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In: Home Theater
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I’m in the midst of figuring out how to get music from my computer to my house and my car. There are so many formats, codecs, and DRM systems that it has been difficult for me to pick the best format. I started with 128kbps fixed bit rate mp3, then went to ~220kbps Variable Bit Rate mp3, and then tried DRM-protected WMA files downloaded from MusicMatch, and finally WMA Lossless. Of these, the VBR mp3 seems to be the most universal and offers great sound, though it is a lossy format. Looking at the devices I will probably be using, FLAC (free lossless audio codec)Read More →

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I’ve been using MusicMatch Jukebox as my main media player for at least 5 years now and I purchased a lifetime upgrade long ago. Today, I’ve decided to abandon it for several reasons. First of all, I found a bug that can delete music files when using the supertagging feature. I lost half of two different albums and music management software should never do that. Secondly, I’ve purchased about 100 DRM-protected songs from them. Many of these song are mis-tagged and there is no way for me to edit the tags. For example, some are “Norah Jones” and some are “Jones, Norah” and want themRead More →

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In: Home Theater
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Let the music player testing begin. I’ve decided it’s time to get the music off of my PC and into the rest of the house where it can be enjoyed. I’m having a tough time deciding which player to buy; I’d narrowed it down to the Roku SoundBridge M2000 and the Sonos ZonePlayer but couldn’t decide based on features alone, so I ordered both. The winner will stay and the looser will be returned. I also considered the SlimDevices SqueezeBox2 but it is basically the same as the Roku without any support for WMA DRM-protected files that I purchased, so I marked it off myRead More →

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In: Home Theater
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I’ve been buying music online from Musicmatch for the past year and a half. I like the fact that they have fairly high bit rates (168K) and that Musicmatch Jukebox is so easy to use. Now that However, now that I’ve started listening to music on multiple PC around the house, I’ve become very frustrated with the DRM and the fact that I requires that I jump through so many hoops. I have to play every single song in Musicmatch Jukebox on every PC so it can first download the decryption keys. As I download more music, I have to repeat the process. It’s myRead More →

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In: Automotive, Home Theater
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I’ve been wanting to purchase a PhatNoise digital music player for a long time. I like that how well it can integrate with an OEM headunit and I really want to be able to listen to my entire music collection during my 45-minute commute to work without messing with Discs. However, I’ve held off purchasing one because they have yet to add the ability to play WMA protected songs; I saw no hope of them every playing iTunes FairPlay protected songs. However, I’ve changed my mind. Goodbye PhatNoise, I never really knew ya. I’ve read of multiple companies (Blitz Safe, Soundgate, Precision Interface Electronics (PIE)Read More →

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I’ve been following the debate regarding Real Networks releasing their new Harmony software. This software allows users to purchase songs from Real and copy them to an Apple iPod as well as any device capable of playing protected WMA files. I think it is great that Real is givin Apple iPod owners an alternative to iTunes Music Store because choice is always a good thing. What I can’t believe is how upset iPod users and Apple loyalists are about this. Real hasn’t done anything wrong; I’ve studied the DMCA and read several articles and Real has is in the clear. Real isn’t causing the iPodRead More →

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In: Concerts
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It had been about a year since I last saw the band and seeing them again was an extremely enjoyable experience. This was the freshest I’ve seen the band in about 3 years. I didn’t expect Warehouse as an opener; the violin playing at the end was new and energetic and set off a great beginning. Granny and Gray Street, two of my favorite songs, followed. Next came a song I’d never heard before. There were a total of 5 new songs that I’d never heard. Other than Gravedigger, I hadn’t heard much new in quite some time. Grace is Gone was stated with aRead More →

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We attended this show with friends Bryan and Tammy Willett. We arrived early and tailgated at Camp Huggy Bear before the show. For some reason, the crowd seemed very thin and dead. Perhaps it was because I did too much tailgating prior to the show. Unfortunately for my wife, I was overly entertaining. Setlist: Dave Matthews Band June 29, 2003 Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, IN Pig G1 Too Much G1 Grey Street G1 When the World Ends G1 Angel G1 You Never Know G1 #41 G1 Don’t Drink the Water G1 The Dreaming Tree G1 Jimi Thing ~ G1 Kit Kat Jam G1 GraceRead More →

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In: Concerts
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This was the second Dave & Tim show I’ve attended and clearly the best. I funded some college students semester when I purchased front row tickets off of Ebay, and it was worth every penny. I drove up to campus a few weeks before the show to pick-up the tickets in person — I wanted to make sure I had them in-hand. The night of the show, I was supposed to have been attending an economics class that was part of my IU MBA program, but instead I skipped and went to Purdue University with my wife. An amazing 3+ hour show. This is theRead More →

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In: Concerts
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This is the second DMB show for Nicole and a I this summer. The set list for this show was very similar to the setlist played in Cincinnati, with half the songs being the same. This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy hearing them again — the show was excellent. Compared to Riverbend, the sound at Deer Creek (aka Verizion Wireless) was much better. Riverbend was very muffled and overly bass-heavy where I was sitting. Plus, the low ceiling of the Riverbend amphitheater gave a very cramped feeling. Deercreek is much preferred. The Stone is a great opener and was just enjoyable theRead More →