I have had much better luck than the previous reviewer. My unit worked out of the box and has continued to work for about four weeks, with no trouble whatsoever. (I have only used the WiFi internet radio feature so I cannot comment on the other things it can do.)
I would give the unit five stars but for one concern: The Aluratek business model. The tuner depends upon an Aluratek server to set up stations. The good news/bad news is that there is no annual subscription fee.
It appears that Aluratek pays for the server out of cash flow from sales. If sales ever fall off, there goes the server, and there goes the radio. Hopefully somebody will figure out how to hack it before the server goes away. Aluratek AIREC01F WiFi Internet Radio - Home Theater Edition (Black)
Internet radio is a great idea. I've listened to streaming radio for years on my computers. I even purchased a Sangean internet table radio from Amazon and enjoy this quality product. The Aluratek AIREC01F WiFi Internet Radio - Home Theater Edition seemed like a perfect addition to my music system. The unit is attractive, has an easy to read display, is easy to set up, and features the ability to add stations from a preloaded station list or stations and streams through v-Tuner internet portal The unit also serves as a media player when used in conjunction with a computer and a router. Connect the Aluratek tuner with an ethernet cable or wifi and you're in business. Or so I thought.
My Aluratek tuner worked for about an hour and then began to add lines of "gibberish" to the list of favorite stations stored in the memory. After two such lines appeared, I attempted to delete them from the station list. The tuner froze. It would no longer "boot" no matter what I tried. So I returned the defective unit to Amazon who quickly sent a replacement (return shipping and replacement are free). Unfortunately, the second Aluratek tuner developed the exact same problem. After two tries, I gave up on this internet radio tuner. This could be a great product once the manufacturer fixes the bugs. As it is, the Aluratek AIREC01F WiFi Internet Radio - Home Theater Edition makes a great paperweight. Try the Myine Internet Radio Adapter which has a few less features, but works flawlessly.
Got my ALURATEK AIREC01F Internet Radio yesterday.
It connects to you existing stereo or home theatre system through an audio input like a tuner. It can also be used with powered multimedia speakers because the output has a volume level control on the remote.
Setup to my secure wireless network was too easy. It only took 5 minutes and I was playing music off the WEB. I did cheat a bit and read the manual first.
It also has a wired LAN port if you don't have wireless.
No problems so far. Audio quality is great.
The user manual could use a little work. It seems to leave out a few basic things that so far I have been able to figure out.
A website is available for help and firmware updates.
You find internet streaming stations using their Internet Portal Server by continent/ country/state/genre or all. If you know the station ID they are listed in alphabetical order. You can then save as a "favorite" station and recall it later. The manual does not tell you how to delete a single favorite that you have saved, only all of them. WEB site Support did give me a clue that I have not tried yet.
Everything is done with the remote and the display is large and easy to read.
It even sets the time clock with a WEB time server.
It also plays music from a USB thumb drive, can act as an access point, and access music from a media server on your PC that is on the network.
It seems most radio stations have their programming on a WEB stream now days. I have been exploring station around the country, especially public and community radio. No PC required and the quality is better than FM radio in most cases.
I had 3 wifi radios: sangean, denon and aluratek.
Only de Aluratek don't interrupt the transmision on the 256 kbs, the two others has problems, and every minute made a interruptions. The 3 radios I play with the same wifi internet conection. So aluratek win.
This radio is only a reception device, so the quality of the sound will be as the quality of your speakers and main equipment.
Be advice, that the sangean and aluratek has problems with the remote control reception if you have flourecent lights nears to the equipments.
I thought it was just what i needed. Bought it, set it up......and it didn't work..
5 days later Tech said the product does not work with my wireless router (Linksys). Wish they had told me before i purchased it, paid shipping, got an RMA, and paid shipping back. Be Carefull of this product.
I live in a semi-rural area prone to complete AM noise at night and poor FM coverage in general. After a fair amount of research, I selected thsi product. No PC is required. Others in this category are grossly OVERPRICED, and offer less capability. Stereo sound, perfect to attach to a home theater AV amplifier or a whole house amplifier. The device setup is simple and straight-forward. The interface for selecting stations is a cell phone like scroll thru LCD screen. This could have been a five star rating if I could have programmed my favorites via a web browser once connected to my home network. The sound quality meets or exceeds over-the-air, however does have very infrequent pauses or pops as the device rebuffers. I'm was concerned I was buying poor quality, poorly documented stuff, and can report the exact opposite experience. The streaming capability from PCs a hidden plus, especially when compared to media adapters from Cisco/Linksys (and others) with less functionality. High value at $83, especially compared to competitive products, so much so that I may buy another unit for my home theater.
8/2010 Update. I'm still satisfied with my unit; however, it is not Windows7 compatible. I've done a firmware update and contacted tech support. No luck so far. If this got true uPNP including Win7 and WHS, I'd upgrade it to five stars. One final tip...put your router, modem and this unit on a UPS. - Aluratek - Free Internet Radio - Wifi Radio - Great Reception'
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