I think more and more pre-amps are going to be like this one http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/2243.asp -- connected to a home network.

Media Servers have finally arrived at the "appliance" stage. If you can use a toaster, you can probably put your music, videos, and pictures into a media server -- either one running on your PC like iTunes or into a network device that has a server built in.

For several years the media server client industry, like the Soundbridge, the Slinky, etc, has been growing, but now we finally have some accepted standards for media server communication in wide useage with uPnP.

It would be really fantastic to have a receiver with this uPnP client capability built in to it!

B

Brian, I agree. I purchased a standalone Philips network player to get streaming audio from my PC. I loaded all my CDs to my PC - and never touch the CDs again!! The Philips unit plugs into the Outlaw pre/pro downstairs and the PC is upstairs. The Philips unit and the PC connect via a standard home wi-fi network.

With 300-GB USB hard drives going for about $100, storage is getting cheaper and cheaper. And the USB connection really is simple.

I hope that pre-amps with network capability will be able to read standard Windows .M3U playlists and uncompressed .WAV files, and not require anything special. A nice display so one can see the selection without having to turn on the TV is also a must.

I would happily trade all of this junk:

Video Game Mode
Wide Screen 7.1 Mode
Mono Movie Surround Mode
Rock Arena Surround Mode
Matrix Surround Mode
Jazz Club Surround Mode
Virtual Surround Mode – For 2 Speakers/Headphones
Multi-Channel Stereo Mode 5/6/7
DSP Effect Modes (10)

for a built-in wireless G NIC.

oaqm, so would I. Check this out:

http://www.jvc.com/press/index.jsp?item=574&pageID=1
It says it has "an Ethernet connection" that allows access "to multiple computers through a wired or wireless router" and so I am guessing that it has to be wired to the router to access PC's in the home. I have cable connected to the TV and for convenience the router is right next to the TV and outlaw pre/pro, so this would not be show stopper.

According to CNET, it plays MP3, PCM, WAV, WMA. no mention of .M3U playlists.

There are also the usual suspects in this market: the Slim Devices SqueezeBox , the Roku Labs SoundBridge , and Sonos system. All three include wireless support as well as wired connections. I've got a Roku SoundBridge M500 (reviewed here ) and while the firmware support is sometimes slow and some of the software used on the PC side can be quirky at times the convenience factor is certainly significant.

Ethernet connectivity for setup and firmware updates is likely to creep into receivers and processors, but I suspect that the most robust media clients will remain standalone products.

I can deal with a wired connection, but over the last few years wireless has truly become ubiquitous. Can you even walk into Best Buy and buy a non-wireless router any more? Methinks the first company to market with wireless G/N as an on-board feature in their A/V Receiver or Pre/Pro is going to do very well.

I already have big honkin' computers and I already have big honkin' audio stuff, the last thing I want is yet another source component that I have to find shelf space for and then arrange so that the proper visual aesthetic balance is achieved.

I think a media client interface (wired or wireless) is likely to be more prevalent in receivers that pre/pros - after all, part of the purpose behind a pre/pro is spreading out tasks among multiple devices. We already kicked the amps out of the pre/pro and there are still plenty of people who argue against putting video switching and scaling into a pre/pro, so putting a wireless network card in there could turn as many people off as it draws in. Plus the cost of that is going to be a turn-off to folks who have already invested in a stand-alone client (Squeezebox, SoundBridge, Sonos, or even an audio/video device like the AppleTV ).

Onkyo's been including some sort of net client (their "NetTune" product) in receivers for a number of years now, and Denon is likely to do more of it if it works out for the 4306. But I suspect the pre/pro market will be less quick to adopt it.

Gonk,

Sony, Toshiba and Pioneer are building uPnP media clients into some of their televisions too!

B