Roku SoundBridge M1000/M1001 Network Music System

• Wireless digital music receiver for streaming music from a PC or Mac to any home stereo or surround sound system
• Native support for Apple iTunes and Rendezvous, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Player 10, and Rhapsody
• Compatible with Windows Media DRM 10 music services, including Napster, MusicMatch, and Walmart.com
• Easy-to-read 280 x 16 vacuum-fluorescent display with 4 EQ music visualizers; built-in WiFi and Ethernet interfaces
• Ultra-fast 400 MHz Blackfin DSP; measures 10 inches wide by 2.37 inches in diameter; 1-year warranty

Note that there is no functional difference between M1000 and M1001. Also, both devices are equipped with 802.11b which is perfectly adequate, so not having 802.11g is probably irrelevant. The following are some observations:

Pros:

1. Intuitive UI design for browsing.

2. Attractive industrial design.

3. Able to play internet radio without the computer on.

4. Natively supported by Media Player 11. No additional software needs to be installed.

5. Good sound quality. Optical port is a plus.

6. Painless firmware upgrade. It is done directly over the network. No need to disconnect or reconnect anything.

7. Reasonably priced.

Cons:

1. Does not support double byte languages.

2. Could have given better diagnostic messages when media server is not found.

3. LED of the optical port is always on, even in standby mode. I wonder if it will wear out.

4. Standby mode still draw 3 watts of power. Most of my other gadgets draw only 1 watt of power at standby.

You need some knowledge of wireless network setup and firewalls to get this device working.

Yeah, it is still a 5 stars product. Despite imperfections, it is still more fun than chore. That is a lot more than I can say about a lot of other hi-tech toys I own.

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I bought a Roku SoundBridge M1000 last month with two objectives: Firstly, I wanted to listen to the MP3s on the stereo in the living room (without resorting to CD-R), and secondly, I wanted a to turn my PC into a "media center" and get out of the business of trying to find a CD in a cupboard of hundreds of non-alphabetized CDs. The Roku SoundBridge achieved both goals, though not without difficulty.

The SoundBridge appears to be solidly built and looks stylish on the sideboard. No need to hide this one away!

Initial set up was straight forward. It worked with both Netgear and Linksys wireless routers with WEP, and within about 30 minutes I had achieved objective #1.

Sound quality is very good, and herein lies the problem MP3s that are great through PC speakers, sound lack-luster through a good stereo. The problem is inherent with MP3. I needed loss-less compression. SoundBridge, in conjunction with the excellent and free FireFly media server, can play FLAC format and sounds absolutely spectacular when it does every bit as good as the original CD. Unfortunately, the configuration is not straight forward. It took me several days to figure it out and maybe beyond someone less technically savvy. Roku should add native support for FLAC and remove this burden from their customers.

Another gripe the WiFi is "b" and not "g", was not robust enough to run from one side of the house to the other, especially with high bandwidth material e.g., loss-less WAV and would "rebuffer". I gave up on wireless and ran a wire and plugged it in. With CD's ripped as FLAC and a wired connection I achieved objective #2.

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Since moving into our current house and with the establishment of our wireless network, I've gone through some grief trying to connect the family computers' music collection to the central sound system in the main family room / den. Our setup consists of a Motorola broadband modem wired to a Linksys Wireless-G router wired to the two computers in the study. There is one wireless access point in the den, as well as a new, third computer, which connects to the wireless network via a Linksys WMB54G Music Bridge (I'll explain).

Last Christmas, I bought the Linksys Music Bridge for my parents, with the idea of broadcasting music to it from the computers located in the den. I had read about the problems encountered with trying to make it work, but I saw it as my only real option at the time and decided to risk it. Following some of the user-created tutorials here and elsewhere on the net, I managed to get it working for periods at a time.I say periods at a time, because inevitably, it would lose connectivity and the bridge software would not be able to pick it up, requiring me to tinker with it to try and reestablish a connection. Recently, it seemed to stop connecting altogether.

I read about the Apple Airport Express, so I picked one of those up. I brought it home from Best Buy and plugged it into a socket just behind the main entertainment system's cabinet. It has one light that blinks amber if there is a connection issue or solid green for an established connection with the network. Going through the configuration routine a couple times, I was able to get it to connect to our wireless network without nearly as much trouble as I had 8 months prior with the WMB54G. The only drawback to the Airport Express is that you can only access it with iTunes, which, when an external speaker connection is detected, creates a dropdown box in the lower area of the main window that lets you select which external speakers or Airport you would like to output to. To me, this felt a bit limiting, but I would probably have lived with it, had I not encountered an anomaly:

Now, I was planning to junk the WMB54G, but we had just bought a third computer (den), which of course needed a way to connect with the network. On a whim, I plugged it into the Linksys Music Bridge. Lo, and behold, it was able to use the Music Bridge like a wireless modem! (so it wasn't a total loss, after all). However, opening iTunes, it was somehow unable to see the Airport Express, and despite my efforts, I never could get the dropdown box to appear. I wasn't about to have a 2/3 solution, so back the Airport Express went. I scanned the isle, and there was the Roku M1000. It looked promising and well-made, so I bought it.

I cannot describe how cool this thing is! Setup of the Roku M1000 to the network was a real pleasure, for a change! In the first place, all setup configuration is performed at the Roku itself, using the remote and the display, which sure beats the heck out of going through a setup routine at every computer on the network! The Roku is an electronic Einstein compared to the others. It found and displayed the network name on the screen. I told it to connect. It immediately acquired all the right IP/gateway information without me having to baby it. Awesome!

Second, the Roku is smart enough to be able to scan for and find music sharing servers on the network by itself, without any additional software installed on each computer. I have not tried WMP specifically yet, but so far, whenever I have had one or all of the computers running iTunes with sharing enabled, the Roku would always find and display their library names on the screen. Sweet! Then it's just a matter of choosing one, and deciding which browsing method to use. That simple! It also will connect to hundreds of internet radio stations, right out of the box! So, even if you have not set up a music collection on your PC, you can still use it. It also shouldn't be overlooked that, unlike other devices, you don't have to go to the computer to play music from it. Since the Roku has its own display, you can browse and change the music right there, using the remote.

When I contrast my experiences regarding other devices, such as the Linksys Music Bridge and Apple Airport Express, both of which are more limiting and more prone to setup issues, with the Roku M1000, I feel that everyone wanting to get music from their PCs to their home stereo system should be made aware of this little guy, as it is by far the easiest and most versatile solution out there.

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Being able to play the music in my PC anywhere in the house is killer. My CD collection is in the basement and that's where it's going to stay. In the past I'd connected my mp3 players to my home system, which worked well, but they had to be loaded and recharged, and they couldn't carry ALL of the music stored on my PC, which made them somewhat limiting. All of that is over. With a wireless network music player, I can listen to EVERYTHING, whenever I want, anywhere within the range of my network.

The Roku Soundbridge is a great addition to my collection of gadgets. It was easy to set up and connect to my PC. I initially connected it through Itunes, which allows any Itunes radio station to by played through it in addition to all COMPATIBLE format music files. I have also installed Windows Media Connect in my PC, which also works very well for sharing files on a wireless network (which the Soundbridge is connected to). Media Connect starts with the PC startup and runs in the backround, and it doesn't eat a ton of memory like ITUNES does. So if you don't have or don't like ITUNES, that won't stop you from using the Soundbridge. But I haven't spent any time yet trying to get internet radio through Windows Media Connect, so I can't tell you how accessible internet radio is. For now, when I want to listen to internet radio, I start ITunes, then shut it down when I've finished, even though my PC can easily handle Itunes in the backround. I just don't like to keep it running when I'm not using it (just a personal preference).

Wiring the unit to the stereo system is very easy. Browsing the Soundbridge is fairly easy, and it has a great sound. You'd never know it's wireless. The adjustable volume feature is KEY, because you don't have to keep the volume control for the reciever handy. Just keep the receiver set at the loudest you want it to get (with the Soundbridge at 100%), then control the volume with the Soundbridge.

It has a cool, compact look and bright (dimmable) display, which allows it to be either the center of attention, unobtrusive, or hidden, depending on your preference. I like gadgets, so mine will be very noticable.

JUST DON'T LOSE THE REMOTE!!

I was very excited to get this for X-mas last year, but instantly became disappointed when I was unable to get a wireless wi-fi connection outside of the room with my router. All of the other wi-fi devices in our house connect well, especially with the Linksys booster in the kitchen, but not the Soundbridge. I have given up on wireless, and am now trying to figure out how to directly link it to our stereo, which is currently far away from the router. On the plus side, the configuration and controls are great when it does connect, but this unfortunately doesn't help me. Beware of this device if your goal is a wireless connection across any distance.