AW1000 issues

[epimetheus]

Hello,
I have been using the AW1000/10 for about four weeks now. This has been a very frustrating experience...
I would like to share my experiences, as it seems obvious that the AW1000/10 has not been adequately tested in real life environments and in my view is still a product in beta-stage.
Some background information first:
I have been using a Logitech Squeezebox Touch and a WDTV Live player in combination with a QNAP TS-119 and a twonky server. The QNAP is running the latest software and firmware. I also have an Onkyo TX-sr607 7-1 channel surround amplifier. Wherever possible I use HDMI connections. My network is a fixed cat 5e Ethernet network with a Sitecom Wifi extender for wifi access. Every single piece of wifi equipment is within 5 meters of the wifi extender (signal strength below -40dbm; I use high-gain antennas). I use an iPad one and a new Toshiba laptop (and various other pc's and laptops). I have also been working in the computer industry for over 30 years and am running three Linux servers in my home network. So I know my way around networks, firewalls, ports, wifi-channels and security.
My Twonky server has 1.5 terabyte of Video, FLAC and MP3 music with over 60000 individual numbers. I prefer flac because it also supports 5.1 sound and high-quality audio. The WDTV handles all of this without a problem.
The WDTV en Squeezebox have been functioning flawlessly, so I know there is no network problem and as the WDTV is a DLNA compatible box, I know that my network is set up properly. Bandwidth is also not a problem, as I can stream HD movies with full AC3 audio on my network, stored on my Qnap server.
I added the AW1000/10 and configured it using a Samsung Note and the Android version of the Airstudio app. With a few problems (why on earth do you call the AW1000 a speaker?) I managed to configure the AW1000/10. I also updated it to the latest software version (V H4.87). I use the Airstudio apps on the iPad, a Samsung Note and an HTC Desire. I have also installed the mediamanager software on my laptop.
First of all, my WDTV Live works without any problems using the Airplay apps and the Mediamanager software. There are some major featurs missing in the apps, but they are stable in combination with my WDTV DLNA device.

The AW1000/10, however, is causing problems:

1. I cannot find it on the network when it is in standby mode. What use is a standby mode when it cannt be found by the controlling apps?
2. It drops connections and stops playing. This both happens with all apps and teh Mediamanager.
3. It stops playing when the phone apps are in standby mode, which is quite normal with a mobile phone.
4. It drops 3 seconds of the end of each number played from a playlist.
5. It disappears from my network on a regular basis.
6. It resets when I try to restart play through the apps.

then there are a few very annoying things in the firmware:
1. I cannot switch off wifi support. I don't need it, because I have an ethernet network.
2. I cannot use a fixed ip-address. I don not want a dhcp address!!
3. A direct full-featured web-interface through a browser would have been very useful.

There are also a lot of major features missing in the apps:
1. It will always play numbers in alphabetical order when using the folder view to access files. I want to play the number sin the order they are on the original CD (in the order of the filenames, that is!) Mediamanger and the WDTV can do this easily. I can bypass this using playlists, but I do not want to create playlists for my whole library!
2. There is not enough room to display long titles. You should be able to adjust the width of the individual columns, as the two columns on the left of the interface (on a landscape mode iPad) have plenty of unused white space.
3. When accessing the services menu, chances are that the AW1000/10 stops playing.
4. Programming radio stations is a nuisance.
5. When i use thae apps to accesss a different player (switch between the AW1000/10 and WDTV), the first player stops playing. So you cannot use one app to control two pieces of equipment.

I prefer the Twonky and Twonky beam applications from Twony itself. They do not support the axtra AW1000/10 features, but are more stable.
I also prefer the Mediamanager software, because it has more features.

The documentation is very inadequate. I have sent a question to Philips support about 4 weeks ago with a list of questions (most of whom I have now figured out myself), but I still have not seen an answer.

I would like to add that the Fidelio range is potentially a Sonos killer and can take over the market that Logitech left when they stopped the Squeezebox range. The AW1000/10 could (and should!) have been a great product, but as it stands now it is almost useless, except as an internet radio.
In my view, the main problem is with the firmware, as I have been using the software with the WDTV Live player withut any of the problems associated with the AW1000/10.
I find this strange, as Philips have been shipping high quality audio streaming products with tehir Streamium range for years now, so I expected a mature and fully functional product. As it stands now, the AW1000/10 feels like a re-badged cheap Chinese mediaplayer, unworthy of the Philips logo.

Hope this helps with getting this product right....

[Philips - QK]

Dear epimetheus,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your very comprehensive experience report. We have noted your feedback and will revert to you on as soon as we have some investigation results to your comments.

With thanks & regards,
Philips Moderation Team

[Volume]

Hi epimetheus, what is your smartphone ? I see that AirStudio iOS version is more stable than Android one, and it is good to try with Philips MyRemote too with both internet radio and music sharing feature :)

[epimetheus]

I use a Samsung Note, an HTC desire, two Windows 7 laptops and an iPad. But I gave up on the Philips software...
It's true that the iOs version is more stable than the Android app.
I have been using Mediamonkey as my main tool for managing my media library for ages now, and it turns out that the current beta version (4.1.something) directly supports streaming to DLNA clients. It turns out that this beta-software is far superior to the Philips apps, even though the AW1000/10 still crashes sometimes and skips 3 or 4 seconds at the end of each track. Mediamonkey is also better for large media libraries than the Mediamanager software, because it has it's own local database and does not need to access the Twonky mediaserver directly once it has imported the information.
For your information: Twonky has released a newer version of their Mediamanager software. Its is better than the Mediamanger that Philips uses for the AW1000/10 and what is even better: the Twonky software accepts the Philips license key, so you can easily upgrade to the twonky version.

I did not know about the Philips Myremote app? I will check it out.

[Philips - QK]

Dear epimetheus,

Thanks for giving us a lot of comments based on your experience. Your comments & advise help us in improving the apps & help other users in their usage.
I have sent you a PM. Would you please kindly check your PM inbox?

Thanks & regards,
Philips Moderation Team

[kantei]

The original poster is right. The AW1000 as it was shipped in december realy did not work in practice and should have been tested in practice first. I spent many hours trying to get it to work and almost gave up. In fact, I already had repacked it to send it back (I do not know exactly why I did not).
I then made major changes to my home network, for other reasosn, and tried again and it worked, somewhat.
The real improvement, however came with the recent firmware update in january.
Now it is working properly (most of the time).

For new users, however, the ipad app and also the manual could really be improved. I, for instance use the aw1000 without wireless speakers and I have connected it directly to my stereo. This meant that I started skipping the part where you connect to the wireless speakers. This meant, however, that I also skipped connencting the aw1000, entirely. It took some time to figure that out.

[epimetheus]

I just noticed that there is a new firmware update for the Philips AW1000/10, V H4 95S.
I gave up on using the apps and now use the Mediamanager software on my Laptop to control the AW1000/10, which works fine.
In my view, there is a major design flaw in the AW1000/10 apps. They only work when there is a continuous network connection between the App and the AW1000/10. This is all OK when the actual music files are stored on the smartphone and it is docked (or when you use an iPad), but it simply does not work when you want to use the smartphone as a simple remote control to stream media from your DLNA server. A continuous WIFI connection on a Smartphone simply drains the batteries too quickly. The AW1000/10 should have been designed as a simple app that 'pushes' playlists to the AW1000/10, and the AW1000/10 should then simply pull the media files from the DLNA server. If Philips would have done that, then the AW1000/10 would have been a good product.
It is also useful to know that Philips has just decided to sell their Philips Consumer Electronics department. Just like they did with their television department...
Funai is now the new owner of Philips Consumer Electronics.