SliMP3 Ethernet MP3/Internet Radio Player

So, you say, "I'll just copy them to CD." Fine...except if your DVD or CD Player doesn't accept MP3 format. But even if it does, do you want to spin a CD every time you download a new tune? That's sort of a hassle and a big waste of the rest of your CD.

Now, thanks to Slim Devices Inc., you can have the best of both worlds. You can download MP3s to your heart's content and they never have to leave the infinite storage of your computer, plus, you can play them through your real stereo system in your real living room...remote control in hand, and get your wife's approval on the look and feel of the delivery unit!

Introducing, the SliMP3 Ethernet Mp3/Internet Radio Player. This cool looking device has standard RCA stereo outputs and can hook into any home stereo. It also has an Ethernet output, so you simply plug it into your computer via Ethernet cable (included) and you now have a remote controlled window to your computer's hard drive and access to all of your MP3s. Your computer stays out of site, but your MP3s are available for all the world to hear. The unit also supports Internet Radio, so you've got a window to hours of new entertainment never before available in your home stereo.

Most of the setup is automatically handled by Windows...you need only install the operating software, show the device where your MP3s live and you're off to the races.

SliMp3 Includes:

• Beautiful 40x2 vacuum fluorescent display - bright and easy to read
• Supports easy flash firmware updating over the network
• No moving parts (no fan, no hard disk or CD-ROM) - reliable and quiet: all you hear is your music!
• Supports all MP3 bit rates and VBR, plus MPEG2
• Communicates using IP over Ethernet, open streaming/control protocol
• Infrared remote control
• Small enough that you can put it anywhere - on a shelf, bedside table, etc.
• High quality 16 bit, 44.1KHz audio output
• Display brightness control
• Low power - draws less than 4 watts during normal operation with the display turned on, and just a few milliwatts in standby mode.
• Large buffer - no clicks or skips because of network problems

  Introduction

  Welcome to the future of music! The SliMP3 (Slim-'pE-'thrE) is a revolutionary approach to music playback, which frees you from the hassles of fragile, expensive Compact Discs. It presents an entirely new way of accessing and enjoying your music collection. Instead of storing your music on CDs or memory cards, the SliMP3 uses your home network to access the music stored on your PC. Imagine having lightning-fast access to any song in your collection, from any room of your home, with no limit to the size of your music library!

  Because the SliMP3 streams your music digitally over your network, there is absolutely no loss in quality. The sound quality is simply remarkable - you'll never go back to listening to MP3s using your computer's sound card.

  Competing solutions for home MP3 playback are essentially PCs, which have been dedicated to the task of MP3 playback. These are large, expensive units with noisy fans and hard disks - hardly suitable for enjoying music in the bed room or living room. They require you to either duplicate your collection among multiple hard drives (of limited capacity), or purchase expensive, proprietary "satellite" units to make your music accessible in other rooms.

  The SliMP3, on the other hand, leverages the storage capacity of the PC you already own, and uses inexpensive Ethernet technology to provide instant access to your music from anywhere in your home or office. You won't believe how easy it is to set up and use, and yet how powerful the interface is. Installing the SliMP3 takes just a few minutes; all you need to do is load our software onto your computer, and plug the player into your network. The SliMP3 automatically configures itself for your network, and is ready to use immediately.

  This is truly a product like no other. We have invested years of effort in creating the SliMP3 completely from scratch, and we're pleased to make all of the software we've developed available to the open source community. Since we began shipping the SliMP3 last fall, we've been deluged with wonderful feedback from our first customers. A real community of excited SliMP3 owners has emerged, and dozens of highly talented software engineers have joined us. We hope you'll join the growing community of enthusiastic SliMP3 owners!

  Features

  SliMP3 Ethernet MP3 Player
  • Beautiful 40x2 vacuum fluorescent display - bright and easy to read
  • Supports easy flash firmware updating over the network
  • No moving parts (no fan, no hard disk or CD-ROM) - reliable and quiet: all you hear is your music!
  • Supports all MP3 bit rates and VBR, plus MPEG2
  • Communicates using IP over Ethernet, open streaming/control protocol
  • Infrared remote control
  • Small enough that you can put it anywhere - on a shelf, bedside table, etc.
  • High quality 16 bit, 44.1KHz audio output
  • Display brightness control
  • Low power - draws less than 4 watts during normal operation with the display turned on, and just a few milliwatts in standby mode.
  • Large buffer - no clicks or skips because of network problems

  SliMP3 Ethernet MP3 Software

  • Open-source server, written in Perl (GPL)
  • Optional HTTP interface - control the player and manage your playlists from a web browser!
  • Internet radio - Shoutcast, Icecast, and Live365
  • Unlimited capacity - it doesn't matter if your mp3 collection is a megabyte or a terabyte. Your files are not stored on the player, so there's no limit to the amount of music you can access, and you don't need to hassle with copying your files onto the player.
  • Easy to use hierarchical browser interface
  • Random mode
  • Supports .pls and .m3u playlist files

  Included Components

  • SliMP3 Ethernet MP3 Player
  • Switching power supply, compatible with 110 and 230 volts (US power cord included)
  • Sony RM-V201 universal remote, batteries included!
  • 6-foot gold plated RCA patch cord
  • 10-foot CAT3 Ethernet patch cord

  Specifications

  Hardware
  • Dimensions: 8.5"W x 2.5"H x 2"D
  • Display: Noritake 40x2 VFD
  • CPU: Microchip PIC16F877 microcontroller
  • Ethernet controller: Crystal CS8900A 10Mbps embedded Ethernet chip
  • DMA controller: proprietary logic, Xilinx XC95144XL
  • MP3 decoder: Micronas MAS3507D
  • DAC: Crystal CS4334, 16-bit 44Khz
  • Buffer RAM: 1Mb (8 seconds at 128Kbps)
  • ROM: Rewritable flash program memory, EEPROM configuration memory
  • IR: Standard 40Khz IR receiver
  • Power supply: comes with 5V 1600mA power supply, player uses 700ma (max)

  Warranty

  * The SliMP3 includes a one year warranty.

  Protocols

  • DHCP, ARP, IP, ICMP, UDP
  • Support for subnets/gateways (see documentation section on WANs)
  • Open UDP-based streaming and control protocols

  Firmware

  • Open-source, high-speed, embedded IP protocol stack
  • Written entirely in assembler, for performance and compactness
  • General-purpose architecture offloads most of the application to the server side - new features can be added without making changes to the low-level firmware (protocols, device drivers)
  • Integrated boot-loader program includes its own copy of the IP stack and necessary drivers, so that the entire MP3 player application may be reinstalled over the network.

MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) in force. CALL!