I'm currently choosing between a Sony Giga Juke NAS-S55HDE and the Phillips MCI500H.
I've seen the Sony in operation in a store and was quite impressed. Obvious weaknesses were:
1) Only 80GB
2) Streaming Radio. Main unit is fine with DAB (no internet). Clients though are internet only - you can't stream the DAB or FM. But the internet radio is very restrictive; Live365 and Shoutcast. In simple terms you can't listen to live BBC Radio in any format on a client. Poor.
I know less about the Phillips. I believe it is internet only Radio (no DAB). Theoretically not a problem, but I don't feel comfotable with internet radio. May be my perception as opposed to reality. Has the bonus of 160GB.
When initially looking for these units, it was the ability to copy CD's and download music to a hard drive and listen to this around the house. The present of radio was a bonus. Having got the bonus it was a bit of a knock-back to find the Sony is poor in this area. However, I still prefer the Giga Juke.
What are other's opinions on my options? Is there another model to throw into the equation? Is there a completely different solution that better meet my needs?
A couple of points to consider. We are laptop users and therefore don't want a solution that requires a computer (excluding set-up, downloading etc) as part of the solution. I'm also looking at a video streaming solution (Sky, DVD and TiVo being streamed to TV's in other rooms). I don't mind solving that separately, but if you see any synergy from a joint solution that would be of interest to me.
I've seen the Sony in operation in a store and was quite impressed. Obvious weaknesses were:
1) Only 80GB
2) Streaming Radio. Main unit is fine with DAB (no internet). Clients though are internet only - you can't stream the DAB or FM. But the internet radio is very restrictive; Live365 and Shoutcast. In simple terms you can't listen to live BBC Radio in any format on a client. Poor.
I know less about the Phillips. I believe it is internet only Radio (no DAB). Theoretically not a problem, but I don't feel comfotable with internet radio. May be my perception as opposed to reality. Has the bonus of 160GB.
When initially looking for these units, it was the ability to copy CD's and download music to a hard drive and listen to this around the house. The present of radio was a bonus. Having got the bonus it was a bit of a knock-back to find the Sony is poor in this area. However, I still prefer the Giga Juke.
What are other's opinions on my options? Is there another model to throw into the equation? Is there a completely different solution that better meet my needs?
A couple of points to consider. We are laptop users and therefore don't want a solution that requires a computer (excluding set-up, downloading etc) as part of the solution. I'm also looking at a video streaming solution (Sky, DVD and TiVo being streamed to TV's in other rooms). I don't mind solving that separately, but if you see any synergy from a joint solution that would be of interest to me.