Music From Anywhere to Everywhere — How Open Systems Give Flexibility
Where music is stored and how it is stored has a significant impact on the audiophile music experience.
Today we’ll investigate how closed and open systems compare.
Closed Systems
What does it mean to be closed?
Simply - the device supplier has done their own thing in order to keep you locked
in. You cannot purchase a device ‘off-the-shelf’ to add to the vendor’s system
or to control it. This device may need special interfaces to work with other parts
of the audio system.
For music systems - this can be the storage medium, the storage format, how to control
the device, or how music is delivered from storage to the audio system. If any
part of the music storage is closed, you will need assistance from the original vendor
to transfer the music to another system — if it is possible at all. To upgrade
the storage capacity - you will need parts from the original vendor.
If the music delivery uses closed methods - you will need to use a converter of
some type to go from their audio format to one that the sound system is able to
use.
And, finally, if the network communication is closed - you will need to have multiple
proprietary control devices wherever people want to listen to their music.
Open Systems
Open Systems - many systems working together
When all of the components of the system use open standards - you can use one control
device to work all of the systems. You can also add storage to increase the capacity
of the music system - without having to go back to the original vendor.
An Open System will often give you the ability to have backup and recovery solutions
for all of the music stored at your customer’s home or office. In addition an open
system will allow you to use one set of cabling to control and to deliver the music
throughout the system.
How Do I Decide?
Choose flexibility and choose a system that can grow with you into the future.
How many remotes do you want or need? With open systems - you can create, via programming,
a single remote with a clear interface, that allows people to easily manage a complex
sound system.
We at moodSeer are committed to designing with open standards. That is why our
customers are able to move their music and choose their control devices - be it
an AMX system, the moodBeamer, their own iPhone or even a web browser.
