US vs PC/Asset uPnP

Whilst I am a huge fan of the Unitiserve there is not much if anything it does that you cannot do with a PC/Mac and various pieces of software. The Unitiserve is a luxury but for me I find it to be easily justified. I own a 1TB version and 2 2TB versions and all have been set up and provide uPnP to any device that wants to listen. They make ripping easier than putting in a CD and provides great flexibility of connection.

You can view the folders on the US but there are several more rewarding ways.

Yes you can set it to send rips to your NAS, essential for the SSd version of course

It seamlessly plays and serves FLAC as well as WAV but I am not sure that it will serve a FLAC as a WAV

I have never had a problem with updates, the new Bob Dylan album was instantly ripped last week on its release day.

I have used Linn DS, Kinsky on an iPad and use them connected to a Unitiserve. I did not like Kinsky as it did not seem to cache the cover art so scrolling was a chore. The Unitiserve is a great UPnP source for the DS however. I ditched it and bought the NDX.

I doubt you will get a sonic advantage with the Unitiserve but I love the implementation and I never have to give it a second thought; it just works.

Ian

I am pretty sure that the US does not transcode; it can serve flacs to my Naim DAC, but only as flacs not .wav I'm pretty sure.

As to picking up new additions to attached network drives, there is a function to force a re-scan.  That's the best way to deal with wanting to immediately play music you've added to a NAS.  I honestly have no idea what the network scan interval is if you don't force the re-scan.  As for new cd rips, they are playable virtually immediately when ripped to the internal hard drive store.

My 1tb uServe is in the good hands of AV Options to be upgraded to the 2tb version. Yay!

UnitiServe (or HDX) can transcode:

System -> UPnP Settings -> Compatibility -> Convert to WAV

Or at least on paper, for it's what the manual says.

The Asset solution is a more advanced solution in terms of upnp , but of course you might not need this extra functionality and therefore the US would be fine.

In short in my expierience these are the key differences with Asset (using dBpoweramp as the ripper)

1) customisable meta tags (not just values). Great for large libraries.

2)configurable group searching with exclusions (Boolean logic )

3) dynamic auto playlist selection, based on criteria, newest album, most/least played, random jukebox etc

4) customisable / configurable index menus for the upnp controller such as Nstream.

5) extensive transcode logic. Ie if format 1 then transcode to format 2; if format 3 do nothing

6) mutiple streamer specific configuration and identification; ie providing different media, simplified menus, different art attributes to different types of streamer simultaneously accessing music via upnp. Great for Naim and non Naim alike.

7) advanced presentation and index options  for configurable presenting and searchingg of artist names, band names etc. Mutiple way of presenting of group / compilation CDs.

Thete may be many others, but these are the ones that are relevant to me.

Simon

Looking at my NServe App on my iPad I agree the functions are more limited than other PC based systems but they actually serve my needs well. They provide Album view (with art), Artist view, Genre view, Perform, Composer, Conductor, Playlist, Recents (which has sub categories of Newest, Last played and Most played) and track search. 

If you are using other functionality at the moment then you may miss them on the Unitiserve.

Ian

I paid for Asset, which opens up even more functionality. The main reason I paid is to get the PC sound capture function. When you chose PC sound capture, anything passing through the sound card of my PC gets streamed to my NDS, so I can make use of the listen again services through my system (or streamed radio if iRadio is getting a bit temperamental). It works really well.

Gav

Hi Jason.  This cannot be done at the dealer I'm pretty sure, at least here in the States; there actually are quite a few changes depending on the precise vintage of the uServe.  In addition to replacing the hard drive and doing the software updates and qc'ing it all, there are new connectors (new ribbon cables I presume) for both the hdd and optical drive, and depending on the vintage, a new board of an appropriate height to support the new hardware. 

Ian do you use any of your uServes as true servers, or as players?  I forget if you've ever posted on that. I'm more than pondering changing to a setup where my uServe is a UnPnP server.

Of course I should have rtfm about any transcoding ability. 

Dear Bart,

I use two systems (home in France and here at work) with a direct connection to a DAC and then amplification. I use my main home system as a UPnP to my NDX as well as a direct connection to my downstairs system (it does both at the same time). At work as my Unitiserve is on the network all my staff use it to UPnP my music to their various devices. Happy to demo if you are near.

Ian

If only I were near!  I'm across the Pond as they say.  (My goal is to live and work for a time on the Continent or in the UK before I retire.)

Hi Jason, to your question... When I was looking at upnp servers including US, these were the differences between Assett and US I experienced. I guess it's possible later US functions can now address these features or it might have always been able to but I was unable to find out how, but what I definitely know is Asset can give you these features that I find useful.

Simon