10 Ways to Stream or Download Music

Whether you seek quality, convenience, or a large selection, Internet-based music services offer a world of sound at your fingertips.

Digital denizens who live in the cloud already partake in the cornucopia of musical content that is available for virtual consumption. And even fans of physical media may appreciate the potential for discovering new music offered by cloud-based streaming and download services. Audiophiles can avail themselves of a sizeable selection of hi-res tracks found on the web, and music addicts can stream from catalogs containing millions of tracks for pennies a day or even free. It's a brave new world.

No matter your taste in tunes, here are 10 popular options for streaming or downloading music.

1. iTunes—the service most responsible for changing the way people consume music. You can purchase individual tracks, whole albums, or subscribe to Apple Music for $10/month ($15/month for a family plan). Apple uses 256 kbps AAC compression, a quality level most people cannot discern from lossless 16-bit/44.1 kHz sound. Tracks purchased from iTunes are DRM-free, while files downloaded through an Apple Music subscription are not—you need an active subscription to play them. Apple Music for Android devices is on its way this fall.

2. Tidal—owned by Jay-Z, with a focus on quality. Tidal offers 320 kbps AAC streaming (and downloads to phones and tablets) for $10/month. A $20/month plan ups the maximum available bit rate to 16-bit/44.1 kHz lossless streaming—as well as mobile-device downloads—in FLAC format. Soon, Tidal says it will support Meridian's MQA format, which promises better-than-CD quality. Tidal's app is widely available, including versions for iOS, Android, and PCs. Additionally, the service works with the Sonos and Denon HEOS whole-home audio systems.

3. Spotify—popular and ubiquitous thanks to its ad-supported free membership that offers 160 kbps streaming and an app found on dozens of connected devices; I would not be surprised if there are refrigerators with Spotify. For $10/month ($5/month for students), the service offers ad-free 320 kbps MP3 (Ogg-Vorbis format) streaming as well as the option to download tracks to mobile devices. Spotify's app is found on smart TVs, streaming sticks, mobile devices, Denon HEOS, Yamaha MusicCast, and Sonos.

4. Amazon Prime Music—free streaming and downloads for Prime members plus MP3 purchases for everybody. Gain access to over a million streaming tracks available at no added cost as a benefit of Amazon's $99/year Prime subscription. Mobile devices offer the option to download Prime Music tracks for offline playback. While the collection of free tracks is comparatively small—"only" one million—the company offers many more DRM-free MP3 tracks and albums for purchase. Amazon's player app is available on many devices and works with Sonos.

5. Google Play Music—touchscreen-friendly, browser-based music streaming. The search giant does a good job making its music offerings easy to use on a PC or a Mac. The $10/month service provides MP3 files at up to 320 kbps, and it allows downloads to mobile devices. Subscriptions also include a 50,000-song locker where users can upload their tracks to stream from the service. Google Play offers an Android app, and it works with Sonos. And the browser interface works perfectly with touchscreen devices, unlike some other services' GUIs.

6. Pono—downloads focused on quality. Pono is Neil Young's foray into digital music and is perhaps best known for its Kickstarter-launched, Toblerone-shaped player. The service deals in downloadable tracks that are CD quality or better, including hi-res files in DSD format as well as PCM up to 24-bit/192 kHz. The DRM-free files play on any player that supports the formats sold by the service, namely FLAC, WAV, and DSD. The main issue some people have with Pono is that a lot of the content is only CD quality, not true high-resolution audio. The typical cost of buying an album from the Pono store is between $10 and $25.

7. HD Tracks—a venerable source of hi-res music downloads. Founded in 2008 by David and Norman Chesky, the service grew from humble origins into a worldwide provider of "better than CD" files in FLAC, ALAC, WAV, and AIFF formats. Purchases are DRM-free, so they play on any device that supports those formats. Typically, albums cost between $17 and $30 to buy.

8. Rhapsody—one of the oldest streaming services, and the first to offer unlimited downloads for a flat monthly fee, is still going strong. It charges $10/month ($15/month for a family plan) for access to unlimited downloads from a selection of over 30 million tracks. Maximum quality is 320 kbps AAC format, and the Rhapsody app is found in many devices, including smart TVs, Sonos, Yamaha MusicCast, and Denon HEOS.

9. Soundcloud—taps into the world of independent music publishing. A near-infinite selection of streaming sound is available from the site, and sound quality varies depending on the original file's bitrate. Much the music on Soundcloud is free to download as well as stream. Some downloads are uncompressed and a portion are hi-res. The service's unique waveform view allows listeners to leave comments at specific points in songs. The Soundcloud app works on Android and iOS platforms as well as Sonos and Denon HEOS.

10. Pandora—intelligent Internet radio that's great for music discovery. Pandora's popularity mandated a spot on this list, despite the limitations of the streaming-only service. Unlike the other services listed here, Pandora is entirely about creating a customized radio-like listening experience, guided by each listener's personal taste and interaction with the player. The service is free if you can tolerate a few ads per hour and overly compressed 64 kbps AAC audio; if you want to go ad-free and enjoy up to 192 kbps AAC audio, it'll cost you $5/month . You can find Pandora's app just about everywhere, including smart TVs, smartphones, Sonos, Yamaha MusicCast, and Denon HEOS.

source: avsforum.com

How to buy the best home cinema system

The best home cinema systems bring the surround-sound of the cinema into your home, making you feel as if you’re in the thick of the action. We show you what to look for when buying a home cinema system.

What makes a good home cinema system?

Great sound quality

The best home cinema systems deliver top-quality audio, clear dialogue and realistic surround sound effects. Home cinema systems that deliver great surround sound quality help make you feel fully immersed in a film.

Easy to set up

Clear instruction manuals and auto set-up modes take the hard work out of setting speaker levels and delay times to suit your living room. If the amount of cabling is an issue, look for a system with optional wireless speakers.

Easy to use

Once set up, your home cinema system needs to be a breeze to operate. Look for a home cinema system with easy-to-control features and a well laid-out remote control.

What type should I buy?

All-in-one systems

These are the easiest way to get a home cinema system. They contain everything you need to get started; the amplifier, speakers, cables and instructions on how to hook it all up. A DVD or Blu-ray player may also be included. Packages are available as 2.1, 3.1, 5.1 and 7.1 systems, which refer to the number of speakers included in the setup. 

Separates

You can buy the components of a home cinema system separately – amplifier, speakers, and a DVD or Blu-ray player. This bespoke route may appeal to the committed audiophile or home cinema enthusiast wanting to perfect their set-up. It also easier to upgrade different components over time. Buying separates is, however, more expensive.

Sound bars

Sound bars cram several speakers into a long bar-shaped box that’s mounted below or alongside your TV. The sound to each speaker is then electronically processed in order to recreate a virtual surround-sound effect despite the lack of rear speakers. Although Which? tests on sound bars have revealed that they’re never as good as full-blown surround-sound systems, Best Buy sound bars are still a good option if you have limited space. 

What else should I consider?

2.1 and 3.1 systems

A basic home cinema set-up is the 2.1 system, which sees two speakers placed to the left and right of your TV set, and a subwoofer placed elsewhere in the room. 

A 3.1 system adds an extra front speaker that helps boost the sound of dialogue. You won't get true surround sound with either of these systems, but you should experience a significant improvement compared to built-in TV speakers.

5.1 systems

These deliver full surround-sound with three front speakers, two rear speakers, a subwoofer and usually a DVD and/or Blu-ray player.

7.1 systems

These add two more rear speakers to the 5.1 layout. However, the challenge of fitting so many speakers into your room means this type of system is only for the true home cinema enthusiast who has the space and budget to suit.

Could I go wireless?

Ditch all the speaker cable snaking round your living room by opting for a system with wireless rear speakers. These use a radio transmitter so the rear speakers can receive sound from the amplifier, although they still need to be connected to the mains for power.

How else can I get better sound when watching movies?

Blu-ray players not only let you watch movies in stunning high definition through a HD TV, they can also deliver high-quality digital surround sound when connected to a home-cinema system.

You can also hook up your games console to a home-cinema system for the ultimate gaming experience. Consoles such as the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation support Dolby digital surround sound, and many games have full surround-sound tracks to accompany the on-screen action.

source: which.co.uk

Top 10 Things You Need to Know About Choosing Between HD and UHD

Should you get an HD or UHD display for your home theater? There are several things to consider before making this important decision.

1. HD has a pixel resolution of 1920x1080, while UHD (also commonly but inaccurately known as 4K) quadruples the resolution to 3840x2160, but that additional resolution does not offer much visible benefit at typical screen sizes and seating distances. (Of course, you can see a big difference at the "pixel-peeping" distance depicted above, but few people actually sit that close to their TV.)

2. UHD will offer several other enhancements, including high dynamic range (HDR), wider color gamut (WCG), and high frame rate (HFR), but the details are still being worked out. These enhancements will have a much greater impact on image quality than increased resolution.

3. There are several HDR systems vying for acceptance by display manufacturers and content creators, including SMPTE (the only one that's an open industry standard), Dolby Vision, Philips, Technicolor, and BBC.

4. The only currently available consumer displays with HDR and WCG capabilities are the Samsung SUHD TVs, which implement the SMPTE HDR standard; the Vizio Reference Series will offer WCG and Dolby Vision HDR when it is released, presumably later this year. Also, the Panasonic CX850 andSony X940C LCDs and LG EG9600 OLED are scheduled to get firmware updates that add HDR capabilities—at least for streaming content—this year.

5. There is currently no consumer content with HDR, WCG, or HFR; Disney and Pixar have created HDR/WCG content for commercial cinema using Dolby Vision, and Fox has announced it will produce HDR content for the home market.

6. Streaming services Amazon, M-Go, Netflix, and Vudu have announced plans to provide HDR content this year, but they could use different HDR systems. Will HDR-capable displays be able to decode multiple types of HDR signals? We don't know yet.

7. The only way to stream UHD content at this point is via the display's built-in apps, the Sony FMP-X10 UHD server, or the Nvidia Shield streaming box; a Roku UHD streaming box is under development, as are others, I'm sure.

8. Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs will support the SMPTE, Dolby Vision, and Philips HDR systems as well as WCG when they—and the players needed to play them—start shipping by the end of this year. Those players should also support UHD streaming, presumably with HDR and WCG if available. To play UHD content with HDR from an outboard device, both the device and display must support HDMI 2.0a.

9. Many people argue that a UHDTV can make HD look much better than it does on an HDTV, but that depends on the quality of the display's upscaler, and many others maintain that the increased resolution by itself does not improve the picture quality very much at typical screen sizes and seating distances.

10. Because of all the current uncertainty, I generally recommend that mainstream consumers and enthusiasts with limited means wait to buy a UHD display until the dust settles in a year or two. This recommendation does not necessarily apply to fervent early adopters who replace their display every couple of years anyway; in fact, it's because of them that we see so much progress in the development of all consumer-electronics products.

source: avsforum.com