[SET pageicon help] [SET title SLIMP3 Frequently Asked Questions] [INCLUDE helpheader.html]
Yes, you can have any number of SLIMP3 players on your LAN, using a single instance of the SLIMP3 server software. Thanks to the efficient design of our software and streaming protocol, even a low-end PC can service more than a dozen SLIMP3 players. Each player operates completely independently of the others, so you can have different music playing in your garage, kitchen, bed room, living room... wherever! In addition, if you have multiple SLIMP3 players, you can synchronize them so that they play back the same audio in every room of your house.
We simply were not willing to compromise on the SLIMP3's interface. We evaluated several LCD displays from different manufacturers, but none came remotely close to the VFD in brightness and readability. Many were completely unreadable at a distance of just five feet. Fluorescent displays cost a bit more, and you get what you pay for!
Yes, the SLIMP3 supports both DHCP and static IP addresses. It also has a feature called "Slim Discovery Protocol", which automatically locates the SLIMP3 server on your network. For LANs which already have a DHCP server, SLIMP3 is ready to run out-of-the-box, without having to do any configuration. If you don't have DHCP, you can enter the IP addresses manually.
Since the SLIMP3 network interface is 10 megabit ethernet, you can use either a CAT3 or CAT5 ethernet cable. If you are connecting directly to a computer you will need a crossover cable, otherwise a regular straight cable will work just fine.
An inexpensive 10Mbps hub has about 25 times the capacity needed to stream MP3 audio at the highest quality (320Kbps). Typically, MP3s are encoded at 128Kbps to 192Kbps. You do not need 10/100 Ethernet - SLIMP3 is compatible with fast Ethernet LANS, as long as your hub/switch also supports 10Mbps (most do).
The SLIMP3 is officially supported under Windows 95/98/NT/2000/Me/XP, Linux, and MacOSX. It is also known to work on a wide variety of other operating systems, so it's safe to say that just about any modern OS will be compatible. The SLIMP3 has been tested on all of the following platforms:
BeOS, FreeBSD, Linux (X86, PPC, and MIPS), Mac OSX, NetBSD (X86), OpenBSD, Solaris (X86, Sparc), Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, Me, XP
We have users with single SLIMP3 players using Pentium 166 PCs as servers with 64M of memory. We generally recommend a 300Mhz Pentium II with 128M of memory. You'll need more memory if your music library is large, approximately 32MB for each 15,000 songs. You also may need a faster CPU if you wish to use multiple SLIMP3 players with a single server computer. Any macintosh capable of running OS X should be able to be a SLIMP3 server.
Most companies would prefer that their customers not know about competing products. We have no such qualms - we think that the more you know about our competition, the more excited you'll be about owning a SLIMP3!
We've taken a completely different approach in designing the SLIMP3. We could have had our product on the market a year ago, if we'd decided to start with an off-the-shelf design. Instead we decided to do our own design - custom firmware, custom chips, custom protocols. As a result, our product is easy to use, small, wicked fast, versatile, and affordable.
The bigggest advantages of the SLIMP3 over competing players are:
Here's a quick run down of a few specific features, although it's hard to do a tit-for-tat comparison. The best thing we can suggest is to read up on all the products, and decide for yourself!
SLIMP3 | Audiotron | Rio | |
---|---|---|---|
Architecture | Our own custom hardware and open firmware. | ARM system-on-chip, running Windows CE | ARM system-on-chip, running Linux |
Display | Large vacuum fluorescent display | Backlit LCD | *tiny* Backlit LCD |
Capacity | Unlimited! Since the SLIMP3 stores its database on your PC instead of on the player, it can handle MP3 collections of absolutely any size. | Max 30,000 songs | Max 10,000 songs |
Supported platforms | Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, MacOSX, and more! | Windows only | Windows only |
Protocol | Custom, open protocol | Windows file sharing | NFS and HTTP |
Software | Powerful and mature open source software | Proprietary | Proprietary |
Power supply | 110 and 240V compatible | 110V only | 110 and 240V |
Synchronization | Yes | No | No |
Customizeable | Yes | No | No |
Volume control | Yes | Yes | No |
Web interface | Yes | Yes | No |
If you dial-up to the internet, you may already have an Ethernet port free on your computer. If you have a cable modem or DSL, you will need to buy an additional device. The most popular solution is a multi-port Cable/DSL router from NetGear (like the RP614NA) or Linksys (BEFSR41), which are generally available for less than $50. These will also act as a firewall against the Internet and will ease setup of the SLIMP3.
The SLIMP3 server software is open source (GPL) and available via and download from SourceForge. If you make any improvements, we encourage you to post them to our developers list so that they can be shared with the rest of our community and possibly added to the standard release.
Yes, you can connect the player directly to your computer using an Ethernet crossover cable. You can purchase a crossover cable at most retail computer stores. Once you have this connection, you'll need to set up your network adaptor and the SLIMP3 with static IP addresses so that they can find each other.
SLIMP3 includes a regulated power supply with the correct plug style and input voltage for your shipping destination.
We figured most people would prefer to use their own choice of amplifier and speakers, so the SLIMP3 does not have either built-in.
The SLIMP3 player doesn't have a digital output, but the analog output circuitry is very clean sounding. Generally speaking, any audible artifacts will be due to the MP3 encoding and not due to the analog output.
Yes! With the release of the SLIMP3 Server software 4.0, a daily alarm clock is available by using the remote to visit the Settings area on the SLIMP3.
We very much wanted to keep the SLIMP3 affordable (under $250) and small, so we were not able to include this feature.
You can use the SLIMP3 over 802.11, by first bridging to Ethernet. If you have a wired LAN with an access point, you can put your SLIMP3 on the wired LAN, and it can talk to a server on the wireless LAN. If you don't want to run Ethernet to the SLIMP3 at all, there are a number of ethernet to wireless LAN bridges that our customers use with SLIMP3 to connect to 802.11 networks, including:
SLIMP3 let's you browse your collection by file name or by ID3 tags.
Yes. The SLIMP3 lets you play MP3s by artist, album, genre, from a playlist, by file, from a single folder or folders of folders. You can shuffle the list at any time, add new songs to the list of songs or un-shuffle to play them in order.
The SLIMP3 sends the decoded IR signals directly to the server. It's possible to write plug-ins for the server that can control other programs or network devices from your computer.
You can create links or shortcuts to other folders and place them in your specified Music Library Folder. The contents of the linked folders will then be part of your Music Library.
Navigate into the "Player Settings" area with the remote control. Choose "Synchronize", then select the other player you want to synchronize with and press the RIGHT button. Both will play the same thing and you can control their "synchronized" playback from either remote. Go back to the same place and press RIGHT again to unsync.
You can also set up synchronziation from the Player Settings page in the web interface.
In any web browser, type in this URL: http://localhost:9000/. Replace "localhost" with the IP address for the computer running the SLIMP3 Server software.
Reset the player by removing and then reinserting the power cable.
No. The SLIMP3 player needs a SLIMP3 server running in order to listen to streaming stations.
No, you only have to enter it once. The SLIMP3 stores its configuration internally in flash memory.
From the Administrative Tools folder, choose Services. You should see an entry in your service list for SLIMP3 Server. Right-click on it and choose STOP to stop the service. Right-click on it again to choose to start it.
The SLIMP3 server scans MP3 files for ID3 tag versions 1.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4. The tags it pays attention to include title, artist, album, comment, year, track number, disc set numbers, band/orchestra, composer and genre.
The SLIMP3 supports MPEG 1/2, layers 2/3, for both VBR and fixed data rates up to 320Kbps (the maximum for MP3). The SLIMP3 server software can automatic encoding/transcoding from other some other formats, but the player will decode MPEG.
The SLIMP3 player can play back MP3Pro files using the backwards compatibility feature of MP3Pro, unfortunately, the audio quality in this mode has significantly reduced quality. We recommend encoding your music using standard MP3 format.
The SLIMP3 player's hardware decoder only supports MP3 format for decoding. Unfortunately, the licensing issues surrounding these formats make it impossible for us to convert these formats to MP3 on the fly.
The SLIMP3 player's hardware decoder only supports MP3 format for decoding. Under Mac OS X, SLIMP3 software can convert iTunes AAC files to MP3 for playback on the SLIMP3 on-the-fly. To enable this feature, you'll need to install the free (and high quality) LAME MP3 encoder. For more information about LAME in general, click here . LAME is free, but in some countries you may need to pay a license fee in order to legally encode MP3 files.
There are several ways to install LAME, including the excellent iTunes-LAME Encoder, an Installer package provided by Mike Solomon, and the Fink package system.
Once you have LAME installed, you should be able to playback iTunes-ripped AAC files (.m4a) as well as the audio from any QuickTime movie (.mov). Music purchased from the Apple Music Store (.m4p files) is protected and cannot be played back with SLIMP3 until Apple provides the necessary hooks to enable this. In the mean time, it is possible to burn your Apple Music Store songs to CD and re-rip them.
Note that LAME-based encoding to MP3 for playback can use a substantial amount of CPU power. We continue to recommend high-bitrate MP3 encoded files for best performance, highest audio quality, and best compatibililty.
If you have both LAME and the ogg tools installed, the SLIMP3 server will automatically convert Ogg files to MP3 on the fly for playback. To enable this feature, visit the Server Settings -> Additional Server Settings -> Behavior section of the web interface and turn on this feature. There may be some reduction of quality due to the conversion, but it generally sounds pretty good. Note that this conversion will use a substantial amount of CPU power and may put a substantial load on your server computer.
If you have LAME installed, the SLIMP3 server will automatically convert uncompressed WAV and AIFF files to MP3 on the fly for playback. To enable this feature, visit the Server Settings -> Additional Server Settings -> Behavior section of the web interface and turn on this feature. Note that this conversion will use a substantial amount of CPU power and may put a substantial load on your server computer.
Yes! SLIMP3 can proxy to all of the popular MP3 streaming protocols, including HTTP, Icecast/Shoutcast, and Live365.
Yes, the SLIMP3 has a sophisticated, easy to use playlist management system. It lets you easily create playlists from the remote control or the web interface. In addition, the SLIMP3 can use .m3u and .pls files.
Yes. CUE files are interpreted as playlists containg a number of songs, corresponding to the tracks within a single MP3 file. CUE files can also be used to point to index points within a single MP3 song.
Make sure that UDP ports 1069 and 3483 are open for communication between the SLIMP3 player and the SLIMP3 server computer. Make sure that TCP port 9000 is open for access to the SLIMP3 web interface.
The SLIMP3 will respond to the infrared signals intended for a JVC DVD player. Check the instructions that came with your remote control to find out how to program your remote to send these codes. If you have a Philips Pronto remote, check the third-party support page on the Slim Devices web site for some pre-programmed screens for this remote.
To remove a song from the "Now Playing" playlist, navigate to the "Now Playing" menu and scroll to that song in the playlist and press the ADD button. If you press and hold the ADD button, the currently displayed song gets removed from the playlist and added to a special Saved Playlist called Zapped Songs for you to view later. To clear the whole playlist, navigate to the "SLIMP3 Home" menu and scroll down until it says "Now Playing" on the second line. Press the ADD button and your playlist will be emptied. (If your SLIMP3 came with a Sony remote, use the REC button instead of the ADD button.)
Yes. Open this URL with your player application: http://localhost:9000/stream.mp3. (Replace "localhost" with the IP address of the computer that's acting as a server. This will start the streaming from the SLIMP3 server. Initially, this will just be silence. Now use the web interface to control the SLIMP3 server. You'll see a new "player" corresponding to the IP address of the computer that's being streamed to. Now use the SLIMP3 server web interface to browse and click on "Play" to choose some music to be played back. After a couple of seconds you'll hear that music. (The delay is due to buffering in the MP3 player software.) If you are using the SLIMP3 server's password security, you'll need to use a slightly modified URL like this: http://username:password@localhost:9000/stream.mp3
Replace "localhost" in the following URLs with the IP address of your SLIMP3 Server computer.
Yes. The SLIMP3 has both an HTTP interface and a command-line style which can be used to control the player from your own scripts or from the command line. See the Technical Information section on the online documentation.
The SLIMP3 has an i2c bus that you can control directly over the network. Dallas Semiconductor has a number of interesting i2c peripherals or you can roll your own i2c slave device using a microcontroller.
Yes, with a Psion Wavefinder.
These `get you going' notes are based on using another application called DABBar to control the Wavefinder. I have heard that WinDAB http://www.simanse.com/windab/ works as well although I believe that you might not be able to retune the Wavefinder directly from the SLIMP3 across multiplexes using WinDAB. Perhaps someone could post on that. DABBar does not need to be on the same machine as your SLIMP3 server.
[playlist] numberofentries=4 File1=http://192.168.1.11:8080/49706.mp2 Title1=1Xtra - BBC Length1=-1 File2=http://192.168.1.11:8080/49707.mp2 Title2=BBC 6 Music Length2=-1 File3=http://192.168.1.11:8080/49708.mp2 Title3=BBC 7 Length3=-1 File4=http://192.168.1.11:8080/49697.mp2 Title4=BBC Radio 1 Length5=-1 Version=2
Hope that helps a few we are truly fortunate that SlimDevices provided mp2 capability within the SLIMP3 (thanks guys) one of the few players that does and also an ability to play 48Khz bitrates again one of the few players to do this. If you managed to buy your Wavefinder at one of the recent discounted prices you have ended up with an awesome solution based on two very capable products that know nothing about each joining as one. Now how often does that happen ??? My thanks to Alistair MacDonald, author of DabBar for the magic that makes it all work !
I have pasted my complete playlist file below maybe SlimDevices have a place on their website to store it as a downloadable file. While my station list will be somewhat different to yours I think that most of the stations are national and the ID's are consistent.
My local multiplex TWG-EMPA W.Yorks offers Classic Gold KISS Sunrise Radio and The Pulse so these probably won't work for you unless you're in Yorkshire ! Just paste the following into a text file and name it DABRadio.pls. If your Wavefinder is on the same PC as your SLIMP3 server then tit should works as is pop it in your Playlists file on the SLIMP3 server and navigate into the file, select and play ! If it's on a different PC then search and replace "localhost" by "192.168.1.100" or whatever ip address your Wavefinder is on and then save and move the file. There should be 24 replacements. Happy listening - Kevin
[playlist] numberofentries=24 File1=http://localhost:8080/49706.mp2 Title1=1Xtra - BBC Length1=-1 File2=http://localhost:8080/49707.mp2 Title2=BBC 6 Music Length2=-1 File3=http://localhost:8080/49708.mp2 Title3=BBC 7 Length3=-1 File4=http://localhost:8080/49697.mp2 Title4=BBC Radio 1 Length5=-1 File5=http://localhost:8080/49698.mp2 Title5=BBC Radio 2 Length5=-1 File6=http://localhost:8080/49699.mp2 Title6=BBC Radio 3 Length6=-1 File7=http://localhost:8080/49700.mp2 Title7=BBC Radio 4 Length7=-1 File8=http://localhost:8080/49701.mp2 Title8=BBC Radio 5 Live Length8=-1 File9=http://localhost:8080/49718.mp2 Title9=BBC Asian Network Length9=-1 File10=http://localhost:8080/49720.mp2 Title10=BBC World Service Length10=-1 File11=http://localhost:8080/49825.mp2 Title11=Classic FM Length11=-1 File12=http://localhost:8080/52683.mp2 Title12=Classic Gold Length12=-1 File13=http://localhost:8080/50112.mp2 Title13=Core Length13=-1 File14=http://localhost:8080/50368.mp2 Title14=D1 Temp Length14=-1 File15=http://localhost:8080/50624.mp2 Title15=D1 ten Length15=-1 File16=http://localhost:8080/49612.mp2 Title16=KISS Length16=-1 File17=http://localhost:8080/50880.mp2 Title17=Life Length17=-1 File18=http://localhost:8080/51136.mp2 Title18=OneWord Length18=-1 File19=http://localhost:8080/49856.mp2 Title19=Planet Rock Length19=-1 File20=http://localhost:8080/51392.mp2 Title20=PrimeTime Radio Length20=-1 File21=http://localhost:8080/52939.mp2 Title21=Sunrise Radio Length21=-1 File22=http://localhost:8080/49344.mp2 Title22=talkSPORT Length22=-1 File23=http://localhost:8080/51632.mp2 Title23=The Pulse Length23=-1 File24=http://localhost:8080/49600.mp2 Title24=Virgin Radio Length24=-1 Version=2
Some SLIMP3 owners have written "Plugins" for the SLIMP3 software that add functionality beyond what comes with the SLIMP3 software. A few of these have been included with the latest version of the SLIMP3 software.
To turn on the Plugins menu on your SLIMP3, use the "Server Settings" web page and click on the Additional Server Settings link at the bottom of the page. Then click on "Add", next to the listing for the Plugins menu on this page.
You can find some of these plugins here on the Slim Devices web site. To install these files, download them with your web browser and place them in the folder named "Plugins" that's inside your "server" folder. Double-check that the files have a ".pm" at the end of the file name. Now reboot or restart your server software. The new functions should appear in your Plugins menu.
Mac users: The Plugins folder is hidden within the SLIMP3 Server preference pane. Look in either the folder named Library at the top level of your hard disk or the Library folder in your Home folder. Inside one of these folders you should find a folder called "SLIMP3 Server.preferencePane". Control-click on this folder and choose "Show Package Contents", then open the "contents" folder, then the "server" folder, then the for a folder called "Plugins". Place the downloaded plugins files in this folder. Note: If you upgrade your SLIMP3 Software, you'll need to re-install any plugins you may have added.
Windows Users: The Plugins folder is installed by default here: C:\Program Files\SLIMP3 Server\server\Plugins
Make sure that your energy saver settings on your computer are set to make sure your computer doesn't go to sleep. If it does, the SLIMP3 will go to sleep as well. If that's not the problem, make sure that the IP address on your computer isn't changing. To do this, adjust your TCP/IP settings to use a static IP address.
If you have a SLIMP3 custom remote, make sure your batteries are fresh and installed properly and that you have installed the latest SLIMP3 software and firmware.
If you have one of the Sony universal remotes try the following steps.
Make sure you are running the latest SLIMP3 server software and firmware. The new remote requires version 3.1 of the server software and version 2.0 of the player firmware to operate. If you are running the latest software, check that your batteries are fresh and installed properly.
Check all your network connections, and make sure that the DHCP server is running. Try a different Ethernet cable, even if the hub indicates a good link.
Ensure that the SLIMP3 server software is running, and that you can access it using a web browser.
SLIMP3 is capable of slightly higher volume levels than most consumer audio gear and may cause clippin" with some receivers. If you notice clipping, you may wish to reduce the SLIMP3's volume level. If the volume is too low even at the maximum setting or if it varies between tracks, try using your encoder's normalize setting to ensure that all your tracks use the full range.
Make sure that the audio cables are connected firmly to both the SLIMP3 and your amplifier. Also, make sure you aren't using the "phono" input on your amplifier, as it may have the wrong impedance. Finally, try to keep the volume level on the output of the SLIMP3 as high as possible and use the volume control on your amplifier whenever possible. This will reduce the loudness of any analog noise or interference by keeping the output levels from the SLIMP3 as high as possible.
Any such messages may be safely ignored–they're for troubleshooting in case you have problems later.
The SLIMP3's web interface is available in several different "skins". Some skins use JavaScript, Java, CSS, or other elements that may not be available in all browsers. The "SLIMP3 Default" skin is very simple, and should render correctly in all web browsers. To change the skin, open the web interface and go to the "Additional Server Settings" area.
To use BROWSE MUSIC FOLDER on a network-mapped volume in a Windows environment, and you are running the SLIMP3 server as a Windows service, you need to register the SLIMP3 service to login with a user and password that has access to that volume. Under Win2k and XP follow this path:
CONTROL PANELS --> ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS --> SERVICES --> SLIMP3 SERVER --> PROPERTIES --> LOG ON Tab --> Activate THIS ACCOUNT
Now enter a valid Windows user account that corresponds to a network share volume user account on the machine hosting the share.
If this doesn't address the problem, try using a UNC-style path to specify your music library in the Server Settings page. Instead of X:\path for a mounted volume, use \\SERVER\path style addressing. This may work for some servers where direct volume letter mapping does not.
The default installation of Perl on RH9 doesn't include Time::HiRes as it should. There's a binary perl-Time-HiRes-1.38-3.i386.rpm RPM on disk 2 of the RedHat install that works fine and is what you need to get the SLIMP3 server running under RH9. I also found a copy on the net that worked for me. As root, use this command to install it from the net:
rpm -i http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/misc/perl-Time-HiRes-1.38-3.i386.rpm
Check to make sure that any playlists in your music library contain valid paths to music files in your library. Playlists that refer to themselves or other folders in your library, or playlist entries that refer to disks that aren't available can cause the SLIMP3 server to get confused.
If this isn't the problem, try moving all of your music files out of the library and then move them back in groups and restarting the server. Try to find, by process of elimination, which files are confusing the SLIMP3 server.
By default, Windows doesn't give high priority to services and the SLIMP3 server sometimes needs a fair amount of CPU. To work around this, open your "Control Panels", and then open the "System" control panel. On the "Advanced" tab, find the "Performance" section and click on "Settings". On the "Advanced" tab, choose "Backround Services" under "Processor Scheduling". Click "OK" and the SLIMP3 server will now get more CPU cycles and perform better.
If you've moved your iTunes music files around, iTunes can export incorrect information about the songs in its library. You'll need to make sure that iTunes has the correct folder for your music library. Visit the iTunes Preferences and click on Advanced. If the path to your Music Library folder is incorrect, you'll need to fix it. If it is correct, try changing it to a different folder and then change it back to the correct folder. iTunes will then update the paths to all your music and export that data correctly. (This process won't move any of your music, but it will force iTunes to scan your music library and update the paths to all the songs.)
If this doesn't resolve your problem, iTunes might get confused if you changed the "Keep Music Folder Organized" or "Add Track Number" settings in iTunes. Try changing them and then changing them back to have iTunes update the correct information about your music files.
Mac OS X aliases are not supported by the SLIMP3 server yet. Symbolic links, however, are but they require a little more work to create. Here's a brief tutorial on doing so.
iTunes can get confused if it's trying to update its music library while the SLIMP3 server is importing it. If this happens frequently, we recommend you stop the SLIMP3 server when you are ripping music.
There is probably a problem with the MTU setting for your network interface. VPN clients such as the Cisco VPN client utility may change your machine's MTU setting from the default. This causes the fast-stuttering on the SLIMP3. If you have the Cisco client installed, run the included Set MTU utility and change the MTU setting to "default" for your network adapter. Reboot your machine to implement the change.
If you aren't using the Cisco VPN client, then check the settings for your network interface and make sure that the MTU is set to 1500. There is some additional information for changing your MTU setting here.
Another approach is to visit the SLIMP3 web page for Server Settings -> Additional Server Settings -> Network and change the setting for "Maximum number of bytes of audio data to send to player in a UDP packet" to a lower number. Note that this approach will reduce the efficiency of your network.
Try using the following URL: http://127.0.0.1:9000/. (Be sure to type the "http://" part, as some versions of Internet Explorer require it when accessing a URL by IP address.)
Here are some things to try:
Try following these steps:
If the update succeeds and you find that the remote control does not work then you may have de-programmed the remote when you where holding down a key to get the SLIMP3 into boot mode. Try resetting remote.
If the updater fails to write to the SLIMP3 device then there is some sort of communications error. Check the following:
Check out the Help area at the bottom of the SLIMP3 server home page or visit the support area of our web site at http://www.slimdevices.com/. There are also active user forums on Yahoo Groups for both end-users and developers.
We welcome email to support@slimdevices.com, or call us at +1 650 210 9400.
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