Frequently-Asked Questions
About cd3o Network MP3 Players

back to topInstallation and Configuration

Question: What other equipment do I need?

Answer: In addition to the cd3o Network MP3 Player, you will need:

  • A Windows PC. (This is where your music is stored.) Currently only Windows 2000 and Windows XP are supported.
  • A home network (LAN). For wireless use, you will need an 802.11b wireless network router (sometimes called a "Wi-Fi router") or access point. For wired use, you will need a network router, switch, or hub with an available 10baseT Ethernet port.
  • A stereo receiver with "aux in" inputs, or a set of powered speakers. 

Question: How many players can I have on the same network?

Answer: The cd3o Music Server software supports up to 32 Network MP3 Players.

For wireless use, an 802.11b network can typically support up to six players simultaneously. The exact performance will depend on your available network bandwidth and the bit rate (quality) of the music files.

Question: Can I use the cd3o software with a Mac? Linux?

Answer: The cd3o Music Server software is currently supported on Windows XP and 2000 only. We do not currently have plans for other platforms.

If there is a Windows PC on your network, you can run the server there and use file sharing to make Linux or Mac music files accessible to it.

Question: What are the differences between the three models?

Answer: Briefly:

  • c100 supports wired Ethernet networking only.
  • c200 supports both wired and wireless (802.11b) networking, and has an internal antenna.
  • c300 supports both wired and wireless (802.11b) networking, with an external antenna for greater range. It also offers digital S/PDIF outputs for connection to a digital receiver.

Question: Does the cd3o product require a TV?

Answer: No. The Voice-Guide™ makes it easy to browse your music library using simple voice prompts and the supplied IR remote control. You can use cd3o Network MP3 Players on all the stereos in your home, without needing to put a television next to each one.

Question: Do I have to enable Windows file sharing on the server PC?

Answer: No. cd3o Network MP3 Players communicate directly with the cd3o Music Server software, so there is no need to use Windows file sharing on the server PC.

back to topWireless Networking

Question: What frequency does the cd3o Wireless Network MP3 Player use?

Answer: The 802.11b network standard operates in the 2.4GHz band. However, unlike point-to-point transmitter/receiver systems, the cd3o Network Music Player is a true networked device on the LAN, and can co-exist with other 802.11b equipment such as laptop computers, PDAs, and printers.

Question: Will there be static or interference from car ignitions and fluorescent lights?

Answer: No. Unlike point-to-point transmitter/receiver systems based on analog FM radio technology, cd3o Network MP3 Players use digital networking over the 802.11b standard. The result is pure music, without any static or hum.

Question: Will there be interference from cordless phones and microwave ovens?

Answer: Although the 802.11b network standard is susceptible to radio interference, the cd3o Network MP3 Player buffers between 5-10 seconds of music. In most cases, the music will not be affected by momentary interference from cordless phones or microwave ovens. In the case of sustained interference that interrupts all network traffic, the player will simply stop and then reconnect to the server when the network becomes available again.

Question: What is the transmission range?

Answer: Range can vary greatly depending on the particular access point, building construction, number of walls between the access point and the Network MP3 Player, and other factors. With the c200 (internal antenna) model, range is typically 50-100 ft. With the c300 (external antenna) model, range is typically 100-300 ft.

(The c200's internal antenna is identical to that used in laptop 802.11b PC cards. If your laptop can connect to your wireless network from a particular location, the c200 will also work there.)

Question: Does the cd3o Wireless Network MP3 Player support WEP?

Answer: Yes, both the c200 and c300 support wired equivalent privacy (WEP) encryption, up to 128-bit. (As updated wireless security standards are implemented, cd3o will support them through firmware upgrades.) WEP keys are configured by temporarily connecting the Network MP3 Player using its wired Ethernet port.

Question: Does it support DHCP? Static IP addresses?

Answer: Yes. cd3o Network MP3 Players will automatically act as DHCP clients, and can also be configured with static IP addresses.

Question: Does it support 802.11b ad-hoc mode?

Answer: Yes, the c200 and c300 support both infrastructure and peer to peer ad-hoc mode. Ad-hoc mode settings are configured by temporarily connecting the Network MP3 Player using its wired Ethernet port.

Question: Will you support 802.11a or 802.11g?

Answer: As 802.11b devices, both the c200 and c300 are compatible with 802.11g access points.

cd3o has not announced any plans to support 802.11a. (The hardware is not user-upgradeable.)

back to topAudio Capabilities

Question: What audio formats are supported? What bit rates?

Answer: All cd3o Network MP3 Players support:

  • MP3 at up to 320 Kbps, including variable bit rate (VBR). (MP3pro is supported in its compatibility mode, which is generally of lower quality than a standard MP3 file at the same bit rate. For the best audio quality, we don't recommend MP3pro encoding.)
  • Windows Media Audio (WMA) at up to 192 Kbps CBR, and up to 135-215 Kbps VBR. (This includes all WMA files generated by Windows Media Player 8 or earlier. Windows Media Player 9 introduces new lossless compression and higher bit rate VBR formats, which are not currently supported.) Copy-protected audio files are not supported.
  • Uncompressed WAV at up to 44.1kHz, 16-bit stereo. (This is the format that results from ripping audio CDs at their original quality with no compression.)

The maximum usable bit rate on a wireless network may vary depending on your network performance.

Question: How much music can it store?

Answer: The cd3o Network MP3 Player does not actually store any music itself—it does not contain a hard drive. All music is stored on your PC, and then streamed to the cd3o Player on demand. The total size of your music library is limited only by the capacity of your PC's hard drive.

Because the music is stored on the PC, you can install a player on each of your stereos and listen to different music on each one, simultaneously, without needing to copy your music between devices.

Question: How good is the audio quality?

Answer: Audio will sound at least as good as it does at your computer, and probably much better:

  • The cd3o system retains your music in its digital, compressed form as it is transmitted over the network, eliminating static and hum that occur with analog wired or FM transmitter/receiver products.
  • cd3o uses licensed, high-quality MP3 and WMA software codecs to decode the compressed audio in the Network MP3 Player itself, optimizing network usage. This approach also allows support of new audio formats through firmware upgrades (and doesn't require transcoding of compression formats at the PC, which can cause artifacts and distorted audio).
  • The cd3o Network MP3 Player incorporates a 24-bit, 96kHz DAC with a
    -102dB S/N ratio. Or, you can connect the digital output on the c300 directly to your digital receiver.

For the highest-quality audio, the cd3o system also supports playback of uncompressed WAV files in the original 44.1kHz, 16-bit stereo format found on audio CDs. Combined with the c300's digital outputs, this allows true CD-quality, pure digital playback.

Question: My PC makes a lot of beeps and bloops, and shouts at me whenever I receive email. Will I hear all those noises through my stereo, too?

Answer: No—you'll only hear the music. Unlike analog transmitter/receiver systems (or extra-long audio cables), the cd3o Network MP3 Player does not connect to your computer's audio outputs. Instead, it communicates directly with the cd3o Music Server software, so that it can play your music regardless of the sounds coming out of your PC's speakers.

Question: Does the cd3o Network MP3 Player support streaming MP3 Internet radio (Shoutcast)?

Answer: The first release of the cd3o Music Server software does not support Internet radio. We expect to add this feature in a near-future release (and have reserved a button on the remote control for it).

Question: Does it support video or still pictures?

Answer: No. For our first set of products, cd3o has elected to focus on providing the best possible audio product at the best possible price. Supporting video and pictures would have made the product more complicated to use, and would have necessitated dropping features (such as wireless networking or digital output) to maintain our current prices.

back to topUse

Question: If I have more than one player, do they all have to play the same thing?

Answer: No. Each cd3o Network MP3 Player can play different selections at the same time, from the same PC server.

Question: I already use MusicMatch, WinAMP, Windows Media Player, or some other audio jukebox application on my PC. Do I have to switch to your software?

Answer: No. The cd3o Music Server software runs alongside your existing media player. You use your current application to manage your music library, rip and burn CDs, and listen to music through your PC's speakers. Playlists you create with your current media player are available through your cd3o Network MP3 Player and vice-versa. (The cd3o software can read and write .m3u playlists supported by all major media player applications.)

In fact, if you choose, you never even have to interact with the cd3o software once it's installed on your PC. Use your media player on the PC, and use the cd3o Voice-Guide and IR remote control to control playback of music through your Network MP3 Players.

Question: How do I pick music to play?

Answer: cd3o's Voice-Guide makes it easy to browse your music library by responding to simple spoken prompts with the supplied IR remote control. You can search for music by genre (type of music), artist or album names, titles of tracks (individual songs), and even saved playlists. You can also control all of your cd3o Network MP3 Players remotely from your PC.

Question: How do I find out what's playing?

Answer: You can press the Info button on the remote control to find out the artist, album and track name at any time. Or, if you wish, turn on the cd-DJ feature to hear this information automatically in between tracks, just like a real DJ.

Question: Is the Voice-Guide easy to use?

Answer: We've designed the Voice-Guide to be fast and efficient, whether you're just browsing your library or have some specific music in mind.

If you know exactly what you want to play, you can access it directly by spelling the first few letters of the album, artist, genre, playlist, or track name. To spell out the name, you use the number keys on the remote control, just like with a mobile phone. Most items in your music collection can be accessed with only three or four keypresses—much faster than scrolling through a long list of items on a tiny display.

When you're in more of a browsing mood, the Voice-Guide makes it easy to explore your collection. You can arrow through lists of genres, artists, albums, tracks, and saved playlists. And using dedicated buttons on the remote control, you can quickly narrow your search to artists or albums in a particular genre, albums by a specific artist, or even the complete list of tracks in any of these categories. You can mix and match browsing and direct access through spelling, to navigate your music library in whatever way makes most sense to you.

For even faster access to your favorite music, the cd3o system supports up to ten numbered presets, which work just like the buttons on a car radio. Each preset can contain any selection of music you'd like: a playlist, a group of albums, an entire genre, or any other combination.

Question: What if my music is stored on multiple machines?

Answer: If your music library is distributed between machines, you can use file sharing to make it all visible to the PC running the cd3o software. The cd3o Music Server will present the combined music library, from all machines, through its control panel and Voice-Guide.

Question: If someone is playing a game on the PC, can I listen to music through my cd3o Network MP3 Player at the same time?

Answer: Yes. The cd3o Network MP3 Player does not connect to your computer's audio outputs; instead, it communicates directly with the cd3o Music Server software, so that it can play your music regardless of the sounds coming out of your PC's speakers.

Question: Do I have to keep my music files organized in a particular way?

Answer: No, you can store your music in whatever folders you'd like. Just tell the cd3o Music Server where it should look for music files, and it will take care of the rest.

Question: How does the cd3o software know the album, artist and title information for my MP3 files?

The cd3o Music Server uses "id3 tags", which are a standard way of storing genre, album, artist and title information within the MP3 files themselves.

If you have ripped your music from your own CDs, chances are good that your MP3 files already contain this information. If you have downloaded music from the Internet, your MP3 files may or may not include this information. Products like MusicMatch or MP3 Tag Clinic can be used to update and correct the id3 tags in your MP3 files.

Question: How does the server find id3-type tag information for WMA or WAV files?

Answer: WMA files contain data very similar to id3 tags. WAV files that have been ripped with MusicMatch actually contain a form of id3 tags, and the cd3o Music Server can also read those to provide full artist, album and genre information. For other WAV files, the software simply uses the name of the file as the track title.

Question: How does the Voice-Guide know to pronounce the names of my artists, albums, etc.? Do I have to record all of that information? Did someone else?

Answer: The cd3o system uses a synthesized "text-to-speech" voice to read names and titles from id3 tags (and WMA metadata tags) that are already in your compressed music files.

back to topGeneral/Other

Question: Where is the product sold?

Answer: cd3o Network MP3 Players are available now for direct purchase through our online store.

If you are a distributor, VAR, or installer/integrator interested in resale opportunities, please contact us at sales@cd3o.com.

Question: What countries do you ship to?

Answer: We are currently shipping worldwide. Our add-on voice products allow non-english Voice-Guide support.

Question: Is the cd3o Network MP3 Player upgradeable?

Answer: The cd3o Network Music Player hardware is not user-serviceable; however, firmware updates providing new capabilities can be downloaded and installed from cd3o.com.

Question: What are your warranty and technical support policies?

Answer: cd3o guarantees the product for up to 90 days after purchase. Free electronic technical support is provided through online support forums and e-mail.

Question: What does "cd3o" stand for?

Answer: CD stands for Content Delivery, 3 for 3rd Generation, and O for Open.

The first generation technology used to deliever audio content in the home was the Victrola (recorded media). The second generation technology was radio. The third generation is packet-based networks (wired and wireless).

 

This document reflects the best available information at the time of writing. Because cd3o is continually improving its products, specifications and features are subject to change.