Atom, Star and Nova - Ripping and Serving

I'm not Phil, who will presumably know the answer.

But it seems rather unlikely that the answer to either of these is yes. I recall reading that the ripping part of the Star makes use of Core technology, so I would expect that you would be able to rip to a music store but not to a share. A music store would need to be configured as such, so couldn't be an existing share for example.

And all three Uniti products are streamers not servers, so to serve from a share you would need to mount a upnp server on it, easy enough to do, but not built into the Uniti products, except the Core of course.

best

David

Thanks David - I think it would make sense for the Star to have the option to rip to a network share like the Uniti Core does.

As for the serving part at least Star is able to [..] Store up to 20,000 tracks to a local USB-connected storage device or an SD-card and either play them back through your Uniti Star or serve them to other Naim streamers on your home network. [..]

On the Star site the following is also claimed [..] you can either play back or serve to any UPnP™-capable streamer on your home network [..]

This would make - at least in my view - the Star a very tempting offer.

So maybe Atom and Nova could also function as UPnP-server. And Phil Harris' respond to my question back then was no clear "no" (maybe I am reading too much into it). 

Best regards

The Core rips to a music store not a music share....

Obviously you have read the info on the Star and I haven't so it does look as if the Star has a upnp server in which case I would expect it to be able to serve shares.

But I don't believe the Atom or Nova are going to merge streamer and server like this.

best

David

I am a little confused - the Core is able to rip to a network share: [..] You can choose to fit an HDD (Hard-Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid-State Drive) with a capacity of up to 8 TB – enough space for 100,000 tracks. Alternatively, you can connect an external NAS (Network-Attached Storage) or a USB-connected storage device. NAS and USB storage can also be used as back-up locations. [..]

To be honest: I don't know what a music store is. My impression is that the Core is able to rip to any data storage that might be available in my network.

Fleisch posted:

I am a little confused - the Core is able to rip to a network share: [..] You can choose to fit an HDD (Hard-Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid-State Drive) with a capacity of up to 8 TB – enough space for 100,000 tracks. Alternatively, you can connect an external NAS (Network-Attached Storage) or a USB-connected storage device. NAS and USB storage can also be used as back-up locations. [..]

To be honest: I don't know what a music store is. My impression is that the Core is able to rip to any data storage that might be available in my network.

A music store is storage which is configured so that the Core can rip to it. It can rip to anything but only if it's configured to be a music store. You can see all this in the Core support wizzard on the Naim website.

Best

David

I hope [@mention:1566878603985147] will chime in to let us know 

David, thanks for the clarification. I wasn't aware of the wizard - learning now... 

And is it possible to plug an external CD-ROM drive to Atom/Nova to use it for ripping as was mentioned when they launched. Would an Apple USB SuperDrive be a viable solution? And would they be able to rip to a network music store or "only" to locally connected drives (USB, SD)?

Fleisch posted:

And is it possible to plug an external CD-ROM drive to Atom/Nova to use it for ripping as was mentioned when they launched. Would an Apple USB SuperDrive be a viable solution? And would they be able to rip to a network music store or "only" to locally connected drives (USB, SD)?

I'm just guessing... but I would suspect the Apple SuperDrive wouldn't work (if doesn't work connected to a Windows computer). 

I suspect the answer to the second question is the same as if you have the built in drive of the Star.

Some clarification from Naim would obviously help here, but they claim that all 3 Units can serve to other Naim streamers from directly attached USB or SD card storage. It's not clear weather this is UPnP server functionality, which would presumably make the music accessible even to non-Naim streamers, or if this is just a form of multiroom playback?

I just read the blurb again and what is described for Atom is certainly multi-room rather than a Upnp server. For the Star, it describes multi-room but says that the Star can also serve up to four streamers with Upnp sending different material in "full CD quality". So not HD, for which you need a Core or of course, as HH would no doubt rush to remind us, a NAS. The Nova isn't as fully described, but looking at the list of inputs and outputs, this looks like a conventional all in one streamer with multi-room, ie like the Atom.

best

David

The Atom, via an external CD drive, can rip to USB, using the same ripping technology as Core I believe.

manicm posted:

The Atom, via an external CD drive, can rip to USB, using the same ripping technology as Core I believe.

Yes I stand corrected. This is what the article in What HiFi says too.

best

David

Fleisch posted:

[@mention:1566878603985147] Coming back to my questions posted when Naim announed the new Uniti line:

https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...06#64640389019535106

(1) Is Star able to rip to a network share?

Hi,

No - Star will not rip to a network shared folder nor will it index network shared folders. It will rip to a local storage device (SD Card or USB hard disc) and be able to play from those as well as make the files on those devices available via its own UPnP server.

Fleisch posted:

<<SNIP>>

(2) Are Atom, Star and Nova able to serve from a network share?

Thank you

No - Atom, Star and Nova will not scan and index shared network folders. They will access music from other network devices via UPnP so network music sources should be made available via UPnP servers.

Cheers

Phil

Fleisch posted:

I hope [@mention:1566878603985147] will chime in to let us know 

I have now I'm back from a few days holiday...

Cheers

Phil

ChrisSU posted:

Some clarification from Naim would obviously help here, but they claim that all 3 Units can serve to other Naim streamers from directly attached USB or SD card storage. It's not clear weather this is UPnP server functionality, which would presumably make the music accessible even to non-Naim streamers, or if this is just a form of multiroom playback?

HI,

OK - Some clarification...

Atom, Star and Nova can all support locally attached USB mass storage devices (USB attached hard discs and USB memory sticks) with Star and Nova also able to take SD Cards in a rear panel slot too. They are able to scan and index music from those devices and play it.

Atom, Star and Nova also have built in UPnP servers so the music that is on a locally attached USB mass storage device (or SD Card) would also be made available to other UPnP clients on the network via their built in UPnP servers.

Star is additionally able to rip to a locally attached USB mass storage device or SD Card so as it has its own UPnP server then the music that it has ripped to local storage will also be available to other network devices via its UPnP server.

As Atom, Star and Nova are not designed to handle the large music libraries that Core is then they do not have support for scanning and accessing network folders.

Cheers

Phil

Thanks for the info Phil, perhaps put some of this on the product website!

Phil Harris posted:

Star is additionally able to rip to a locally attached USB mass storage device or SD Card so as it has its own UPnP server then the music that it has ripped to local storage will also be available to other network devices via its UPnP server.

Hi Phil - 

Welcome back from your brief vacay.

My original reading of the pre-release info led me to believe that adding an external USB CD-ROM to Nova (via a second USB port) gave it the same Star capability to rip to (and serve from) external local storage (USB or SD card). As Atom lacks the s cond port, this is not possible on the baby unit. Is that correct? 

(Pre-release frenzy building back up as July slides closer on the horizon...)

Regards alan

alan33 posted:

Phil Harris posted:

Star is additionally able to rip to a locally attached USB mass storage device or SD Card so as it has its own UPnP server then the music that it has ripped to local storage will also be available to other network devices via its UPnP server.

Hi Phil - 

Welcome back from your brief vacay.

My original reading of the pre-release info led me to believe that adding an external USB CD-ROM to Nova (via a second USB port) gave it the same Star capability to rip to (and serve from) external local storage (USB or SD card). As Atom lacks the s cond port, this is not possible on the baby unit. Is that correct? 

(Pre-release frenzy building back up as July slides closer on the horizon...)

Regards alan

Hi Alan,

This is not something that is supported on the Nova - ripping is the preserve of the Core and Star.

Network shared folder support is the preserve of the Core.

Cheers

Phil

Phil Harris posted:

alan33 posted:

My original reading of the pre-release info led me to believe that adding an external USB CD-ROM to Nova (via a second USB port) gave it the same Star capability to rip to (and serve from) external local storage (USB or SD card). As Atom lacks the s cond port, this is not possible on the baby unit. Is that correct? 

This is not something that is supported on the Nova - ripping is the preserve of the Core and Star.

Phil, just to clarify ... back when the Unitis were first announced, Andrew Everard wrote...

The Uniti Star also has a built-in ripping drive able to store rips on USB drives or SD cards (there’s a card-slot on the back). The Nova also has an SD card slot for additional storage, and it’s also possible to connect an external USB CD/DVD drive to the Atom and Nova models, and use them to rip music to connected USB drives and, in the case of the Nova, SD cards.

So this (the bolded part which is what I think Alan was referring to) is no longer going to be supported?

Eloise posted:

Phil Harris posted:

alan33 posted:

My original reading of the pre-release info led me to believe that adding an external USB CD-ROM to Nova (via a second USB port) gave it the same Star capability to rip to (and serve from) external local storage (USB or SD card). As Atom lacks the s cond port, this is not possible on the baby unit. Is that correct? 

This is not something that is supported on the Nova - ripping is the preserve of the Core and Star.

Phil, just to clarify ... back when the Unitis were first announced, Andrew Everard wrote...

The Uniti Star also has a built-in ripping drive able to store rips on USB drives or SD cards (there’s a card-slot on the back). The Nova also has an SD card slot for additional storage, and it’s also possible to connect an external USB CD/DVD drive to the Atom and Nova models, and use them to rip music to connected USB drives and, in the case of the Nova, SD cards.

So this (the bolded part which is what I think Alan was referring to) is no longer going to be supported?

Hi,

None of the information that I have here tells me that this was in the original planned functionality and it definitely isn't in the functionality for the release Atom or Nova that I have seen here...

Best

Phil

It was mentioned in the What Hifi Uniti launch announcement too. To avoid a moderator removing the link, I will just say that you can find that by googling Whathifi Naim revamps. An extract says:

"As for storing your music collection, there are a number of options. While the Uniti Star has a built-in CD-ROM drive for ripping and playback, the Atom and Nova offer the option of plugging in an external USB CD-ROM drive and using that to rip to an external hard drive connected via the other USB socket. The Star and Nova have the added benefit of a SD card slot."

Best

David

David Hendon posted:

It was mentioned in the What Hifi Uniti launch announcement too. To avoid a moderator removing the link, I will just say that you can find that by googling Whathifi Naim revamps. An extract says:

"As for storing your music collection, there are a number of options. While the Uniti Star has a built-in CD-ROM drive for ripping and playback, the Atom and Nova offer the option of plugging in an external USB CD-ROM drive and using that to rip to an external hard drive connected via the other USB socket. The Star and Nova have the added benefit of a SD card slot."

Best

David

I can only tell you the information that I have here which is that that functionality is not listed in the specs that I have here nor is it a function that is supported on the Atom that I have been using here...

Cheers

Phil

Yes understood Phil. Thanks.

best

David

Phil, thanks for the clarifications! I think it would be a nice feature to give Atom the ripping capability - a very low entry bar into the streaming cosmos of Naim. Most will then buy a Core eventually.

Any plans on releasing your UPnP Server/Ripping software as stand alone product? I would definitely spend money on that.