People with a home theatre system have always had an issue if they wanted to listen to their music collection if the computer was in a different room. They were forced to bring the computer to the sound system and connect it by wires or they had to settle by getting some sort of mp3 player and connecting that to the sound system. Well, ARCTIC (formerly Arctic Cooling) has you covered.
The Audio Relay wireless media extender is here to save the day. It is a wireless (or wired) device that allows you to link up with your computer or computers on your network and use them to play music on your music system. But it gets better, if you have an android or iOS device you can use it as a remote control for the sound system as well!
If you have not heard of HIS here is a bit of information about them:
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About ARCTIC “We put global options to good use in making a lasting impression in the markets we service. Our products not only meet the needs of our customers, they actually exceed their expectations. Compared to our competitors, we aim to offer the best value for money, innovation, brand development, as well as cost and capital efficiency and excellent customer service relationships with our partners…” |
Lets take a look at what this wireless media extender has to offer!
Specifications
Taken from the Arctic Website
Multi-Room Music Entertainment
Multi-room entertainment cannot be more simple and easy with Audio Relay. Your PC/DLNA server will act as your centralized jukebox—you can use your smartphone to browse it, create your playlist and play it in your room. Meanwhile, your spouse/roommate can do the same concurrently. Thus, there is only one library to organize and maintain and everybody can enjoy it anytime.
Remote App
Audio Relay comes with a dedicated remote application – Remote AR. You can easily choose your favorite song from your PC or UPnP / DLNA server and select where it should be played. Most importantly, you and your family members can access the same library at the same time.
Wide Compatibility
Audio Relay is compatible with all mainstream audio formats including MP3, AAC, WAV and WMA to make your music entertainment with this compact multi-room system a seamless experience.
Quick and Easy Setup
The installation of Audio Relay is refined and simplified. Just connect Audio Relay to your home Wi-Fi network, you can sit back with your smartphone and enjoy the fun of browsing your favorite music at your fingertips.
Initial thoughts
The package itself is very plain and I like it. You get a white box that has pictures of the actual item on it, along with a few informational bits. Very nice Arctic, I like the way they package things to have a nice look without resorting to race cars and the such.
Closer Look
Opening up the package the actual Audio Relay is actually nice and compact. It is a slick black color so make sure to not touch it because it will leave finger prints.Powering it on, the power button glows a nice blue color. Power consumption is very tame under use at 3.7w so it is really nothing to worry about. The range on it is pretty decent. I was able to get it to work in my next door neighbors house so as long as you can get a wifi signal it should be fine.
Lets get this thing installed and see how it fares in actual useage.
Installation
Installing it over an ethernet cable is easy as pie. If you want to install it over wifi things get tricky. With my linksys router I spent a couple hours getting everything working. At one point I really felt like just giving up, so if you know nothing about networking you might run into some problems. But even if you do know about networking you are still likely to run into problems like I did.
Overall though, I would say Arctic really needs to put a bunch more things in the manual. For instance after installing the remote app for my android phone the app tells me I need to install another program on my computer. Well, things would have been much easier if the manual stated this in the first place.
The android app is fine, but I was never able to get a reliable connection. I don’t have another smartphone so I was not able to properly test this feature.
Music Testing
After a few hours of messing around and getting everything set up I was able to get everything working via wifi. The idea for this device is really cool, but to be perfectly honest it needs work. Music quality is good and you do not loose quality over the wireless connection but if you want to listen to music in another room you need to get up and go to the computer where you selected the music.
For people throwing a party or something it is a good idea with a playlist, but if you like to change music often this situation is not exactly ideal.
Verdict and Conclusion
With the current HTPC craze people are moving computers into their home theatre setup which means they have access to their music, photos, movies, etc all on their livingroom TV.
Sadly this kind of makes this device loose its value if you already have an HTPC setup.
If you do not have an HTPC setup there is some solid value, but keep in mind that the implementation needs some work. It would be great if they could allow you to access your music library on the mobile app.
If Arctic can get those issues fixed I could see this as a great complement to a home theatre system. But as it is right now it is a great piece of equipment but needs work on the software.
As of writing the price is $135 from Arctic. Availability needs work since I was unable to find it at any store, but if you want it you can always order it straight from the product page at the Arctic website.
Final words.
The idea for this device is simply awesome. You can access your music from your computers in another room on a home theatre system. But it is limited at the moment by a lack of proper software and if those issues could be fixed it would be an amazing product. Even with its faults it is a solid product and I recommend it if you do not have an HTPC set up with your home theatre system.
Pros:
- Low power use
- Wired or Wireless
- Small Size
- Great idea
Cons:
- Price
- Software needs work
- Limited availability
SCORE
7.9/10
