Christian Pernegger Wrote: 
> > The Roku uses the Windows Media Connect (WMC) feature of XP SP2 as
> its
> > "server".  No third party software is required.
> 
> So that really means using either Slimserver or WMC, but not both at
> the same time. Not very practical - for me, the features and
> versatility of Slimserver are one of the main selling points for the
> devices. (That, and the fact that I can run Slimserver directly on my
> 24/7 file server, which runs Linux.)
> 
> How could one go on about _integrating_ the two interfaces, that's the
> question.
> 
> > As far as I know, WMC manages all the DRM stuff on the PC so the
> device doesn't
> > have to.
> 
> Really? - So I'd just have to put a sniffer on the network between the
> two devices to get unencryted data? Unlikely, but worth a try. Is
> there a network sniffer module for perl? :)
> 
I agree Slimserver has some cool features. And if you're not willing to
use an XP box as your music server, then Windows Media Connect (for the
time being at least) is not an option. I also agree it would be ideal
to have Slim support both servers online at once, or at the least, be
able to flip between them easily from the SB interface.

The above suggestion to let Slimserver (rather than the SB) get the
tracks from WMC is also an interesting idea.  If that can be done, Slim
might not have to even touch the firmware?

As for the data format between the Roku and the WMC PC, I'm not sure if
it's encrypted or not?  A DRM WMA PC is capable of authenticating the
DRM tracks and exporting them to a portable device where they play
without any internet connection.  After some period of time (several
weeks with Yahoo) you have to reconnect the portable device to your PC
to verify you still have a valid subscription and the music is
re-authenticated.  In the interest of preventing illegal ripping of the
DRM content, I suspect they encrypt the stream to local devices on your
network as well as the tracks on your portable device?

At these prices, it is hardly worth it for most people to worry about
trying to break the DRM?  It's also not likely Yahoo, one of the top 3
portals on the internet, is going to pull out anytime soon leaving you
with a dead music collection.  At worst, they might raise their prices
but there's likely to be some healthy competition among music
subscription services which should keep prices down.

If Yahoo makes a wrong turn, or something vastly better comes along, I
have a folder of all my Yahoo music to use as a guide to download what
I want from a new service.  With my cable modem, I've been getting
download speeds from Yahoo of 350 - 450 KB/sec (3+ Mb/sec) so it's only
about 10 seconds per track. And it's SO much easier than ripping CDs! 
You can tag dozens of albums for download and just let it run.


-- 
AV_Guy
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