better streaming media player than the nStream app

Nicolas,

I can only share my experience of the app having recently borrowed a Superunity from the local dealer. At the time I did not have a NAS so plugged in my iPod to the USB on the panel.

I thought the app was great, working quickly and providing huge amount  of  extended information just like that provided in a CD booklet.

I was howerver using an iPad not a phone for control 

I share exactly (to the letter) the same experience. On both iphone and ipad. Slow, no forwarding, battery draining, etc.... All Naim spends on all of their products lately in hardware, one might think; "stop with all the window dressing; get the streaming product right and add airplay while you're at it".

I have worked with iTunes (via Remote app), iPeng, the Logitech Squeezebox app and now with nTream. To my personal opnion the Logitech App is a bit weak, providing limited browsing path's and limited ingraphics. Apple Remote has an excellent lay-out and works good. IPeng provides the most alternative browsing and filtering options and even has a drill-through (jump from album to genre to artist to anywhere). For me nStream provides almost everything I need apart from a few cosmetic details and feautures. It works very quickly in my case. Using Assett, I can built alternative filter and browsing paths which suite my needs. With the latest release the extra metadata is and enormous way forward. 

Iver

All good things come to those who wait....

Shouldn't be long now.

Regards

Neil

Hi Nicolas, things like battery consumption and cosmetics are down to the Nstream app, however metadata errors and speed is down to the upnp server and not the app. A upnp controller app like Nstream is a bit like a web browser, it can only show what is sent to it at the speed it is sent to it by the upnp server, and for some data  the media device itself.

The browser, or nstream controller can cache info for faster performance, and the later Nstream app uses more caching.

To that end, if your Naim network player supports playlists, the latest Nstream  has great on the fly playlist functionality

Simon

Hi Allen,

Cfr your request to Naim: it is exactly what I meant describing the drill-through / drill anywhere functionality in iPeng, allowing you to browse further through your collection starting from any album-related perspective (ie. Artists, Genre, score, composer etc) ....... I naim could foresee this in nStream, excellent !

Hi Nicolas -

Yes, by "network player", Simon is referring to your ND5XS.

It takes a three pieces of technology, all working together, in order for music to be played via UPnP.  A controller (the nStream app), a renderer (the network player -- your ND5XS), and a server (UPnP software running on a NAS or a PC).  The infrastructure for those three is your network and your NAS.

Simon's point is that when people complain about controller (nStream) performance, the problem almost always lies elsewhere.  Often it is your network (e.g., a router or switch problem).  In any case, all the controller does is cache and display, much like a browser on the internet.  When you experience a slow browser, the problem is almost always with your internet connection, or with the remote server providing content.  Ditto for nStream providing UPnP control.

In the earliest days of nStream, it may not have been the fastest controller around, but that has changed quite a bit! With my library of 2000+ albums, I get near-instantaneous response from nStream 3.0. Add to nStream's very fast performance the Rovi metadata, and I am left with only two things to complain about (see AllenB's post above).

What UPnP server are you using?  As an experiment, you could try running Illustrate's Asset on your PC, pointing it to the folder(s) on your NAS.  Also, how is your ND5XS connected to your network?  Hopefully it is hard wired...

Hook

Nicolas, it refers to the ND5XS. (or NDX, NDS etc)

Simon

IanG - have you compared the firmware between your dealer's player and your own? Be interesting to see if they are the same.

Hook - thanks for your eloquence, I couldn’t have said it better myself

Just stating that the problem always lies elsewhere like people's Lan is completely unfounded and can be a frustrating statement and besides the truth for some.The latest upgrade proves that nStream was clearly to blaim, since speed has improved enormously. Moreover all other apps tried were not experiencing any speed problems.

For all the issues now resolved with the last update (and with some still not addressed), it is my opinion that it would have been more professional and ethical if Naim would have shown a more "first time right" approach with this software. Simply bringing it out and updating after users complain almost looks like a strategy, not something you would want to be associated with as a company.

But in all honousty; the last update is a really, really great update; so thank you Naim! Hopefully the last remaining issues will be updated as well before they choose to add more functionality. 

Hook says ' almost always', which is accurate in my expierience here and very many other places. But occassionally a Naim device can be faulty - but this is rare, and variability of a typical home network is more likely to be the issue, as we have seen with the hundreds of posts to this forum.

Ian - yes it sounds like the streamer board could be suspect...

Simon

Thank you Simon and Hook for the detailed explanation.

I will try to install Asset and see if I can improve something or find a trigger to some of my issues. Maybe the problem is somewhere else as mentioned by RedManning and IanG, but it worths trying a couple of approachs to isolate one by one the issue.

I tend to join RexManning when he says that Naim could have had a "first time right" approach even though in all fairness, technical and feature needs evolve in time and it is pretty difficult to be a truly "first time right" and early enough in the industry. But at the price these babies are being sold, I do have a higher expectation and i have to confess I was a little bit disappointed with the overall experience. i like the sound, but the user experience is disappointing. Even if I love playing with my sound system to make it better and improve it, all these IT trials and errors are time consuming. Thx god you guys are kind enough to provide help and guidance. Thx again all.

nicolas

I disagree completely. But that's ok. The past doesn't really matter anymore; you state sluggishness was due to people's home Lan as you feel speed issues are almost always due that, I state it's the previous version nStream app as other streaming apps do function correctly and the nStream upgrade makes things better.

For now: Let's just be glad that the app almost functions great now!

For me; Hopefully they will improve these things in the app:

- Playlists are nice, a "last played" list would be awsome.

- Cover art is being downscaled. High resolution images don't show.

- Option for us to copy cover art from the booklet shown.

- Queue is nice, but I would like it better if I can select a song from an album, browse through my catalogue, 1-click go back to what's playing and another 1-click to go back to the album. Now we have to create a queue of the album to do this.

And of course...airplay...

Rex - actually I often see that sluggishness is caused by the poor performance of the uPNP server - and some bundled servers on NAS's are poor in this regard. The LAN tends to affect throughputs and drop outs as the bandwidth is increased. The LAN and poor LAN devices can also be responsible for multicast issues - which causes failure of airplay/upnp discovery and synchronization mechanisms.

As far as the app is converned it's rather good now IMO. My preference for advancements - to save playlists into a file structure - selective meta data on info pages. The Rovi lookup screens support copying and pasting so one can do alternate lookups without having to tap in text

Anyone heard of Asset Control? Seems that the developers of Asset and dBpoweramp are developing a uPnP Control Point.... Very interesting, but progress seems rather slow especially on iOS devices. Shame, as I'd like to see some competition to really drive out a best in class control app. nServe seems to be getting there, but slowly.

The flat I need to sell to raise funds for an NDS ( and some other home stuff...) has an accepted offer, so assuming the solicitors move, I'll be in a position to buy an NDS shortly.... Just want a best in class controller app now!

F all that.

Get a legit server and use their app(s).  JRiver comes to mind.....

But if I have been correctly informed, Naim does not comply [completely] with the DLNA/UPNP standards and it may not work in a "push-to" scenario.