[S HOME] / SLIMP3 Frequently Asked Questions
We have users with single SLIMP3 players using Pentium 166 systems as servers with 64M of memory. We generally recommend a 300Mhz Pentium II with 128M of memory. You'll need more memory if your music library is large, approximately 32MB for each 15,000 songs. You also may need a faster CPU if you wish to use multiple SLIMP3 players with a single server computer.
You can create links or shortcuts to other folders and place them in your specified Music Library Folder. The contents of the linked folders will then be part of your Music Library.
In any web browser, type in this URL: http://slimp3server:9000/. Replace "slimp3server" with the IP address for the computer running the SLIMP3 Server software.
Navigate into the "Player Settings" area with the remote control. Choose "Synchronize", then select the other player you want to synchronize with and press the RIGHT button. Both will play the same thing and you can control their "synchronized" playback from either remote. Go back to the same place and press RIGHT again to unsync.
The SLIMP3 server scans MP3 files for ID3 tag versions 1.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4. The tags it pays attention to are title, artist, album, comment, year, track number, disc set numbers and genre.
The SLIMP3 player can play back MP3Pro files using the backwards compatibility feature of MP3Pro, unfortunately, the audio quality in this mode has significantly reduced quality. We recommend encoding your music using standard MP3 format.
The SLIMP3 player's hardware decoder only supports MP3 format for decoding. Unfortunately, the licensing issues surrounding these formats make it impossible for us to convert these formats to MP3 on the fly.
If you have a Linux, BSD or OS X system with both LAME and ogg123 installed, the SLIMP3 server will automatically convert Ogg files to MP3 on the fly for playback. There may be some reduction of quality due to the conversion, but it generally sounds pretty good. Note that this conversion will use a substantial amount of CPU power and may put a substantial load on your server computer. This feature is still under development for Windows users.
SLIMP3 is capable of slightly higher volume levels than most consumer audio gear and may cause “clipping” with some receivers. If you notice clipping, you may wish to reduce the SLIMP3's volume level. If the volume is too low even at the maximum setting or if it varies between tracks, try using your encoder's “normalize” setting to ensure that all your tracks use the full range.
Check all your network connections, and make sure that the DHCP server is running. Try a different Ethernet cable, even if the hub indicates a good link.
Ensure that the SLIMP3 server software is running, and that you can access it using a web browser.
Reset the player by removing and then reinserting the power cable.
Some un-zip utilities put all of the files in a single folder when you unzip and this confuses the SLIMP3 server application. Make sure that the folder "server" exists in the folder containing the "SLIMP3 Server.exe" application, and that the application "slimp3.exe" is in the "server" folder.
Any such messages may be safely ignored–they’re for troubleshooting in case you have problems later.
The SLIMP3's web interface is available in several different "skins”. Some skins use JavaScript, Java, CSS, or other elements that may not be available in all browsers. The “SLIMP3 Default” skin is very simple, and should render correctly in all web browsers. To change the skin, open the web interface and go to the “Additional Server Settings” area.
Make sure that UDP ports 1069 and 3483 are open for communication between the SLIMP3 player and the SLIMP3 server computer. Make sure that TCP port 9000 is open for access to the SLIMP3 web interface.
Check to make sure that any playlists in your music library contain valid paths to music files in your library. Playlists that refer to themselves or other folders in your library, or playlist entries that refer to disks that aren't available can cause the SLIMP3 server to get confused.
If this isn't the problem, try moving all of your music files out of the library and then move them back in groups and restarting the server. Try to find, by process of elimination, which files are confusing the SLIMP3 server.
By default, Windows doesn't give high priority to services and the SLIMP3 server sometimes needs a fair amount of CPU. To work around this, open your "Control Panels", and then open the "System" control panel. On the "Advanced" tab, find the "Performance" section and click on "Settings". On the "Advanced" tab, choose "Backround Services" under "Processor Scheduling". Click "OK" and the SLIMP3 server will now get more CPU cycles and perform better.
If you've moved your iTunes music files around, iTunes can export incorrect information about the songs in its library. You'll need to find and throw away the "iTunes 3 Music Library" and "iTunes Music Library.xml" files.Then relaunch iTunes and drag your music files to the Library icon again to re-import them. The SLIMP3 server should now be able to import your iTunes music library correctly.
Mac OS X aliases are not supported by the SLIMP3 server yet. Symbolic links, however, are but they require a little more work to create. Here's a brief tutorial on doing so.
iTunes can get confused if it's trying to update its music library while the SLIMP3 server is importing it. If this happens frequently, we recommend you stop the SLIMP3 server when you are ripping music.
There is probably a problem with the MTU setting for your network interface. VPN clients such as the Cisco VPN client utility may change your machine's MTU setting from the default. This causes the fast-stuttering on the SLiMP3. If you have the Cisco client installed, run the included Set MTU utility and change the MTU setting to "default" for your network adapter. Reboot your machine to implement the change. If you aren't using the Cisco VPN client, then check the settings for your network interface and make sure that the MTU is set to 1500. This will correct the sound problem and the SLiMP3 should work normally.
To remove a song from the "Now Playing" playlist, navigate to the "Now Playing" menu and scroll to that song in the playlist and press the REC button. To clear the whole playlist, navigate to the "SLIMP3 Home" menu and scroll down until it says "Now Playing" on the second line. Press the REC button and your playlist will be emptied.
Try using the following URL: http://127.0.0.1:9000/. (Be sure to type the “http://” part, as some versions of Internet Explorer require it when accessing a URL by IP address.)
Make sure that your ethernet hub or switch supports 10Mbps connections (most do). Also try a different cable.
Make sure your network settings are entered correctly. If you have any proxy or firewall software installed, configure it to allow communications between your server computer and your player.
Try following these steps:
If the update succeeds and you find that the remote control does not work then you may have de-programmed the remote when you where holding down a key to get the SLIMP3 into boot mode. Try resetting remote.
If the updater fails to write to the SLIMP3 device then there is some sort of communications error - check the following:
Replace "slimp3server" in the following URLs with the IP address of your SLIMP3 Server computer.
We simply were not willing to compromise on the SLIMP3's interface. We evaluated several LCD displays from different manufacturers, but none came remotely close to the VFD in brightness and readability. Many were completely unreadable at a distance of just five feet. Fluorescent displays cost a bit more, and you get what you pay for!
Yes, you can have any number of SLIMP3 players on your LAN, using a single instance of the SLIMP3 server software. Thanks to the efficient design of our software and streaming protocol, even a low-end PC can service more than a dozen SLIMP3 players. Each player operates completely independently of the others, so you can have different music playing in your garage, kitchen, bed room, living room... wherever!
Yes, the SLIMP3 supports both DHCP and static IP addresses. It also has a feature called "Slim Discovery Protocol", which automatically locates the SLIMP3 server on your network. For LANs which already have a DHCP server, SLIMP3 is ready to run out-of-the-box, without having to do any configuration. If you don't have DHCP, you can enter the IP addresses manually.
Since the SLIMP3 network interface is 10 megabit ethernet, you can use either a CAT3 or CAT5 ethernet cable. If you are connecting directly to a computer you will need a crossover cable, otherwise a regular straight cable will work just fine.
The SLIMP3 shows the current date and time when not in use. A more sophisticated alarm clock feature will soon be available, which will allow you to set up daily alarms with music of your choice.
An inexpensive 10Mbps hub has about 25 times the capacity needed to stream MP3 audio at the highest quality (320Kbps). Typically, MP3s are encoded at 128Kbps to 192Kbps. You do not need 10/100 Ethernet - SLIMP3 is compatible with fast Ethernet LANS, as long as your hub/switch also supports 10Mbps (most do).
The SLIMP3 is officially supported under Windows 95/98/NT/2000/Me/XP, Linux, and MacOSX. It is also known to work on a wide variety of other operating systems, so it's safe to say that just about any modern OS will be compatible. The SLIMP3 has been tested on all of the following platforms:
BeOS, FreeBSD, Linux (X86, PPC, and MIPS), Mac OSX, NetBSD (X86), OpenBSD, Solaris (X86, Sparc), Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, Me, XP
Most companies would prefer that their customers not know about competing products. We have no such qualms - we think that the more you know about our competition, the more excited you'll be about owning a SLIMP3!
We've taken a completely different approach in designing the SLIMP3. We could have had our product on the market a year ago, if we'd decided to start with an off-the-shelf design. Instead we decided to do our own design - custom firmware, custom chips, custom protocols. As a result, our product is easy to use, small, wicked fast, versatile, and affordable.
The bigggest advantages of the SLIMP3 over competing players are:
Here's a quick run down of a few specific features, although it's hard to do a tit-for-tat comparison. The best thing we can suggest is to read up on all the products, and decide for yourself!
  | SLIMP3 | Audiotron | Rio |
---|---|---|---|
Architecture | Our own custom hardware and open firmware. | ARM system-on-chip, running Windows CE | ARM system-on-chip, running Linux |
Display | Large vacuum fluorescent display | Backlit LCD | *tiny* Backlit LCD |
Capacity | UNLIMITED! Since the SLIMP3 stores its database on your PC instead of on the player, it can handle MP3 collections of absolutely any size. | Max 30,000 songs | Max 10,000 songs |
Supported platforms | Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, MacOSX, and more! | Windows only | Windows only |
Protocol | Custom, open protocol | Windows file sharing | Windows file sharing |
Software | Open source! | Proprietary | Proprietary |
Power supply | 110 and 240V compatible | 110V only | 110 and 240V |
Synchronization | Yes | No | No |
Customizeable | Yes | No | No |
RCA volume control | Yes | Yes | No |
Web interface | Yes | Yes | No |
Yes, you can connect the player directly to your computer using an Ethernet crossover cable. You can purchase a crossover cable at most retail computer stores.
SLIMP3 includes a switching power supply that supports both 110 and 220V mains, with interchangeable AC cords. The included AC cord has standard US 2-prong cable, overseas customers will simply need to substitute the correct AC cord.
No, you only have to enter it once. The SLIMP3 stores its configuration internally, in flash.
These are the most oft-requested features for the SLIMP3. We very much wanted to keep the SLIMP3 affordable (under $300) and small, so we were not able to include these features. There just isn't room for the digital connector in this form factor, and 802.11 would have been a very expensive feature to add.
You can use the SLIMP3 over 802.11, by first bridging to Ethernet. If you have a wired LAN with an access point, you can put your SLIMP3 on the wired LAN, and it can talk to a server on the wireless LAN. If you don't want to run Ethernet to the SLIMP3 at all, there are a number of ethernet to wireless LAN bridges that our customers use with SLIMP3 to connect to 802.11 networks, including:
We figured most people would prefer to use their own choice of amplifier and speakers, so the SLIMP3 does not have either built-in.
The SLIMP3 supports MPEG 1/2, layers 2/3, for both VBR and fixed data rates up to 320Kbps (the maximum for MP3). The SLIMP3 server software will soon support automatic encoding/transcoding from other formats, but the player will still speak MPEG.
Yes! SLIMP3 can proxy to all of the popular streaming protocols, including HTTP, Icecast/Shoutcast, and Live365.
SLIMP3 let's you browse your collection by file name or by ID3 tags.
Yes, the SLIMP3 has a sophisticated, easy to use playlist management system. It lets you easily create playlists from the remote control or the web interface. In addition, the SLIMP3 can use .m3u and .pls files.
Yes. The SLIMP3 lets you play mp3s in random order by artist, album, genre, from a playlist or from a single folder or folders of folders. You can reshuffle the list at any time, add new songs to the list of songs or un-shuffle to play them in order.
Yes. The SLIMP3 has an HTTP interface which can be used to control the player from your own scripts or from the command line. See the support section under "Developer's documentation, HTTP interface".
Yes. The SLIMP3 sends the decoded IR signals directly to the server. So you can use them to control other things, if you like.
The SLIMP3 has an i2c bus that you can control directly over the network. Dallas Semiconductor has a number of interesting i2c peripherals or you can roll your own i2c slave device using a microcontroller.
Check out the Help area at the bottom of the SLIMP3 server home page or visit the support area of our web site at http://www.slimdevices.com/.
We welcome email to support@slimdevices.com, or call us at +1 650 210 9400.