Brian Kahn is the longest tenured writer on staff at HomeTheaterReview.com. His specialties include everything from speakers to whole-home audio systems to high-end audiophile and home theater gear, as well as room acoustics. By day, Brian is a partner at a West Los Angeles law firm.
Universal Remote Control has recently released its $399 PSX-2 personal server. Although I am a fan of the company I had not originally paid much attention to the PSX-2 or its predecessor the PSX-1. At first glance it appears to be yet another one of many, many iPod docks on the market. However, when you take a closer look it becomes clear that it is much more. Universal Remote Control provides its PSX Link software at no extra charge to be used with its line of PSX products. The software allows the docks to act as servers, streaming information that is stored on your network. The PSX server system is not as full featured as the dedicated Sonos or Squeezebox solutions but those servers do not provide the iPod connectivity of the PSX.
Additional Resouces
• Read more remotes and system control reviews from HomeTheaterReview.com's staff.
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With the PSX-2 you can browse content, including cover art and video on an attached video display. The PSX-2's screensaver automatically displays cover art, artist & track information. A "Jukebox" feature allowed me to easily create playlists by including either entire albums or single tracks.
As you would expect from a remote control company the dock-server system is programmed to accept hundreds of discreet IR commands that make accessing your media much simpler. Users can perform alpha searches and pre-program buttons for one touch access (for example press a button and you go straight to your Coldplay tracks or even to a particular song). An unusual but useful feature on the PSX-2 is the "play more from" feature that allows you to press a button to play more from an artist or genre.
Read about the high points and the low points of the PSX2 on Page 2.
High Points
• The media server functionality of the PSX system places it in another league from standard iPod docks.
• Even if you decide to use the PSX only as an iPod dock, the PSX-2's
music management features and programmability makes it very easy to
access and control your music and videos.
Low Points
• In order to obtain the maximum functionality of the system you need
to have the PSX Link software installed on your computer and the dock
is now susceptible to any network outages that you may encounter.
• The physical configuration of the actual dock itself may limit placement options.
• The PSX-2 does not come with a remote, so in the small chance that
you do not already have a remote, you will need to get one. I used one
of Universal Remote Control's more basic remotes and was able to
program it for the PSX-2 in less than five minutes.
Conclusion
The PSX-2 fills two roles with one unit, that of iPod dock and that of
media server. As an iPod dock the PSX-2 does everything you would
expect, it can be connected to your network anywhere you have an
Ethernet connection. Where the PSX-2 excels as a dock is that it also
allows for extremely easy access to your media. You no longer have to
scroll through huge lists to get to what you want, you can now simply
key in what you are looking for through an alphanumeric interface and
go straight to your music. Universal Remote Control's interface is well
thought out which makes the use of the PSX-2 a pleasant and painless
experience. A component video output also lets you watch your videos,
although you are limited to the resolution of your iPod.
In addition to the iPod dock functions, the PSX-2 acts as a basic
music server allowing you to locally access media stored on your
computer network. Unlike most dedicated media servers it does not offer
internet radio or internet music services unless you access them
through an iPhone/iTouch application. Nonetheless, I was very pleased
to have an iPod dock that didn't limit me to what was on whatever iPod
was in the dock and would let me access all of my media stored on my
network.
The killer application for the PSX-2 is when it is installed with
the server software and a 2-way capable remote such as the Universal
Remote Control MX-5000 or MX-6000. With an install like this you can
browse and access all your available media right on your remote, from
any location within wi-fi range. In a world flooded with iPod docks the
PSX-2 stands out with its innovative features.
Additional Resouces
• Read more remotes and system control reviews from HomeTheaterReview.com's staff.
• Check out our Media Server and MP3 Review section.
