JJGraphics Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 On 12 March 2020 at 01:25, Tim V said: I would say the downside of a 'smart' speaker is that the thing is always listening to you. Yes, if you don't mind GooGoo or Amazon knowing everything about you. Much better to use a good quality Bluetooth speaker with a phone or tablet. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Nick C Posted March 13, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 13, 2020 To offer a suggestion to the original question - I've got an internet radio, which streams directly from any one of a vast list of stations online. Mine's just a cheap one used as an alarm clock, but I think there are some very high quality ones around. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Just wondering, apart from FM, which ones are in stereo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim V Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 8 hours ago, Pete the Elaner said: Cloud servers are undisclosed for security reasons & have to comply with any regulations for the areas they serve. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2020/feb/27/can-i-move-my-data-to-the-eu-before-google-shifts-it-to-the-us-brexit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Tim V said: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2020/feb/27/can-i-move-my-data-to-the-eu-before-google-shifts-it-to-the-us-brexit It may be accurate, it may not. The nationals are so full of bias that It really is impossible to know what can be believed these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Pete the Elaner said: It may be accurate, it may not. The nationals are so full of bias that It really is impossible to know what can be believed these days. Yes, it's a funny thing. All the Amazon Web Services I have been involved in setting-up or using definitely had a choice of which geographic region to store the data in. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/Concepts.RegionsAndAvailabilityZones.html There are five in Europe alone. Europe (Frankfurt) Europe (Ireland) Europe (London Europe (Paris) Europe (Stockholm) Similar for Google Cloud https://cloud.google.com/compute/docs/regions-zones/ europe-north1a, Finland europe-west1b, Belgium europe-west2a, London, England, UK europe-west3a, Frankfurt, Germany europe-west4a, Eemshaven, Netherlands europe-west6a, Zürich, Switzerland Of course, an end-user of someone else's product/service might not get to choose. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Johnster Posted March 13, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 13, 2020 Your activities have been closely monitored by the authorities and agents of the illuminati through tv screens for many years, and there os little to be gained from worrying about information gathered by smart tech. ‘What did you dream?; it’s all right, we told you what to dream’, Roger Waters, 1972. Speaker quality depends on the size, construction, materials, and design of the speaker, not the ‘smart’ operating method. Many computer speakers are designed for desktop use and are frankly pathetic squeaky little things, as are most of those in tvs and 2 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon G Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 After all that, I have got an Amazon Echo Dot on order. From the thread, it does look like it should do what I want it to, so thanks to everyone for their advice and input. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted March 15, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 15, 2020 When I used to stream radio through my PC, there was a time delay compared with my DAB radio, is there any such delay with a smart speaker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 On 13/03/2020 at 13:31, KeithMacdonald said: Just wondering, apart from FM, which ones are in stereo? If I ask the question twice, does the time delay make it sound like stereo? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndon Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 28 minutes ago, Siberian Snooper said: When I used to stream radio through my PC, there was a time delay compared with my DAB radio, is there any such delay with a smart speaker? Yes, if you stream radio to a smart speaker, it will be behind the equivalent station on DAB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium njee20 Posted March 15, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 15, 2020 By a second or so, not a material amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted March 16, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 16, 2020 Another option is to use a soundbar, these days there are some very good sound bars. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon G Posted March 21, 2020 Author Share Posted March 21, 2020 The Echo Dot arrived a couple of days ago. It was dead easy to set up and does exactly what I wanted of it. I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality for something so small, so am pleased with my purchase. Thanks again for the help and advice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Abel Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Simon G said: The Echo Dot arrived a couple of days ago. It was dead easy to set up and does exactly what I wanted of it. I was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality for something so small, so am pleased with my purchase. Thanks again for the help and advice. I've several around the house now, sound is generally VERY acceptable, and you can also pair with Bluetooth speakers for something somewhat improved or even connect to a decent set of speakers or amp/speakers for higher end sound. I've got all types around the house and we really find them excellent. Along with the various radio stations, you can also stream any Amazon music if you use that, AND, if you decide to go a step further there's a way (FREE) to have all your music library if you happen to have it on a server at home, played via any echo(s)... Enjoy. Edited March 21, 2020 by Ian Abel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon G Posted March 21, 2020 Author Share Posted March 21, 2020 15 minutes ago, Ian Abel said: Along with the various radio stations, you can also stream any Amazon music if you use that, AND, if you decide to go a step further there's a way (FREE) to have all your music library if you happen to have it on a server at home, played via any echo(s)... Enjoy. Thanks, Ian, I have a free three month Amazon Music offer of membership, so plan to get that a try. As to the ability for the Echo to play the music off my Desktop library (all on MP3 format), I am intrigued! Are you able to tell me how it is done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Matt C Posted March 21, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 21, 2020 If your pc has bluetooth then you connect via that https://www.techjunkie.com/play-music-pc-amazon-echo/ If not you can connect via the headphone socket with an Aux cable https://smarthomestarter.com/does-amazon-echo-have-an-aux-input/ In both cases once set up you play the music on your computer and hear it on the echo dot. Using bluetooth the echo dot just needs to be in range. If using the Aux cable the dot would need to be next to the computer BUT If you then get another dot, you can create a group, and playing via the group the same music will be heard through any and all bluetooth devices in that group 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Abel Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 18 hours ago, Simon G said: Thanks, Ian, I have a free three month Amazon Music offer of membership, so plan to get that a try. As to the ability for the Echo to play the music off my Desktop library (all on MP3 format), I am intrigued! Are you able to tell me how it is done? https://www.mymediaalexa.com/ It does have a subscription after the 7-day free trial, but most folks only need the Basic membership which is a whopping $5 a YEAR - worth it IMHO... It has some minor "technical expertise" required to set it up but they have a good FAQ and plenty of help/support online. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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