Digital Music Server advice

[Keith Henderson]

Steve offers...



>Try this. I know a number of people who have these.

http://www.brennan.co.uk/

Hey now...this is very much like what I'm looking for.  We're getting somewhere!  :)  (I haven't read the other responses in their entirety just yet, but will soon.  Thanks to everyone for participating.)

I like the look of this (stylish and decent forward-facing display), and most importantly the simplicity.  My 80-yr. old technophobic Mom has to operate this thing, and she will likely just mainly use the Random Play function, and this has a one-touch knob random play built in, and I like that.

Unfortunately, there are too many negatives for this to be the one solution, but there's hope that another manufacturer has something closer.

Negatives include:

It's a "Whole Stereo" that I don't need to replace...I only need the digital aspect, and I don't know if this has an output to a real stereo, but that's moot, 'cause we wouldn't keep both (no point...this has an amplifier, speaker output, etc.).

Therefore the cost is higher than I would prefer.

It's English, and although it would work here with plug adapter only, I'm sure the shipping would be more.

It has CD-drive and full ripping capability, and handles all its own track ID with its own library, and I do that myself (and will do it for my Mom).

Most importantly, it does not play AAC/MP4, so this would only work for the CDs in my Mom's collection that I haven't ripped yet.  And even if it did accept my files, it has a 60,000 song limit, and believe it or not, that is not large enough for my entire collection (I must be nearing 100,000 if not already past).

One page said it had three sizes of hard-disk, 120, 320, and 500 GB, and I would choose the smallest of those for my Mom's collection alone, but on the pricing page they are only offering 320 and 500, so I guess they've stopped making the smaller one.  ?

While the display is nice and all, it doesn't show the album artwork, which I've been painstakingly adding to my AAC files for some time now.  I find that odd since this is a std. iPod/Touch/Pad thing.

But this is VERY close.

Right now, I imagine that the best bet would be to get a large-screen iPod/iTouch device (not sure how large they are - ie. visible/legible from across the room?) or else mini-iPad/tablet, and just plug it in via 3.5mm-RCA adapter to the AUX port of the stereo, and then just prop it up on some kind of mini-guitar rack on top of the BlueRay player we have sitting next to the stereo.  But then my Mom has to learn how to use an Apple product, and she's clueless and I know she won't want to learn.  Also I don't know if it would be OK to just leave the thing plugged in all the time to keep it from having to be constantly recharged.  Maybe that's bad for the Li-ion battery anyway??

Keith