# Internet Receivers/Airplay



## kenbola (Jan 24, 2012)

Just a few thoughts on internet receivers -
- Internet Receivers are a GREAT way to listen to streaming music stations and streaming music services like Pandora, Slacker, and other aps. 
Here's a few things to consider when purchasing your first internet receiver-
1- Does the receiver have built in wifi?
2-If not, what is the cost of the adapter? (they add $$$ to the price of the receiver)
3-How easy is it to set-up the wifi adapter or built in wifi?
4- What streaming music aps are built-in to the receiver?
There are some very BIG differences between brands when it comes to the above factors. 

Also, AIRPLAY is a big selling point offered now by Onkyo, Pioneer, Yamaha and others. However, in order to use AIRPLAY, you need to have your receiver connected to your router. Easier said than done, if your wifi router is located in a different room than your receiver. You'll need a WIFI connection in this case- and these are not always easy to set-up by a novice. 

Your thoughts and comments to learn more about internet receivers and Airplay is welcome. 
onder::wave:


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

You know, I didn't realize that the Wi-Fi set up could be difficult. When I hooked my X-box into my HT system, it was all automatic, I just clicked connect & it set up everything by itself. I mean I had to create a password, but it was very simple & I am a total novice. Anything on my PC can be on my HTS with it.


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## kenbola (Jan 24, 2012)

That's good to know X was easy but that is not surprising. 
Onkyo receiver was easy to set-up wifi and had lots of aps. 
Yamaha receiver was very complicated to set up wifi and had NO apps except Vnet streaming radio (which is pretty cool actually). I wonder if Denon and Marantz and Pioneer are good internet wifi receivers. Hoping to get some feedback from members.


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## 8086 (Aug 4, 2009)

There are a lot of non-receiver type devices out there that can stream audio-video-pictures to an AV system. DVD players, PopCorn Hour, and PS3 to name a few. I don't have a mac but in my case I use my PS3 to stream entertainment from my desktop to the TV. All you need is software (nero is a great choice) to handle the PC end and the client will receive the rest via DLNA. 

I've noticed the connection over WiFi can be a tad laggy so I tend to keep it disabled and rely on my gigabit wired connection. 

http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/


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## kenbola (Jan 24, 2012)

I have a wifi SMP-200 streamer. It works very well and was simple to set up. But when it comes to simplicity, you just can't beat using a Yamaha or Onkyo ipod/android ap to control EVERYTHING. 
The aps are better than a logitech remote, especially in a multi-zone (outdoor speakers) environment. 
I am hooked on how cool the aps are. (and of course the aps are all free)


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

kenbola said:


> 2-If not, what is the cost of the adapter? (they add $$$ to the price of the receiver)


Good point about the wifi adapters. I have noticed some TVs and AVRs that advertise wifi capability force you to purchase separately a proprietary USB wifi adapter in order to make use of the feature.



kenbola said:


> I wonder if Denon and Marantz and Pioneer are good internet wifi receivers. Hoping to get some feedback from members.


I used the Airplay feature on my Marantz SR7005 with my iPad and iPhone and loved it. Pandora as well. Also, on the higher level Marantz models, firmware updates can be done via the internet connection. In fact, the AirPlay feature was not originally included on the SR7005, but I added it via the web update after purchasing the receiver. I had mine wired to my network, so unfortunately I'm not sure what options Marantz offers for wifi adapters.


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## RTS100x5 (Sep 12, 2009)

Many things to consider is correct... As an end user and HT installer I use AIRPLAY , Internet Radio and DNLA as a selling point quite often...Only the lowest budget proposals do I not include any type of streaming media capability... usually the "spouse" who does not approve of extra money being spent on entertainment systems, which is unfortunate but understandable when considering that most of them are buying a new home and are just being conservative...

I do almost insist that in any pre wired new construction that multiple CAT5 runs be made to each HDTV and media streaming locations....mainly to avoid inherent problems with wifi streaming such as latency and connectivity issues...In cases where a wifi connection is a must Ive been using the ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless router with very good results... I had to insist on this router on these jobs mainly due to poor performance issues of standard wifi / routers issued by cable or DSL installers (especially Uverse)

For those of you considering whole house audio systems I have recently began selling the RUSSOUND MCA-C3 multi-zone amplifier and I am very impressed with this product. I mention this product as it is a logical extension of a streaming media scenario - one which is also fairly easy to retro fit in most situations... 
It easily uses a ZONE 2 out from the AVR so AIRPLAY or Internet radio becomes a primary audio source 
ALL of this including the RUSSOUND itself is easily controlled by an iPAD, iphone device (more incentive to upgrade the wifi router) ...ie no keypads are necessary in this system as all sources in each zone are selected and controlled independently on the RUSSOUND app / interface .... And the MCA-C3 was extremely easy to program...less than 1 hr to have 6 zones and 3 sources input and up and running on an iPAD....

So as for my own system Im using the Internet Radio on my Pio SC35 all the time .... For me it wasnt difficult to setup at all but Im very internet and computer savy so I can see it might take some research for the novice to setup some I R stations but other than that its just a fabulous extension of technology that we all get to enjoy....and I will soon be setting up my own Russound whole house audio system...just saving up for that one :spend:


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