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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Easy, Affordable Option for Bringing your Digital Music Where You Want It, July 22, 2008
The Philips Streamium NP1100 player connects your stereo to your PC and its Internet connection, letting you easily access your digital content where you want it. No more sitting in front of your PC to listen to your music!
SETUP
The NP1100 is basically a wireless access point bundled with a simple on-screen user interface and a remote control. Setup was unbelievably easy - I plugged the NP1100 into my A/V receiver, powered it up, and off it went. It automatically detected my wireless home network and once I supplied my WPA security key, it connected itself with no problem. The unit also includes an ethernet port if you prefer a wired connection.
Once connected, it automatically updated its own software, which is good but it was a minor nuisance that I then had to re-enter all of initial settings after the update.
You'll also want to register the unit by supplying the NP1100 with your email address. This sends you a link to set up a Club Philips online account. From this online account, you can manage the various sources of media that the NP1100 accesses, which is much faster when using a full-size keyboard vs. the player's remote. Registering this way also saves you from the hassle of reading the teeny-tiny serial numbers on the bottom of the unit.
PERFORMANCE
I planned on trying three distinct media sources with the Streamium, with pretty varied results: Internet radio, my own PCs media library, and my separate Sirius online subscription.
First, Internet radio. After connecting to your network, a pre-loaded catalog of Internet radio stations becomes available. You can organize this catalog by content (talk vs. music), music genre, country of origin, language, etc. Five minutes out of the box, I was catching up with the latest ambient music from France, local artists from Argentina, news headlines from Japan (just because I could - it's not like I speak Japanese!), and even the online home of the greatest radio station ever (The Future of Rock n Roll WOXY - 97X, Oxford, OH). The amazing variety of offerings makes for a pretty big 'wow' factor.
But the variety can also be overwhelming. Fortunately, the NP1100 has a "Favorites" functionality for bookmarking your preferred sources. This favorites list makes finding your top choices very easy.
Next, I decided to tackle my own digital media library. Unfortunately, the NP1100 requires Windows Media Player 11 (WMP) as its interface to your PC. I much prefer the iTunes interface to catalog my digital music, but there's no option to use it with the NP1100. So, I had to reinstall WMP on my PC (it's included on the CD that comes with this player) and then configure it to manage a parallel library of my music. WMP is simply awful to use - rigid installation that overwrites most of your existing media preferences (e.g. it's always resetting itself as my default player for all formats), clunky visual interface, and also a stubborn determination to not accept anything that's not Microsoft-endorsed. For example, almost my entire library is in AAC file format; however, Microsoft backs MP3. So when I first tried to access my library from the Streamium, only the tiny fraction of MP3s appeared - no AAC files at all. I eventually found a WMP plug-in that makes AACs appear in its library, but I still have trouble getting them to completely function. This isn't a flaw with the Streamium per se, but their exclusive choice of partner makes the user perform a lot of runaround to meet their specifications.
Once you do get your library set up, the content functions very well. Just as with Internet radio sources, you can access your PC's media by artist, album, genre, etc. You can also send playlists to the Streamium, which is very useful for party mixes.
Lastly, I wanted to see if the Streamium could access my online Sirius subscription. I tried several different variations on the Sirius player's online address, but nothing worked. Again, the player seems handcuffed by Philips' exclusive business arrangements - out of the box, the Streamium player comes ready to work with a Rhapsody online music subscription. However, that didn't interest me and it seems that other competing services aren't allowed.
Playback quality is good - of course digital music files transmitted wirelessly aren't going satisfy any serious audiophile, but that's not the point of this device.
ERGONOMICS
The NP1100 is roughly the size of a paperback novel on its side. It has a retro-Scandanvian look with its silver housing and a clear window that encases it black-and white display. The display itself is bit disappointing. First, it's only a small portion of the unit's face - most of what you see in the picture is a black frame that surrounds the screen. Second, it's difficult to read at any appreciable angle. Since the Streamium's base doesn't allow you to tilt, you basically have to place it wherever it'll be eye-level most frequently. Third, its font sizes are all wrong and can't be changed. You can guess that they tried to accommodate people who keep the player close at hand and those who'll put it across the room, but unfortunately, the characters are difficult to read in either case.
The remote is a total throwaway. Small buttons with microscopic labels, no backlighting, etc. However, I was able to program my Logitech Harmony pretty easily to mimic it.
CONCLUSION
The NP1100 excels at delivering your digital media with convenience and flexibility. Its out-of-the-box simplicity make it a great idea for even the technologically-challenged. And its affordable price mean that finally you can enjoy your music where you really want to without being tied down to your PC.
PROS
Simple setup, even with wireless networking
Comes packaged with an amazing set of streaming content offerings
Good sound quality
CONS
Being forced to use WMP for your media library
Screen display should be bigger and easier to read
Throwaway remote control
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Streamium of my Tears, July 22, 2008
UPDATE: This device WILL play downloaded AAC/MPEG-4 files if you have the capability to access them outside of WMP11, like on an UPnP Network Attached Storage Device. After 10 days in use, the Streamium finally recognized my networked NAS and offers full accessibility to all of my music files. However, the website interface is still unavailable to me so navigation with the remote control is the only option and extremely time consuming. As of the current date (Aug. 2008)Technical support personnel (I have spoken to five different TSR's) are extremely pleasant and outwardly dedicated yet tend to give me the impression they have limited exposure to this newer device and are ill-prepared to respond to any inquiries that are beyond the scope of the user manual already available to the owner. END UPDATE
Or consciousness?
One thing about the Philips Streamium NP1100, it pretty much defines its' own network name - frustration. Get a cup of coffee, grab a donut and sit back because I'm going to be here for a spell.
It started out like any other day when a new piece of electronic equipment arrives: tear off the packaging, get out the quick start manual, plop the software CD in the drive and connect the hardware to the appropriate peripherals. So far so good, I had this box up and running within 20 minutes and I hadn't even thought about accessing the online user manual. I could tell there were a few quirks that might prove nettlesome down the road but for price of this little toy I could live with them... or so I thought. First of all, it's marketed as a streaming music device and doesn't have video output slots (assuming the digital output connection does not support video at this time) so the fact that both video and picture files within Windows Media Player are accessible via the menuing system but will not open is a minor curiosity, not a negative against this unit. I know Philips has two other streaming devices in the same family but whether they support video is another investigation that will have to wait. And that menu system... it is not very intuitive, reminiscent of cell phone key pads and data entry methodology from 10 years ago. Highly annoying under any parameters but particularly if your network security code is 63 characters. I know this device is touted as UPnP but that only applies if your network is wide open. The NP1100 is not WPS ready so there is no way to get around entering the code...and as it turned out, entering the code multiple times, but I get ahead of myself. I even tried Ad Hoc enabling but the device would not access the internet or local music libraries.
I'm not certain at this juncture but it seems as though this device can only access your personal music library if Windows Media Player 11 running on your CPU which seems like a waste of resources. MY hesitation derives from the mixed results I have experienced in keeping the wireless network up and assuring that the lack of connectivity is a network issue rather than a problem with this hardware. Additionally, I'm not sure any essential Philips proprietary software is on the CD. The only thing I can see that was installed was another version of WMP11, and the instructions indicate that step can be skipped if the user already has that version. Unfortunately (or not) I didn't notice that until after I had re-installed WMP11. Seems rather innocuous doesn't it? Well, now I have another unindentified device recognized on my network with a separate MAC address that appears to be another media Player. But...another desktop on my network, an older box running XPPro with WMP11 did not recognize this device until I ran this software on that unit...and I lost communication with the device on my primary CPU where Vista Premium is employed as the operating system...I decided to let my laptop subsist without any attempt to interface with this streaming unit. What would be my point, the overwhelming majority of my music files reside on a Network Storage Device that is not recognized by the NP1100 regardless of whether I use wired or wireless connectivity. Oh yeah, I got so tired of trying to keep this thing online, I decided to use an Ethernet connection just to make sure the darn thing could be kept active. About the only thing I haven't tried is the coaxial digital connection but my daily dose of masochism only extends so far. I'll save that for next week. The signal recognition capability of this device is largely unimpressive. I have bridge/access points on positioned on the upper and lower levels of my house and this unit was placed in a family room in between but signal strength was mediocre, a problem not duplicated with my wireless PC . Only after sitting this unit in a room less than three feet from the router was I able to maintain a strong signal (802.11n from a Netgear WNR 834b by the way, backward compatible with "g").
Anyway, all appeared fine until I attempted to register this box. Yeah, I'm the one who immediately registers everything. I received a few Philips products in the past but naturally, I have forgotten whatever absurdly complicated password I submitted but no problem, Philips has been papering my inbox with offers so getting my password sent out shouldn't be an issue. Except now my email address, the same one they use to tell me what a valued customer I happen to be is not valid. Who cares? Just establish a new account with a new password and register this item...done. However, the registration process requires entry of a Product Identification number that can be found in the menu of the device and the device serial number. Well, the menu navigation seems designed to assure you never find anything you're searching for but the website also indicated more information on obtaining the Product ID can be found in that online user manual I was so proud I didn't have to refer to. Hmmm, nothing in the table contents about a Product ID, so run a search of the PDF...nothing. Wait, why not register via the device, an option discovered while attempting to find the Product ID. Another five minutes on the remote trying to key in my email address. And presto, a confirmation email has been sent to my inbox...instructing me to log on to the website to continue the registration process and enter my Product ID and serial number, except the password I have entered does not match the system's records, so send me another email with my password...same password I just entered 30 minutes ago. This just isn't worth the effort, forget registration, let's investigate the box some more. Lo and behold, how did I get here? Is that the "DEVICE ID" I've stumbled across? Back to the website...sorry, the Serial Number you have entered is invalid...please try again. Hey, that font is pretty hard to distinguish, maybe that zero is an "O." Maybe that "1" is an "L." There are only 14 characters, how many possible combinations could there be? Wait a minute, I can locate both these codes by displaying properties on my PC. And neither ID matches what is in the menu or on the label...and the system generated serial number looks suspiciously like the MAC address which does not begin with alpha characters and will not be accepted as a valid ID at the website... I resign...And why is the digital display blank again. I've reset the date and time at least five times within the last five hours.
Back to the menu, let's start from the beginning...tomorrow.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great solution to stream to your existing HiFi, July 28, 2008
First of all the NP1100 caught my eye because of the attractive price and what it promised to do.
It did not take me a lot of effort to unpack the materials and connect it to my HiFi. I connected it via the digital output (great) and started up the device. I followed the menu and after following a few simple steps and entering my network settings I was up and running. I did not time it, but it must have been less than 2 minutes.
I already have Windows Mediaplayer 11 on my PC so did not need to install any software and the device could see my PC content immediately. Streaming was easy as well as navigating my music. I even can do it sitting more than 10feet away from my set due to the large fonts on the display (actually looks bigger than 3")
The next best thing for me was Internet Radio, I am Dutch and living outside of the Netherlands and now I can finally listen again to my favorite radio stations from home. After searching for them I immediately stored them in my favorite folder and now every time I startup the device they are waiting for me there to stream.
As a bonus I also have the 30 day Rhapsody trial and I must say that this is really interesting. I did not know about it, but using it now for a couple of days, I am really getting used to switching channels to reflect the mood I am in, check out what is the latest and greatest on the charts. Their is a fair chance that I will be hooked to this and go for a real subscription once the trial is over.
All in all a great solution for a very good price.
Philips NP1100/37 Streamium Network Music Player with 3.0" B&W Display
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