Pretty please - Build a Play:Win device

The Open Source aspect had nothing to do with the software being used as a substitute for hardware purchases. No modification was needed, it could have been non-Open Source and the same cannibalizing of sales would have occurred. Now is the fact Squeeze started out as an enthusiasts company that embraced Open Source the reason they put out a software based zone, simply because they could with no thoughts about the financial impact? Maybe, but that is yet another argument against Sonos doing a software zone.

The fact remains,. there are significant technical reasons why a PC cannot be used for a software zone. The interrupt based PC clock is one, and no, there is no way to argue against this. If you do, you will expose your ignorance of PC architecture. So don't go there, you will be embarrassed, as were others in the original thread (which you obviously have not read).

There are also financial reason, which have been discussed. So wish all you want, it is not happening. Better to take the time wasted here posting about it and put it towards making money to purchase a Connect for your PC. That is the only way to get what you want.

I guess the great USB and HDMI sound I hear from other apps on my PC is my imagination and 30 years in computer software and hardware doesn't count. I'm quite aware of how interrupt logic works having written device drivers for Intel. Yet I don't care to keep arguing. I'll hope for them coming out with a wireless headset and/or look into a Connect.

hopefully they encrypt their remote command protocol so no one actually does clone it.
It uses UPnP, which is in clear text. Many have implemented third party controllers.

That seems a business risk they have. They could still use uPnP for their own sake, yet at the app layer, encrypt commands thus preventing someone from creating 3rd party controllers. Since those exist, it also seems it would be possible to create a PC zone or 3rd party speakers. Just sayin...

And you wouldn't need to open source a Sonos software player in order to blow a big hole through Sonos' business model, just a Win32 emulator.

They would still need to get the software onto the emulator and would have to either buy it or steal it since it would not be free. They could also teach the PC software to not run if it did not find a key or some real Sonos speaker elsewhere to exchange a key with, or some such protection.

Anyway got to go do some work now. Thanks for all the comments everyone. It was just a suggestion on how I could have a Sonos headset...and my belief they could make a business case for it. They should protect their command stream within uPnP.

[I guess the great USB and HDMI sound I hear from other apps on my PC is my imagination and 30 years in computer software and hardware doesn't count. I'm quite aware of how interrupt logic works having written device drivers for Intel. Yet I don't care to keep arguing. I'll hope for them coming out with a wireless headset and/or look into a Connect.

Oh Jeeez, you actually went there. . .

Alright smart guy, do an experiment: Start a playlist on your PC, and start the same playlist on your Sonos at the same time. Or better yet start a long symphony, so any gap management does not affect the results. See how long it takes the PC to go out of sync with the Sonos device. Surprisingly, it is not too long. Why is this? Because the clock on the PC, being based on interrupts that are in use by many other processes, is as inaccurate as can be designed. It can drift off by tens of seconds a day, which is why we have internet servers that are set up just to resync the clocks on your PC. A drift of tens of seconds a day means over the course of a long piece of music, it doesn't take long to drift the few microseconds it takes for the human brain to detect a difference. Which is fine if you are only listening to music on your PC, but when you try to accurately sync the music to Sonos hardware players, it all falls apart.

This is also why the SqueezeSoft application listed above was incapable of playing synchronized audio, even when compared to the rather poor sync of the Squeeze hardware. Still didn't stop people from using it for a free player, though.

Now I'm sick of arguing with a person bringing up already rebutted points from an almost decade old thread. Read the thread and learn something, and you should change your mind about this request.

[They would still need to get the software onto the emulator and would have to either buy it or steal it since it would not be free. They could also teach the PC software to not run if it did not find a key or some real Sonos speaker elsewhere to exchange a key with, or some such protection.


Or they could just not make the software, and instead rely on hardware sales to become the billion dollar a year company they have become.

Now I'm sick...

...and insulting. I wasn't wanting the headphones to be in sync with other speakers. That was the point of wanting headphones as the others would be off. And hopefully no one clones their speakers if the protocol is clear. Anyway Chris offered a solution where I can use Sonos to control the music and listen on my headphones which is what I wanted. Still, I'd love to see them come out with their own headphones at some point when room enough for the battery and the logic and memory.

...and insulting. I wasn't wanting the headphones to be in sync with other speakers. That was the point of wanting headphones as the others would be off. And hopefully no one clones their speakers if the protocol is clear. Anyway Chris offered a solution where I can use Sonos to control the music and listen on my headphones which is what I wanted. Still, I'd love to see them come out with their own headphones at some point when room enough for the battery and the logic and memory.

I don't care what you wanted. You stated the clock interrupt was not a valid reason for not making a software based zone. Which, given your specific needs and wants, may be true. However, software is not written to please the needs and wants of a single individual, and therefore the lack of sync, when every other device sold by Sonos has perfect sync, is a valid hurdle to bring up when discussing the possibility of releasing a software based zone.

I don't care what you wanted. You stated the clock interrupt was not a valid reason for not making a software based zone. Which, given your specific needs and wants, may be true. However, software is not written to please the needs and wants of a single individual, and therefore the lack of sync, when every other device sold by Sonos has perfect sync, is a valid hurdle to bring up when discussing the possibility of releasing a software based zone.

The sync was a valid point in general but there is a way around it. And clearly I'm not the only one that wanted a PC zone and did not expect it to be free. Thanks.

I don't care what you wanted. You stated the clock interrupt was not a valid reason for not making a software based zone. Which, given your specific needs and wants, may be true. However, software is not written to please the needs and wants of a single individual, and therefore the lack of sync, when every other device sold by Sonos has perfect sync, is a valid hurdle to bring up when discussing the possibility of releasing a software based zone.

The sync was a valid point in general but there is a way around it. And clearly I'm not the only one that wanted a PC zone and did not expect it to be free. Thanks.

Well, no, to be honest you are about the only person that's ever said you'd be happy to pay for it...

Well, no, to be honest you are about the only person that's ever said you'd be happy to pay for it...

Some reluctantly stated they would pay for it when backed into a corner by the cannibalizing sales argument. However, none were willing to pay over a token amount of $50, and they certainly balked when I and others proposed it cost the same as a Connect, since they only wished to "eliminate another box with wires on my desk sucking up watts". Long story short, people want a Sonos zone without paying the price of Sonos hardware, which if taken to the obvious conclusion, would mean a decrease in sales of Sonos hardware.