Rio Home Receiver at Tiger Direct for $99.99!!!!

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imonarock

Member
Nov 18, 2000
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Thanks for the Tip, I got 2.... My Home is networked and I find myself having to connect my laptop to my receiver to play the Mp3's... woohooo!
 

OctaneZ

Senior member
Jan 6, 2001
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I know RIO says that it supports having multiple receivers on one network, but has anyone read anything about supporting mp3 servers from multiple machines? Is it possible to run this software (or the apache hack) on multiple machines and have the RIO query all of them?

-OctaneZ
 

DerProfi

Senior member
Jan 11, 2001
912
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Here's an open-source server for those that lust after a Rio Receiver but don't have or don't want to have a Win32 PC to run the host application (a small applet that streams the MP3s out to the Receiver).
 

flenn

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
649
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76
Well, if you have enough old parts laying around, you can build yourself a networked PC for around the same money. Make sure you have s-video output, hook it up to your entertainment center, add a $35 wireless keyboard and not only can you play your mp3's, but you can also surf the web, send/receive email, game, work, etc. all from the comfort of your couch.
 

may

Senior member
Dec 26, 2001
422
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<< Well, if you have enough old parts laying around, you can build yourself a networked PC for around the same money. Make sure you have s-video output, hook it up to your entertainment center, add a $35 wireless keyboard and not only can you play your mp3's, but you can also surf the web, send/receive email, game, work, etc. all from the comfort of your couch. >>



well, I guess the most attractive part of rio is you don't have to put a pc with your stereo together.
 

airduct

Senior member
Jan 27, 2000
321
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so i assume this doesn't have a hard drive??? it looks pretty big just for streaming audio files from your computer... is it hackable to add a hard drive for people that don't have a network (similar to a rio jukebox but classier) it would be great if the tivos and replay are able to support mp3s so one can play it thru their stereo system...
 

DerProfi

Senior member
Jan 11, 2001
912
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0
Well, if you have enough old parts laying around, you can build yourself a networked PC for around the same money. Make sure you have s-video output, hook it up to your entertainment center, add a $35 wireless keyboard and not only can you play your mp3's, but you can also surf the web, send/receive email, game, work, etc. all from the comfort of your couch.

flenn, what you (and almost everyone on Slashdot) consistently fail to understand is that not all of us are living in a dorm or studio apartment where form and style always take a back seat to function. Many of us like to have living rooms that look like...well...living rooms. Not everyone wants to be chatting with friends over cocktails while a big honkin' PC case whirs away over by the home entertainment center and the significant other is fumbling with a wireless keyboard to try and change songs.
 

flenn

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
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Der Profi,

Just for the record, the PC I use for my entertainment center is in my family room. My family room looks like a family room too, except for the 54" big screen and the front tower speakers. The surrounds are flush mounted on the back wall, the subwoofer is behind a loveseat (in a corner), and I use one 5 shelf cabinet for home theater gear, DVD player, etc. The networked PC that I use, is located directly behind the cabinet (which is also located in a corner) and is oriented perpendicular, making the cabinet as close to the wall as it would be even without the PC. I don't need to be able to get at the PC, it doesn't even have a CD-ROM drive. I agree there is a little white noise from the fan, but I was careful to to use a quality fan and insulate the case well. The noise is very faint and not much louder than my Dish Network receiver's fan. Bottom line, you can't see the PC, and you can barely hear it.

I mostly use it for playing mp3's and occasionally surfing during commercials, but because it's a PC, there is much more functionality than a dedicated mp3 player. I loaded it up with games for my kids, I use it to store backup images from other machines in the house, and this xmas, I even showed our digital family pictures to my visiting relatives on the TV.
 

vladgur

Golden Member
Jul 31, 2000
1,825
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thats great flenn, but with that quality fan, a video card that has s-video out and a wireless keyboard does your computer go for under $100? What kind of power supply does it have? 250Watt or 300 watt? Do you have it constantly on quietly wasting energy? When you turn it on, does it do so instantly or you have to wait for 30 seconds to a minute for it boot up to WIndows/Linux while the hard drive makes funny noises? And also from the looks department, Im sure it looks very nice next your home theater components(If they were plain white color).
 

elektronic

Senior member
Jul 18, 2001
533
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<< I gave up on Rio products when I bought a Rio 500 for $200 and it came with bubble gum machine quality headphones. The Rio 300 that I had purchased before it had come with awesome headphones.

Bad decision making there. I'll wait for the Sony.
>>



All good players come with Sh*T headphones, its a fact of life. If you spend money on a player, they figure you have the cash for a decent pair of phones, instead of using the included ones.
 

elektronic

Senior member
Jul 18, 2001
533
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<< thats great flenn, but with that quality fan, a video card that has s-video out and a wireless keyboard does your computer go for under $100? What kind of power supply does it have? 250Watt or 300 watt? Do you have it constantly on quietly wasting energy? When you turn it on, does it do so instantly or you have to wait for 30 seconds to a minute for it boot up to WIndows/Linux while the hard drive makes funny noises? And also from the looks department, Im sure it looks very nice next your home theater components(If they were plain white color). >>




uh....you can't waste energy. Its not possible.

And the Rackmount black case from comp-geeks that was on here a couple days ago would like just fine in a component system. Heck, most high end HT is rackmount anyway. And, gosh, black.
 

vladgur

Golden Member
Jul 31, 2000
1,825
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when I say waste energy, I mean it is used up for no reason other than to heat up the air around the power supply. And again that rackmount case, does that come with a low-wattage power supply? Even if it does, are you willing to stick a rackmount case on top of your Home Theater receiver. It is thin, but its still an ugly computer box.

Compare these two images:

Compgeeks rackmount case vs Rio Receiver
 

flenn

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
649
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76
Vladgur, did you read my post? First off, I said IF you have some parts laying around, you can use the $100 to build a networked PC. Second, you can't see my PC, it's behind a cabinet that houses my home theater components. I'm not quite sure why you're trying to knock the setup, but you're not doing a very good job. You CAN'T see it, and it makes no more noise than common home theater components. Both my old Tivo and my new Dish Network receiver have internal fans and make about the same amount of noise especially considering the location of the PC. So what else is there to trash, the waste of electricity? Well, if you're going to hang me for leaving a 30-35 watt device on 24/7, I'm guilty.

BTW, I looked at both images and the rackmount case looks way better. The Rio looks ghetto in comparison.
 

vetteguy

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2001
3,183
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I'm also interested in the (dead?) deal on the Audiotron. It's funny, when I search for "audiotron" THIS thread doesn't even show up!!! Anyone else having search problems???
 

vladgur

Golden Member
Jul 31, 2000
1,825
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Flenn, if youre saying that your computer that is build around old parts is only using 30-35 watt I find it very hard to believe. And as far as looks of rackmount case vs looks of rio, its a matter of personal taste, but saying that rio looks ghetto next to that rackmount case is ridiculous
 

magicbrillo

Banned
May 7, 2001
69
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bump - looks hot too me. I called & Tiger said they sold thru their first shipment over the weekend, but they have more on the way!

thanks!
 

richa65

Member
Mar 30, 2001
48
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I bought one on Monday, but found out later they were backordered. Anyone heard anything on this?