Digital Trends

Slim Devices SLIMP3 Player

November 11th, 2003 | by Jeff Fila

Introduction

What's most striking about the SLIMP3 when you open up the box is its simplicity. It is a small 8.5” W x 2.5” H x 2” D black box with a smoked plexi-glass front. There are only three connections to be made on the back of the unit; the power supply, RCA jacks for your stereo and the included Cat5 network cable. The package also includes an infrared remote control that can handle all of the player functions from the comfort of your couch or favorite chair.

Configuration and Setup

Setting up the player and server is extremely easy. The supplied gold-plated RCA patch cable connects from the right and left outputs on the back of the SLIMP3 to inputs on a tuner or amplifier. The supplied CAT5 cable connects from the Ethernet port on the back of the device to an Ethernet port on your network.

An existing network with Ethernet ports is not required. If you don't have a home network, the SLIMP3 can be directly connected to the host computer using a crossover cable.

Once the server software is installed on the host computer, the SLIMP3 server needs to be configured. The software is installed on the server computer, but it features a web interface so you can access the server from any computer on your network. Configuration is quick - once you tell the server software where your music and playlists (if any) are located and have it scan your music folder, you're in business.

The SLIMP3 player features a 2x40 Vacuum Florescent Display

From the web interface, you can manipulate many settings on the server and player. You can edit the way the display shows song, artist and album information, change the skin for the server Web interface, add or delete remote control menu options, set security options and much more. The display can also be presented in 11 different languages.

There is no on/off switch - once you plug in the power supply, the unit is powered on. When you first power the unit on, it will ask if you want to search for a server or use the existing settings. Searching for a server is quick and easy and once it finds the server on your network, the configuration is complete. The entire setup process literally takes only minutes, as long as you already have your mp3 collection on the server machine.