lefty

does anyone know what stand this system is on?

is there anything else out there that does what the rendu does? it seems like the device i need, but i would much rather merge the 2 devices (rendu network input and a DAC). not sure if that exists? never heard of LMS until today, but google tells me logitech is involved, which sounds like more software to manage. i've got a real desire to streamline the number of devices and applications necessary. managing it all turns out to take more time than i care to donate. i don't need all-in-one, but i do need "set it and forget it"

interesting thread. first i've heard of the rendu. you guys follow this stuff closer than i do, does anything like this exist yet: DAC with ethernet input (USB does me no good bc my computer is so far away) Control it via mobile device (and computers of course) Point the DAC at the NAS Balanced XLR output(s) ideally? HDMI output(s) (for movies on the nas this isn't as important) basically, i want to control my NAS with my mobile devices (iphone / ipad / surface pro2). my computer is in the office, but my listening room is on another floor of the house. currently using appletv and hate it. if something does exist, what software do you use to organize it? currently, i organize my library with itunes, but i'm not married to it. the MAIN thing i like about itunes is that i can manage playlists for the whole family very easily. can Jriver do that?

sorry to ask for spoon feeding a noob... what does Eloise's reply mean? XMBC/Plex can or can't playback bit perfect? thanks

oh, i read those and they were helpful indeed. i'm just stuck at the brink of decision time. the complication is how every other decision affects the options in another decision. maybe i'll write some decision support software in the meantime lol i keed. edit* here are the decisions (with my shortlists): * which audio format (FLAC, AIFF) * which video format (ISO, MKV, ripped to folders) * which media center for Mac (Plex, XBMC) * which media center for Windows (7MC, XBMC) The major requirements I have is that all the underlying media files, their library management & their playlists be shared. ie if I make a new music playlist on one machine, then all the other machines can see it and play it. Also, I know eloise suggested mp2 and mp4 for video options, but i haven't yet researched how that impacts my workflow so didn't include them. my research is going to continue.. if nothing else, trying to write it down for others to read is helping me see what my next steps should be thanks for any other feedback or comments!

disk space is not an issue - i've got a 10TB server in RAID6 my issue is that playlists can't be shared/exported because the underlying target files would be different. i love my playlists regarding the video formats.. i'll check into how my workflow would have to change. currently just using AnyDVD HD to rip to ISO with each ISO/movie in it's own folder. sooo easy and simple & playback works fine with win7 media center & plugins. no clue if xbmc and plex can mount ISO images and play the BD though i'm pretty sure they'll play the DVD ISO's. they're stored in a structure plex/xbmc likes so that's good: \servermoviesmovie 1 (2010)movie 1 (2010).iso \servermoviesmovie 2 (2005)movie 2 (2005).iso \servermoviesmovie 3 (2007)movie 3 (2007).iso etc...

if anyone has experience with this sort of thing i'd love some help organizing my thoughts and getting a clear direction & goal. atm I have about 2000 CDs to rip and I still can't choose a format because I don't know which software I'll be using. Same roadblock on the DVD & BD front, but it's a much smaller collection - only about 200 DVDs and 100 BDs. I'd like to start ripping but I don't want to store multiple versions - eg for audio: AIFF for Mac & FLAC for PC, for video: ripped to folders for Mac & ripped to ISO for PC. it's going to take me months to rip all my media, which is why i'm trying to think this through before i embark on ripping and re-organizing the actual files edit* ty Eloise. that's what I was *thinking* based on all the research, so it's very nice to get positive feedback before i go down any more rabbit holes so, with software decided it should be easier to pick the file formats. will xbmc and plex read all the tag/art info if i go AIFF?

basically, I'm trying to decide on software for Mac & PC, but the catch is I'm trying minimize the amount of library management I have to do on all the machines. Because I'm sharing movies, music and photos (from a single server) I'm looking at things like Win7 Media Center, Plex & XBMC. Has anyone else done something like this? Am I in uncharted waters or does it just seem that way?