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RSJ · 29-03-2014, 11:02

Very simple question, Simon - will you be supporting Linn Kazoo?

MinimServer does work as a music server with Kazoo, but seemingly with limited functionality.

Thank you.

simoncn · 29-03-2014, 13:01

(29-03-2014 11:02)RSJ Wrote: Very simple question, Simon - will you be supporting Linn Kazoo?

MinimServer does work as a music server with Kazoo, but seemingly with limited functionality.

Thank you.

There is currently no specification for what it would mean for MinimServer to support Kazoo. When this specification is available, I will look at it and consider whether MinimServer should implement it.

bbrip · 29-03-2014, 21:21

From what I see from first trials using Minimserver with Kazoo CP works just fine. The server side of Kazoo does not impress me so far. I dont think its any thread for MinimServer....

bbrip

RSJ · 29-03-2014, 21:34

There are various limitation to Kazoo as a control point when using MinimServer as the music server (e.g. display option is list only). I am not sure why you think that this is not an appropriate thread. As Kazoo moves through its beta phases, it will become more commonly used as a control point by Linn users, as Kinsky development will cease.

DaveWr · 30-03-2014, 07:14

(29-03-2014 21:34)RSJ Wrote: There are various limitation to Kazoo as a control point when using MinimServer as the music server (e.g. display option is list only). I am not sure why you think that this is not an appropriate thread. As Kazoo moves through its beta phases, it will become more commonly used as a control point by Linn users, as Kinsky development will cease.

I think Linn need to think carefully. The one man band that is the magnificent Simon has delivered more useful functionality for music library handling in MinimServer, than the team on Kazoo. Kazoo and Kazoo Server is a locked in proprietary approach to searching and displaying libraries in a UPNP environment, but unlike the other Linn enhancements seems to deliver very little.

The development of MinimServer together with many other control points makes the Linn DS experience acceptable. Compared to Squeezebox systems with iPeng control it is still years behind. At last Kazoo addresses the multiroom experience better, but overall the UI seems form over substance, especially needing a custom server to derive questionable benefits.

Dave

bbrip · (This post was last modified: 30-03-2014 10:22 by bbrip.)

(30-03-2014 07:14)DaveWr Wrote:
(29-03-2014 21:34)RSJ Wrote: There are various limitation to Kazoo as a control point when using MinimServer as the music server (e.g. display option is list only). I am not sure why you think that this is not an appropriate thread. As Kazoo moves through its beta phases, it will become more commonly used as a control point by Linn users, as Kinsky development will cease.

I think Linn need to think carefully. The one man band that is the magnificent Simon has delivered more useful functionality for music library handling in MinimServer, than the team on Kazoo. Kazoo and Kazoo Server is a locked in proprietary approach to searching and displaying libraries in a UPNP environment, but unlike the other Linn enhancements seems to deliver very little.

The development of MinimServer together with many other control points makes the Linn DS experience acceptable. Compared to Squeezebox systems with iPeng control it is still years behind. At last Kazoo addresses the multiroom experience better, but overall the UI seems form over substance, especially needing a custom server to derive questionable benefits.

Dave

+1

I think the guys over at LUMIN have handled this much smarter by using MinimServer as their recommended server and building a top notch CP on top of it, which is now only lacking multiroom support.

bbrip

simoncn · 05-04-2014, 12:05

(29-03-2014 21:34)RSJ Wrote: There are various limitation to Kazoo as a control point when using MinimServer as the music server (e.g. display option is list only). I am not sure why you think that this is not an appropriate thread. As Kazoo moves through its beta phases, it will become more commonly used as a control point by Linn users, as Kinsky development will cease.

I think it's important to point out that any limitations when using MinimServer with Kazoo are imposed by Kazoo and not by MinimServer.

Linn have decided to limit the functionality of Kazoo when using Kazoo with standard UPnP servers. This is a significant change from Linn's previous approach with Kinsky providing full support for standard UPnP servers. I don't know why Linn have decided to make this change.

Peter@57m · 06-04-2014, 11:44

I too find it very odd that Linn have chosen not to display albums as a grid unless you use Kazoo server.
Been trying to think of the motivation behind this. What would they gain by trying to get people to use their server over other (better) servers. But then software development at Linn has been strange for a while. Hopefully they will make the control point experience the same across servers unless there's some technical limitation to prevent it.
I mostly use Lumin CP with MinimSever but would like an alternative CP that would work the same across Windows, Android and iThings.

guussie · 07-04-2014, 07:05

(30-03-2014 07:14)DaveWr Wrote:
(29-03-2014 21:34)RSJ Wrote: There are various limitation to Kazoo as a control point when using MinimServer as the music server (e.g. display option is list only). I am not sure why you think that this is not an appropriate thread. As Kazoo moves through its beta phases, it will become more commonly used as a control point by Linn users, as Kinsky development will cease.

I think Linn need to think carefully. The one man band that is the magnificent Simon has delivered more useful functionality for music library handling in MinimServer, than the team on Kazoo. Kazoo and Kazoo Server is a locked in proprietary approach to searching and displaying libraries in a UPNP environment, but unlike the other Linn enhancements seems to deliver very little.

The development of MinimServer together with many other control points makes the Linn DS experience acceptable. Compared to Squeezebox systems with iPeng control it is still years behind. At last Kazoo addresses the multiroom experience better, but overall the UI seems form over substance, especially needing a custom server to derive questionable benefits.

Dave

+1

This reminds me of what happened with Chorus DS.

If a large portion of DS's now work with Minimserver, why doesn't Linn opt to cooperate with Simon and the rest of the team at OpenHome?

Guus

DavidHB · (This post was last modified: 07-04-2014 15:15 by DavidHB.)

(07-04-2014 07:05)guussie Wrote: If a large portion of DS's now work with Minimserver, why doesn't Linn opt to cooperate with Simon and the rest of the team at OpenHome?

Good question. Linn say they support open systems, and, according to the recent announcement, Kazoo is an OH application ...

So many new features are on the list of possible future enhancements that it is probably too soon to draw firm conclusions about the current beta version. But I do find the apparent constriction of the browsing experience (shades of Windows Media Player) somewhat worrying. There is a case for providing a simple 'get you started' mode for new or technically uninterested users (and for technically challenged dealers to use during demonstrations). But a competently designed control point should surely be able to use the browse tree provided by the server if that is what the user wants.

All in all, I have decided to give the Kazoo beta in its present form a miss. The combination of Bubble DS and MinimServer is working too well for me to be tempted elsewhere. But I do feel sorry for iOS users, who do not at present seem to have a fully satisfactory control point to use.

David