Views

Music, Movies and photos, oh my!

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:51:09 -0400

Apple have done it again! The latest version of the AppleTV adds to their long list of digital media hits (iTunes, iTunes Store, iPod, iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad and iPad2). This 4”X4”X1” device is the perfect way to get your iTunes media library and your favorite internet media streaming sites to your home media center.

All the music, movies, TV shows, podcasts and internet radio stations from your iTunes library, all your digital photos from iPhoto or Flickr, a whole world (literally!) of videos from YouTube and Vimeo, streamed movies and TV shows from Netflix, as well as Major League Baseball* (MLB) and National Basketball Association* (NBA) games live or from the archives will be available at your fingertips.

Additionally, the new AppleTV gives you the ability to stream content from your, or any of your friends, iOS devices (iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad) via Apple’s brilliant AirPlay wireless streaming system. So next time a few friends drop by to say “Hi”, you can get the party started by letting them take turns streaming some of their favorite digital media to your system.

Connect the new AppleTV to a 37” (or larger!) LED/LCD HDTV via HDMI, an AVI-d Neutron Five 2.1 speaker system through a digital optical cable as well as your home network/broadband internet connection using WIFI or Ethernet, and you will experience one of TheDigitalMusicExperts.com favorite digital media systems. It is a truly modern digital media system that sounds absolutely fantastic, looks great, is exceptionally compact, energy efficient and a joy to use.

Be forewarned, once you combine the new AppleTV with the AVI-d Digital Lifestyle speaker systems and a quality HDTV you’ll enter into the 21st century, post-PC world of digital streaming media, and you and your friends will never want to leave!

Possibly The Best Digital Music Service So Far!

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:47:46 -0400

The long wait is over and we can now join our friends and fellow digital music enthusiasts in Europe as the award winning digital music streaming service Spotify is now available in the US.

We have been using the free version of the Spotify service here at TheDigitalMusicExperts.com world headquarters since day two of the roll out and we are giving it an enthusiastic thumbs up. In fact, we think it may just be the best streaming digital music service we have experienced to date!

The free version does have some significant limitations. First, the data rate is limited to 160kBs (the deluxe subscription package can offer up to 320kBs) so ultimate sound quality is at a “standard” MP3 level. Second, there are annoying commercials ever three or four songs (and much like on TV, the signal level is compressed so they seem much louder than the music). Third, the pop up advertising on the user interface means control buttons mysteriously move or disappear at the least opportune times.

That being said, the ability to access so many artists and so many songs from almost any genre, including the most obscure to the most mainstream, makes this music streaming service invaluable, especially as a way to preview content before purchasing. We will be upgrading to the premium subscription service at $9.99 per month (thereby eliminating the three shortcomings we noted above) and will soon begin to share some of our favorite demo tracks on some public playlists. Keep an eye out for updates on how we get along with Spotify.

The Free Digital Music Revolution Continues!

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 12:45:29 -0500

The NetLabels Archive shares much in common with the Internet Live Music Archive (ILMA), including the same real world home in the Presidio area of San Francisco, the same virtual host at Archive.org, some of the same downloading protocols mentioned in our ILMA entry from June (see ILMA and Max: Must Have Mac Utility entries for details), many of the same “new media” protections afforded by Creative Commons Licensing, as well as the same ability to access loads of great music for FREE!

So, how do they differ? Where the ILMA focuses on concert performances captured live by audience members, venue staff or friends/members of the band, the NetLabels Archive focuses on “studio” recordings provided by the band, their producers or their individual NetLabel itself. The same comparisons between live and studio albums that are found in the traditional, more rigid and less generous copyrights paradigm apply in the new, less restrictive and more generous NetLabels world. Live albums often capture an energy that can only be generated by playing in front of a live audience, while studio albums allow you to hear exactly what the artists intended, often as a single, cohesive and coherent performance. As an old friend used to say - “A good live record takes you to the concert hall, a good studio album brings the artist to your home!”

The second major difference you will notice between the ILMA and the NetLabels Archive is in the number of artists and recordings available. While the ILMA has over 75,000 concert recordings from more than 4,000 artists, the NetLabels Archive has a more compact catalog with just over 16,000 recordings currently available. However, both archives continue to grow, so check back with both at regularly to find out what’s new, and keep in mind that the ILMA has a significant “head start” on the NetLabels Archive. Many expect that the NetLabels model of distribution will gain greater acceptance and increasing numbers of artist adherents over the coming years.

The last significant difference we will mention is that while the ILMA has a wide variety of supported files formats and recording qualities, the NetLabels Archive is currently limited to MP3 and OGG format recordings. While iTunes will support MP3 playback, OGG files are not, so they would need to be converted into a supported format using appropriate software such as Max. As the popularity of NetLabels increases over the coming years, we envision that artists will take advantage of higher performance, improved quality recording formats and digital download “containers”. We look forward to hearing some our favorite NetLabels artists in high resolution lossless file formats!

Following the recipe we established in our ILMA entry, we offer you three tracks as examples of what you can find in the exciting new world of the NetLabels Archive. Here are three tracks we use for demonstration at TheDigitalMusicExperts.com, spanning three distinct genres by three very talented bands, available for free over the internet (Boy oh boy do we love this new digital music revolution!)

For a combination of mellow jazz and sensual soul with an alluring female vocal, try the track “Summer Dress” off of the album Calypso by Calypso:

http://www.archive.org/details/pcr009

If your musical taste runs more towards the “Funky” side, try some Dub Reggae by Finn the Giants, specifically “Collision Course” off the album Finn the Giants Meets Sandmonk:

http://www.archive.org/details/FinnTheGiantMeetsSandmonkTwoWorldsClash

Finally, as the NetLabels movement has grown to a very great degree out of the Electronic Music subculture, here is a fun track from the world of Electronica that will definitely test the capabilities of your subwoofers (if you have them!) - the track “f5nger” off of the EP Startin All Over by Karloz. We recommend that you start out with the volume set low to prevent any potential damage to your playback system, then turn it up as desired once you have become familiar with the track.

http://www.archive.org/details/electronical_ADM004

We hope you enjoy these tracks, and please let us know about the “musical gems” you find on the NetLabels Archive.

“We’ll Fix it in Post” Comes Home to your Mac

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:21:52 -0400

Earlier this summer we recommended a great little application from the good folks at Rogue Amoeba: Airfoil. Airfoil uses Rogue Amoeba’s Audio Hijack technology to allow you to wirelessly stream the audio from any application to an Apple Airport Express (or an Apple TV, an iPod Touch, an iPhone or an iPad). Rogue’s Audio Hijack Pro allows you to do even more to improve your digital media experience!

Audio Hijack Pro is just the ticket for those Mac using digital music (and media) mavens who would like to have more control over the audio signal they are listening to, whether it be from their iTunes library, a streaming music service like Pandora, Rhapsody or Last.fm, YouTube videos, Skype calls or any other application with a soundtrack. Using the recently added System Audio feature, you can add any number of virtual effects modules to tailor the sound to your liking. All of these modules are implemented in the digital domain, and use very sophisticated mathematics to minimize any detrimental effects to the music. Also, due to its low latency, Audio Hijack Pro is an excellent alternative for “fixing the mix” on streaming multimedia AV sites (yeah, we’re talking about you YouTube!)

You can download a demo version of Audio Hijack Pro for free from the Rogue Amoeba website. The demo version allows you to try out the wide range of options available in Audio Hijack Pro. That way you can get a feel for how it can transform a less than stellar soundtrack from the unlistenable to the acceptable (or even better!) The demo version will insert noise into the audio soundtrack after 10 minutes of play. With the purchase and registration of a user license from Rogue Amoeba for $32.00, you will be able to “fix it in post (production, that is)” just like the pros!

The Live Music Archive - A Digital Music Lover’s Dream!

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 23:34:01 -0400

In our previous Views update discussing Max for the Mac OS, we alluded to alternative online music download sites (some of which even offer their catalog of music for FREE) that we would be introducing to our regular readers over the coming months. Well, we are happy to say that our first recommendation is one which, when we first discovered it about five years ago, opened our eyes to the amazing potential for alternative channels of music distribution via the internet.

Many of you will be familiar with the legions of faithful Grateful Dead fans; the so-called “Deadheads”. The Deadheads were famously (or is it infamously?) known for following the Grateful Dead from one city to the next on their long and regular tours, taking in concert after concert, setting up their wonderfully bizarre and psychedelic scene in the parking lots of each venue where the band was scheduled to play. One of the most interesting elements of this nomadic subculture was the (band approved!) recording of concerts. This would result in Deadheads debating which set lists were classic, which performances were the most awesome, and trading favorite concert tapes that supported their opinions.

In this world of concert tape trading, the goal was to score copies of the all time greatest performances from the early days, as well as collect recordings of one’s all time favorite Dead shows - either those one attended, or those that were missed but had earned accolades from the the most highly respected “tapers” and “traders”. Accomplishing this goal was typically a long and involved process.

A serious taper would have to make a recording at the show either using a set of microphones or taking advantage of a feed off the sound board provided by the band itself. Then the taper would copy the collection of tunes onto a set of tapes for easy manipulation without degrading the originals. The next step was to sequence the tunes in the desired order, often splicing various recordings together to get just the right mix. The final step was to trade this prized collection by mailing cassette or reel to reel tapes to fellow “Heads” around the world for all to enjoy.

While the Grateful Dead was the first major act to allow and encourage audience recordings of their shows, this practice spread to other acts with a countercultural bent. As these audience recordings became more numerous and mainstream in the 1980s and early 1990s “concert tapers and traders” began to wish for a single repository for all of these live music recordings. The ultimate dream was to create an easily accessible and open source where anyone could obtain a copy of any live performance recording. Well In the age of the internet this dream finally became a reality!

The Grateful Dead, especially their long time drummer/percussionist Mickey Hart, saw the potential of “virtual community” early on, back in the days of dial up modems, Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) and The WELL. The early embrace of this fledgling technology by the fans and members of the Grateful Dead, and the subsequent maturation and continuing development of networking technology has given birth to the Internet Live Music Archive (ILMA). The extremely large (and loyal) fan base of the Grateful Dead, along with the painstaking work and well deserved reputation for excellence earned by Archive.org, has made the ILMA an incredible online resource for great live musical performances.

Finding the recordings you want (whether they be from the Grateful Dead or any of over 4000 other acts!) has become as easy as searching an online database and downloading (or streaming, in many cases) your favorite performances. With over 75,000 (you read that right, SEVENTY FIVE THOUSAND!) concert recordings available for FREE, via either streaming or downloading to your music library, the ILMA may just become your first choice source for finding new music. In fact, for some of our long time, tech savvy and music loving clients, colleagues and friends, the ILMA has become their only source for new recordings. With so much variety available 24/7/365, they have been working their way through the ever expanding ILMA catalogue, finding great live performances from old favorites as well as discovering exciting and interesting new acts and artists.

So, to bring this “shaggy dog story” of a Views entry to a (much anticipated and well deserved) end, at the ILMA you will find recordings of live musical performances spanning a wide variety of genres: from jam bands to jazz bands; blues to reggae; folk to rock and roll; pop to avant-garde. While there are far too many artists for us to list on the ILMA, here is a small sampling of some of favorite performers who have material available: the aforementioned Grateful Dead, Ryan Adams, Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Los Lonely Boys, Drive By Truckers, Cowboy Junkies, Matt Nathanson, the Derek Trucks Band, Warren Zevon, My Morning Jacket, Little Feat, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Billy Bragg, Vienna Teng, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and Andrew Bird. The quality of the recordings do vary, but many (especially those sourced directly from the sound board) are exceptional - rivaling or exceeding the live albums released by the major record labels.

Because of the overwhelming amount of FREE content available, the staff at TheDigitalMusicExperts.com have selected three recordings to get you started on your ILMA adventure. All of these tracks get our “Seal of Approval” due to their excellent performances and exceptional sound quality. Try them out and let us know what you think.

*Vienna Teng Live at the Living Room, New York, NY USA Nov 16, 2006 Track 12: 1Br/1Ba

A great example of the modern female singer/songwriter genre, Vienna Teng is an accomplished, classically trained pianist who plays a captivating mix of pop and folk.
http://www.archive.org/details/vt2006-11-16.dmix.flac16

*Ryan Adams Live at Das Haus, Ludwigshafen, Germany Oct 17, 2006
Track 4: Blue Hotel - Recommended by MR of Royal Oak, MI

Alt Country meets Jam Band meets Power Pop is the best way we can describe this mix - an absolutely stunning recording coupled with fantastic playing and amazing harmonies! You will be blown away by this recording, as have over 250,000 Ryan Adams fans who have downloaded the concert. In fact, more people worldwide have downloaded this concert from ILMA than have bought the Ryan Adams album 29 (153,000)!
http://www.archive.org/details/ryanadams2006-10-17.sbd.flac16

(For those who with perfectionist leanings, there is also a 24 bit version of this recording available. Keep in mind that the files a little more than twice the size of the 16 bit version recommended above.
http://www.archive.org/details/ryanadams2006-10-17.sbd.flac24)

*Cowboy Junkies Live at The Ark , Ann Arbor, MI USA Oct 5, 2009
Track 3: Southern Moon

An excellent performance in one of the longest continually operating musical coffee houses in the country (43 years - now averaging over 300 shows per year!), “TJ”, Keith (as well as MR from Royal Oak, MI) attended this show, scoring second row seats just right of center stage. The capacity crowd of 400 in this fantastic sounding and very intimate room were enthralled with the band, and we think this recording of Southern Moon will show you why. TJ says this is the “ultimate stalkers song”, take a listen and let us know if you agree.
http://www.archive.org/details/cowboyjunkies2009-10-05.ccm4v.flac16

*For those of you who are using iTunes on a Mac and want to download this content to your library: you will need to use Max to convert the FLAC versions of these files into either Apple Lossless (ALAC), AIFF, AAC or MP3 versions for playback in your home or on your iPod.

A “Must Have” Music Utility for Mac Users

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:17:24 -0400

Max is a great little FREE application for Mac OSX users. It allows the user to rip CDs to their hard drive and, most importantly (for some of our upcoming Views entries) allows for the translation of most music files into a large number of alternative formats using an easy and intuitive interface.

Here at TheDigitalMusicExperts.com we use Max to convert FLAC files into Apple Lossless (ALAC) format to ensure iTunes compatibility for home or iPod playback. Many online music sources (some of which are FREE) offer FLAC as their “go to” or default file format, but iTunes for Mac OSX doesn’t support FLAC as a native file format. Max allows for a truly transparent translation of a FLAC file to ALAC format, while preserving all of the included metadata and ID tags.

Additionally, Max allows you to rip your CDs to your HD in a way that reduces the likelihood of a bad or inaccurate copy. This is due to the fact that Max utilizes a comparison ripper (if your drive supports audio caching), or alternatively it can access the CDparanoia database to confirm the data on the CD is identical to the data in your ripped file. To date, none of the staff at TheDigitalMusicExperts.com has run into a bad rip using iTunes (maybe we have been lucky so far, knock wood!), but those of you who want some additional reassurance that your rips are as accurate and error free as possible, then using Max should put you a bit more at ease.

For the rest of you, we think you will find Max to be a most handy addition to you music file tool box, especially as we provide you with some alternative sources of online music downloads over the coming weeks. Finally, please check out the other applications offered by the producers of Max at SBooth.org.

Rogue Amoeba’s AirFoil: Streaming for any App!

Tue, 8 Jun 2010 17:14:05 -0400

Since the introduction of the Apple Airport Express in June of 2004, iTunes users have had the option of streaming their music library (or internet radio stations) to a remote location using AirTunes over their wireless network. AirTunes through the Airport Express really spoiled music lovers since they could now, very easily and cost effectively, stream their music library to a remote room without the hassle of installing additional expensive cabling and control devices. Multi room digital streaming of music files was easy, cost effective and robust.

Once music lovers became accustomed to listening to their iTunes music via AirTunes they started to ask for a way to listen to the audio from ANY application, not just from iTunes. The folks at Rogue Amoeba Software have answered their pleas with Airfoil. Airfoil uses the “Hijack” technology from Rogue’s well known Audio Hijack Pro utility to divert the audio track from any application you are using and send it wirelessly to your Airport Express, AppleTV or iPhone/iPod Touch over your home WiFi network.

Simply install Airfoil on the computer that hosts your iTunes Music Library and then run Airfoil. You will then be allowed to select any active application from which you can send the audio track to your Airport Express, AppleTV or iPhone/iPod Touch.

Now you can listen to the soundtrack of your iTunes Movies or Television shows, the audio from a YouTube video, the music from streaming sites like Pandora and Rhapsody, or the soundtrack from websites such as Live From Daryls House to your “remote” room.

With an Airport Express and Airfoil, you’ll never again have to miss a line of dialogue, a favorite lyric or musical phrase when you run to the kitchen to make another plate of nachos for the gang!

Music from the Industrial Heartland

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:41:52 -0400

Paxahau.com is a Ferndale, Michigan based record label, internet radio station and concert promotion agency with a specialty in Electronica. The good folks at Paxahau.com have been the organizers of Movement: Detroit’s Electronic Music Festival since 2006. They have been doing an excellent job booking great international artists, as well as many local luminaries from their own label for the annual festival.

From the birth of Techno in the mid 1980s, Detroit has often taken center stage in the world of Electronic Music. That stage has become an institution in modern music with the establishment of the Detroit Electronic Music Festival at Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit every Memorial Day weekend since 2000. Whatever name has been used (DEMF, Movement, Fuse In, Movement: DEMF), this festival has been one of the most enjoyable and energetic expressions of Electronic Dance Music in the world, attracting hundreds of thousands of fans from around the world.

TheDigitalMusicExperts.com staff can often be found enjoying the soothing beats of Paxahau radio on iTunes (under the Ambient streams header in iTunes Radio). In fact, Paxahau radio playing in the background is what inspired TJ to check out this year’s artist lineup and then write this entry. Try Paxahau out, you just might enjoy it enough to make a pilgrimage to Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit this coming Memorial Day weekend. If you do make the trip, keep an eye out for TJ!

TheDigitalMusicExperts.com and Apple

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:11:43 -0400

Now, this is not meant to be any kind of slam against Microsoft or Linux operating systems. TheDigitalMusicExperts.com has the greatest respect for these alternatives. However, our years of familiarity with the Mac OS and Apple software, as well as our experience as early adopters of the iPod, gives us confidence in our ability to deliver you not only the best sound, but the most enjoyable and trouble free user experience from any of our products when used with Apple products.

TheDigitalMusicExperts.com is, of course, happy to help you assemble a high quality digital music or media playback system using a PC/Windows or Linux based media server. We can help guide you through the setup of our products when they are used in these environments, but our ability to help you troubleshoot difficulties will be more generic and fundamental in nature.

If you have any questions, or would like more information about a specific system configuration, please feel free to contact us at your convenience.

Live From Daryl's House

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0400

LiveFromDarylsHouse.com has become “appointment” web surfing for many of us here at TheDigitalMusicExperts.com! Once a month Daryl releases a new “webisode” of popular music making that takes you behind the scenes and lets you see how music is CREATED by true professionals who obviously love what they are doing. John Oates, Nick Lowe, KT Tunstall, Smokey Robinson, Todd Rundgren, Chromeo, Monte Montgomery and Chuck Prophet are just a few of the exceptional artists who have played with Daryl Hall and his top flight band. In our book this is one of, if not THE, coolest music websites going. And much like the 21st century music systems we offer at TheDigitalMusicExperts.com, it is likely to be the shape of things to come in musical content delivery.

It is deeply saddening to discover that Tom “T-Bone” Wolk, Daryl Hall’s music director, extremely talented multi-instrumentalist and a seemingly “all around good guy”, passed away from a heart attack on Sunday, February 28th, 2010. If you take the opportunity to watch any of the archived Live From Daryl’s House webisodes, you will see just how talented and irreplaceable T-Bone was to Daryl Hall’s musical community.

Please do take the time to check out Live From Daryl’s House and see just how exciting the coming era in digital content delivery will be! Remember to play one for T-Bone.