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Differances between the playmaker and apple tv?

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This post has 26 Replies | 2 Followers

Mdjolly1973
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Mdjolly1973 Posted: Sun, Jan 13 2013 10:39 AM
Hi all

Im seeing everyone having positive reviews on here regarding the playmaker.....i am curretly streaming music via apple tv which seems to work well with the occasional drop out...

Are there any differant benifits using playmaker over a some what cheaper apple tv device??

Please enlighten me!
bayerische
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bayerische replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 10:44 AM

The Apple TV can do more, but if you wish to be able to use B&O then the Playmaker is it.

How do you have the Apple TV connected?

Too long to list.... 

Mdjolly1973
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I have the apple tv conected via hdmi thru my v1
Raeuber
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Raeuber replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 2:21 PM
I recommend:

- Apple TV with a beovision

- Playmaker with a beosound or only beolabs

Instead of a Playmaker with a beosound an Apple Airport Express is a cheaper solution, but then I would use an additional external DAC because the internal DAC of Airport Express is not really good.

Regards

Räuber
jk1002
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jk1002 replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 3:36 PM

The playmaker runs on and old networking standard, has a decent analogue to digital converter, you get a pause/play button, basic support for Beo 4 even without Beovision/puc. lastly it can establish its own wifi network, something ATV can't do.

With current Beovision I would prob go Apple TV. With my BV 8 I found though that the sound is not as great if I go from TV to connected Beolabs 3 versus connecting the speaker straight to playmaker.

 

I am very happy with mine.

Raeuber
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Raeuber replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 3:53 PM
jk1002:

With current Beovision I would prob go Apple TV. With my BV 8 I found though that the sound is not as great if I go from TV to connected Beolabs 3 versus connecting the speaker straight to playmaker.

It would be very interesting to compare the sound quality between Apple TV connected to HDMI versus Playmaker connected to AV port of a Beovision! Did anybody checked this?

/Räuber

Opman
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Opman replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 4:07 PM

Playmaker supports DLNA as well as Airplay. If a friend visits and has an android phone or tablet, they can connect to your network and stream from there device as well.

Opman

Millemissen
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http://www.avsforum.com/t/1328897/appletv-optical-audio-formats-and-sample-rates

"The only sample rate that the aTV2 outputs is 48kHz.
Quote:

Can it send out 2 channel audio in bit-perfect?

No. If you want bit-perfect 44.1/16 via AirPlay get an Airport Express instead. Whether you can actually tell the difference is up to you to determine."


The ATV is optimized for video and uses HDMI. The different samplerate creates jitter.

Some may hear it, others not.

 

As Räuber wrote:

ATV for a tv - PM for an audiomaster, a linkroom via ActiveLink/PC-input or standalone.

 

@opman - Good point.

Greetings Millemissen

There is a tv - and there is a BV

Gatex
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Gatex replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 4:12 PM

Raeuber:
I recommend:

 

 

- Apple TV with a beovision

 

 

- Playmaker with a beosound or only beolabs

 

 

Instead of a Playmaker with a beosound an Apple Airport Express is a cheaper solution, but then I would use an additional external DAC because the internal DAC of Airport Express is not really good.

 

 

Regards

 

 

Räuber

this is all cheap Bno marketing blabla , i guess that the playmaker is even cheaper produced than the aTV , profit maximing brains at bno

Millemissen
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Hi gatex,

you are wasting space on the forum - had to look twice to see your comment Angry

Grrr! Millemissen

There is a tv - and there is a BV

Raeuber
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Raeuber replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 4:29 PM
Gatex:

this is all cheap Bno marketing blabla , i guess that the playmaker is even cheaper produced than the aTV , profit maximing brains at bno

No doubt, B&O is very expensive.

If you look at the price of Beosound 5, the fair price for an IPad would be 100.000 EUR!😄

/Räuber
butch1
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butch1 replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 8:49 PM

this is all cheap Bno marketing blabla , i guess that the play

maker is even cheaper produced than the aTV , profit maximing brains at bno.

I bet its not as cheap, as your usual every single post negative comments.

butch1
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butch1 replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 8:54 PM

Its called apple tv for a reason,its main purposes is visual,its ok for background music,your never going to have good sound quality from a £99 product through speakers that cost ££.

The playmaker is designed for one thing only music.Its the dac that makes the difference.

DoubleU
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DoubleU replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 9:46 PM

That’s not relevant. There is no DAC inside the apple TV.

If you want to compare "ATV connected to Beovision" vs. "Playmaker", you are comparing the internal DACs of the Beovision and PlayMaker.

Millemissen
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Certainly the ATV has no DAC - since it has only digital outputs.

The problem is - I wrote it above - it will not otput bit-perfect 44.1/16. 

It is made for video, which normally is output in 48 Khz

Reclocking creates jitter - not the best solution for audio.

Ok for loudspeakers in a non-B&O tv, but with better speakers and FLAC/ALAC-files it might be noticeable.

Greetings Millemissen

There is a tv - and there is a BV

Raeuber
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Raeuber replied on Sun, Jan 13 2013 11:28 PM
Hello Millemissen,

I didn't notice jitter from ATV with my Beolab 1 when listening to music via airplay.

So because in both cases a DAC from B&O is used (probably the same type of DAC), I think there will be no noticable difference in sound quality if you use an ATV or a Playmaker together with a Beovision. It's also possible that the analogue connection between Playmaker and Beovision is not as good as the HDMI connection between ATV and Beovision. Although I would like to check it out...

Regards

Räuber
DoubleU
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DoubleU replied on Mon, Jan 14 2013 12:07 AM

Millemissen:

Certainly the ATV has no DAC - since it has only digital outputs.

The problem is - I wrote it above - it will not otput bit-perfect 44.1/16. 

It is made for video, which normally is output in 48 Khz

Reclocking creates jitter - not the best solution for audio.

Ok for loudspeakers in a non-B&O tv, but with better speakers and FLAC/ALAC-files it might be noticeable.

Greetings Millemissen

 

Question is, is it noticeable? Either way, iPhone/iTunes always streams at a sample rate 44.1. ATV up-samples from 44.1 to 48. Not sure if that counts for hdmi also.. Ok, it might be not bit-perfect anymore. It’s not a big deal to me. As long it doesn’t change the wave form, and doesn’t add noise, people won’t hear a difference. For me it certainly doesn’t, so all theory about jitter, reclocking and so on don’t say anything to me.

Apple TV: there will always be haters to proove wrong, but there is not one single device so simple and easy to use.

For the rest of this topic, I like to stick with Raeubers earlier advice:

- ATV with beovision

- Playmaker with a beosound or only beolabs

Just try to keep things real.. Smile

 

Flere
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Flere replied on Mon, Jan 14 2013 1:21 AM
I have an ATV3 connected to a BV10 connected to BL9, all controlled via Beo4.

ATV3 gets the music from a Mac via home sharing in iTunes.

If i play music this way then also the BV10 speaker is used.

I do not want this, the music should come only out of the BL9s

Any settings which auomate this?

I know I can select the right speaker mode with the Beo4, but it would be nice if music would always be played 2.0 in stead of 3.0.

-F

- Flere

smile and enjoy the moment

mbee
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mbee replied on Mon, Jan 14 2013 6:48 AM

I just bought an ATV 3 in december, and thought like many here that I would get "perfect" sound through my beoVision, as it's only the BV DAC that is used. Then I realized that the sound was poor, a bit messy, compared to another airplay (analog) device I used, and of course compared to the BS5E

So I searched the web, found the 48kHz issue, and now, as there is no solution to get a "clear" sound, I don't use ATV for AirPlay audio, I use the other device.

I think that many could be satisfied with the sound of their ATV through BeoVision until they hear what the sound is like with a proper device. For those who have beoVision with S/PDIF coaxial input, I would suggest to use an airport express with a cheap optic to coax converter, the result for music will be perfect, unlike the ATV.

DoubleU
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DoubleU replied on Mon, Jan 14 2013 7:31 AM

@Fiere

Just ADD the AV-command in your beo4 and MOVE it, so it’s set first in your LIST.

Then press LIST, so it shows AV in your display, and choose the source where your ATV is located. Now it will see your ATV as an audio-source and will play only from your bl9’s.

The bv10 needs to be in V.OPT.2

butch1
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butch1 replied on Mon, Jan 14 2013 7:44 AM

I honestly dont know why people listen to music on beolab speakers costing ££££ through apple tv ,like I said a dac makes the difference but jitter is a problem.A lot of people slate beosound 5 etc,but at least its designed for a purpose and the sound quality is better.Source first rubbish in rubbish out.

Why do you think that linn sell loads of ds players because they sound better than most cd players and wipe the floor with every other streamer,also you can listen to hi res downloads,that beleive me make beolab speakers sing.

DoubleU
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DoubleU replied on Mon, Jan 14 2013 8:16 AM

butch1:

Why do you think that linn sell loads of ds players because they sound better than most cd players and wipe the floor with every other streamer,also you can listen to hi res downloads,that beleive me make beolab speakers sing.

This topic isn’t about Linn, nor is it about hi-res audio. It’s about PM vs. ATV, where CD-quality is the standard. How would you stream your hi-res downloads into your PM? 

Millemissen
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Seriously - we could get into a looong discussion about the ATV/upsampling to 48/jitter/and listening-quality now.

Just google for the subject, and you will have a long-time-job reading and understanding.

Those who does not hear a difference or does not care about it, should continue to use the ATV for listening to music.

Those who aren't content with the quality, will find other solutions: a PM is a good one.

 

I have no problems in this matter.

My PM is connected to my Audiomaster (A-MEM). My tv is in another room and has the ATV connected.

If I want to listen/concentrate on listening to my FLAC-files from my NAS I hit A-MEM.

If I am just easylistening - Spotify/internet-radio - I hit AV-DTV for the ATV.

In both cases the iPad controls the show Idea

 

@DoubleU

Streaming highres-audio to the PM (or rather playing through the PM) is no big deal. I have a Squeezebox Touch connected to the line-in of it.

The Squeeze (controlled by Squeezepad) plays my highres-files quite fine. It is well known that it can handlle up to 24/96-files. More critical listeners may use an external DAC - I don't need it..

You might use the DLNA-port of the PM for that as well. But DLNA does not support gaplessplay - the Squeezebox does. The LM-server (on NAS) is very stable and the GUI of the Squeezepad-app is all I need for enjoying my music.

 

I use AirPlay a lot, but only for Spotify, Netradio, podcasts.... with the PM and - of cource - the ATV.

i do not use iTunes at all - it has no support for FLAC No - thumbs down

N.B. You might use any good musicplayer for the line-in of the PM - a Media Core 200 from Meridian, a Sonos, a Vortexbox, a WIN7-pc with JRiver ...... or even a turntable.

Greetings Millemissen

There is a tv - and there is a BV

DoubleU
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DoubleU replied on Mon, Jan 14 2013 2:11 PM

Milemissen, I know we discussed it before and I knew you we're going to say that.  Smile Adding a SB Touch, not a big deal? Maybe not to you, but I think it is. Not everyone has a NAS, nor do they have hi-res audio. 

My reply was based on this topic initiated by the OP, and not to discuss to invest in a 2nd mediaplayer just to serve the PlayMaker. In my opinion it defeats the whole purpose of the Playmaker. I still don't understand why you need a PM, when you can use Spotify, Netradio and Podcasts with ease on a Squeezebox.

Millemissen
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The PM  has 3 inputs and autodetects which one you want to use.

I used to have a manual switch for different sources on the A-AUX-in on my BM.

The DAC of the PM is better than the DAC in the AppleAirportExpress I used before.

I used to have an external DAC for that.

THE PLAYMAKER SIMPLIFIES THE LIFE of a  B&O-user with several different sources.

The subject of this thread was: "Differences between the Playmaker and AppleTV".

To understand these differences, you have to know what is possible with the PM.

 

I need the PM because I can't AirPlay to a Squeezebox!

AirPlay is so easy to use - so easy that even my wife can use it Whistle

And I might some day give up the Squeeze for another player, who knows.

 

You asked the question: "how would you stream your high-res downloads into your PM" - I gave you the answer, explaning how I do it.

So what is your problem?

Greetings Millemissen

There is a tv - and there is a BV

DoubleU
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DoubleU replied on Mon, Jan 14 2013 6:48 PM

Why would I have a problem? Just disagreeing with some points. 

I better stop replying here. That’s ok! 

butch1
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butch1 replied on Mon, Jan 14 2013 7:47 PM

100% agree with millemissen,also apple tv and ae is fine through, cheap systems that are not revealing,,but whats the point through expensive speakers,when playmaker and others simply sound better.

Its like having a top tv and watching a copied pirate movie on it.

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