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DIY Ethernet Audio Receiver
Posted by
michael
on Wed Jan 08, 2003 09:53 AM
from the fly-by-wire dept.
from the fly-by-wire dept.
geo writes "I created this site to describe my latest toy: a digital audio multicast receiver. LANPipe receives 16-bit, 44.1 kHz audio multicast from a PC based server. The server uses a Winamp plug-in, so LANPipe can play almost any source format (mp3, ogg, uncompressed). It even has a digital audio output. The receiver uses a custom CPU written in VHDL and implemented on a Xilinx FPGA. This was a fun project that is best appreciated by fellow hardware geeks."
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Slashdotted (Score:4, Funny)
Not appreciated nearly as much as Web servers than can handle a Slashdotting.
Re:Slashdotted (Score:5, Informative)
Sorry about the being slashdotted. We're working on getting that fixed.
I'm a server administrator at the webhosting company that hosts that page. Today (at 1AM) two of our five T-1's went down (Qwest appearantly had a cable cut - bah, force majure). Of all days for our network capacity to be decreased by 40%...
At any rate, we just turned up MaxClients, MinSpareServers, and MaxSpareServers in the apache config. We're going to start really hounding Qwest. We'll get it back up as soon as possible. It is accessable right now, but slow.
Again, apologies.
~Will
Server Administrator,
Netmar inc [netmar.com]
Already /.'d Here's the text (Score:5, Informative)
Some interesting features:
Receives Digital Audio Multicast over Ethernet LAN (16-bit, 44.1kHz Stereo PCM)
Analog Line-Level Stereo Output
Digital Audio Output (coaxial S/PDIF)
Uses almost any source format (MP3, Ogg, Uncompressed, Internet Radio, etc.)
Server software for Windows (Winamp plug-in) and Linux (prototype driver)
News
Jan 4, 2003
As a hobby, this project has just about run it's course. However, I'm wondering if anyone else might be interested in LANPipe. Is there any interest for a device like this in the $100 range? Is there any interest in the source code from FPGA hobbyists? Send some feedback and let me know what you think.
Dec 27, 2002
I finally got around to putting this page together. I'm currently working on a revision of the board that will add some minor features and fit in a nicer enclosure.
Design
LANPipe uses a custom CPU implemented on an FPGA. Using an FPGA gives the flexibility to customize the CPU and create application specific peripherals. The CPU and peripherals are all coded using VHDL and synthesized using Xilinx's Free ISE WebPACK.
Some interesting implementation details:
Xilinx Spartan II FPGA (XC2S30) containing:
Custom 8-bit CPU (10 MIPS @ 20MHz) with 16-bit memory interface
64k x 16 hardware FIFO (using external SRAM)
I2S output (to DAC) and SPDIF output (digital audio out)
Hardware timer and RS-232 transmitter (for debug)
Firmware uses fewer than 200 assembly language instructions
Assembler and remote status monitor written in Java
PPOE (Score:3, Interesting)
Cool but not.... (Score:4, Insightful)
I understand the part of doing it for the learning fun and the "I DID IT" factor.. but overall it's pricey for what it is, and doesnt seem to be too open source so that I can duplicate it.
Re:Cool but not.... (Score:5, Insightful)
and you're right on about it not being open source. Until I can download the actual hardware for free, I'm sticking with my trusty Audiotron distro.
Very slick.. (Score:5, Interesting)
One feature I would like to see is the possiblilty of "multiple channels", so that I could stream several channels at once.. So my GF, who likes country, can listen in the livingroom, and I can listen to my stuff in the basement, without having a computer at each location...
--John
Related to NCD's NAS? (Score:4, Interesting)
Pretty cool (Score:5, Interesting)
Slashdotters, before you slam this thing, please consider the following facts:
Re:Pretty cool (Score:5, Interesting)
If the geek value is not the main point, you can hook a small FM transmitter to your sound card and use standard FM receiver all around the house.
I'm quite sure that with sufficiently low power, it can be used unlicenced all over the world(check your local legislation).
It is not high-tech, but it could do the job for cheap, reusing existing infrastructure (the stereo). And if your Os can manage many souncards, you can transmit using different frequencies, for different music programs.
The DMCA will make projects like this harder (Score:3, Interesting)
At the same time, this is a useful project - clearly, Ethernet is a common communications infrastructure component, and is probably one of the most flexible. This type of technology means that someone can plug a (commodity?) component into an unquestionably commodity network infrastructure, something not really available right now. There's no need to rewrite the home because the best place for the CD deck is in one room, and one place where the output might want to be listened to is another.
These two issues are important - a problem has been solved with open components, and it would be impossible to solve that problem without that open infrastructure. Yet various groups, lead by the MPAA (and to an extent cheered on by the RIAA, the representative of the recording industry which has concerns about unauthorized copying) have promoted laws that remove that ability to problem solve. In the end, the output of copyrighted material producers is being compromised by these actions, but this doesn't stop them as there's an assumption that open technologies are bad, and that technologies need to be centrally controlled and contain technologies to prevent not merely uses of copyright material that are clearly unfair to the content producers, but also of uses of that material that the producers have not heard of.
One company, Microsoft, has already proposed and demonstrated technologies that would make projects such as the above impossible. Content would not be copyable onto unprotected commodity components in Palladium, a digital restrictions mechanism that uses encryption and authorization at the hardware level to divide a world into "trusted" and "untrusted" realms. While Microsoft argues their technology is voluntarily, a content producer can restrict use of their content to only those who sign up for the technological restrictions.
This is a block on innovation. It's a block on personal freedom. In the end, it will cause damage not merely to consumers but also to those who produce content. We face a future of stagnant information growth, resembling more the state of Brewery development in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, than the technology industry during the same period.
Palladium is backed by entertainment industry promoted laws such as the DMCA, that make it illegal to bypass access control mechanisms, such as Palladium's Digital Restrictions Mechanisms.
This quagmire of a paranoid entertainment industry crippling the future both of content production and technology will not disappear by itself. Unless people are prepared to actually act, not just talk about it on Slashdot, nothing will ever get done. Apathy is not an option.
You can help by getting off your rear and writing to your congressman [house.gov] or senator [senate.gov]. Write also to the Jack Valenti [mpaa.org], the CEO and chair of the MPAA, whose address and telephone number can be found at the About the MPAA page [mpaa.org]. Write too to Bill Gates [mailto], Chief of Technologies and thus in overall charge of Palladium, at Microsoft. Tell them you understand the concerns content producers have about unauthorized copying, but that without an open technological infrastructure, the value of content will be lowered, and as the bar to entry into content production is raised more and more innovation will be sucked out of the industry. Tell them that technologies such as Palladium, DVD CSS, and other technological locks, will damage both the content and technology industries in ways that go well beyond anything reasonable. Tell them that you appreciate the work being done to create new ways of viewing and hearing content but that if those technologies are closed, you will be forced to use less and less secure and intelligently designed alternatives. Let them know that SMP may make or break whether you can efficiently deploy OpenBSD on your workstations and servers. Explain the concerns you have about freedom, openness, and choice, and how digital restrictions harms all three. Let your legislators know that this is an issue that effects YOU directly, that YOU vote, and that your vote will be influenced, indeed dependent, on their policies towards legally enforcing clearly damaging restrictions management systems.
You CAN make a difference. Don't treat voting as a right, treat it as a duty. Keep informed, keep your political representatives informed on how you feel. And, most importantly of all, vote.
HomeDirector AudioPoint device, similar (Score:2, Interesting)
Nice "nifty" factor but they wanted far too much money for it (C$280) and it used Win-only proprietary software and protocol, and didn't have a digital out.
Broadcast Repeaters? (Score:2)
I work in a building where both AM and FM are impossible to receive. I guess my question is, waht are the legal implications of me setting up a server at home, then using a service such as noip.com [noip.com] to provide me some real audio feed --- as opposed to some of the ad-laden and in some cases, pay to play, internet feeds some radio stations and radio shows are offering?
Sorry about the slashdotting. (Score:4, Informative)
I'm a server administrator at the webhosting company that hosts that page. Today (at 1AM) two of our five T-1's went down (Qwest appearantly had a cable cut - bah, force majure). Of all days for our network capacity to be decreased by 40%...
At any rate, we just turned up MaxClients, MinSpareServers, and MaxSpareServers in the apache config. We're going to start really hounding Qwest. We'll get it back up as soon as possible. It is accessable right now, but slow.
Again, apologies.
~Will
Server Administrator,
Netmar inc [netmar.com]
Heard of SLIMP3? (Score:5, Informative)
Remote controlled, streams over Ethernet, GPL'd software [sourceforge.net] (Linux, Win, Mac)
250$ - a bit expensive, but I bet the price will come down...
cost prohibitive (Score:2, Interesting)
where's the vhdl? (Score:2, Insightful)
Another option: SliMP3 (Score:1, Redundant)
The SliMP3 [slimdevices.com] is another option, with a few nicer features. Included remote control, VFD display, multiple devices per server, internet audio, etc.
$250 though, but it is a polished product.
Somewhat limited, but limitations can be overcome. (Score:5, Interesting)
A quick fix is to use a switch or router instead of a hub ( which a good portion of people do now anyway), with the server on a 100baseT link.
Before making this commercial, though, I'd do three more things: Put the MAC on the FPGA, one for 100baseT, put a simple lossless decompressor in the FPGA, and provide for different bit rates and resolutions. This would raise the cost of the FPGA a little bit for more gates, but would remove the need for the MAC, and lighten the load of the network considerably.
My wishlist would include an audio in. This would enable one to use them as intercoms, speakerphones, etc. Lastly would be an IR interface, both in and out. Control components from the computer, and control the whole system from a remote, including all of your components.
The MAC, and decompressor could use simple (and freely available) fpga code. The audio in would simply be the reverse of audio out (require a ADC) with a compressor and FIFO. Definable bit rates would require new code, but shouldn't be too onerous. IR interface would be trivial.
If you put the FPGA on one side of the board, and the memory, rom, power, etc on the other side in smaller form facters with the connectors you could make this as small as an MP3 player. Use a larger FPGA and get rid of the memory, use a teeny serial eeprom for the ROM, and the entire thing would be very tiny indeed.
There's just the small problem of doing the work required.
But I'd buy one if the extra FPGA pins were brought to a header, and a socketted FPGA (so I could replace it with a more powerful one when I run out of room) were fitted. I wouldn't want to pay more than $150 for it though, since I can get essentially the same thing from XESS [xess.com] for about that much.
Cool project!
-Adam
Why? (Score:2)
Music Server in Knoppix Style Boot CD OS? (Score:3, Interesting)
Someone please tweak Knoppix boot CD OS [knopper.net] into a music server!
PC with, bootable CD drive, as well as Nic and sound cards. Hardisk with digital audio files, normally mounted read only, so hardpower off is no problem.
Samba and Netatalk for music via file sharing and play list creation, and LAN Pipe. Xmms with RF wireless remote [x10.com] and relevant plug in. [sourceforge.net] Also use a webinterface to control the sound card on the server via Xmms command line tool [sourceforge.net] and Web Control interface [joethielen.com]
LanPipe is nice, but FM Broadcast is MUCH cheaper. It uses existing home radios, and 1 piece serves all, and no pulling cables, with this $39.95 FM [ramseyelectronics.com] solution, or that $189 FM [netplayradio.com] solution.
First person to say "Knoppix" on slashdot? [slashdot.org]
Mac Refugee, Paper MCSE, Linux wanna be
Very Cool Project (Score:3, Interesting)
Does it have an address / addressable? (Score:2, Interesting)
Similar OpenSource project (Score:2, Interesting)
FM is cheaper! (Score:3, Informative)
But what if you don't have wires already? FM is MUCH cheaper!
Uses your existing home FM radios recievers in every room, or your walkman. Simply add one of these to your music server, and no pulling cables.
$39.95 FM [ramseyelectronics.com] solution, or that
$189 FM [netplayradio.com] solution.
First person to say "Knoppix" on slashdot? [slashdot.org]
Mac Refugee, Paper MCSE, Linux wanna be
dude, quick, patent this!!!! (Score:1)
Already Patented (Score:1)
Almost has it. (Score:1)
What about Audiotron? (Score:2)
The developers at Turtle Beach are constantly adding new features such as a clock display that syncs through NTP and an alarm clock. In fact as we were watching the ball drop on New Years Eve, we noticed that the seconds were perfectly synced with the clock on the TV.
Not a bad little contraption, and I plan on getting another for the bedroom later on. Never know when you want some funky porno jam steaming from the Internet. =)
So it's not *over* audio. (Score:1)
Now if it had been running wireless network protocols over an ultrasonic link, that would have been a geek's delight.
Before the nit-pickers start, I'm well aware that IP over an analogue modem link could be regarded as an audio network. It's the wireless bit that's more interesting to me.
Running it over a sonic link (i.e. under 10kHz) would likely be both painful and slow.
Paul
Can it stream AC-3 data? (Score:1)
I have a similar setup.... (Score:1)
Include a keyspan remote control and I never even have to touch the iMac. Although it's great to be able to look up tvguide.com right there in the living room. Also, it can run SETI in the background while it plays music!
And my lime green iMac looks great in the corner with all the plants around it!!!
Programming an FPGA using Linux (Score:2)
This is lame (Score:3)
The source for this thing is not available. Thus, this is nothing more than some jpegs of a circuit board to you.
As you can tell from the poll, the guy is interested in selling the device and NOT releasing the code if enough people are interested...
LS
Better and cheaper (Score:1)
- Go to ebay and buy an old, working pentium notebook with a tft (normaly these are fanless)
- Add a network pcmcia card when it has non ethernet interface.
- Make it network bootable (if your NC didn't support it, let the harddisk in them (Just for the kernel. After the nfs-root is started you can shutdown the HD))
- If you didn't like the design, add the notebook parts in a better chassis. I had a cassette recorder which i never used. I removed the innards, put the notebook in them, add a nice plexi glass front, connected the tape buttons to a additional keyboard controller and build a lcd dot matrix panel behind them. The original keyboard is on top of the interface.
The lcd displays the current song...
In the big tft a playlist browser and nicer player will be located and is browsable by a remote controll, the tape buttons, the keyboard and a trackball.
The Software on the notebook will be a mozilla xul application that connects to a daemon written in python on the server. The daemon is customizable and controlles here a xmms player in a xvncserver.
If you like, you can run the audio-player on the notebook, but i prefer the server, because i can controll xmms from every pc and can power-off the jukebox interface.
The software and project is not finished yet, but will published when the first version is finished. Mail me if you are interested.
Re:I love you guys (Score:5, Insightful)
Sounds like he's working on it.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:FM Tuner for Linux (Score:1, Troll)
Re:I love you guys (Score:5, Insightful)
A project like this is very valuable. For one thing, it makes a great hobby. How much time does the average moron spend watching NFL? Take that time over a year and you can create some pretty cool (and valuable in many ways) technology. Even if nobody other than yourself ever uses it, it has value.
What is the value? Although you claim that employers don't care, it is projects like this that have made my career. I'm currently employed, making a decent living as an engineer, even though I have no degree (working on it still at age 29.95). I got a job offer from one of those top 100 employers who was looking for an engineer with a masters degree because they were so impressed with my portfolio of hardware/software projects I had 'hacked' together on my own. I actually didn't take the job because I was interested in pursuing a different job offer I got because of some software I had written and published online as a hobby. It got me attention, and the offers literally came pouring in.
If you are unemployed, by all means spend most of your time looking for a job....but there is a lot of value in showing that you are smart enough and motivated enough (even more rare) to complete a project like this on your own.
So you can go back to watching NFL while the rest of us do something useful.
Re:I guess so (Score:3, Informative)
Multiroom audio without having to install wiring. I've got multiroom at home, between the lounge and the kitchen. Great for parties and such like, but it meant having to install wires between the rooms, hiding these was a long task that involved removing sideboards and putting wiring under the floor where possible. It was worth it, it's great to go between rooms and heart the same song playing.
Wireless solves this. My only question is on syncronisation. With multiroom audio, you need perfect timing, otherwise you'll hear an echo from the other room. With wires this isn't a problem, but as this uses packet data transfer, I'd dare say there was some buffering going on.
Chill baby!!! (Score:2)
Also, all work and no play make Homer something something........GO CRAZY??? DON'T MIND IF I DOOOOO!!!!!
Re:I love you guys (Score:5, Funny)
I'm an apple picker, my job does grow on trees you insensitive bastard.
Re:FM Tuner for Linux (Score:1)
Re:Close - needs wireless capability (Score:1, Insightful)
to bridge between upstairs and downstairs?
(access point = downstairs, PCMCIA card in your PC = upstairs)
Re:FM Tuner for Linux (Score:2)
Re:Close - needs wireless capability (Score:1)
Thought of putting the access point next to receiver upstairs, with a wireless card in PC downstairs?
Might work...
Re:it's almost a geocities page (Score:1)
Re:Close - needs wireless capability (Score:2)