Do I need the controller?

[rhubarbe]

I used to have a SB3, which I sold and defected to Sonos. Well, now I am coming back and am looking at the Duet.

I wonder though, since I have Squeezecenter installed on my Synology NAS, and only want to use the Web UI on my laptop to control what plays via the SB via Squeezecenter, do I actually need the Duet Controller?

Could I just use the receiver?

[funkstar]

The official line is you need the Controller to setup the Receiver in the first place.

However, there is a plugin that allows SqueezeCenter to find the Receiver and manually set it up. You just won't be able to use the official support channels, only the forum.

But no, other than that you don't need a Controller.

[rhubarbe]

Aha! Thanks very much, that is most interesting. Can you tell me where to find this plugin, please?

[tonyptony]

The official line is you need the Controller to setup the Receiver in the first place.

However, there is a plugin that allows SqueezeCenter to find the Receiver and manually set it up. You just won't be able to use the official support channels, only the forum.

But no, other than that you don't need a Controller.

While what funkstar says is true, proceed at your own risk. Start at post 231

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showth...=43722&page=14

then go here

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=55970

then here

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=56139

and here

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=56206

Post #1 of the first thread tells you all about the utility (it's not a plugin).

[rhubarbe]

I guess it's another one of those occasions when I have thought of a neat way of saving a little cash - very necessary right now - only to find that in doing so I have found yet another Pandora's box.

I think it might be better for me to choose between another SB3 or go the whole hog and get the Duet including the controller.

Thanks both for saving me some heartache and wife-induced stress.

[tonyptony]

rhubarbe, my pointers were not meant to discourage you so much as to give you some insight into potential problems. Many many others have gotten the Receivers to work lickity-split with Net_UDAP. In my case it was not so simple. You've got a 30 day trial no matter which way you go, so you might be able to try a Receiver and get it working just fine.

[rhubarbe]

OK, fair point. We don't go so much for free trials in the UK, where it seems very much more a case of, "You bought it, you keep it." But I'll check with the retailer I was looking at (if they haven't gone bust by Monday).

OTOH, I was looking at a forum where there is a guy selling a Duet system at quite a good price - maybe I'll go with that instead.

[Siduhe]

Or, tell us where in the UK you are located - to see if anyone near you has a Controller you could use as a backup if Robin's plugin fails. I know a couple of Squeezeboxers who have done this recently.

[andynormancx]

OK, fair point. We don't go so much for free trials in the UK, where it seems very much more a case of, "You bought it, you keep it." But I'll check with the retailer I was looking at (if they haven't gone bust by Monday).

Just buy it online, then you are covered by the excellent Distance Selling Regulations, which effectively give you a 7 working days trial period. All good online retailers are well aware of the rules and my experience has been good when using my rights under the regulations.

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/c...V0051-1111.txt

[Mnyb]

You can get an SB3 or SB classic as it named these day's for quite a good price if you google a bit.

With the added benefit of ir-remote and display and a setup procedure that a. works b. makes sense
For example very simple to use fixed ip's, you can do it with sbr but that takes some fiddling.

I have both reciever and SB3, the best combo imho is actually a SB3 and a Controller