Robin Bowes wrote:
Daryle A. Tilroe wrote:
This is simply not true. Streaming PCM audio over 802.11b is tenuous at best. The bandwidth required and the shallow buffer on the SB make it unsuitable for most applications.
<sign> Just do the math...
802.11b bit rate: 11Mb/s
PCM bit rate: 44,100 x 16 x 2 = 1.41 Mb/s
Even allowing for other traffic, there is ample bandwidth to stream PCM over 801.11b - I'm doing it here (flac files streamed as PCM) without any network dropouts whatsoever.
<double sigh> I did the math over a year ago before I even bought my first (wireless) squeezebox. While in theory your (our) numbers are correct in practice 802.11b never supports that sustained data rate. Sure, in a completely noise free environment and with very high signal strength it may fly, but in real life it rarely does. As I said if it works for you 100% of the time then great but that is not the rule.
Dropouts occur with every telephone and microwave event.
That's a different issue. No wireless solution works well in a noisy environment. 11g is better in this respect.
No it's the same issue. No environment is noise free, particularly in 2.4 GHz these days.
Anyhow, I long ago went wired where I want FLAC and simply want to point out that wireless (at least 802.11b) just sucks in most applications with realworld interference and typical distances from an access point.
Incidentally, the wired interface is only 10BaseT, i.e. 10Mb/s (that's less than 11b). Of course, there's no inteference problem with wired.
If you think that the practical bandwidth and consistency of 802.11b even approaches that of a 10Mb/s Cat5 switch port then you really need more real world network exposure. There is no comparison.
If it works for you then great, but I suspect that some or all of the following are true: you are close to you access point and/or it has little to block the signal; you and your neighbours have no microwaves or cordless phones; you have some directional antenna setup.
And if it doesn't work for you, I'm sorry to hear that but I suspect some or all of the following are true:
You are too far from your access point
You're in a noisy environment
Your antenna is faulty/has a loose connection and/or is plugged into the "wrong" port internally (search the lists for details of this issue and how to fix it
I am far from alone, having followed the list, and the only reason more don't have this problem is that few stream uncompressed audio. As for your parody of my list well, where is a <rollyeyes> icon when I really need it?
If you have to have access points 'near' all your 'wireless' devices then it's not very wireless is it? Might as well run the Cat5 a few extra feet and plug in directly.
As for noisy, it is an average home with a microwave and cordless phone. 2.4GHz is a crowed band and noise and interference are a rule not the exception.
As for the antenna: this 'solution' came up very recently and, from the postings, I don't think it affected my wireless SB of well over a year ago; in any event I have not checked because that is my outside 'summer' system that is packed away in the basement right now. My stereo systems have wired only models.
When I was fighting to get it reliable last year the signal strength was usually adequate (~70% IIRC) but use the phone or microwave and forget it (never mind your neighbours phones, microwaves, and wireless devices). The high bandwidth required coupled with the shallow buffer make uncompressed audio dropouts almost inevitable.
-- Daryle A. Tilroe _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
