Premise A new way to "stream" audio (tested) and video (untested)...

[etc6849]

I bought this Turtle Beach USB sound card (SPDIF via optical out):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829118007

And paired it with this two port Lantronix USB device server (I ended up with the newer version UB2100002-01 not UB2100001-01):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833995092

Now I have great sounding audio streamed from Premise to my stereo (sounds as good as any PC audio), all over my network I'm also using the second USB port with a PL-2303 serial to USB adapter, giving me a remote serial port too.

The audio works flawlessly (make sure you use the driver files from the Turtle Beach site). It appears I'll be able to add more sound cards. I have another coming to test this theory. However, the control panel the Turtle Beach installs is crap. I installed the full exe, then stole the driver files (from the directory called "Driver"), uninstalled all turtle drivers and installed the sound card's inf manually using the stolen "Driver" folder.

EDIT: Also note that Windows XP will still try to install their 2001 USB Audio Driver, every time you plug/unplug the Turtle Beach Advance Micro II. Be sure to find: wdma_usb.inf and wdma_usb.PNF and change their file extension or delete them. These files are in: %SystemRoot%/inf

The only quirk with the install is you need to write a script to reset the COM port every time SYS reboots (if you use a serial to USB adapter). This has nothing to do with the UBOX 2100 as SYS will do this even if you: plug the USB cable directly into your server, unplug it, and then plug it back in. The soundcard works fine even if you reboot or unplug the UBOX 2100 then plug it back in. However, a couple times it didn't, so run code like this on SYS start up:
evices.ComputerAudio.Detect = true

Lantronix claims the UBOX 2100 can handle video. The UBOX 2100 works very well on my XP Pro machine and I'm wondering if it could support one of the new USB only touchscreens such as the MIMO?

From the Lantronix User Guide:
"USB Speeds and Throughput
The UBox 4100 supports USB low speed and full speed, while the UBox 2100 supports low, full and high speed. The UBox 4100 can sustain, depending on conditions, approximately 5-6 Mb/sec
throughput. The UBox 2100 can sustain, depending on conditions and transaction types, approximately 12-15 Mb/sec.

The UBox 4100 supports most low and full speed devices, including class and vendor specific devices. The UBox 4100 does not support high-speed isochronous devices; it supports isochronous devices for audio only. In addition to these devices, the UBox 2100 supports most high-speed devices, as limited by the overall throughput. The UBox 2100 also supports full speed isochronous video. The UBox 2100 does not support High Speed Isochronous devices."

 

[chucklyons]

okay, I'll bite...why? You can play audio from Premise via a distro system; you can play audio in the browser using that incredible module developed by chuck-something; what else do you need?

So what is the purpose of this?

(It's late, I'm whipped, and curious...)

 

[etc6849]

Basically, it's a cheaper option than a matrix switcher/distribution system. All it does is this: it lets you have a virtual sound card that works with Premise using your network.

Of course, what's neat is the USB device isn't limited to a sound card and you can have two devices on the networked USB device server. You could even install a Digi EdgePort 8 (8 serial ports from a single USB device) into the USB device server and have cheap 8 port serial server over your network.

 

[etc6849]

I've sent back the Lantronix UBOX 2100 since it changes my COM Port if I unplug the UBOX and plug it back in! The COM port number changing is a big deal as I want a solution that doesn't require a UPS or changing settings in SYS following a power outage. If only Lantronix hadn't discontinued software support for the UBOX, it would have been a great little device.

I'm going to try what I think is the most popular model: the Silex SX-3000GB. The software looks to be as powerful as the Lantronix with an auto-connect feature, but claims it supports many different OS types. The Silex 3000GB also seems to be the same speed as the UBOX 2100. If audio works as well on the Silex, I'll be very happy with it.

 

[etc6849]

Ok I tried the Silex SX-3000GB USB device server. It's a nice looking device and is made in Japan. Best of all, USB device names do not change in windows when you reboot

However, if you unplug the Silex, you have to reboot your PC to see the audio device again under Premise! This appears to be a limitation of the USB protocol (per a discussion with Silex) so I'm not sure if any USB device server can overcome it. So, in a nutshell, this setup will work great if you use a UPS with the Silex or reboot your server following a power outage.

I'd recommend the Silex SX-3000GB as it's also one of the cheaper USB device servers and supports all versions of windows and other OS's as well.