Airport Express to Sound Amplifier

On SaturdayFeb 16, 2008, at 4:31 PM, Hank Harken wrote:

> It's difficult to argue against the statistics but, as one person in a
> gazillion, I've had zero problems with the AirPort Express product.
> I originally bought one after my old Airport graphite stations died
> due
> to the capacitor problem. It worked so great that I picked up two
> more
> Express units at the Apple Store in the same way, from the
> clearance bin
> at a greatly reduced price.

At least two years ago, probably longer, I bought a Belkin 54g router
which then got attached to my Dell Windoze XP-SP2 desktop. It ran a
Toshiba laptop on a network, my wife's MacBook and the Dell quite
nicely. When I bought an iMac Intel 20" OS-X Tiger in March 2006,
the Belkin router got attached to it and worked just fine. Then, in
July 2006 I acquired a MacBookPro Intel OS-X Tiger and the Belkin
worked quite well.

Maybe 6 months ago, I acquired the Airport Express in order to attach
it to the new Home Entertainment system amplifier, and had it
installed by Circuit City's Firedog. For all that time until now, it
also worked just fine and I could play iTunes music and radio through
the HE system.

My current problem stems from about a week ago. Basically, the
Airport Express simply failed and won't work to put the iTunes music
or radio stations through the sound amplifier. I've tried all the
suggestions here, including resetting the factory defaults three
times, rebooting the iMac, etc. After it failed, for one day it
worked just fine, and then failed again and presently will not work.
I get nothing through the Amplifier. We can watch Direct TV, DVDs,
and listen to FM radio over the HE system, but not use the Airport
Express/iTunes.

The Belkin 54g works just fine today, except it seems to be slow (I
recently tried transferring 3 G of images from the MacBookPro to the
iMac, and it took over 2 hours). We have the iMac, this MacBookPro,
and my wife's MacBook all connected and working just fine. We also
run Three (countem' -- 3) printers on this network, two Epsons and a
Brother B&W laser printer used for simple documents.

The MacBookPro goes with me to my office and connects to the internet
there on an ethernet system ultimately to AT&T for ISP and a
webhosting service. No problems there.

All of these machines are running Tiger OS X 10.4.11. I won't move
to Leopard until Adobe issues universal binary Photoshop Elements 6
sometime next month.

One comment noted that with RogueAmoeba I could get rid of the
Airport Express. How so? I did not understand that point. Doesn't
something [a piece of hardware] at the Amplifier need to receive the
signal from the iMac? Perhaps I should try Linksys for both the main
router and the one connected to the Amplifier, or maybe a faster Belkin?

I've appreciate very much the help and suggestions, and would welcome
more.

Dave
Dave Clark
http://home.earthlink.net/~dc1999/
http://web.mac.com/dave28c
http://www.clarklawfirm.com

Kevin van Haaren wrote:
> --On February 12, 2008 5:48:31 PM -0800 David Clark <dave28cmac.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Great, that worked. Took three tries, but holding the button 15
>> seconds (what a crazy system -- use a straightened paper clip!!!)
>> finally did it. Now, it's getting Radio from iTunes.
>
> Glad that worked! You can tell us techies that came up through the trenches
> by asking to see the straightened paper clip (or half-straight in my case,
> the still bent side makes an excellent screw driver) in our wallets. Even
> though I don't do hardware support anymore I've still got one.

Here's one for you. I couldn't get a router to reset. It was a Netopia that you had to insert an "intact" paper clip into to reset. I gave up and dismantled the thing assuming it a broken switch I could manually reset. (This was a business class router that could be replaced at Best Buy.) After getting it apart there was no switch. Just 2 metal contacts. The paper clip reset depended on using a metal clip to short the contacts. I was using a plastic coated pretty colored one.

Live and learn.

David Ross

At 11:02 PM -0800 2/17/08, David Clark wrote:
>One comment noted that with RogueAmoeba I could get rid of the
>Airport Express. How so? I did not understand that point. Doesn't
>something [a piece of hardware] at the Amplifier need to receive the
>signal from the iMac? Perhaps I should try Linksys for both the main
>router and the one connected to the Amplifier, or maybe a faster Belkin?

Yeah, unfortunately, you still need the AirPort Express with AirFoil.
What AirFoil does is allow any application to send audio to the
AirPort Express, something that Apple otherwise limits to iTunes.

I'm on my second AirPort Express, which I generally like. Both worked
basically well, but the first one failed entirely after a few years,
possibly due to a serious spike on the electricity (it's one of the
few bits of computer gear I have that's not protected by a UPS given
where it has to be plugged in).

cheers... -Adam

--
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS Publisher <http://www.tidbits.com/adam/>

On or about 2/17/08 11:02 PM, thus spake "David Clark" <dave28cmac.com>:

> One comment noted that with RogueAmoeba I could get rid of the
> Airport Express. How so? I did not understand that point. Doesn't
> something [a piece of hardware] at the Amplifier need to receive the
> signal from the iMac?

Yes, of course. But with Airfoil, that piece of hardware can be a computer.
I have a portable computer connected directly to my stereo already (it is
the music server, the CD/DVD player, the "tape recorder", etc.) so there's
no need for an Airport Express to communicate wirelessly to the stereo
computer from any other computer on the network. m.

On TuesdayFeb 19, 2008, at 3:04 AM, Adam C. Engst wrote:

> Yeah, unfortunately, you still need the AirPort Express with AirFoil.
> What AirFoil does is allow any application to send audio to the
> AirPort Express, something that Apple otherwise limits to iTunes.
>
>
> I'm on my second AirPort Express, which I generally like. Both worked
> basically well, but the first one failed entirely after a few years,
> possibly due to a serious spike on the electricity (it's one of the
> few bits of computer gear I have that's not protected by a UPS given
> where it has to be plugged in).
>
> cheers... -Adam
>
> --
> Adam C. Engst, TidBITS Publisher <http://www.tidbits.com/adam/>
>

Thanks for the comment, and I've concluded that on my own.
Yesterday I went to Circuit City where I originally bought the
Airport Express. They refused to do anything, ignoring
responsibilities under California law respecting warranties. After
talking to the "assistant manager" and waiting for 15 minutes, he
gave me Apple's 800 number. I plan to contact Apple today. I
suppose there may be a simple fix, perhaps one involving
configuration or some other easily completed item.

Dave

Dave Clark
http://home.earthlink.net/~dc1999/
http://web.mac.com/dave28c
http://www.clarklawfirm.com

On Feb 19, 2008, at 10:51 AM, David Clark wrote:
> I plan to contact Apple today. I
> suppose there may be a simple fix, perhaps one involving
> configuration or some other easily completed item.
>
> Dave

I tellya', the Dummies books were designed for guys like me.

I called Apple's tech support, talked to the "network specialists"
lady, and she walked me through running the Airport Express Setup
Assistant, which I didn't even know existed. The Assistant takes you
through a series of easy screens and gives the user the option to
connect Airport Express to the existing network. Now everything is
working just fine, Boz Skaggs from iTunes on my HE system, and then
switched to a good Rock radio station. Cool!!!

Problem solved.

Again, thanks for all the help and suggestions.

BTW, iTunes has a HUGE selection of radio stations in 25 different
genres. Will still probably try Rogueamoeba.

Dave

  
  

On or about 2/19/08 3:04 AM, thus spake "Adam C. Engst" <acetidbits.com>:

> At 11:02 PM -0800 2/17/08, David Clark wrote:
>> One comment noted that with RogueAmoeba I could get rid of the
>> Airport Express. How so? I did not understand that point. Doesn't
>> something [a piece of hardware] at the Amplifier need to receive the
>> signal from the iMac? Perhaps I should try Linksys for both the main
>> router and the one connected to the Amplifier, or maybe a faster Belkin?
>
> Yeah, unfortunately, you still need the AirPort Express with AirFoil.

No, not any more! Airfoil 3 has changed all that. You just download an app
called "Airfoil Speakers" and presto, you can stream from Airfoil to another
Mac with no AirPort Express in the picture. Adam, you must have been, uh,
kind of busy during Macworld to miss this: this was, to me, the MAJOR
announcement of the expo! m.

>On or about 2/19/08 3:04 AM, thus spake "Adam C. Engst" <acetidbits.com>:
>
>> At 11:02 PM -0800 2/17/08, David Clark wrote:
>>> One comment noted that with RogueAmoeba I could get rid of the
>>> Airport Express. How so? I did not understand that point. Doesn't
>>> something [a piece of hardware] at the Amplifier need to receive the
>>> signal from the iMac? Perhaps I should try Linksys for both the main
>>> router and the one connected to the Amplifier, or maybe a faster Belkin?
>>
>> Yeah, unfortunately, you still need the AirPort Express with AirFoil.
>
>No, not any more! Airfoil 3 has changed all that. You just download an app
>called "Airfoil Speakers" and presto, you can stream from Airfoil to another
>Mac with no AirPort Express in the picture. Adam, you must have been, uh,
>kind of busy during Macworld to miss this: this was, to me, the MAJOR
>announcement of the expo! m.

Yeah, I forgot about Airfoil Speakers! But you still need a Mac that
can connect to the stereo, and if you have a Mac connected to the
stereo already, it's a bit less of a win (in my view) to use Airfoil
instead of the Mac that's directly connected.

cheers... -Adam

On or about 2/20/08 9:47 PM, thus spake "Adam C. Engst" <acetidbits.com>:


> Yeah, I forgot about Airfoil Speakers! But you still need a Mac that
> can connect to the stereo, and if you have a Mac connected to the
> stereo already, it's a bit less of a win (in my view) to use Airfoil
> instead of the Mac that's directly connected.

Yes and no. As I said before, I *always* have a Mac connected to my stereo,
since that is my primary way to listen to CDs, watch DVDs, and listen to
Internet radio and iTunes. (Frankly, I don't understand why anyone
*wouldn't* do this. But perhaps that's another story.) However, given the
existence of that Mac, it seems nutty to require an additional piece of
hardware (the Airport Express) just so I can also stream from *other*
computers to the stereo - especially when that additional piece of hardware
(Airport Express) is famous for crapping out. The joy of Airfoil 3 is that
now there's no need to do that. m.

--
matt neuburg, phd = matttidbits.com, http://www.tidbits.com/matt/
pantes anthropoi tou eidenai oregontai phusei
Among the 2007 MacTech Top 25, http://tinyurl.com/2rh4pf
AppleScript: the Definitive Guide, http://tinyurl.com/2ouo3b
Take Control of Customizing Leopard, http://tinyurl.com/2t9629
TidBITS, Mac news and reviews since 1990, http://www.tidbits.com

On Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 6:38 PM, Matt Neuburg <matttidbits.com> wrote:
>
> Yes and no. As I said before, I *always* have a Mac connected to my stereo,
> since that is my primary way to listen to CDs, watch DVDs, and listen to
> Internet radio and iTunes. (Frankly, I don't understand why anyone
> *wouldn't* do this. But perhaps that's another story.) However, given the
> existence of that Mac, it seems nutty to require an additional piece of
> hardware (the Airport Express) just so I can also stream from *other*
> computers to the stereo - especially when that additional piece of hardware
> (Airport Express) is famous for crapping out. The joy of Airfoil 3 is that
> now there's no need to do that. m.
>

I agree with you that when you have a Mac connected to your
stereo/receiver/amplifier system it doesn't make sense to require an
Airport Express. What I do think is kind of strange is that you find
it some how odd that someone wouldn't have a Mac connected to those
systems. Why would they? Over the years all of my extra Mac computers
have gone to other people. All of those have been iMacs in some form
and one Quicksilver Mac. None of those have any place in most peoples'
entertainment centers. The one that I haven't given out is a MacMini
G4 that I'm trying to figure out if I want to spend money on actually
connecting with my stereo and TV. Of course I have to buy cables, get
another cable run back to my hub or buy an overpriced AirPort card and
crack it open to install it (no AirPort in this one) and then buy a
USB IR receiver to actually make it useful in that fashion.

So why should I spend money just to hook up my Mac to a stereo/TV?

--
Michael
----------------------------------------------------------------
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0

cuz I find it funny

As I said before, I *always* have a Mac connected to my stereo, since that is my primary way to listen to CDs, watch DVDs, and listen to Internet radio and iTunes. (Frankly, I don't understand why anyone *wouldn't* do this. But perhaps that's another story.)

Why would anyone not do this? Well, perhaps because the Mac is upstairs in the computer room, and the stereo is downstairs in the living room. Iit's a lot cheaper to buy an Airport Express than to buy another Mac to act as an audio conduit.

On or about 2/23/08 4:00 PM, thus spake "Michael Krzyzek"
<michaeltactile.com>:

> Over the years all of my extra Mac computers
> have gone to other people.

On or about 2/23/08 4:00 PM, thus spake "SteveJ1" <stevej1mac.com>:

> the Mac is upstairs in the computer room, and the stereo is downstairs in the
> living room

Wait... So you guys don't have a closet full of left-over computers? I'm
only one person but I've got five Macs (six if you count the Pismo that's
"on loan" to my Dad). Naturally I just assumed that everyone lived like
that... :)

Anyhow, let me describe my setup. I really need a portable, because giving
presentations is part of how I make my living, and also just because being
able to continue my other forms of work while travelling is useful. But my
main machine is an iMac.

(And, yes, there really are three other computers in the house. Never mind
what *they* are for.)

So when I'm not travelling, the portable is the stereo-connected machine.
And when I *am* travelling, the portable goes with me; there is no
stereo-connected machine, but I assume that the cockroaches don't mind. At
least, they've never complained.

m.


--
matt neuburg, phd = matttidbits.com, http://www.tidbits.com/matt/
pantes anthropoi tou eidenai oregontai phusei
Among the 2007 MacTech Top 25, http://tinyurl.com/2rh4pf
AppleScript: the Definitive Guide, http://tinyurl.com/2ouo3b
Take Control of Customizing Leopard, http://tinyurl.com/2t9629
TidBITS, Mac news and reviews since 1990, http://www.tidbits.com

am 24.02.2008 11:02 Uhr schrieb tidbits-talktidbits.com unter
tidbits-talktidbits.com:
 
>> As I said before, I *always* have a Mac connected to my stereo, since that
>> is my primary way to listen to CDs, watch DVDs, and listen to Internet radio
>> and iTunes. (Frankly, I don't understand why anyone *wouldn't* do this. But
>> perhaps that's another story.)
>
> Why would anyone not do this? Well, perhaps because the Mac is upstairs in the
> computer room, and the stereo is downstairs in the living room. Iit's a lot
> cheaper to buy an Airport Express than to buy another Mac to act as an audio
> conduit.
>
For years I had an "old" PowerMac 6100/60 hooked up to my stereo, running
Mac OS 8.1 and SoundJam MP. SoundJam was set to "random" and everytime I
switched it on, it played different music. Once in a while I hooked it up to
my Ethernet and copied the new MP3 files onto it.

Now that the internal HDs (I replaced the CD Rom with another HD) were
becoming too small, I replaced it with an iPod 60 GB. This I hook up once in
a while to my Mac and synchronize the newest MP3 files onto it...

Udo

On 23-Feb-2008, at 17:00, Michael Krzyzek wrote:
> So why should I spend money just to hook up my Mac to a stereo/TV?


I spent a half hour yesterday watching clips of Terry Fator on my 7'
projection TV off places like Google Videos and youTube. We also
watched will.i.am's "Yes You Can" video and the new Indiana Jones
trailer.

Then we watched my DVD rip of When Harry Met Sally followed by Fright
Night, all off the computer.

I also use it to play music, watch dvds, watch other movies, and even
check out trailers. I'm not using a Mac because I don't have a spare
Mac 'good enough' to do everything I want, so I have a kinda lousy PC
with a decent video card in it do all of this, so I don't get Front
Row, or anything like it, which is too bad.

I would like an Apple TV, but I don't have an HDMI or even DVI based
TV at this point.

Besides, iTouch and Time Capsule are higher on the list.

--
Rumour is information distilled so finely that it can filter through
anything. It does not need doors and windows -- sometimes it does not
need people. It can exist free and wild, running from ear to ear
without ever touching lips.

On Feb 24, 2008, at 5:12 PM, Matt Neuburg wrote:

> Wait... So you guys don't have a closet full of left-over computers?

Well, I don't think the 7300 is up to the task. Nor the MacPlus. Nor
the original Mac upgraded to 512K. Nor the Apple //e. Nor the
Apple //gs. Nor the Apple ][ (serial 537 motherboard) even with Disk ]
[ Serial 35.

The IIci went to the company and was retired from there. And the 8100
went to the local high school where it displaced an SE-30 (and
wouldn't have been accepted for the past 4 years or so).

And I don't particularly want to attach any of the three machines I
use actively.

   --John

I use an Apple TV on a 36" Toshiba CRT TV w/out HDMI or DVI using component video Red/Green/Blue and optical audio. So far it's worked just fine for me. :-)

I'm using an Onkyo receiver as the intermediate device.

On MondayFeb 25, 2008, at 7:53 AM, dwmreg wrote:

> I use an Apple TV on a 36" Toshiba CRT TV w/out HDMI or DVI using
> component video Red/Green/Blue and optical audio. So far it's
> worked just fine for me. :-)
>
> I'm using an Onkyo receiver as the intermediate device.
> --
> If you want to unsubscribe or change your address, use this link:
> http://emperor.tidbits.com/webx?unsub.3c3f6899!u=30a39ba0

Right now, son-in-law (MIT grad and certified Super-Geek) has the
whole HE system all over the floor, hopefully he'll get finished
today to fix all the OTHER problems we've had with it. Our receiver
is also Onkyo, the TV is Visio 47 inch, and we're on DirectTV with
its DVR. We also have a Harmony universal remote that itself
requires a PhD to install and run.

While Apple isn't perfect, most of their systems work well most of
the time, are fairly intuitive, and they have absolutely the greatest
Tech Support imaginable. Plus, there are all the great people on
lists like this. All things considered, AppleCare is a great deal.
I'm happy to pay a few hundred dollars extra to install a $5K system,
but in my case they did it wrong, won't fix the problems, and won't
even answer the phone calls I've made to HQ. Why or why can't the
HE manufactures create the same easily installed and used systems
plus decent tech support? Perhaps they like the current system
because then the Circuit City/Best Buys of the world can upsell
consumers on their "Firedoggie" help.

On 02/26/2008 16:11 PM, "David Clark" <dave28cmac.com> wrote:

> While Apple isn't perfect, most of their systems work well most of
> the time, are fairly intuitive, and they have absolutely the greatest
> Tech Support imaginable. Plus, there are all the great people on
> lists like this. All things considered, AppleCare is a great deal.
> I'm happy to pay a few hundred dollars extra to install a $5K system,
> but in my case they did it wrong, won't fix the problems, and won't
> even answer the phone calls I've made to HQ. Why or why can't the
> HE manufactures create the same easily installed and used systems
> plus decent tech support? Perhaps they like the current system
> because then the Circuit City/Best Buys of the world can upsell
> consumers on their "Firedoggie" help.
>

This is what happens when you shave your margins razor-thin. The first thing
to get gutted is support. Part of an Apple, or a BMW having higher margins
is that they can afford to have things like Genius Bars, or pleasant waiting
areas/nicer loaners.

--
John C. Welch Writer/Analyst
Bynkii.com Mac and other opinions
jwelchbynkii.com

On Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008, at 2:26 PM, John C. Welch wrote:

> On 02/26/2008 16:11 PM, "David Clark" <dave28cmac.com> wrote:
>
>> While Apple isn't perfect, most of their systems work well most of
>> the time, are fairly intuitive, and they have absolutely the greatest
>> Tech Support imaginable. Plus, there are all the great people on
>> lists like this. All things considered, AppleCare is a great deal.
>> I'm happy to pay a few hundred dollars extra to install a $5K system,
>> but in my case they did it wrong, won't fix the problems, and won't
>> even answer the phone calls I've made to HQ. Why or why can't the
>> HE manufactures create the same easily installed and used systems
>> plus decent tech support? Perhaps they like the current system
>> because then the Circuit City/Best Buys of the world can upsell
>> consumers on their "Firedoggie" help.
>>
>
> This is what happens when you shave your margins razor-thin. The
> first thing
> to get gutted is support. Part of an Apple, or a BMW having higher
> margins
> is that they can afford to have things like Genius Bars, or
> pleasant waiting
> areas/nicer loaners.

I've taken a quick look recently at the California Consumer Warranty
Act, not studied it deeply, but the thought of referring my problem
with Circuit City to a really good class action lawyer has occurred
to me more than once. The Act clearly provides for a one year
warranty (which cannot be waived), and I do believe that helping the
consumer get a high-tech, complex product working again is part of
the warranty obligation.

Circuit City also needs some training for their sales staff. The
clerk told me the warranty is only 30-days.

Candidly, I'd be willing to pay a sum (how much, depends) to get
decent tech support on an item such as my $5K HE set. I've done that
with my Apple computers, and before that with Dell, to get telephone
support out to three years.

The Apple tech support people fixed my Airport Express issue because
I had AppleCare for the iMac. The "fix" was nothing more complex
than running the Set Up Assistant program (which I knew nothing about
since Firedoggie had installed the unit).



Dave Clark
http://home.earthlink.net/~dc1999/
http://web.mac.com/dave28c
http://www.clarklawfirm.com

Hi everyone,

This is just the place to vent my spleen. I am posting this so that all of you may be aware of what to expect service-wise from this company.

Yesterday, I downloaded a demo version of an application called "SyncTogether" from a company called Mark/Space Inc. It was my intention to purchase this product if the demo did what it was supposed to do.

When I tried to launch the app, it failed to do so. Thinking that there may be a conflict with another app, I shut down my Mac and restarted so that only the Finder was open. SyncTogether still failed to open so, after going through their support pages and finding nothing that even remotely dealt with this problem, I sent a request to their Customer Sales & service for some advice on how to get started with their app. I got the following response"

Quote

Hello

Since you are on a trial, the support is limited. Feel free to access our KB and Forums for additional information.

https://support.markspace.com/index....4&pcid=0&nav=0

http://forums.markspace.com/ Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance to you. Have a great day.

Best regards,

La'Keith Mark/Space Inc. Sales Representative

Unquote.



Presumably this company posts a demo on their website so that potential customers can try it before deciding to buy. If the product won't open and their staff refuse to offer help and advice, what is the point of having a demo on their web page? A really great example of caveat emptor.

Hope you all have a great day.

Roger