Any desktop software can control NDX ?

Posted by: marcobb on 28 June 2011

Any desktop software can control NDX ?

 

Thanks

Posted on: 28 June 2011 by aysil

According to the user manual of NDX, it can be controlled only from its front panel (and remote), or through n-stream on iphone or ipad. However, because NDX is built as a UPnP conforming device, many UPnP control point applications are able to control its playback, although with varying success (because of inconsistencies of the UPnP standard). This issue is currently being discussed in this thread.

Posted on: 28 June 2011 by marcobb

If the user don't have the ipad or iphone, then it must trouble........because the NDX display is too small.

 

Linn DS also has the desktop software to control,  i hope naim will consider on it.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by Guido Fawkes

If the user don't have the ipad or iphone, then ....

 

why not get one or both - wonderful devices in my view

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by DavidDever
PlugPlayer for Mac OS X works well, provided that you are not already running a UPnP / DLNA server on the same machine.
Posted on: 29 June 2011 by aysil

...provided that you are not already running a UPnP / DLNA server on the same machine..

 

Why not? The PlugPlayer for Mac info page claims the contrary - that it "uses the media server you already have" on the same machine. What happens if there is a server on the same computer, like some Media Player. What if you use an external server, like HDX or UServe? Have you been using this cp regularly with NDX that you can confidently report a decent level of reliability? Does it integrate with i-tunes library as well?

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by Steven Shaw

If I had spent £3k on an NDX, then I would definately buy an ios device such as ipod touch. Although by no means perfect, I have found N Stream to be much better than anything I have tried on a PC, and I've tried several applications.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by SKDriver

Most mobile phone operators are now offering free upgrades to an IPhone 3GS.  I got a free IPhone from Orange, paying no more a month than I was for my old Nokia.  The only reason I changed was to use it as a control for my NDX.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by aysil

Thank you for all ios device recommendations! We may consider using one someday. But please! allow us to investigate other control options!

 

Imagine you have recently invested a significant amount of money for a macbookpro, or a decent windows pc, and purchased the NDX thinking it is a great instrument for "computer audio", you are sitting in front of your computer - supposedly your UI for everything on your network - and being told you need an extra ios device next to your computer in order to reasonably control your music!...

 

Luckily, this is not the case; there seems to be a number of control options for both mac and pc; but I have not found the most convenient one for me and investigating the options further.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by pcstockton

Aysil,

 

You have other options...  iOS isn't the only option.  It is simply the best.

 

You bought a computer/OS that doesn't do UPNP+GUI well.

You bought a player that only uses UPNP for streaming.

 

Sorry, but that is how the cookie crumbles.  I would be mad at Apple as well.

 

How about avoiding UPNP altogether and use an Airport>Digi>NDX.

 

Then you could use your iTunes i am guessing you would prefer.

 

-patrick

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by Tog
@Patrick - well it's not as if Apple hides the fact it doesn't care about UPnP or support it. Tog
Posted on: 29 June 2011 by aysil

Patrick,

 

What happened? You were recommending the JRMP in the other thread, and I am in the process of getting used to its vast customisation options.

 

I certainly don't believe that you really mean neither windows nor mac is suitable for UPnP

 

I don't have iTunes even installed.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by pcstockton
Originally Posted by Tog:
@Patrick - well it's not as if Apple hides the fact it doesn't care about UPnP or support it. Tog

I didnt say they did.

 

I was commenting on Aysil's "Imagine you have recently invested a significant amount of money for a macbookpro..."

 

Since there isn't any worthwhile hifi out there that supports Apple's protocol, you must be mad at them.

 

All Windows OS machines can handle both airpplay and upnp equally well....  Mac cant....

 

AS a hifi manufacturer, which would you build around?  So you cant be mad at Naim???

 

I feel Aysil's pain that he should expect ANY computer out there to do upnp generally well.  Unfortunately he bought one that doesn't.

 

-p

 

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by pcstockton
Originally Posted by aysil:

Patrick,

 

What happened? You were recommending the JRMP in the other thread, and I am in the process of getting used to its vast customisation options.

 

I certainly don't believe that you really mean neither windows nor mac is suitable for UPnP

 

I don't have iTunes even installed.

 

I think we missed something in each other's posts.  UPNP seems to work wonderfully with Windows.  I have never tried it on MacOS, but it sounds like pulling teeth.  It sounds like the UPNP servers for Macs are not graphical maybe????  OR buggy?  or slow?  I dont really know.

 

Maybe you weren't talking about yourself in your Macbook example?

 

Anyway...  yes JRMC rules.

 

-patrick

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by aysil

I was just t describing a general example: "Imagine you have recently invested a significant amount of money for a macbookpro, or a decent windows pc...", anybody who would prefer a cp other than on ios.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by DavidDever

Why use a crowbar (MacBook Pro) when a toothpick (iPod touch) will do?

 

I own both–but, with decades of Mac use, even I'd still admit that the best Mac is an iPad. My days of spending $$ on a laptop (Windows or Mac) are long past, and roasting my cojones under a hot laptop to control my music seems, well, backward.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by aysil

From these comments, and from David's comment above, may I understand that it is more advisable for mac users to run a server (not talking about the cp now) not on the mac machine but on an external machine like UServe or HDX?

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by aysil

David,

instead of calling my search for a cp on my laptop backward, I would more appreciate if you could kindly answer my question directed to you about the Plugplayer.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by Guido Fawkes

> As a hifi manufacturer, which would you build around?  

 

I see UPnP as a standard that like TCP/IP we're lumbered with. Naim are certainly not to blame and do their best to embrace it. I'd share files with a server using Network File Sharing (NFS)

 

Personally, I wouldn't bother with PCs or Windows or writing applications for OS X. I'd use a web interface in pure HTML. I would attempt to distance myself from the vagaries of desktop computer manufacturers. I'd probably want to support Airplay as it looks like being the de facto standard. I'd also make an App for the iPhone/PAD/Pod because so many dudes have 'em and love 'em including Mrs Fawkes and me. 

 

I agree with David that an iPad is huge advance on a PC or Mac in terms of being nice to use. It is where we should have been years ago if not for the millstone put on the industry by you know who. Still those days are over and we can move forward.

 

Oh yeah and I'd build a Desktop Client especially for Amiga users as the Amiga web browser is rubbish - you can't even view this forum with it 


Posted on: 29 June 2011 by DavidDever

No - the point I was making was that one should keep control point and server separate for best results - unless you roll the renderer into the same box too!

 

PlugPlayer falls over with an installed UPnP server instance running on the same machine, but generally works fine when the server is located on another machine / NAS device etc.

 

Many of the other all-in-one server + control point "solutions" (including J.River) fall apart once you get beyond one or two UPnP / DLNA rendering clients–kinda defeats the purpose.

 

Streaming your iTunes library from your laptop also affects the speed of your laptop-based UPnP control point–possible, yes, but not recommended for best performance.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by DavidDever
Originally Posted by Guido Fawkes:

Personally, I wouldn't bother with PCs or Windows or writing applications for OS X. I'd use a web interface in pure HTML. I would attempt to distance myself from the vagaries of desktop computer manufacturers. I'd probably want to support Airplay as it looks like being the de facto standard. I'd also make an App for the iPhone/PAD/Pod because so many dudes have 'em and love 'em including Mrs Fawkes and me.

Err, writing an app for iOS is as near to writing for the Mac as it gets–as for pure HTML, this wouldn't be terribly useful for a control point application where you need to parse and cache database browse tree entries for end-user operation.

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by Guido Fawkes

Dear David

 

I would do most of the processing on the player and keep the front-end as simple as I could. As I would control the players hardware and operating system build then I'd remove any dependency on the user's desktop environment. 

 

If you consider a web site like Amazon then you are continually searching for artists, albums and songs through a web browser interface. Amazon will even present a player for you to play clips, which could easily be entire songs. It just requires a bit of different thinking about how to do something. I would avoid the need to parse and cache database browse trees on the end-user device - why would I need to do middleware functions on the front-end? 

 

The point I'm making is you can avoid being tied in to a particular vendors OS with this approach. I would definitely not want to force anybody to use Windows, but at the same time I would still want a user who was still using Windows to be able to use my player.

 

Your comment about writing an app for iOS being as near to writing for the Mac as it gets is indeed an interesting one. What this would imply is that if Naim has an App for iOS then it would be fairly easy for them to release a Mac OS X version. Your implication seems to be that if I created an iOS app then it would be foolish for me not to use something like the Chameleon UI-Kit to make this available on OS X. To be honest, I don't see a huge market for OS X applications, which is shame. 

 

Still it matters not, as I'm content to play music rather than create hi-fi products.

 

I think my posts are beginning to bore some folk in any case and as was pointed out to me by another forum member discussions are now about computing programming rather than music. So probably as good a time as any to bow out. Let's just hope the nonsense about one ripper being better than another when they both create identical output stops.   

 

All the best, Guy. 

Posted on: 29 June 2011 by pcstockton
Originally Posted by Guido Fawkes:
The point I'm making is you can avoid being tied in to a particular vendors OS with this approach. I would definitely not want to force anybody to use Windows, but at the same time I would still want a user who was still using Windows to be able to use my player.

Naim's gear is not "tied" to either iOS, Mac, or Windows, and they can be used on all three.  Not enough?  It isn't Naim's fault that there isn't a suitable UPNP development for Mac OS.

 

The browser based "Remotes" suck in my opinion.  Too much refreshing, it doesn't give you a smooth counter, nor seeking.  The volume control will be with +-10 steps or something, not a slider.

 

-p

Posted on: 01 July 2011 by Alamanka
Originally Posted by DavidDever:

Why use a crowbar (MacBook Pro) when a toothpick (iPod touch) will do?

 

I own both–but, with decades of Mac use, even I'd still admit that the best Mac is an iPad. My days of spending $$ on a laptop (Windows or Mac) are long past, and roasting my cojones under a hot laptop to control my music seems, well, backward.

 

Interesting. Still one open question though. How to create playlists without burning the koukounietas?

Posted on: 01 July 2011 by aysil

Posted on: 01 July 2011 by pcstockton
Originally Posted by Alamanka:

Interesting. Still one open question though. How to create playlists without burning the koukounietas?

Use PlugPlayer or eLyric on iOS.