Streaming thru my avr

[MAL01]

Hey guys, I need a little help. I currently has Sirius but will probably cancel pretty soon. How do I go about streaming pandora or some other music service thru my avr? I'm still clueless on this stuff as I am still a cd guy, other than Sirius of course.

Thanks for any info.v

[Zman2k2]

According to your HT pics, you have a Pioneer SC-05. Built into that, is the ability to get free internet radio. It's not the best quality, I think most streams at 128kbps, but it is free. All you need to to is connect an ethernet cord from your internet modem or router, to the ethernet input on the back of the receiver. I believe it's the top left side, when looking at the back. Then go into your menu settings and let the receiver load up your internet radio channels. It's all there.

As for streaming pandora or last.fm, you'll need some type of receiver. I know in the States, XBox360's can stream last.fm. For Pandora, there's a few listed here.

[MAL01]

Originally Posted by Zman2k2

According to your HT pics, you have a Pioneer SC-05. Built into that, is the ability to get free internet radio. It's not the best quality, I think most streams at 128kbps, but it is free. All you need to to is connect an ethernet cord from your internet modem or router, to the ethernet input on the back of the receiver. I believe it's the top left side, when looking at the back. Then go into your menu settings and let the receiver load up your internet radio channels. It's all there.

As for streaming pandora or last.fm, you'll need some type of receiver. I know in the States, XBox360's can stream last.fm. For Pandora, there's a few listed here.

Thanks for the info man. Is there a way to do this wireless? So, I have to buy a separate receiver to get pandora etc?

[Zman2k2]

For the built-in internet radio, yes you could do it wirelessly. What you would need is a wireless bridge. This will act like a wireless card for your AVR.

As for the high quality streaming sites, yes, you'll need some kind of receiver connected to your AVR in order to listen to them.

[MAL01]

Hey Zman,
What about something like apple tv or a similar type of service?

[Zman2k2]

Yes, that could work as well. I believe AppleTV is wireless, so it`s an easy connection to your home wireless network. If I remember though, AppleTV will stream from your iTunes collection, I don`t think they have an internet radio service.

Basically, if you want to stream high-quality internet radio through your AVR, you`ll need some sort of box in order to receive the signal and data stream. Which box you use will depend on your choice if IR provider. iTunes streaming will be the easiest to set up, but you really need a desktop comp. or a home server that`s always on. Or you`ll have to turn on your laptop before you stream from iTunes.

The XBox360 is another easy option to stream last.fm. Simply download the app on the XBox, and when you want, just turn on the machine, tune in and listen away. It also gives you the ability to customize your listening experience.

Pandora will be the most difficult IMO, because most places don`t stock a Pandora receiver in-store. They are usually an online purchase.

Hope I was able to help a little.

[MAL01]

Thanks zman. Great link you provided. I think that solo device is what I'm looking for.

[Zman2k2]

[MAL01]

Hey Zman,
I`ve been doing some research and have pretty much narrowed it down to a roku for tv and a Grace audio solo for internet radio, but it also seems that an xbox 360 might be a good option. I`m mainly interested in streaming but the ability to game is also a nice feature to have, if it does the others well also, although i don`t see myself as becoming a big gamer. I did have the original xbox and was a casual user at best and then stopped using it all together years ago.

Your thoughts?

Thanks.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by Zman2k2

For the built-in internet radio, yes you could do it wirelessly. What you would need is a wireless bridge. This will act like a wireless card for your AVR.

As for the high quality streaming sites, yes, you'll need some kind of receiver connected to your AVR in order to listen to them.

His AVR is a receiver, if it already has the ability to get internet radio for streaming he only needs to connect to the internet either hardwired or with the wireless bridge (as you mentioned). once he has internet access with his receiver he will only need to set up an account with pandora (the free ones are 128kbps) and they dont' sound too bad. of course if you want higher quality (higher bitrate) music streaming you will have to set up a pay account for that.

I have pandora setup up through my pre-amp and it's free and sounds pretty good. i also have a NAS setup with high resolution 96/24 FLAC some of which stream at 3285kbps over my network and i buy from HDTracks. i also have ripped standard rez CD's to the NAS as well so any computer in my house can also stream the music from the NAS.

the OP's PIO should be able to stream pandora with no problem, just get the wireless bridge setup and your fine from there. read your manual for your SC-05. setting up pandora with my 5507 was a snap and it works perfectly. also setting up my NAS was a breeze as well and there is a real difference (a hugh difference) in listening to 128kbps & 3285kbps streamed music. again, pandora sounds surprisingly good for general listening but for real high quality listening, you will need a pay service for 256 to 320kbps streaming or set up a NAS and put your own music on it as well as high rez music for better quality. even the standard CD's that i ripped to my NAS stream at about 1100kbps they sound great too.

best of luck OP hope this helped some.

[MAL01]

Hey Solarrdadd,
Good info there, thanks. Do you know what Sirius radio streams at? Could you give me some info of thoughts on the post i made prior to yours?

Thanks.

P.S. What is NAS?

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by MAL01

Hey Solarrdadd,
Good info there, thanks. Do you know what Sirius radio streams at? Could you give me some info of thoughts on the post i made prior to yours?

Thanks.

P.S. What is NAS?

i don't stream sirius radio because i have the portable device that i take out of my car and dock it (with the dock for my pre-amp) you would have to check with sirius to see what they stream at and remember you have to pay for it. i think even if you have a subscription you might have to pay for the ability to stream it so you should check with them cause if it's true, the rate you would pay is probably different should you cancel your regular subscription. a NAS is a Network Attached Storage device (usually a hard drive) i have a western digital NAS, 1tb in size that i either buy high rez 96/24 music and put in on the NAS or rip CD's and put them on the NAS. since the NAS is physically connected to my network at home all computers on my home network can either hardwired or wirelessly access that music. my pre-amp the 5507 is network ready so it too can see the NAS and it streams it from there at much, much higher rates than i could ever get from internet streaming. of course with a NAS your limited to what music you put on there whereas internet free music like pandora you can get almost anything you want. i have my favorite stuff in hi rez installed on my NAS and it sounds really good. for example, I have the uncompressed album of Paul McCartney & Wings, "Band on the run" in 96/24 and it is 1.54gb's in size on the NAS and it streams at 2880kbps and sounds amazing. the downside to internet radio is if the stream is interrupted at the source your music stops or can stutter while playing. on my NAS it's only my home networked computers using it and I have a full gigabit wired system throughtout my house and a wireless N access point for my wireless devices i.e. iphone4, itouch and laptops. there is no drop in speed and everyone can access it at the same time with no loss in speed or quality.

check your manual and the PIO site for recommended wireless solutions for your receiver to ensure compatability out of the box. do this before buying anything and finding out the hard way there are issues with it. if you need to email or call PIO and i'm sure they will state what units work with that receiver with no trouble. and then take it from there.

you should look into that first, then think about a NAS down the road!

hope this helped.

[MAL01]

Do I need the USB adapter also? It's another $90.00 Also, can I get iheartradio with the wireless bridge?

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by MAL01

Do I need the USB adapter also? It's another $90.00 Also, can I get iheartradio with the wireless bridge?

do you need a usb adapter for what? I do not know what iHeartradio is so I can't help you there. if you have internet access and if you already have a wireless router then you will need only a wireless bridge to connect to your receiver. if you don't have a router, wireless or otherwise then you will have to buy one. you may have to ask someone else about the iheartradio. almost any streamable web based radio should be able to be done via your receiver. you will have to read your instruction manual to determine what needs to be done to access them once you have connected your receiver to the internet with either a wireless bridge or a wired connection.

your gonna have to do the research yourself, check your manual.

[MAL01]

I have wireless in the house already. How does the bridge hook up to the avr? Iheartradio is an internet radio service.

[MAL01]

Hey guys, a little update. I ended up getting a Roku for video streaming but it has Pandora on it also. I just got it yesterday and the little i played with it the streaming thru Pandora seems ok but, they also have a pay service that streams at 192kbs. I am still interested in the NAS though. Would getting a NAS and streaming thru it provide a much better listening experience than just using the Pandora One service?

Thanks guys!


Lee

[Zman2k2]

Streaming from a NAS would depend on the quality of the ripped file on the NAS. If you rip an MP3 at 192kbps or higher, then yes, it will provide a better quality sound. But it all depends on the quality that you rip the music at.

[MAL01]

SO, using a NAS doesn`t automatically means better quality? Solarrdadd seemed to imply that it did. Also , do you need a special sound card to get high resolution streaming with or without a NAS

[Zman2k2]

No, you don't need a sound card or DAC to get high-quality audio from a NAS. Your receiver should be able to access a NAS device attached to either the front USB input or a networked comp, on your wireless network. All of these selections will be found under the "Home Media Gallery" options on the receivers OSD. As for quality, sollarddad was talking about his Hi-res music files that he's downloaded from the net, specifically HDTracks.com. While downloading hi-res is good, there's not a huge selection right now. Most music would be from ripped CD's that you would store on the NAS. The quality of those files depends on the settings you have when you rip them. Obviously the higher the resolution, the bigger the file, so if you rip a lot of music, you'll need more space. The option of which level of encoding is up to you.