Escient FP-1 Music Manager

Product Description

, Yamaha YMC-500BL NeoHD Media Controller/AV Receiver ,Logitech Transporter? SE ,Xantech DL85 LCD/CFL Proof Dinky Link IR Receiver , ZVOX 575 IncediBase -Profile, High-Performance ,Dayton Audio MA1240a Multi-Zone 12 Channel Amplifier From the Manufacturer From the Manufacturer The FP-1 provides all of the great on-screen music management features you expect from a FireBall for your iPod. It's a complete FireBall Music Manager with all of the custom install features you need to provide seamless integration of iPod music into any home audio system. The FP-1 can also stream music from any FireBall music server or PC/Mac with or without a docked iPod. The FP-1 even allows other FireBalls to access and play music stored on the iPod including music purchased from the iTunes Music Store.Why You Need an FP-1 Music Manager In addition to the standard features of a FireBall Network Player like the Escient ZP-1, the FP-1 also allows you to access and play music and movies from your iPod on your home theater system. Access content from multiple iPods docked in separate FP-1 units, or stream internet radio or content from your PC to your TV. Consider your FP-1 as a single hub to access digital content from your iPod, your PC, or other networked FireBall Music Managers, making your TV a window to all your digital music, everywhere. What Is an Escient Music Manager? Each FP-1 provides an easy-to-use graphical interface, remote control, and analog and digital audio outputs A FireBall Music Manager (sold separately) is an advanced CD player/recorder and digital music server that makes it easy for you to access and enjoy all of your music through an intuitive on-screen music program guide. Music Managers can store tens of thousands of songs and allow you to listen to hundreds of free Internet Radio stations. Music Managers include powerful and intuitive features for every music fan such as instant access to any song in your collection, automatic CD recognition and ripping, and the ability to create your own mix discs. If you love music you’re going to love what an Escient Music Manager can do for you. Browse, locate, and play any artist, album, or song in your entire music collection without leaving your favorite chair. No more searching for that elusive disc you might have left in your car, loaned to a friend, or even lost on your last trip. Visual Music Hear and see what’s playing. The on-screen graphical user interface provides full color album cover art along with information for every artist, album, and song in your collection. Insert a CD into the built-in CD player and the Escient Music Manager does the rest, by downloading the artist name, album name, song list and cover art using your existing Internet connection all while ripping each song to the internal hard drive at lightening speeds. When it’s done, the disc is ejected and you’re ready to insert another, and another, and another... With all of your music centrally located, you will discover old gems and new favorites that you didn’t even know you had. Create your own Favorites playlist with the press of a button or randomly play your entire collection. It could take several weeks before you hear the same song twice! No Typing Required The world largest online database of CD data provides all of the information for each and every CD in your collection (Gracenote CDDB®). Each disc is scanned then information about the disc is downloaded from the Internet including: artist name, album name, track names, running time, and even the CD jacket cover art. You don’t have to type a thing (unless you really want to). Organize your music collection with ease. Take a product tour. MP3 or CD-Quality Audio The internal hard drive stores safe digital copies of all your music in either standard MP3 format for the most compatibility between other music devices or true CD-quality (FLAC) for exact bit-for-bit copies of your original CDs. Imagine all of the free space you’ll have in your bookshelves or entertainment center when you can store hundreds of CDs in the space of just a few CD cases. Along with managing all of your digital music files and CDs, all Escient Music Managers provide access to free high quality Internet Radio stations accessible over your existing broadband Internet connection. Expandable and Easy to Install Connect two FireBall Music Managers together over a standard network to share the music, double the storage capacity, and create a second music zone or add external CD changers to store up to 1200 more CDs. Add a FireBall Network Player to access content independently in different rooms of your home. Best of all, Escient FireBall Music Managers and Network Players connect to your receiver or TV just like a DVD player using standard analog or digital connections, so installation is a breeze.


This review is from: Escient FP-1 Music Manager with Universal Dock for iPod (Electronics)
I was pretty excited when my AV guy told me that there was a product that could not only dock my IPOD but also play the music I have stored in my iTunes on my PC even without the iPod. And, indeed, the Escient FP-1 Music Manager Universal Dock for iPod does just that. Unfortunately, the software appears to have been written by software engineers whose careers were aborted in the days of MS-DOS 3.1 or maybe Windows 95. The software is slow, klugey, non-intuitive and just plain hard to use. The limitations are truly surprising. If you are are used to the flexibility, ease of use, and design of iTunes, you may despair and just stop trying to work with this woefully inadequate software. It's really too bad because the product hardware works pretty well (even if the latency of response is pretty slow). A complete overhaul of the software, not a simple patch, would be imperative for me to consider increasing my rating from 2/5.