MrSinatra;496013 Wrote: > > if i was logitech, i'd be looking to create a new paradigm. basically > i would have three boxes: a server only box, a client only box, and a > combo server/client box. all these boxes would support local video and > all of them would support video services like netflix, as well as the > audio/audio services SBS supports now. > > i would consider stopping to support all these different platforms, and > support only my box, as that would create direct revenue streams tied to > server development. it would still be open source, a linux based box, > but the hardware is the key, and having a defined benchmark hardware > wise could only aid in server development. > > in any case, if logitech wants to sell more, the ONLY way they can do > that is to add more. video is the logical next step. simply making the > audio features better, is not likely imo, to move a single SB more (to > new customers). > And what would be the advantage compared to other competing audio+video devices ? As Jim mentions, there are other competing devices that already do this and they do it with a single box.
I'm pretty sure a solution with three different kind of boxes would be be more expensive to develop and create compared to the all in one boxes by the competitors that have similar features. So it will be hard to compete with the price with a setup like this and I personally believe price is very important in the mass market segment. Possibly a cheap client device could make it competitive for users that want audio+video in several rooms, the question is just how many users in the mass market segment that's in this group ? I think there are a lot more people that want the same audio in several rooms compared to the number of people that want the same video in several rooms. Another question is how much similarities there are between streaming video and streaming audio. I don't have enough knowledge myself to say for sure, but there might be too much differences so it's hard to reuse any knowledge from the current Squeezebox. My video usage is typically to turn on the video and watch it for at least 30 minutes before I touch the remote or user interface again, this is completely different compared to my usage of a audio device where the remote control is used a lot more. I personally think it will be a lot harder to compete in the audio+video segment than the only audio segment, but Logitech is used to the audio+video segment so they might have some advantage due to this. They question is just how much the current Squeezebox knowledge is worth in this market segment. MrSinatra;496013 Wrote: > > just in case i was unclear, i certainly did not mean that i thought you > had left "the community" and i'd be very sad if you did. what i meant > is that given how frustrating developing for it as a 3rd party dev has > been for you, i'm surprised you'd want to start this conversation given > that its much more broad and intense and even more likely to be ignored. > ie. if they aren't listening regarding your 3rd party concerns, what > chance is there they will listen to anything said here, a much bigger > topic? > They might listen even though they don't comment it officially. As you saw in the other thread, there were at least one Logitech employee that said he had read all the posts even though he just posted once in the end. I didn't start this thread to get any comments from Logitech, I started it to try open some eyes so people start to realize that supporting more formats and streams might not be enough to compete in the future. Logitech really need to take the next step, else the competition will catch up. Historically I think a lot of the creativity has been introduced through third party development while Logitech/SlimDevices has focused on the basics. I'm not trying to degrade the work done by Logitech/SlimDevices, the basics is often the hardest part and it has too be in place for the rest to work. I'm just saying that I really think some creativity regarding new features is needed to make the product line survive, simply supporting the basics will make it really hard to make it attractive compared to competing products. I think we need more than a device that can play your music, it got to enhance your music listening experience. I don't believe in being silent and hope that someone will do the right thing, it's better to try to say what you think and let someone else decide if it's worth listening or not. -- erland Erland Isaksson 'My homepage' (http://erland.isaksson.info) (Install my plugins through Extension Downloader) (Developer of 'TrackStat, SQLPlayList, DynamicPlayList, Custom Browse, Custom Scan, Custom Skip, Multi Library, Title Switcher and Database Query plugins' (http://wiki.erland.isaksson.info/index.php/Category:SlimServer)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ erland's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3124 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=72512 _______________________________________________ beta mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/beta
