Utter beginners guide to digital music set up needed please !

[steveinspain]

OK, to elaborate...
I may convert my WAV files into flac, as I believe it is possible without any sacrifice in quality, and will free up space on my hard drive.
I do have a router, my Caiman and a digital interconnect are arriving soon and I would like to be able to play music without the monitor being on, thus involving some sort of interface, and this is where struggle - the computer is also not very close to the stereo, and a remote would be good, so something hand-held with a large screen(old eyes..) - As Alex says, money is tight, but I have just splashed out for a Caiman, so might be forced to starve the kids a little longer if I needed to buy something else..
Why is a USB lead needed to connect the pc to the Caiman - isn't there a digital output on most modern pc's that bypasses the circuitry ?

Many thanks to all for taking the time to reply to this - it is so nice to have helpful friendly input on a forum compared to the dull repetition favoured by some..

[StanleyB]

Can anyone explain to me why it is a good idea to spend time converting files from WAV to FLAC? The notion that is saves on space escapes my humble point of view. A 1TB drive can hold more than 1000 compact discs. Taking the minuscule cost and the massive time to convert WAV ino FLAC from 1000 discs, it seems a total waste of effort to me.

[Clive]

Can anyone explain to me why it is a good idea to spend time converting files from WAV to FLAC? The notion that is saves on space escapes my humble point of view. A 1TB drive can hold more than 1000 compact discs. Taking the minuscule cost and the massive time to convert WAV ino FLAC from 1000 discs, it seems a total waste of effort to me.

I totally agree with you Stan, the cost of storage means it's pointless going with FLAC to save space, just as it would be daft to use disk compression software nowadays, it was smart in the late 80's but not needed now.

Some people seem to want to use FLAC for better tagging but I find CUE files provide all I need. Keep it simple, I'm sticking with WAV.

[StanleyB]

Some people seem to want to use FLAC for better tagging but I find CUE files provide all I need. Keep it simple, I'm sticking with WAV.

I have used TAG & RENAME for more than 10 years and I have had no problems with tagging WAV files. I useMedia Monkey for everything else such as playback etc. And in case I can't find the track name, I use SHAZAM to sort that one out.

Of course, if anyone knows better, please feel free to discredit my solution and point of view.

[NRG]

With the price of storage today it does seem that FLac is a waste of time, however, it does save space at a ratio of approx 2:1 so the amount of song storage has just doubled and because you are transmitting less data it *may* ease the burden on a dodgy connection between server and streaming device....especially if that connection is wireless and the rest of the family are watching Ice Age 3 on their laptops! When they should be doing their homework

[NRG]

Who asked for a definitive guide? This thread and the answers are typical and seen on other forums....it doesn't and wont exist because there are many ways to skin feline pets...

[Clive]

With the price of storage today it does seem that FLac is a waste of time, however, it does save space at a ratio of approx 2:1 so the amount of song storage has just doubled and because you are transmitting less data it *may* ease the burden on a dodgy connection between server and streaming device....especially if that connection is wireless and the rest of the family are watching Ice Age 3 on their laptops! When they should be doing their homework

When I've played with FLAC I've never managed 2:1 compression, more like 3:2. Dump those dodgy wireless connections, leave them for the kids or get a newer faster wireless connection and high gain aerial. Same argument as storage really. I spend so much time on a VPN which means that a wireless connection is a liability for me. Still horses for course as they say.

[NRG]

YOu can set the compression ratio on FLAC Clive, I get apporx 2:1....not all the time though. I do use a wired connection in my main system but posted about wirless as an example of where a lower data load may help....

[steve dixon]

the o.p. does mention that his internet connection is poor, and makes no mention of a home network being in place. with this in mind i described what i think is the simplest method to get at his music IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES.

yes i know about remote, squeezebox, linn etc etc, but all are network dependent, and all the optional settings/set up parameters a network entails.

for a BEGINNER I would recommend adhering to the KISS principal.

unfortunately a computer cannot be used 'headless' without a network, i think that initially the o.p should get up and running, then explore the various bells and whistles later on.

cheers
steve

[Peter Galbavy]

Encoding to FLAC buys me three things over WAV:

1. Tagging. There is no established, widly implemented standard for tagging WAV files. It "works" but not as well as FLAC, which uses ogg-defined metadata and standards.

2. Bandwidth. I can make my music library available to myself whereever I am and I can just about download/upload it over my DSL line at roughly realtime. WAV would take at least x2 in time.

3. Space/backups. Taking backups takes twice as long and twice the space. Compression is good, even if storage is cheap.