Essential Install | Media Servers
OutClass servers
can automatically
download media
purchased
through ITunes
LA4, Lode Audio’s
four-zone music
server
players as they were supported with the required
playback features and compatible with third party
control systems, but we are now building a dedicated
OutClass player that will provide a better playback
experience and nice simple looking interface for your
cinema room.”
If your client isn’t an Apple fan, then the OutClass
server still sits as a managed network server which all
non-Apple DLNA and UPNP player can read from.
If you are using iTunes for purchases then iTunes
match will allow all music to be synced across your
devices, these purchases will be downloaded to play
offl ine if needed. This then allows multiple UPNP and
other music streamers to stream your favourite music
around the home, business or yacht etc.
Making use of Apps like PLEX on a tablet will allow
users to choose from their complete library whatever
they want to watch or listen to, even when out and
about, no need to store the movies and music on a
tablet as it will stream directly from the OutClass server
at home.
“This facility then opens up the possibility to have
your complete library in a holiday home to enjoy while
you are away,” OutClass adds.
Lode Audio, the UK-based audio company, made
its most recent new introduction with the LA1, a
single-zone music server that combines Hi-Fi quality
performance with the control and reliability demanded
by the custom installation industry.
The next stage in the Lode Audio product road map,
which has already seen the LA4 four-zone music server
receive acclaim from installers and users alike, the LA1
is 1U tall and 9.5in wide (two units can fi t side-by-side
in a 19in rack) features high-end DACs capable of
high-resolution audio playback, compatibility with the
leading music streaming services including TIDAL and
full integration into automation control platforms such as
Creston, AMX, Control4 and RTI.
Built on Lode Audio’s patented LodeNet, the LA1 can
be used as a stand-alone unit in a single-source multiroom
audio system/dedicated Hi-Fi system or integrated with
other Lode Audio products. LodeNet supports up to 64
zones per installation.
Developed over a four-year period, the Lode Audio
music server range is built around the company’s
patented LodeNet audio distribution protocol. LodeNet
is a low-latency digital matrix that offers up to 64
zones of groupable audio (each with Apple Airplay
compatibility) for synchronous playback without the
need of a hardware matrix.
Lode Audio products automatically log on to the
LodeNet matrix as soon as they are powered up, therefore
requiring very little set up other than selecting and signing
into any of the integrated market-leading music streaming
providers, whereby one login gives access to every zone
within the system.
Lode Audio products are controlled by the company’s
proprietary IP protocol, which, it says, removes any of the
confl icts and time delays associated with more traditional
UPnP-based devices.
The company says: “Offering full wireless control
via iOS and Android apps, control latency is negligible,
whilst full browse control, super-quick cover art
population, gesture swipe, single/grouped room
control and full lock control (allowing the user to control
volume, track forward/back and play/pause when their
device locks or times out) are standard. Signifi cantly,
the app has been designed to integrate seamlessly with
third-party apps, offering full app-in-app functionality,
enhancing the user experience.”
Lode Audio products also offer integration with third-
party automation platforms. With drivers already available
for Crestron, AMX, Control 4 and RTI, features include
dynamic browse and queue functions, as well as cover-art
The 1U+ Server - Legally imports and plays back your movies
and in conjunction with a Disc Server never have to get up and put a disc in again
28 | July 2017