TOPIC:

I recently upgraded to the 88BM Utility Program ver 2.1 and noticed a box in the upper right corner for an IP address and an option for "Auto"? Just curious--what is the purpose of this? Do newer models of the 88A have a network connection?

I suspect it is to support the new WiFi/Ethernet to USB Bridge.

www.minidsp.com/products/accessories/wi-dg

wl1 wrote:

I suspect it is to support the new WiFi/Ethernet to USB Bridge.

www.minidsp.com/products/accessories/wi-dg

Thanks, that makes sense. I was unaware of this new product offering. Looks to be quite useful.

Question for DevTeam:-

I can see that you have added facilities to various Plugins to support the use of the WI-DG Wi-Fi to USB Bridge - but will support be added to the Dirac Live Calibration Tools application for DDRC88BM users? Or is the Wi-Fi Bridge part of the changes required to support the next version of Dirac - as it would appear that direct USB connectivity was one of the things Dirac wanted to move away from??????????

Regards, Mike

Dear All

indeed, that new IP box is for control of the plugin via the WI-DG. Plug a WIDG to the back of your DDRC-88 and you'll suddenly have Wifi control for your "miniDSP plugin" and Alexa voice control for your system:
www.minidsp.com/applications/advanced-tools/alexa-voice-control

Note that this solution only works for miniDSP plugin. Dirac software still uses a USB DLL that doesn't support IP. As a company policy, we can't speak for the future until a feature is out as we just never know the challenges ahead of us but some of you are already good at guessing stuff..

DevTeam

Kindly clarify what you mean by “Wi-Fi Control for the MiniDSP plug-in”. Are you saying that I can sit across the room in my normal seating position, with my laptop running the 88BM plug-in, and have full control of configuring the 88A Settings? I am not sure this is all that different from what I do today with a 5 Meter USB cable.

And as for Alexa voice control, when I issue the command to raise the volume, does it raise the volume one tick on the control? If I want to raise the volume 5 ticks, do I issue the command 5 times in a row? You know I have nothing but the greatest respect for MiniDSP products and solutions, but Alexa voice control seems like a complete waste of time to me. I can pick up the remote control and accomplish the same thing. You should be focusing engineering time to develop useful enhancements, like a 16-Channel Dirac Live solution.

@ Jerry

Yes, that's indeed correct. The WIDG allows for wifi control OR voice control. That's convenient for a lot of applications where say a)room is too long for a USB cable b)Room isn't accessible or in case of a car, it's just trouble to run a USB to the back of the car. Please bear in mind that WIDG doesn't control only the 88BM. It controls almost all our products..

miniDSP is a large community by now, we're trying to please everybody and better/easier control is a path in our roadmap.. What you're referring to here (a 16ch Dirac is from a complete different complexity level than what the WIDG is, i.e. a simple add on accessory to help for better control). You're not realizing yet, but indeed one day, you will find this tiny accessory very useful to you..
Enough said..

Hoping this info helps clarify

DevTeam