T+A K8 User Manual

Also see for K8: User guide Installation Service information

Contents

T+A K8 User Manual Manual pdf 40 page image

40Operating the Streaming ClientGeneral Information on theStreaming ClientThe  K8 includes what is known as a 'Streaming Client'. This is a newclass of playback devices for media content, providing a means of playingmusic which is stored on a vast variety of sources. These sources may be aniPod or a USB hard disc connected directly to the K8, but they may also bethousands of miles away (e.g. Internet radio station). The Streaming Client canaccess such remote sources via a home network and the Internet. The Streaming Client must be registered to your network before it can receivemusic data via your home network and the Internet. To accomplish this youhave to enter some data relating to your home network. The process for settingup the network connection is explained later in the chapter entitled 'Networkconfiguration'.The K8 Streaming Client can access the following sources:Local sources(direct connection)Remote sources(via home network or Internet)USB memory sticks andUSB hard discsInternet radioiPod, connected to the USB IN socket'USB-A2 (iPod)'(plays audio files only)NAS server (with UPnP-AV server)PC (with UPnP-AV server)The media content formats which the K8 can reproduce are very wide-ranging,and extend from compressed formats such as MP3, WMA, AAC and OGGVorbis to high-quality non-compressed data formats such as FLAC and WAV,which are thoroughly audiophile in nature. A full listing of all possible data andplaylist formats is included in the Specification, which you will find in theAppendix to these instructions.Since virtually no read or data errors occur when electronic memory media areaccessed, the potential reproduction quality is even higher than that of CD. Thequality level may even exceed that of SACD and DVD-Audio. Audio data can be played back digitally from an iPod connected to the USB A1 /USB-A2 (iPod) socket, i.e. the high-quality D/A converters of the K8 are usedfor the digital / analogue conversion of the music signals. This guaranteeshighest possible reproduction quality of the audio files stored on the iPod.If you wish to play video files stored on an iPod, please use the analogue AViPod input (Audio IN / iPod), and control the iPod as described in the Chapterentitled ‘Operating the iPod’. Digital audio output is supported by the following iPod models:iPod nano (all models) iPod classic (all models)iPod touch (all models) iPhone (all models)iPod 5GEarlier models of iPod only generate analogue audio output, and must beconnected to the analogue AV iPod input (Audio IN / iPod).Select Lists The music content to be played is chosen from Select Lists. These lists areoperated using the navigation buttons (cursor buttons) which you will find on theremote control handset and on the front panel. All content can be accessed viathe main menu. Internet Radio in particular offers a huge number of stations,which can result in long searches or periods of navigation. We thereforerecommend that you store your preferred stations in a Favourites List, as thismakes them easy and fast to access, with no protracted searching.The media content can be listed according to various criteria - Internet radiostations e.g. by country of origin, genre or alphabetical, music from mediaservers e.g. by artiste, album, track, genre, etc. The exact form of the displayed list and the preparation of the content alsodepend to a large extent on the capabilities of the server, i.e. the full facilities ofthe K8 cannot be exploited with all servers or media. You may therefore findthat in many cases not all the functions described in these instructions can beused.