Uniti and Unitiserve question....

Posted by: Tim F on 14 December 2012

I recently bought a new in box Uniti1 and am loving it very much, it gives me all the options overall that I like, the occasional FM programs, pop a CD into it when I just want a quick listen, and love the iRadio as well. One thing that has been a bit buggy is getting my itunes from my PC, seems like things get in a twist so to speak every now and then, and I have to reboot PC etc.

 

Please forgive me for my newbie-ness to streaming and all this stuff. My curiosity and what I can make out through the searches on the Unitiserve leaves me still puzzled. While I don't or even can't fathom myself messing with a vortexbox or other type of device, so how would the Untiserve fit in with my Uniti? I like the idea of just ripping my CD's right to a Naim box that works and no mess or fuss, although it is rather expensive. Would the Unitiserve take the PC streaming to my Uniti out of the picture if the Uniti/Unitiserve were connected to the same server/router, and total control be through my iPad2?

 

Thanks for any answers, and again, sorry that I am quite naive in this setup. Loving the Uniti a lot, but wanting my CD collection to just be straight forward. Tim

Posted on: 14 December 2012 by Bart

Hi Tim,

 

Yes, the Uniti functions as a streamer (player) and will play files served by a upnp server, such as a nas running a upnp server, a Vortexbox, or a UnitiServe.  The UnitiServe is a fine all-in-one ripper, storage (if you get it with the internal hard drive) and upnp server device.  I own one as a matter of fact! 

 

I have never tried a Vortexbox but it gets good reviews here.  As I said, I own a UnitiServe and can definitely state that it's very easy to use device that will do exactly what you want it to do and eliminate the use of a PC anywhere in your system other than to edit some of the info in the Serve and to set up some backup options, etc.  But the ripping, storage (if you get the hdd version) and server functions will all be without use of another computer on the network.

 

Happy to answer questions you might have about it,

 

Bart

Posted on: 14 December 2012 by Tim F

Bart, thank-you very much for your reply, more questions of course! My plan is to hard wire both via Ethernet into my AT&T Uverse router, so they obviously will be on the same network. Or is there a more direct connection from Serve to Uniti that is better?

 

As far as accessing my ripped music off the Unitiserve through my Uniti would I still use N-Stream via iPad then to play all my music from there?

 

Also, what is the overall differences between the hard drive version of the Serve versus the cheaper one, especially as it relates to my setup? 

 

Thanks again very much, I appreciate any help in advance. This is obviously something I am highly considering down the road to hopefully get rid of some aggravation and find something that just works. Not that it is bad really as it stands! Tim

Posted on: 15 December 2012 by ChrisH

Hi Tim, I second what Bart said in his post. The Unitiserve is a no fuss / no hassle way to rip all your CD's and make them available to stream to the Uniti ( or any other streaming device).

I am not so PC technical, so just wanted an easy option with little 'faffing'.

I have a Uniti 1 and 1TB Unitiserve (1st version).

Only other thing you will need to think about is a NAS or  hard drive back up for everything you've ripped onto your US.

I have a NAS which is my back up for US and also PC.

It also stores my other music files which are not from CD.

Means that I use my iPad nSteam app to stream from the US, but it also makes all my NAS music files available to me.

I still use the CD player, but not so often these days, preferring the convenience of streaming.

Yes, US is expensive compared to other solutions like Vortexbox, but for me it was definitely the way to go, and I've been very happy with it.

Hope this helps!

Posted on: 15 December 2012 by Tim F

Excellent Chris, this sounds like what I am after and the replies by Bart and yourself have clarified things greatly. I appreciate it very much! Now to save those nickels and dimes! 

 

I have to say, this streaming business is a completely different game from an older non-pc technical guy coming from older Olive based gear years ago! I am very pleased with the Uniti though, in just about every respect. Thanks again! Tim

Posted on: 15 December 2012 by Bart
Originally Posted by Tim F:

Bart, thank-you very much for your reply, more questions of course! My plan is to hard wire both via Ethernet into my AT&T Uverse router, so they obviously will be on the same network. Or is there a more direct connection from Serve to Uniti that is better?

 

As far as accessing my ripped music off the Unitiserve through my Uniti would I still use N-Stream via iPad then to play all my music from there?

 

Also, what is the overall differences between the hard drive version of the Serve versus the cheaper one, especially as it relates to my setup? 

 

Thanks again very much, I appreciate any help in advance. This is obviously something I am highly considering down the road to hopefully get rid of some aggravation and find something that just works. Not that it is bad really as it stands! Tim

You're quite welcome Tim!

 

That is the best way to network the two together -- through your router / switch.  If you run out of ports on the back of your UVerse router, you could buy an effective inexpensive 5-port gigabit switch.  But each device needs an ip address on your home network, and letting your router handle that is easy.

 

You'll control music playback with nStream.  You can use nServe to access the UnitiServe and monitor ripping and make some changes to album art and meta data, but playback is handled by the player (your Uniti) and nStream.

 

There are two versions of the UnitiServe, one with an internal hdd (current version is 2tb) and one with a much smaller solid state drive.  The ssd version is more expensive I believe, and is a ripper and server but does not have the capacity to store a large library.  The hdd version will store all of your rips AND let you store music from other sources such as stuff you've ripped elsewhere, or purchased digital downloads, whatever.  With the ssd version you'll still need a nas for storage.  But as Chris said you still need some provision to back up the hdd if you get the hdd version, and a nas is an easy way to do that.  (I am paranoid so I back up the uServe to a nas, and back up the nas to a usb drive.)

 

Let me know if you have more questions as you decide what to do!