A very thorough critique that obviously took a long time to do - thank you Jeff, i'm sure we all appreciate it - and pleased be assured a lot of people have read it even though not many have posted a reply (i have the stat counter remember! 😕)

Lee

🙂 

Thanks to all for the comments.  I tried to be fair about this, even going so far as to ponder whether there was a valid #5 to round out the list and then deciding that there wasn't another one that jumped out at me like the others did.  I do have other critiques about the design, but to me these are the critical ones that go to the core of the unit's functionality.  While I'm surprised that B&O put so much effort into this project and yet missed the above 4 items, I hope this can serve as a clear indicator of what they may want to look at for v2 or perhaps as suggestions for future upgrades/add-ons to the current design.

In that regard, I'd like to throw out thoughts on how to address each of the above:

1 -  If they do make a v2 that is still a server design, it must include an optical drive.  In the interim, I'd suggest looking into an add-on optical drive for the BM5 (it has multiple USB ports).  Doing so is far from ideal, especially from an aesthetic standpoint, but maybe they could come up with a pleasing form factor to compliment the existing design. Why lose sales on something that can be fixed?

2 - This can be done and may very well already be under way.  The question is when.  Also, the how is an important element.  The BS5 provides a compelling UI experience, so the remote solution needs to be similarly satisfying.  What I mean here is that it isn't enough to simply use 2-way communication to show what's currently playing on the remote's screen.  The user needs to be able to easily navigate their collection and manage playlists. Smart implementation is required to give full functionality in a remote form factor.

3 - This one may not be fixable in the current design.  You're stuck with one BS5 per BM5.  Perhaps though they can at least offer the ability for multiple BS5/BM5 systems to talk to each other.  A key element here would have to be the ability to see your entire library regardless of which BS5 you were using (ideally the system would treat the content on the 2 BM5s as one single, consolidated library for a seemless user experience - vs simply allowing you to switch between the "local" library and the "remote" library).  In that way, you also allow for library expansion beyond 500GB.

4 - You have one potential route for expanding capacity listed above, but there are alternatives.  The easiest one is multiple SKUs for the BM5 with the only difference being the HDD size.  Many companies offer the same music server in multiple HDD size configurations.  Outside of that, you could make use of those USB ports for external HDDs.  Again, like the optical drive add-on, this is not the most aesthetically pleasing solution.  However, it does give your users future upgradeability and avoids the hassle of multiple product SKUs if that route is undesirable.

To me, the key to all of these is the willingness to recognize what was missed the first time around and offer solutions that fill the holes in the current design.  Sure, getting right initially would have been preferred, but ignoring obvious flaws or simply waiting to correct them until version 2 (assuming there would be one sometime down the road) is a mistake.  Those who like the system as is can get it and use it with no additional component cost.  But, those who love the idea but can't get past these issues could at least be offered feasible solutions.  I don't expect B&O to do something as drastic as to delay the launch, but I hope they consider offering these additions at a later date (the sooner the better).  It would be a shame to see this product lose out on significant additional sales because of these deficiencies and I feel strongly that this will be the case if the product is never altered to accommodate the above.

Jeff

Hi Jeff, good critique. Last year, I was in a position to ask about storage for BS5, and was informed that it would be possible to supplement it with NAS-units. Totally agree that 500GB is in the low-end ...

Two-way is an item of its own. B&O made the decision to ditch two-way some years ago, and it's taken them a while to accept that they need to rethink this one.

As to the lack of an optical drive. Yes, a mystery. B&O has a habit of trying to compartmentalise functions into distinct hardware units - where the overall trend (and what customers expect) is a migration of many functions into one unit. I think it's the latter that will win out, and that B&O will have to accept this eventually.

Ultimately, it will come down to whether people find "the mechanisation of the digital" attractive enough -- or whether people are content with the digital being invisible, while they spend their money on the units that eventually matter: the organisational software and hardware, the processors for audio and video, the screens and the loudspeakers.

If you do choose to mechanise the digital, then make it a win-win proposition with the best of both worlds: optimum multiformat resolution and quality playback, combined with ease of use and operation that is non pareil.

soundproof:

If you do choose to mechanise the digital, then make it a win-win proposition with the best of both worlds: optimum multiformat resolution and quality playback, combined with ease of use and operation that is non pareil.

But also relies on you owning the CD to provide the digital audio (or a non-DRM digital track). This could be a problem is a B&O customer who understands little about DRM attempts to move their iTunes tracks to their new BS5.

Unfortunately, this kind of problem is pervasive throughout the world of digital music and video distribution online.  The DRM issues create inconveniences for users that translate to frustration and ultimately, fewer purchases.  Thankfully, the music industry is coming to its sense with many labels, including the "big four" agreeing to non-DRM sales online with a variety of vendors.  Now, the big hurdle remaining is iTunes, which also happens to be the biggest player in the market.  However, recent rumors have surfaced saying that Apple is in talks with the remaining 3 labels (EMI already offers their catalog DRM free on iTunes) to finally go DRM free storewide.  While we have heard rumblings about this in the past, it is becoming increasingly apparent that iTunes is the lone holdout with Rhapsody, Napster, Amazon, etc all DRM free.  Every tech site and podcast I have come across relating to MP3s recommends that people shop at other online stores specifically to avoid DRM.  At some point, even Apple can't ignore that kind of negative reinforcement.  My guess is that Steve will announce that one or more of the remaining 3 studios have gone DRM free at this year's Macworld in January.  In the interim, there are cool solutions like Advantageous MP3 (http://www.advantageousmp3.com/mac/) which let you browse through the iTunes store and then buy the same DRM free track from Amazon with just a couple of clicks.

We'll get there with music shortly, but video is a completely different animal.  That one will take a while and may never go the way that music has in abandoning DRM.  As long as laws like the DMCA are in place, the same forces at work that pushed the music industry to rethink content security will not be as strong with the movie and TV industry.  It's unfortunate because the consumer is the one who suffers on the end.

Jeff 

At the Stockholm launch yesterday one salesman told me there will be a 2-way remote sometime in the near future. Then you nearly could get the same visual experience when choosing tunes to listen to as when you operate the BS5, he said.

Well, that could be fun but I think the BS5 stand great as a new B&O product. I guess it also has the architecture so it can be expanded with new features in the future.

Bgrds Ingvar