Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
 Free the music on your computer in your house - great sound quality, easy to setup May 13, 2009
Mannina Magha (Traveller)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
If you are music lover like me, you will just love this product, I have tons of music on my computer and have not listened to many of them in years just because of the pain of going to the computer every time I have to listen to them.
This unit will unlock the music by streaming all that music in a neatly bundled package with remote, display and sleep timer so that you can listen to your favorite music from your computer, internet radio stations
Target use for this unit: Connectivity to home stereo/theatre
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This unit does not have inbuilt speakers - actually this device designed to be used with your home theatre/home stereo system or a set of speakers.
Setup and connectivity to Internet: Excellent
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Overall setup time required : About 10 mins after you unbox
The setup is pretty easy, just like you would connect to your laptop to the secure/unsecured wireless internet/wired internet - you will have to just type in the wireless security password with the remote that comes with this unit.
Audio Quality: Excellent
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Audio quality is superb if you are listening on a set of external speakers, headphones or your home theater it sounds very clear and crisp.
Has simple equalizer settings for Jazz, Classics and Pop
Display: Good
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The display is well designed and useful information. If you are playing music, it displays the Band/singer and the time remaining on the song and if you are not playing anything, it will display the current time.
Streaming audio from PC/network drive: Excellent
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Installation & Usability : Very easy to setup streaming, because of the software (twonky media) which they have bundled along with the unit. All you need to do is to install twonkymedia on the computer which contains all your music files. On your unit, go to the menu and look for uPnp servers and the unit will display your computer, select that you are all set to listen to your favorite music based on artist/album/playlist.
There are 2 conditions for the music streaming to work:
- the philips Network music player and the computer hosting your music have to be on the same server
- the Upnp port should be open in your router for music to pass through the router, typicall it is open for all internal data, if it does not work it is something which you want to check in your router manual and open the port
Sometime this year, I want to buy a nice media drive, which comes with a built in uPnP driver, so that I can host the music on the drive instead of a computer.
Internet Radio : Excellent
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Installation :
No additional installation required
Usability :
East to browse through stations, radio stations categorized by Genre, Language, Country ..., you can even search for internet radio stations.
Audio quality:
Very good audio quality, way better than your regular FM or satellite channels.
Rhapsody: Good
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Installation :
No additional installation required
Usability : Easy to use, well organized channels
Wish list
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(1) A FM tuner would have made this unit a comprehensive unit, I really miss it
(2) A video player + photo frame on a slightly bigger screen like the Philips AJL 308 !
Loved it!!! You have to get one of these!!! January 11, 2009
Leslie A. Jezior
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am not a big gadget person, but this Network Music Player from Philips was so easy to set up. It only took a few minutes. The sound is awesome. I can't believe such a small item could have such a quality sound. It is portable also, so I can carry it to any room. I also really liked the internet radio. Friends and family came over and we listened to radio stations in Africa and Italy. It sounded like the stations were local they were so clear. Thanks Philips for a great product!
Great product for internet audio April 24, 2009
Eagle Vision (Southeastern United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a wireless network music player that allows you to listen to your music library from your computer by streaming (utilizing proprietary software). You can also subscribe to Rhapsody for music stations (this includes a 1 month free subscription). However, this device does something that I have never experienced. It allows me to access internet radio stations from anywhere in the world. You can search by keywords, genre, country, language, recorded shows, new stations, popular stations, and various types of programming.
Items that I have that are similar (with regards to music) :
XM/Sirius Satellite Radio
iPod MP3 Player (Classic)
WHAT COMES IN THE BOX?
Streamium Music Player
2 AAA Batteries/IR Remote
1 RCA Cable
AC adapter
CD ROM with manuals
Quick Start Guide
SETUP
The menus are self explanatory and intuitive. Without reading instructions, I was able to set this up in about 6 minutes (unboxing, hooking up cables, and connecting wirelessly). This can hook up to your network by Ethernet or Wireless connections. Entering your SSID and WEP password (Hexadecimal, not paraphrase), allows you to get started accessing programming throughout the world. Entering the information is cumbersome with the remote control as you toggle through the various characters on the alphanumeric keypad (like your phone). You can even register the product through this device by entering your email address.
THE REMOTE
The remote control is responsive, but somewhat large given modern standards (though it is still smaller than my television's remote). The remote is piano black with a central multidirectional button for navigating through the windows.
There are quick keys at the top for Internet radio, music, auxiliary input, settings, clock, search and favorites.
CONSTRUCTION
To me, this is aesthetically pleasing to the eye with its piano black finish (i.e. glossy black) and small profile, it can be displayed in plain view or hidden. It matches my television so it works out well.
The construction is plastic with a plastic base. The top of the unit has a power, volume control, and mute function. The back has ports for an ethernet cable, digital out, Single headphone jack, left and right line out (RCA) and left and right line in (Aux). The LCD screen is color and text is sharp. Graphics from each radio station is variable. On music from your own library elapsed time and total time are shown with a 'time bar' showing the remaining portion of time.
Given its small size, it should have been designed to operate with rechargeable batteries for more portability given its lack of speakers.
OPERATION
Powering up takes about 20 seconds. There is a wireless signal meter in the top right hand corner. This is menu driven with categories chosen by using the multidirectional button and pushing enter (or you can just push the hot keys at the top of the remote). At the top of each menu item, there is an indicator letting you know how many menu possibilities there are. For the state of Florida, for example, there are 38 genres and 415 Radio Stations. I was able to connect to a radio station in Alaska in a just a few seconds so distance from a 'hub' does not seem to be an issue. As you proceed through the menu for the Internet Radio, and you select your station, there is a status screen that shows a circular graphic (showing that it is working) and "Buffering" - "buffering" has ranged from just a few seconds to a minute (India, for example). If the station is unavailable, there will be a pre-recorded message stating that you should check your configuration. If the station is available, you will automatically hear your programming.
For curiosity, I tried stations in various parts of the world. I was able to listen to stations in India, Canada, the Carribbean, Japan, Portugal, and the Ukraine.
Contrasting with XMRadio, this does not require a subscription however, depending upon the number of connections to a particular station, you may or may not get a 'signal'. However, given the diverse spectrum of programming from almost every country, this product is the biggest competitor to Satellite Radio. However, there is no recording capability, no artist information or song names.
The equalizer has presets and there is a noticeable difference unlike other devices that have 'preset' equalizers. Presets can be toggled through the EQ button or by scrolling through the onscreen menus.
CD
The CD Contains Twonky Media and a Video Tutorial. The multimedia approach is excellent, if you are not tech savvy.
TwonkyMedia
This somehow wirelessly networks with your device allowing you to listen to your music library from your computer. I was testing this on a Windows device. Selecting the songs work almost instantaneously, as opposed to the "Buffering" from Streaming from the Internet. You can browse all the available songs on your computer which seem to link to the "My Music Folder". Switching from one song to the next, is close to selecting a song on your iPod with regards to the 'delay' from one song to the next.
PROS
Don't need a PC for operation
Compact footprint
No subscription fees
Album graphics, artist name and song name for TwonkyMedia connections
CONS
No built in speakers
User's manual is on a CD so technically, you need a PC to view it
Should have been designed with rechargeable batteries
WHO IS THIS FOR (assuming you have high speed internet access)?
Music lovers (not necessarily an audiophile since music is not necessarily CD quality)
Educators/students (access to foreign programming;culture immersion)
Gadget lovers (like myself)
People considering satellite radio
OVERALL
This is a great little invention that gives you 'access to the world' with a simple set up.
Despite some limitations, I love this thing!
Highly recommend.
I need this Gadget! May 13, 2009
Seanna
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Let me first say that in all my years as an Electronics Technician (and specializing in Audio/Visual equipment), I have seen many amazing products and that this one by Philips has to be one of the most interesting.
This player is a convenient inexpensive way to listen to the 1000's of radio stations which are on the internet plus it will playback songs from your computer.
Unlike the internet there is no typing when using the internet radio (unless you use the search feature), you just select the channel you want and in moments (after a little buffering) you are listening to a radio station which could be anywhere in the world.
To playback songs from your computer you use the software included called TwonkyMedia which creates a server and you can then access songs from folders on your computer using this player. To do this, you have to ensure the folders on your computer have file sharing. I had problems with the TwonkyMedia included with the device so I downloaded the latest version. This works fine and I have it running on Windows XP SP3 and Vista 64 computers. The one thing to watch is that your firewall doesn't try to block the program.
Now of course with all high-tech gadgets there are drawbacks, not every station you select is available to US users and some are simply not there. Also sometimes the information can be corrupt so occasionally it will lock-up the system but generally this device runs smoothly. My advice if it locks-up, is to unplug the power for a few seconds and this will reset it. I expect Philips to make updates (this appliance has the option) so hopefully problems like this will go away.
The other advice I would give is to ensure you have a high speed internet connection and output the sound to your amplifier using the digital coaxial output and not the standard AV connectors. The sound is a lot higher quality this way and true digital sound.
Overall I have to give this product top marks, the technology is remarkable and scanning through all the stations is a lot of fun. I love the ability to be able to listen to radio stations in the UK, Australia, and Ireland etc. There are literally 1000's of internet radio channels, I couldn't give a guess how many and I am sure new ones spring up every day.
The design of the unit is also ultra-trendy; it fits alongside the rest of your audio-equipment and has a very modern look. The menu etc. on the appliance is easy to use, the display screen is very clear and you can be listening to stations in minutes plus it will playback your favorite songs from your computer.
Full marks go to Philips for an excellent product!
Internet radio and much more. April 23, 2009
D. Hentze (United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
While I own several internet radios, the NP2500 is much more. It connects to my PC via my wifi network, and allows me to play the many gigabytes of music stored on it through my home theater system. The NP2500 was easy to setup, and connected to my network within minutes. The radio does not have built in speakers so it must be connected to an external sound system too. One minor annoyance was that the Philips website was not working correctly for a period of time, and I could not register the radio. Without registering, you get an annoying reminder every time you turn on the radio and don't have access to a couple of the features. I did finally get it registered later in the day. Once connected, the controls on the radio are very well laid out, and if you already have an internet radio you'll be familiar with most of the menus. The remote control is full sized and full featured. You can directly control just about everything the radio can do with it. The color display is excellent. Very clear and easy to see. I do have one small gripe with it though. The NP2500 gives you the least amount of info about a station that is playing, than any other internet radio I own. It would be nice to get bit rate and format, etc. The sound quality is excellent. There are various different EQ settings to tailor the audio to your liking. MP3s streamed from my PC sound fantastic. The radio comes with a 1 month trial of the Rhapsody service, which I haven't bothered to try. I would have preferred free access to the Slacker or MP3Tunes services. The radio is firmware upgradeable, so perhaps more features will be added in the future. All in all, I love the NP2500, and I highly recommend it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 23
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