Who has Nuvo Music Port?

Looking for others who have taken the plunge and got the Nuvo Music Port.

So far the setup was easy and i like it, but there's a few quirks i'm trying to iron out. Possibly this may be related to running it on a Windows Home Server box.

You're the only one I've heard of, MavRic, though there was some talk on remotecentral ~1 month ago.

I downloaded the Music Port literature today, to review tonight. I'm leaning toward the Nuvo GC (today).

I'm wondering how it compares with CasaTunes.

Feeling tired, may not read it until later this week.

The thought of running a PC 24/7 isn't very appealing - I've done a little searching for a fanless dedicated rack-mount PC solution, that won't break the bank.

You might want to check out the HP t5720 thin clients on E-Bay. They are low powered and silent. According to the Nuvo Music Port documents, you need a 1ghz machine with 1gb ram. The t5720 come with a 1ghz processor and can be fitted with up to 1gb ram. Not every unit being sold has 1gb, but it takes standard laptop memory, so it is easy to swap out. I have several of the thin clients and while I do not have a Nuvo, I would guess that it would work just fine. I run flash animated radar screens on mine without any problems.

The units only have 1 stereo output, but it also has a PCI slot, so I bet you could add an audio card and expand the number of feeds if you needed to. The nice thing about the thin clients is that they only use up about 15watts of power.

The t5720 run XPe with SP2. You can load in programs and drivers permanently into the flash memory. I have loaded CQC on mine and it powers a ELO touchscreen. So I had to load flash, CQC, and the ELO drivers onto my unit. It's easy to do.

E-Bay prices range from about $75-$125 depending on the seller and the feature set.

I'm not very computer savvy (yet ).

I've never built my own PC (I know, it's easy), but it's on my list of things to do. For CQC, it will be a requirement, to keep costs down and for appropriate customization. Thin client networking is another hurdle, for cost-effective touchscreens. I will cross those bridges when I get to them, no problem. But for now, I'll try to find something off the shelf, to 'get it done'. I'm getting bogged down in the details, and I need to move forward. Distributed audio and a replacement alarm come first.

I'd be willing to spend $8-900 for an off-the-shelf solution, for the music server. I'll likely have to add a 7.1 sound card (for 3 sources), and a serial card, as I don't think there is anything available (in my price range). 24/7 is a long time to keep a PC running.

Can the HP thin client operate without a host PC/server? I'm familiar with the definition of a thin client.

The ASUS Eee Box may be a consideration.

Are you running a dedicated PC or server, MavRic? Can the PC hibernate and still accomodate the Music Port?

Neurorad said:

You're the only one I've heard of, MavRic, though there was some talk on remotecentral ~1 month ago.

I downloaded the Music Port literature today, to review tonight. I'm leaning toward the Nuvo GC (today).

I'm wondering how it compares with CasaTunes.

Feeling tired, may not read it until later this week.

The thought of running a PC 24/7 isn't very appealing - I've done a little searching for a fanless dedicated rack-mount PC solution, that won't break the bank.

Click to expand...

Hi neuro...not sure how it comares to casetunes either....never used it.

I have a PC runngin 24/7 anyway for SageTV and soon CQC so it was no additioan cost/effort.

Fanless would be nice...but if it's running these other services as well it needs a little bit of balls and not sure of fanless will work in such a case. Also fanless doesnt sound very DYI or cost efficient in my opinion..woudl like to see what you found for options though.

I think the Music Port is relatively new, so i hope more user will got on board.

I'm running a PC 24/7 withouth hiberation...I doubt that Nuvo keypad activity woudl make it wake up...that woudl be a really nice feature though.

Between SagetTV, Nuvo MusicPort and CQC i don't see this thing going to sleep any time soon.

I spent about $1000 on the server and got a rackmoutn case, nice Intel P45 based motherboard, 2 WD Green Power hard drives (1 TB and a .5TB) and fanless video card (since everybody video card i've ever owned has had fan failures) and 4 GB of ram. I have a 3.1ghz Intel DualCore, but could have probably done a lot less. Even with SageTV live commercial analysis/skipping it doesnt seem to break a sweat. It used about 100watt total. Witha a lower end CPU i probably could have cut it down a bit more.

I wanted to run Wink2k server, but the cost of the software $500 or so was too much for me. Instead Windows Home Server is based on Win2k3 and does a descent job. There's some server functions i'd like though.

MavRic said:

I'm running a PC 24/7 withouth hiberation...I doubt that Nuvo keypad activity woudl make it wake up...that woudl be a really nice feature though.

Between SagetTV, Nuvo MusicPort and CQC i don't see this thing going to sleep any time soon.

I spent about $1000 on the server and got a rackmoutn case, nice Intel P45 based motherboard, 2 WD Green Power hard drives (1 TB and a .5TB) and fanless video card (since everybody video card i've ever owned has had fan failures) and 4 GB of ram. I have a 3.1ghz Intel DualCore, but could have probably done a lot less. Even with SageTV live commercial analysis/skipping it doesnt seem to break a sweat. It used about 100watt total. Witha a lower end CPU i probably could have cut it down a bit more.

I wanted to run Wink2k server, but the cost of the software $500 or so was too much for me. Instead Windows Home Server is based on Win2k3 and does a descent job. There's some server functions i'd like though.

Click to expand...

I've done all the research on the musicport vs. casatunes that I can without buying it (yet). I've got my GC and I've tried casatunes with it and while it did work is was a bitch to setup, and cumbersome at best to operate. Specifically Casatunes was not able to utilize the lines of text avail on the GC keypad, and as I understand it musicport can. I'm just waiting for the right deal to come along to pickup my musicport. I have several PCs in the house that run 24/7 for sage so music serving isn't an issue.

CB

I found some details of MP configuration in the Nuvo Pro Zone, 'MP Host PC Recommended Setting & Adjustments'.

Although the documention with the CasaTunes seems a little better than the Music Port (found some time to read install manual last night), I think I'd be happier with the Nuvo-branded product.

As far as a dedicated PC goes - sounds like most people aren't too concerned with the 24/7 operation. I could probably get away with a cheap Dell or HP, with a 7.1 audio card, and an open PCI or PCIe slot for a serial card. Rack mountable would be great, but not a requirement. I'd have to step up in price, or build my own PC with a rack mountable case.

Or spend $200 more, and go with a home server. Easy setup for Windows Home Server? Mostly favorable reviews. And, the MP documentation lists Windows Home Server as a viable option.

Also keep in mind that the newer CPU chips are much more efficient that the older chips. So a nice dual core can actually be very "green." Many of the chip/motherboard combos will step the chip frequency down in an effort to reduce power while the demand is low. The newer 45nano chip technology is also more efficient than older designs.

Get a 80plus rated (or better) power supply (means it runs at least 80% efficiency at specific loads) and large HDs (to cut down on the total number of drives needed) and the total power usage of a computer built today can be much less than a 3-4 year old computer.

Cheap HP or Dell mini ATX form may be the easiest, immediate solution.

I'm coming up short on finding a reasonable PC that is 'Energy Star' rated, FWIW.

2 Serial ports for the PC - 1 for the Music Port, the other to the GC controller.
http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboar...nuvo|music|port
That means 2 open PCIe slots, I believe.

So, MavRic, what quirks are you encountering? Trouble playing, or trouble controlling remotely?

Depending on what you are using as your automation controller, you may only need one serial port as there is an IP port that opens up with the Autonomic Control software that is provided that can control the GC. I modified the CQC GC driver to take advantage of that. I don't know if it made it into the release, but sent a copy to beezlerob since he is maintaining the driver.

Things that make you go hmmm.

Question for those that have the knowledge or are using the Nuvo Music Port and/or CasaTunes.

I am currently doing the mounds of research to put together a design for our new home build. We have landed on the Nuvo system for home audio and are trying to resolve how to tie-in our digital music library currently managed using SqueezeCenter, the ability to continue to utilize the same iTunes playlists in all systems is the goal. If there was a connection between the SqueezeCenter and the Nuvo that would resolve the issue but I have not yet discovered it, so that brings me to the question.

Does either of these systems allow the use of the iTunes playlists, neither systems documentation is very detailed on its iTunes/iPod support?

And thanks for the heads-up on CasaTunes was not aware of this product.

Thanks,

I've read that iTunes playlists are OK. Here is a relevant thread from remotecentral, from 11/08:
http://www.remotecentral.com/cgi-bin/mboar...ght=nuvo|itunes


I found that Pandora can be used with the Music Port
http://www.cepro.com/article/autonomic_ena...internet_radio/


And other internet radio streams may be possible in the near future:
http://www.autonomichome.com/forum/viewtop...4e98a04789997e8