Squeezebox Duet

I have mentioned the Duet a number of times here, but it took me longer than expected to get one myself. But it has been worth waiting... I must say my impressions after unpacking, setting up and using the Duet for a few days now are at least equal to the first impressions I had when the first "classic" Squeezebox arrived two years ago.

To those of you who have no idea what I am talking about: Squeezebox is an audio streamer. It takes music in a digital form (like MP3 files on a server or Internet radio) over the Ethernet (wired or wireless) and plays it in an analog form (via an external amplifier). So usually it replaces a CD player in a living room, giving instant access to the entire music library. The server that Squeezebox connects to is a software, running on many platforms - PCs, MACs, Linuxes. Personally I use the ReadyNAS server - it comes with the Squeezecenter (the Squeezebox server software) preinstalled.

The entire revolution in the new Squeezebox Duet is the wireless controller. The "classic" Squeezebox was equipped with a fluorescent display and was controlled the old-fashioned way by an infrared remote. Plus it could have been controlled via Web browser connected to the Squeezecenter. The Duet takes the display out of the player and places it on the remote controller. And this makes the difference. It feels like an iPod - a scroll wheel and a color display. The controller connects to the player and to the server over WiFi, so no more need to point at the receiver and no range problems. It can control many Squeezeboxes by simply switching between them. And there is an option to "synchronize" selected players (by ticking checkboxes on the list of available players), so they play the same content, synchronized - a perfect solution for multiroom audio setup. The enhancement in the latest version of the software lets even synchronize live Internet audio streams (like the Pandora), because the Squeezecenter works now as a proxy / relay. And last but not least I was very pleasantly surprised the new remote can control the old "classic" Squeezebox equally well... So a hint to the "classic" owners - no need to go for the new setup if you envy me - just purchase the controller itself :)

Closer looks at the new controller show Logitech has some more serious plans related to the Squeezebox platform. A few hints of what we may get in not so distant future:

• There clearly is an infrared transmitter. That would mean Logitech would probably introduce a software bringing the features of the Harmony line of programmable universal remote controllers.
  
• There is a 3.5mm audio port. I tried to plug my headphones in, but could not hear anything. Anyway... it is there for a reason.
• There is a hidden Secure Digital socket in the battery compartment. May be to accommodate future software releases. Or may be to download / cache locally some content an be able to play it back on the road?
• The controller has also an accelerometer built-in. At the moment it is nicely being used to "wake up" the display when you pick the controller up. But may be in future it will be used as an universal "gyro" to control the Linux MCE? That would make the Squeezebox the ultimate home multimedia platform...!