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Olive Opus: First Impressions - Page 30

post #871 of 1135
10/20/08 at 10:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack D View Post

This whole episode has put a bug up my as*! I really want a universal remote with a touch screen from which I can access my Olive library either through the Rondo interface or though VNC. I just called Olive to ask if they knew if/how it is possible to do this. The guy said he had a vague memory of some client who he thinks did it. He promised to check and email me back. I'm not terribly hopeful but maybe......

Sorry to open a can of worms on you Jack, but one remote to rule them all would be nice. The price of the Pronto is not that bad when you consider the prices of a Harmony and a Nokia together.
If the Pronto can do what we want, Im in.

Another highly rated remote is the Nevo S70...
Quote:


Through WiFi,
NevoS70 offers built-in capabilities for IP cameras (security
and baby monitors) and digital content control (music,
pictures, and video). NevoS70 instantly delivers web
content from sites such as weather.com, ESPN.com
(real-time sports scores) and TVGuide.com to the palm
of your hand.

http://www.mynevo.com/images/uploade...0_consumer.pdf

I dont have a baby, but it might be worth getting one just so I can look at it on my remote while I'm watching TV.

What do you think?
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post #872 of 1135
10/21/08 at 7:32am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by shamus View Post

Sorry to open a can of worms on you Jack, but one remote to rule them all would be nice. The price of the Pronto is not that bad when you consider the prices of a Harmony and a Nokia together.
If the Pronto can do what we want, Im in.

Well sure if they can do what the Nokia does I'd happily get rid of the Nokia although for me it is a sunk cost. And I'm pretty sure they can do what we want, it's just that someone would have to program it. I'm not willing to make the investment without knowing if I could either do it myself or get someone else to do it for me for reasonable cost. The Prontos do that thing with the camera like the Nevo. If you have some extra time you might want to spend it over at Remote Central. It's very interesting what people are doing with the Pronto Pro line remotes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shamus View Post

Another highly rated remote is the Nevo S70...

http://www.mynevo.com/images/uploade...0_consumer.pdf

I dont have a baby, but it might be worth getting one just so I can look at it on my remote while I'm watching TV.

What do you think?


Well maybe it will work with the Opus out of the box. Here is an excerpt from the product sheet: "NevoS70 instantly delivers web content from sites such as weather.com, ESPN.com (real-time sports scores) and TVGuide.com to the palm of your hand."

The problem is that it is only sold through professional installers. So no price breaks. I wonder if you can configure it yourself or if they hide the code and software some way so that only the "professional installers" can do it? I'll have to do a bit of research. A small point: I don't like the way it looks as much as the Prontos.
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post #873 of 1135
10/21/08 at 1:33pm
Update on my Opus No. 4 arrival:

Received yesterday, only 4 days after originally promised due to some sort of glitch that was fixed immediately when I called to question why my credit card hadn't been charged yet. Shipped that day after calling.

So, I'm still stuck in the barracks with no sound system and the boring task of loading all of my CDs is ongoing. At first I didn't even hook up the wifi antenna, thinking since I didn't have my own router there was no need. After loading maybe 60 Cds I tried connecting the antenna just for grins, and I now have maybe 3-4 album art pictures loaded. (Really weak connection where it sits out of the way as I simply plug in a CD and let 'er go.) Does anyone know if those CDs loaded without art will have the album art added automatically when I get a good connection?

I have had a lock up already, maybe because I'd loaded around 64 CDs without waiting for the encoding to catch up, but restarted fine and no data loss. Now I load a bunch and wait for the Opus to catch up before beginning the next batch.

One thing I've noticed is that I have far more unrecognized CDs than when using the computer and iTunes. (iTunes kicked out maybe 3 in my total collection of 700-800, yet with the Opus I've already got around 8 in the first few CD cases. Maybe the online connection will help that as well.)

The damned thing is beautiful in my eyes, and will look great with the rest of the system. The menus are easy to navigate for me, fairly self-explanatory, and generally easy to read. The packaging (for what it's worth) was superb and very protective of the unit.

Oh! For any other overly excited newbie Opus owners, when they send the shipping notification email with the .pdf file manual, that is NOT because you will not get a hard copy with your unit. I saved mine to a thumb drive and ran right out in town and spent 40 bucks having it printed and bound up all pretty. Only to find the 8.5" x 11.0" paper had only a small printed section on each page--because the manual they SENT with the unit is only around 4" x 5.5". Ah well, I do have a spiffy big manual copy now too, with a plastic cover and spiral bound. LOL

One more thing; Harrison from Olive emailed me today asking how I liked it so far, which I found to be a pretty cool gesture. He knew how concerned I was about receiving the Opus before transferring, and for him to check on my delivery I just found reassuring somehow. I told him I'd update him when I could actually start hearing it.

That's all for now, more when the neighbors start complaining about loud music.
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post #874 of 1135
10/21/08 at 7:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pathworks View Post

I have a problem with an unlinked album-art image. Anyone else come across this problem and how do you resolve. See attached image.

http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/41...600x600Q85.jpg

I have seen a pattern where any album title with an ' will not display the tracks when clicking the album art pic. Must be a SQL bug in the code.
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post #875 of 1135
10/21/08 at 8:25pm
Thread Starter 
Well it looks like this remote has a built in web browser so it can access the Olive remote interface. I'm told, however, that you cannot load a VNC client on it. One problem: list price is $1200 and if you have your equipment in a closed cabinet you need to get the extender for another couple hundred. I also wonder if the Olive interface will be too small on the touch screen. The screen is 3 1/2 inches but unless you can rotate the image it will come up with the long dimension on the short dimension of the Nevo screen....so it might be too compressed.

The programing software is drop and drag so it shouldn't be that difficult to program it although not as easy as a Harmony. Still much more flexibility I'm sure.

I found a very good deal on Ebay for a new S70 and extender and the guy says it has the warranty and access to tech support etc. I just don't know if I can believe that.

In any case, this remote is way beyond the Harmonys and it should be for that price. I'm tempted to jump in......
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post #876 of 1135
10/21/08 at 8:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by swahealy View Post

Update on my Opus No. 4 arrival:

One thing I've noticed is that I have far more unrecognized CDs than when using the computer and iTunes. (iTunes kicked out maybe 3 in my total collection of 700-800, yet with the Opus I've already got around 8 in the first few CD cases. Maybe the online connection will help that as well.)

If you already rip to iTunes and it gives you better results why don't you just load the Opus from iTunes by setting up a network that has your computer and the Opus connected?
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post #877 of 1135
10/21/08 at 10:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pathworks View Post

I have seen a pattern where any album title with an ' will not display the tracks when clicking the album art pic. Must be a SQL bug in the code.

Did you upgrade the firmware?
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post #878 of 1135
10/21/08 at 10:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack D View Post

I'm tempted to jump in......

Me too...
Theres a nice deal going on if you use search.live.com and find a link to ebay. It will give you 30% off a buy it now item.
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post #879 of 1135
10/22/08 at 5:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by shamus View Post

Me too...
Theres a nice deal going on if you use search.live.com and find a link to ebay. It will give you 30% off a buy it now item.

The thing is that these eBay sales are almost certainly not authorized. So what if you get a lemon or need tech assistance from UEI? I'm waiting to hear a quote from an authorized dealer. Unfortunately, the so-called authorized dealer listed on the Nevo site that is nearest to me says he no longer carries them. So I had to contact some place a few states away. I guess that is not really different from eBay but somehow if I'm going to go the "legitimate" route i would like a dealer close enough so that I can drop into the store if I want to have a chat or need to swap out the unit.

What do you think about the Olive interface coming up on that Nevo screen the "wrong way?" In other words it's going to be compressed since it is wider than it is tall and the Nevo screen is taller than it is wide. Might not look good or be easy to view....
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post #880 of 1135
10/22/08 at 6:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack D View Post

The thing is that these eBay sales are almost certainly not authorized. So what if you get a lemon or need tech assistance from UEI? I'm waiting to hear a quote from an authorized dealer. Unfortunately, the so-called authorized dealer listed on the Nevo site that is nearest to me says he no longer carries them. So I had to contact some place a few states away. I guess that is not really different from eBay but somehow if I'm going to go the "legitimate" route i would like a dealer close enough so that I can drop into the store if I want to have a chat or need to swap out the unit.

What do you think about the Olive interface coming up on that Nevo screen the "wrong way?" In other words it's going to be compressed since it is wider than it is tall and the Nevo screen is taller than it is wide. Might not look good or be easy to view....

Im never comfortable buying electronics off Ebay, but 450 vs 1200 makes me think about taking a chance.
Not sure about that screen. Hopefully there is a zoom and rotate feature on it...
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post #881 of 1135
10/22/08 at 7:14am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by shamus View Post

Im never comfortable buying electronics off Ebay, but 450 vs 1200 makes me think about taking a chance.
Not sure about that screen. Hopefully there is a zoom and rotate feature on it...


One thing that bothers me is that they do not put out much information on the unit because they want you to go to the dealer. It's not easy to find out details. For example I don't know the exact dimensions of the screen. I don't know if you can rotate or zoom. I don't know the cpu power so there might be a problem running Olive's inefficient Rondo interface.

There are a lot of other questions that could probably be answered by a look a manual but I have not even been able to track one of those down. If you go to support on their web site they refer you to your local dealer. The only item they have posted is a rudimentary brochure which has very little information.

I read that the screen is not as nice as the Pronto. People were complaining about that but they say that once you get used to it, well you get used to it and it's fine.

EDIT: I finally spoke with an authorized dealer. They are not selling the S70 because they have encountered "programing problems." They might start selling it soon but they couldn't say for sure. I said I could probably program it myself if I had access to all the tools and information. They were reluctant to say that they would do that. Of course they want me to have it programed by one of their people at a charge of $110/hour plus travel time which would be significant given that the nearest dealer is several states away from where I am. Gosh I'm practically beggging to buy one and they don't have it together enough to sell it to me? I'm starting to wonder about UEI and its dealers....

EDIT 2: I was told by two people now that you cannot rotate or magnify the browser view. It is made for PDA, BlackBerrys etc. That could be a real problem for the Olive interface. I'm starting to think the Nevo might not do it. I wonder if there is a no questions asked refund period. I would hate to fork out that sort of money and then be disappointed.

EDIT 3: I had another conversation with the dealer. They will sell me the unit for list price but that does not include any programing. If I need help with the programing I have to buy a block of 5 hours of technical assistance (about $550). Nevo does not even have a manual for the device. They really give their dealers a monopoly on information on this device. It's a turn off for me. I'm not sure I am willing to go this route......
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post #882 of 1135
10/22/08 at 3:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack D View Post

If you already rip to iTunes and it gives you better results why don't you just load the Opus from iTunes by setting up a network that has your computer and the Opus connected?

Well, eventually that will be possible, but I wanted a head start on loading music here with no network. And, I didn't know I could use iTunes to save to the Opus...wow. That'll mean saving everything FLAC so loading everything again anyway, but good to know. Better recognition of all CDs and also most artwork shows up.

Thanks Jack.
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post #883 of 1135
10/22/08 at 5:50pm
thanks for the info jack
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post #884 of 1135
10/22/08 at 6:12pm
I've been using Safari on my iPhone during the last couple of days to access Rondo on my Opus 4 and it works reasonably well. It's easy to zoom in or out and it automatically adjusts to landscape mode when you turn the phone sideways, and the touch screen is much nicer than the one on the Opus.The main problem is that you don't have access to the arrow keys like you do on the Opus so it's hard to go back or up (although if you reload the page it goes back to the start so you don't get stuck).

Getting an iPhone or a Touch might be the way to go instead of buying a much more expensive device to remotely control the Opus.
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post #885 of 1135
10/22/08 at 8:08pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by swahealy View Post

Well, eventually that will be possible, but I wanted a head start on loading music here with no network. And, I didn't know I could use iTunes to save to the Opus...wow. That'll mean saving everything FLAC so loading everything again anyway, but good to know. Better recognition of all CDs and also most artwork shows up.

Thanks Jack.

You've touched on the problem with iTunes and Opus. If you want lossless you have to rip in uncompressed format in iTunes, copy to the Opus and then, if you wish to save space, convert to FLAC. And if you want compressed lossless for iPod you have to convert to Apple's lossless, compressed format, which is proprietary. in other words no other device can read it. Real bummer but that's the way it is.
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post #886 of 1135
10/22/08 at 8:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gfd View Post

I've been using Safari on my iPhone during the last couple of days to access Rondo on my Opus 4 and it works reasonably well. It's easy to zoom in or out and it automatically adjusts to landscape mode when you turn the phone sideways, and the touch screen is much nicer than the one on the Opus.The main problem is that you don't have access to the arrow keys like you do on the Opus so it's hard to go back or up (although if you reload the page it goes back to the start so you don't get stuck).

Getting an iPhone or a Touch might be the way to go instead of buying a much more expensive device to remotely control the Opus.

Sounds good but I'm not ready to go that route. I use a Blackberry.
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post #887 of 1135
10/23/08 at 5:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack D View Post

Sounds good but I'm not ready to go that route. I use a Blackberry.

That's why I mentioned the iPod Touch. It would work the same way as the iPhone minus the phone plan. The cheapest one is $229.

Anyway, I just wanted to put it on the table as an option.
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post #888 of 1135
10/23/08 at 6:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gfd View Post

That's why I mentioned the iPod Touch. It would work the same way as the iPhone minus the phone plan. The cheapest one is $229.

Anyway, I just wanted to put it on the table as an option.

The thing is that I want to control all of my home theater devices with one unit. Right now I can do that with a Harmony but the one thing it can't do is to view the Olive remote interface. It can only go forward or backward one track. I have a Nokia N800 to access the full interface of the Olive but that means I have to wander around my home with two devices. A Nevo could do it all.
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post #889 of 1135
10/23/08 at 11:12am
Thread Starter 
While the Nevo does seem that it would be able to access the Olive remote interface (RONDO) in its browser, I'm starting to think it would not be worth it. Why? Because I estimate that the dimensions of the screen are 2.8 inches high and 2.1 inches wide (estimate because all they state that it is 3 1/2 inches diagonal). Since the image cannot be rotated or magnified, it means that the Olive interface is going to have to be compressed to be only 2.1 inches wide. I think that is going to make it unreadable except if you have great eyes.
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post #890 of 1135
10/23/08 at 12:09pm
Good to hear that the iTouch is a suitable replacement for the Nokia.

I use my Nokia N800 for more than just an Opus remote (email, web browsing, games), and I really like it. However, I may replace it with an iTouch once Apple comes out with a 64GB version.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gfd View Post

That's why I mentioned the iPod Touch. It would work the same way as the iPhone minus the phone plan. The cheapest one is $229.

Anyway, I just wanted to put it on the table as an option.
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post #891 of 1135
10/23/08 at 12:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gfd View Post

That's why I mentioned the iPod Touch. It would work the same way as the iPhone minus the phone plan. The cheapest one is $229.

Anyway, I just wanted to put it on the table as an option.


Can you install a VNC viewer in the iTouch?
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post #892 of 1135
10/23/08 at 12:53pm
This surprises me, but it looks like you can:

http://www.iphone-hacks.com/2008/07/...a-vnc-lite-10/

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack D View Post

Can you install a VNC viewer in the iTouch?
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post #893 of 1135
10/23/08 at 1:58pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett View Post

This surprises me, but it looks like you can:

http://www.iphone-hacks.com/2008/07/...a-vnc-lite-10/

Interesting. Would be nice if gfc tried to install it on his iPhone to give us a report of how it works with the Opus.
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post #894 of 1135
10/23/08 at 2:14pm
gfd has an Opus 4, which does not have the VNC option.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack D View Post

Interesting. Would be nice if gfc tried to install it on his iPhone to give us a report of how it works with the Opus.
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post #895 of 1135
10/23/08 at 2:16pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett View Post

gfd has an Opus 4, which does not have the VNC option.

Oh right.
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post #896 of 1135
10/23/08 at 2:19pm
VNC is a fairly lightweight piece of code. I've used in several iterations over the years and I bet it would work just fine. Anyone could load it up on their iPhone/iTouch, install the VNC server on their PC, and see how it works just to be sure.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack D View Post

Oh right.
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post #897 of 1135
10/23/08 at 3:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett View Post

VNC is a fairly lightweight piece of code. I've used in several iterations over the years and I bet it would work just fine. Anyone could load it up on their iPhone/iTouch, install the VNC server on their PC, and see how it works just to be sure.

Yeah I'm sure you are correct. But now Shamus ruined it for me. I want an all-in-one touchscreen universal remote from which I can control my music server library!!!!
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post #898 of 1135
10/23/08 at 3:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack D View Post

Yeah I'm sure you are correct. But now Shamus ruined it for me. I want an all-in-one touchscreen universal remote from which I can control my music server library!!!!

Sorry...
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post #899 of 1135
10/23/08 at 3:30pm
Did you try asking any of these questions regarding the Nevo in the remote control area of AVS? Lots of dealers in there.
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post #900 of 1135
10/23/08 at 3:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by shamus View Post

Sorry...

Hey isn't that part of the reason we are here? I mean to incite each other in our addiction to HT gear?
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