Evan Kleiman
- 2002.02.01
Q. I've seen the new $1,000 "Digital Jukebox" from
Hewlett-Packard in this weekend's Best Buy ad. Can't I make something
just like this for even less?
A. After looking at this product myself, I've realized that pretty
much all it is is a large MP3 player with a 40 GB hard drive and a CD
player which is capable of "ripping" your existing CDs into MP3s and
storing them on the hard drive that is built into the machine. This, of
course, all hooks-up into your main audio system.
This is a really great idea except for one thing, the $1,000
dollar price tag! Why should a very oversized (and not at all portable)
MP3 player/ripper cost so much when you can clearly get a much more
affordable Macintosh-based solution for hundreds less with much more
functionality?
Any PowerPC-based Macintosh or PowerBook is capable of playing all
MP3 files in with pretty good clarity with a large bevy of available
players such as Audion and, of course, the ever-popular and free
iTunes. So why not just get a cheaper used PowerBook of some sort
instead of the new player by Hewlett-Packard?
It's pretty easy, so let me just show you how.
We have a US$1,000 budget to prove that this "miracle"
Hewlett-Packard Digital Jukebox isn't all it's cracked up to be. So
first we're going to need a computer, right? My recommendation for this
would be the Low End Mac "Best Buy"
PowerBook 1400 or something like it. And since we'll only be using this
computer for MP3 music (in theory), even the "Road Apple" 117 MHz model will do,
since all it's going to be needed for is MP3 rendering and a network
connection (if you desire). We'll cover this later on, when we get into
totally beating all of the abilities of the H-P Digital Jukebox.
Of course most PowerBooks of this era only had 1.2 GB or smaller
hard drives, which is clearly only a shadow of the "monstrous" 40 GB
ogre of a hard drive in the Digital Jukebox. To truly hold all of your
MP3s and CDs and then some, you might wish to consider actually getting
a 40 GB or larger hard drive for your homemade digital jukebox. These
can be had on
eBay for under US$300.
Now all you need is a typical Y-cable from any local electronics
vendor (i.e., Radio Shack or
Walmart, or even my personal favorite, Target)
Just hook this up to your PowerBook and then into your stereo, and you
already have a much better "Digital Jukebox" than Hewlett-Packard
sells.
Also, in my opinion at least, a PowerBook 1400cs (or something
equivalent) has a much higher "wow-factor" when hooked up to your
stereo system than some boring black looking box about the size of a
traditional DVD player, plus or minus a few inches in any
direction.
Okay, so now that you have the exact capabilities of this new
Digital Jukebox for around 70% of the price and around one-third of the
size (with the lid closed, of course), what else can you do to make
this thing even cooler?
Well first, you obviously (unlike the Hewlett-Packard Box, to the
best of my knowledge, as I do not own this waste of money) can choose
your own software on your Digital Mac Jukebox. My best pick for this
one, if you are going for even more of the "wow factor," is Audion. This is purely not
performance related, but rather looks alone. This is because with
Audion there are thousands of available "face plates" for the software,
so you will be able to make your new jukebox look even cooler. iTunes
is also another good option, as is MusicMatch Jukebox or just the
default QuickTime player of system 8.0 and later.
Also, networking is another very viable option of which the new
Hewlett-Packard Digital Jukebox is incapable. By attaching your new
Macintosh Digital Jukebox to your stereo and to your other Macs on the
network, you will be able to do many things, such as download music
directly to your jukebox (something which the Hewlett-Packard is
incapable of, unless you hook it into the Internet, of course, with its
supplied modem).
Also, with networking you could seemingly have an unlimited amount
of storage, as well as the ability to add additional nodes to your new
MP3 Library or access your entire MP3 collection from anywhere in your
house from any computer. This option is multiplied by many factors if
you add a few AirPort cards into the equation. Imagine the many
possibilities.
In the end, the only option you're really missing is the CD-RW,
which you can get rather cheaply with the US$300 or so you have left
over. 
Editor's note: If this isn't cheap enough, consider a
Power Mac 6100 (maybe $50) with a
36 GB SCSI hard drive ($150 or so,
see
DealMac). Add a mouse, keyboard, and monitor, and you're probably
still under $300 - and the 6100 usually comes with a CD-ROM, so you can
use that to rip your own MP3s. If you want to burn CDs, check DealMac
for
SCSI
CD-RW burners. To put the 6100 on a network, all you need is an
AAUI adapter for $10 or so on
the LEM Swap
List. Total: less than 40% the cost of HP's Digital Jukebox.
Paint the beige case black or silver to make it look at home with
your stereo components if you want.
Another option is the Power
Mac/Performa 6360, which often sells for under $50 on eBay. This
uses IDE hard drives, so you can drop 40 GB in for under $100 (see
DealMac). You can add an IDE CD-RW drive for about $70-80 (DealMac). Add a
keyboard, mouse, and monitor to the whole package, and you've spent
maybe $300-350.
Once set up, either of these can run without a keyboard and with the
monitor disconnected if you're letting the MP3 player randomly select
tunes - or you could remotely control your Mac jukebox from any
computer on the same network using VNC (free) or Timbuktu. And if
you want bigger drives or a faster CD-RW, you'll still save a bundle
compared with the H-P.
