ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
I connected my Playmaker to the ethernet port of a new airport extreme. I still get dropouts, however a bit fewer than before when i used wifi only.
Now, it drops only occasionally every 2-3 song or so. The dropouts vary from minor to major (lost connection).
I also changed channel on the router to a less crowded channel.
-> The dropouts seem to disappear in the eveningtime, which suggests that this is because the network is less crowded at this time?
Any ideas?
Ok, i can try that. This is the guide right? http://bogo.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7040/~/how-do-i-set-up-playmaker-with-a-static-ip-address%3F
Does that mean that i will only be able to play from one device?
static/fixed IP adress has nothing to do with the ability how many devices can play to the Playmaker. So no worry. ;-)
Great :) I am not 100% on where to find the correct information on mac os x, especially the ones in bold below:
"Enter your IP address, Netmask*, Gateway*, Primary DNS* and Secondary DNS*.
Note that if incorrect information is entered, you will not be able to update Playmaker with new software."
Could someone confirm where i find this info?
What are you using for playing music? Phone, tablet or pc?
I haven't had good experiences with my playmaker (mk1, hard wired).
Only when the music was stored on my phone or tablet it played without dropouts.
Using phone and mac, and spotify,
Hm, why should there be a difference between playing music stored and streaming?
Hi - I have a Playmaker 2 and hardwired it to the router. It played without any dropputs, however there are so many dependencies, like the signal strength to the device playing on it, how good a connection you have to the internet etc.
If you are streaming from music on your phone then the phone is only having to connect and stream music held locally, if it is from say Apple Music or a cloud service, then it has to get the music from the cloud and then stream it to playmaker so potentially introduces more points of failure. There is also a dependancy on what the phone or device is doing at the time - i.e if it is downloading email or you are surfing the net or something.
I found that the best way was to make sure the router is in a place where you can get a good signal as much as possible - mine is in my attic so that the signal spreads across everywhere and then hardwire the playmakler. If you use a static address then the phone (I found anyway) finds it much quicker and it is more reliable.
The other thing to check is how many devices you have on your wireless network and if you're router is fast enough - generally a newer one that supports 2Ghz and 5Ghz will be ok - you can then look at seperating out traffic so that 2Ghz (which has a wider spread is used for one thing and 5Ghz is used for another (that one is faster but doesn't extend as far).
There is nothing wrong with the Playmaker device and it does to a certain extend depend on your local setup etc.
Hi,
Thanks for the advice. I have a new airport extreme which is placed openly with no obstructions. The PL1 is hardwired directly to the PL.
The wifi channel configurator was set to 'automatic', so i did a scan and changed the setting to a less crowded channel.
The signal strength is not an issue, as i have an apple tv streaming 1080p video flawlessly. Shouldn't be an issue to stream audio reliably?
--> I still get dropouts every 2-3 song.
--> My airport express from 2009 works without dropouts without changing any setting.
How do i separate out traffic?
I am starting to feel embarrassed when showing the B&O speakers to my friends, as i know that i will eventually get a dropout!
On a separate note: I feel that B&O hasn't responded well to issues with the PL, even though many people have issues with it. Their design philosophy clearly states: "Design has become our new niche. The gear should look smart, but technical performance should be outstanding."
(https://www.beoworld.org/article_view.asp?id=29)
We pay a premium price for this technology, so i would expect that they solve this problem.
I am a big B&O fan, but i also measure a product by the company-response to issues with their products.
Other people also have similar issues:
http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/t/2771.aspx
http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/p/9479/83145.aspx
http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/p/9305/81619.aspx
http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/t/2838.aspx
http://archivedforum2.beoworld.org/forums/p/7822/71411.aspx
etc.
@B&O: I know this is a discontinued product, but please fix this. Customers first.
It's also worth to try out another Wifi router. Maybe you can borrow one from a friend / neighbour. Please use a NON Apple router. Apple is known to ensure that it only plays fine with other Apple stuff and that older Apple stuff will be slowed down until you voluntarily upgrade to the newest things.
TWG: Apple is known to ensure that it only plays fine with other Apple stuff and that older Apple stuff will be slowed down until you voluntarily upgrade to the newest things.
With due respect, what basis do you have for that statement?
davelarue: I connected my Playmaker to the ethernet port of a new airport extreme. I still get dropouts, however a bit fewer than before when i used wifi only.
Also the PlayMaker is 2,4ghz only which is almost impossible to be made perfect. A recent AppleTV or Airport express operates at 2,4 and 5,0ghz so the chances of wifi issues for most domestic situations are minimised. If the PM is cabled directly are you confident that it's operating on wired connection not still wireless?
davidr: Also the PlayMaker is 2,4ghz only which is almost impossible to be made perfect. A recent AppleTV or Airport express operates at 2,4 and 5,0ghz so the chances of wifi issues for most domestic situations are minimised. If the PM is cabled directly are you confident that it's operating on wired connection not still wireless?
How do i check if it is working on wired or wireless?
Open AirPort utility, check if you see it as a client on wireless.
Only airport extreme is visible on airport utility...
Beobuddy: What are you using for playing music? Phone, tablet or pc? I haven't had good experiences with my playmaker (mk1, hard wired). Only when the music was stored on my phone or tablet it played without dropouts.
I had a lot of problems initially with my PM. Then I noticed that it played fine with streaming from my phone or my tablet (iOS devices) but had significant dropout issues playing from my PC, using iTunes on Windows 7. Turns out there was a network/router monitoring application on my PC that, when it wanted to poll the status of the router, basically stomped on all other network traffic, it seized a high priority and everything else stopped until it was done. I removed it from the startup menu (I only run it if needed, then exit the program) and it solved the problem with dropouts from the PC.
So, be aware dropouts may not be due to the router or wired/wireless connection, but may be due to other things going on with the PC itself.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
davelarue: Only airport extreme is visible on airport utility...
Click on it and it should pop up a display of the wireless clients.
I suggested that more as a precaution check.
Also Jeff brings a good point, what is the source? Is it also wireless, what is it doing?
I get similar amount of dropouts when using the phone. However, when i play songs which are stored, then the dropouts are less frequent. The problem could mainly be when i am streaming.
BUT, this shouldn't matter. My 2009 airport express didn't have any issues with these scenarios, so why should the PL?
davidr: Click on it and it should pop up a display of the wireless clients. I suggested that more as a precaution check.
I don't see the PL in the pop up. So, i should assume that it is running on wired connection?
davidr: TWG: Apple is known to ensure that it only plays fine with other Apple stuff and that older Apple stuff will be slowed down until you voluntarily upgrade to the newest things. With due respect, what basis do you have for that statement?
for example:https://www.macrumors.com/2015/12/29/ios9-iphone-4s-lawsuit/
https://www.scribd.com/document/294247024/IOS-9-Slows-iPhone-4S-Complaint
http://globalnews.ca/news/2926170/is-apple-guilty-of-using-planned-obsolescence-to-force-iphone-users-into-upgrading/My personal experience is the same beginning with the first iPhone and iPad. Router problems obtained in many installations from my friends.
I had the same issue with my previous router, which was a newer tri-band router...
If you have an apple tv, then you could try streaming music to that - in that way you could then identify if it is the phone or ipad that is the problem with the drop out. I would still advocate forgetting wireless and hardwire it in - even as a test to rule out any other interference.
I found that the best way of streaming music for me, was to use an older Apple TV hardwired > DAC > Beosystem and use the remote app on your iphone or ipad - that way the Apple TV is streaming all the music through a network cable and the iphone is only used to control it.
Sorry just read that it is hardwired!
I would still try and stream to an ATV and see if that drops out, then at least you will know if it is the playmaker
Did you set the Playmaker to a fixed(!) IP adress?
Not yet. Don't understand the format of primary and secondary DNS info. On my mac, the format is
10.0....
2a02:fe0:.....
I guess the first is the primary DNS and the second is the secondary?
Should i enter them the way they are?
Secondary DNS shouldn't be required as the Airport is a single device anyway.
Just enter the same IP you have on your Mac, something like "10.0.0.1". That other set of numbers is IPv6, never mind that without getting into details.