On Sun, Jan 06, 2013 at 02:07:35PM +0000, Wayne Stallwood wrote:
On 28/12/12 15:50, Chris Green wrote:
I want a compact, low power Linux box to use as a NAS and audio streamer (probably running mpd). This is a slightly odd mix of requirements, does anyone have any suggestions of what to look at?
How about just adding either a USB audio interface or even an HDMI audio breakout to one of the low power platforms ?
Yes, it's a possibility I have been considering.
Not sure if RPi is the best choice for a NAS regardless, isn't the ethernet interface hanging off the USB bus and therefore CPU bound ? I'd say with both network and storage hanging off USB the CPU might become a bottleneck....not tried it though.
RPi isn't supposed to be particularly good for sound, and as soon as you move to alternatives the price creeps up, support is less universal and you end up down a bit of a blind alley.
It's just a pity that none of the relatively cheap - and low power - NAS systems is 'open'.
My (now no longer in production) WM My Book II takes only six watts when idle, has storage and an adequate processor. All it needs is a sound output and it would be perfect. I guess I could add a USB sound interface.