Gentlemen, update your Sonos software
by Volker Weber
Last week, I started talking about Sonos 3.2. Now it's here. Key features from the press release:
- Crossfading: Customers can create smooth transitions between songs just like the DJs do. You can select the crossfading playback mode from the Now Playing screen for any tracks in your music library, plus select music services including Napster, Last.fm and Deezer.
- S5 Stereo Pair setting: This innovative audio feature allows customers to use two Sonos S5s in the same room with one S5 serving as the left channel and the other as the right channel.
- Japanese and Simplified Chinese language support: Customers using the Sonos Controller for iPhone, the Sonos Controller 200 and the Sonos Controller for Mac or PC can now control Sonos in nine languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Swedish.
- New alarm settings: Sonos customers can now customise alarms for different days of the week. Wake up to your favourite radio station on one day and
a Last.fm tag radio* on another. Set the room, the time and the music for any or every day of the week. - iheartradio: Sonos customers in the U.S. can now enjoy the iheartradio service for free, providing instant, computer-free access to more than 750 of America’s favorite radio stations, including exclusive digital stations like Christina Aguilera Radio, CBGB Radio, Radio Weezer, AT40 with Ryan Seacrest, Jim Rome, Dr. Laura and much, much more.
Get one of your remotes and check for updates. For those without a Sonos: what are you waiting for? The kitchen sink? ;-)
*) Update: you cannot set a Last.fm tag radio as an alarm. It's radio stations and playlists only.
Comments
Nice,
However, I hope SONOS is working on a 4.0. There are tons of good suggestions in the SONOS Sound Ideas forum. My favorites are:
Create a user centric controller UI
Create a new start screen where every user first picks his name from a list and is then displayed her / his personal favorites. It should be one favorites list accross all media types. Let us sort our favorites too.
Create an autoplay option
That plays my favorite radio sation as soon as I press the mute button.
Create an easy way to listen to listen to podcasts, that are not listed by Radiotime
There are millions of podcasts not listed by Radiotime. It's worth the effort.
Display Track Number
After having lived for 25 years with tracknumbers on CD-players and MP3 players I miss the tracknumbers on my Sonos controller. I still remember best tracks by their number on an album. Why not...
FollowMe Function
Let the music follow me easily, i.e. let me switch the current music from one player to another without having to merge and decouple the devices.
P.S.: Release 3.2
- throws an internal error "PUpdateupgradeResult = 1013" on the CR200
- is not yet available for the iPhone
- stalls while updating 3.1 on Windows 7
(will test my XP Netbook tomorrow)
Well, if I learned one thing with Sonos, then it is they are always working on new stuff.
I like the smooth update process. Goes into each system I have.
Except the zone bridge, that seems to be a problem in it´s own right...
Zero issues here. Neither with ZoneBridges (3), nor with ZonePlayers (8) or Controllers (4).
the zone bridge throws a 1013 at me... :-( Unfortunately it´s the one that connects to the router. and thus has a central function. Happy to hear you have no probs. The error code (faq-de.sonos.com/icr is everything but helpful.
Will switch off the other equipment and see if the ZB feels well alone.
Volker, you mention
New alarm settings: (...) and a Last.fm tag radio on another. (...)
Does not work for me - do I need a last.fm subscription? My only choices are "Favourite Radio station" and "Playlists (Sonos/imported)".
Did I miss something?
Cannot find it either. Since I have no use for an alarm clock I have not checked this feature.
Hi Alex/Volker - unfortunately it is not possible to set a tag radio as an alarm, this has been mistakenly changed in the UK press release which is pasted above.
You can set Pandora stations as an alarm, which as you know is unavailable in Europe. Apologies for the confusion.
Out of curiosity - would you be interested in using a tag radio as an alarm?
On another note: ist die Melody Gardot wirklich so gut wie sogar Der Spiegel schreibt?
Ich habe nicht gelesen, was der Spiegel geschrieben hat, aber ich höre sie sehr gerne. Im iTunes Store kannst Du ja mal reinhören.
Flawless update here as well (including ZB). The music index update took particularly long, though.
@Fiede: I do not have a specific need for a tag radio as alarm - my favourite radio station (FM4) is available as internet stream.
However, I would like to be able to transfer tag radios (not only last.fm) into my favourites folder (which is now restricted to internet radio stations). That would make a lot of sense and - keeping the alarm function as is - would alsow allow access to last.fm as an alarm sound.
@Alex: FM4, very good choice. A frequent tune in the EMEA Sonos Headquarters. I will make sure to forward your tag radio/favourite idea to the team.
Updating the Zonebridge and one of the two S5 worked after a couple of tries with XP and a wire connection.
@Volker, yes Sonos is always working on new stuff, still one comment:
The "FollowMe Function" was originally posted in Feb. 2005 as a "Easy Zone Switching" wish, that 50 people commented on and rated it as a 5 star request.
http://forums.sonos.com/archive/index.php?t-220.html
Felix, this is indeed a very good idea.
On the other hand, there have been so many enhancements since 2005, that are way more useful, my favorite one being the inclusion of Last.fm as a free music source.
@Fiede I would love to use a tag radio as an alarm. And Alex' idea seems to be a good way to handle that.
@Fiede, Thomas: Sorry to bother you - my name is AXEL, not Alex :-)
Äxel, schmäxl. ;-)
Ehm... yes, sorry for that Axel...
@Axel: Sorry! Out of experience, I know how annoying mixed-up first names are. Now let's have a look at my last name, that might remind you of that Icelandic volcano in it's complexity.
Felix, on the track number issue. Since iTunes is scriptable, there is an easy fix for you.
no mention of ipad for 3.2 :) guess thats still pending
I understand that Sonos is working on it. I am very curious but have not seen any of it. My speculation would be as good as yours. ;-)
Hello Volker,
thanks for the advice for track number issue, however I imported my CD collection mostly in 2001 and the program you recommend states "Works great with CD tracks before importing.".
When I have a lot of time I will search for a program to retag all my old MP3s - or reimport the CDs.
The description is missing "also".
Finally updated all my S5, had one of the S5 exchanged by Sonos, had the same trouble updating the new one, spent twice an hour with Sonos support.
The problem were the 17 hops from me over my Netcologne internet provider to update.sonos.com which caused timeout ("RUpdateupgradeResult = 1013").
1 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms 192.XXX.X.X
2 20 ms 13 ms 9 ms e320-eup1.netcologne.de [195.XXX.XXX.X]
3 8 ms 10 ms 8 ms swrt-eup1-po6.netcologne.de [78.35.33.173]
4 9 ms 10 ms 8 ms core-eup2-vl502.netcologne.de [87.79.16.145]
5 13 ms 10 ms 10 ms core-sto1-t33.netcologne.de [87.79.17.30]
6 13 ms 26 ms 15 ms rtamsix-te33.netcologne.de [87.79.16.235]
7 93 ms 218 ms 211 ms br1.ams.terremark.net [195.69.145.48]
8 140 ms 240 ms 196 ms 85.112.0.89
9 140 ms 140 ms 140 ms 85.112.0.98
10 140 ms 141 ms 139 ms t2-0-0.br2.nyc.terremark.net [66.165.161.13]
11 130 ms 133 ms 130 ms t2-0-1.br1.nyc.terremark.net [66.165.161.5]
12 140 ms 141 ms 139 ms t0-1-0-0.br1.mia.terremark.net [66.165.161.1]
13 142 ms 139 ms 138 ms 66.165.161.82
14 141 ms 145 ms 140 ms 66.165.170.14
15 139 ms 139 ms 140 ms 72.46.239.66
16 140 ms 138 ms 141 ms 72.46.239.73
17 132 ms 130 ms 131 ms 72.46.236.39
Sonos should increase the timeout threshold or move their update server closer to a big internet provider.
Tomorrow I will crank it up to eleven and try to "remove the paint from my walls" :-)
Thanks a lot to James from Sonos for his excellent support.
