio anywhere in the world.

No longer will we be concerned with storage and library size – not once the entire library of recorded music is available to anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world.

Making sure we keep sight of maintaining high quality music streaming is the responsibility of the high-end community and those reading this post.

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About Author

Paul McGowan

Paul McGowan is the CEO and co-founder of PS Audio Inc. a Boulder Colorado design and manufacturing company of high-end audio products and services. McGowan has been designing and building high-end products for nearly 40 years. Hobbies include skiing, music, hiking, artisan bread baking, kick boxing and cooking. He lives in Boulder Colorado with his wife Terri and his 4 sons.

(7) Readers Comments

  1. bfotk

    September 22, 2011 at 8:24 am

    Spot on!

    The granddaddy of them all, not counting indoor plumbing, is the electric network and in my view that’s the paradigm for all networking: a familiar outlet and a matching plug.

    Currently most of us don’t live in homes with wired data networks. Wireless, when working well, is just fine but it’s not as solid (literally) as a wired hookup and certainly doesn’t offer the comfort and reliability of the jack and plug interface.

    I imagine that new housing builds and new apartments and condos will have wired data networking designed in.

    • September 24, 2011 at 6:52 am

      Indeed. Nearly all new builds in this country have CAT 5 Ethernet wired throughout the home as standard and eventually that will proliferate – and at the same time, wireless is invading nearly everything already. How many people reading these posts don’t have a wireless router in their homes already?

  2. Frank LaFond

    September 24, 2011 at 12:44 am

    It seems so close, yet the streaming world (that I’ve been able to find) can’t grasp there is a market for streaming quality beyond MP3. I subscribe to MOG, which generally serves 320K .mp3 files. It sounds good, but people reading this forum are likely seeking better than “good”. I’ve found some sources for CD+ quality streaming and/or downloads, but all VERY limited in their catalog. There is no reason for most of the audio consuming public to ever “own” music again, but for audiophiles nobody is streaming the goods quite yet. So close…

    • September 24, 2011 at 6:56 am

      You’ve hit the nail on the head with this comment. Indeed, people are getting closer but the transformation is a slow process – at least from this viewpoint where we’re right in the middle of the change. But consider the overall speed of this change, relative to past changes: the vinyl record dominated for nearly 70 years and 100 years later it’s still here. The CD shot up in 1/3 the time and is now being replaced as a portable medium in perhaps 1/3 the time that took.

      Each successive change is occurring a magnitude faster than the predecessor. While it seems slow when you’re in the thick of it, from a far away view, it’s moving along at an accelerated clip.

  3. Mike48

    October 2, 2011 at 4:00 am

    Paul,

    I seem to feel about music servers the way you do about tone controls . . . I can’t rule them out, and sometimes I would like to have what they do, but I don’t see a good way around the many obstacles. I do realize that this may be an individual situation, and that servers work for many music lovers.

    What’s the problem?

    (1) Ripping 2200 CDs. (2) Finding server hardware that won’t make noise or is in another room, with wireless, AND is reliable. (3) Finding a way to make sure everything is backed up — all the time. (4) Finding server software that will work with my chosen receiver (Squeezebox) and the next one I own (PS PWD/Bridge?) AND will sync with my iPod. Preferably, it should send music at selectable resolution to each device. (5) Manually correcting the wretched automatic tagging of classical music (I don’t want Mozart filed under “W” and Haydn under “F” or “J”). (6) Finding server software that will catalog and access my music so that I easily can listen to complete works — or parts of them if desired — rather than “songs.”

    I really see some advantages of servers. My wife and I are moving to a new house, and the weight and volume of my CD collection have become very real to me — I had to pack it and lug it around! Also, it would be great to be able to browse my music collection as easily as I browse my photos. I really would LIKE to see networked music succeed for me. However, a good solution (for me) still seems a long way off.

    • October 2, 2011 at 6:39 am

      I am with you and we’re trying to change the world to address these issues, one at a time. You are right, we’re not there yet. I can fill in a few pieces of the puzzle for you.

      Ripping the CD’s is something best left to a ripping service, of which there are several excellent ones. They rip correctly, they catalog correctly and give great cover art. It costs about $1.50 a CD, which isn’t cheap, but….. One of the things we plan to do is offer this service to our customers as agents for these people. Just one thing on the list.

      The noise, in the other room, wifi bit has been solved. That’s now easy. The reliable part is, well, close.

      Sending all music out at native rate and playing at native rate is something our equipment will already do.

      Server software is a bit of a nightmare right now.

      We’re getting closer. But I am with you 100%. Someone has to take this forward in a way acceptable to serious music lovers like you and me. We’re trying.

  4. Mike48

    October 8, 2011 at 1:42 am

    Paul,

    Thanks for the reply. I will eagerly watch to see how the field develops, especially from PS Audio.

    Mike

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