Completing my Sonos setup
by Volker Weber
Two weeks ago I gave my neighbor one of my ZonePlayers so that he could try out extending the range of his system. You can set the ZonePlayer into an "extender" mode where it becomes invisible and just serves as a relay in the wireless mesh network. Since Sonos had introduced the ZoneBridge, relegating a ZonePlayer to an extender is a somewhat expensive proposition.
When he returned the ZonePlayer I asked him how he had used it and I learned how I could better place the ZonePlayer and the speakers in my bedroom. The only thing I needed was to either run a wire around the room, or use a ZoneBridge as a wireless link. That was an easy choice to make. :-)
The ZoneBridge arrived on Friday. Unsurprisingly, the setup was extremely easy. Plug it in. Select "Add a ZoneBridge" from the menu. Push the sole button on the ZoneBridge. Done.
As you can see in the picture above, the ZoneBridge is tiny. Much smaller than I anticipated. You can also see that the power supply is external since the device wants a 5V DC input, rated at 2A. This would fit into the PoE specs, but Sonos has chosen to supply a tiny white switching power supply. I can't blame them since you won't find many households with PoE switches. You would also need the power supply if you use the ZoneBridge as a wireless bridge with no ethernet cabling. If you do plug it in, you can still hook up another device since the ZoneBridge has two ethernet ports.
The switches included in the Sonos players and the bridge are an often overlooked benefit of the Sonos system. In a home without ethernet cabling you can use the devices as a backbone for wired devices. Plug in a network printer, network attached storage or a webcam for instance and you can access them from all other computers on the network.
Tags: sonos zoneplayer zonebridge
Comments
"In a home without ethernet cabling you can use the devices as a backbone for wired devices."
That's nice. What's the speed of the connection?
Btw, Sonos should offer a bundle of 2xZP80 plus Remote. I really really want to get those and don't need the ZP100+ZP80+Remote bundle...
You waited too long. Sonos had a 2xZP80 plus controller bundle. However it was priced exactly like the current bundle. So you get an amp "for free". :-)
Probably a stupid question and due to a lack of real knowledge concerning AirTunes and the Sonos... what made you decide in favor of the Sonos? Very useful Gadget.
Enter Sonos into the handy search box right up there and you have a lot to read.
Hanno,
The Sonos wireless is based on 802.11g, but with a proprietary mesh.
A device wired into the switch on any ZP or ZB can expect a throughput of around 36Mbps. Not the full 54Mbps, but extremely reliable for things like network gaming without dropouts.
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