Owners of the Sonos digital music system can access music directly from personalized radio service pandora.com, or jukebox-style online service napster.com.
SlideshowPay attention to the compatibility features of the server, too. Manufacturers will often embed special middleware software into their servers to streamline the download process with certain digital music stores. Servers from ReQuest, for example, are designed to support iTunes and Amazon. “You can still download music from other stores, but it’ll take a little computer experience to do it,” says Bill McKiegan, ReQuest vice president of sales and marketing.
Web Streaming
Buying songs online is convenient, but like shopping for anything on the web, it’ll take time to wade through your choices. By contrast, subscription-based services like Rhapsody and Napster provide unlimited access to a library of millions of songs for a monthly fee. This is a great way to discover new music and artists without having to pay for every album and track you listen to. To sweeten the deal, manufacturers like Sonos and Control4 are offering owners of their digital music systems free 30-day trials to these jukebox services.
Even more effortless are Internet radio services that let you create your own personal playlists by simply choosing the songs you want to hear. By going onto Finetune or Pandora, you can type in the name of a particular artist or style of music, and the service will instantly play the songs that match your criteria. When you hear a song you don’t like, you can skip it and go on to the next. Based on your preferences, the service continually grooms your music. “Through services like these, music listening can become a more social experience,” says Cullen. “You can tell a friend about a new tune you just heard, and they can go right to the service and hear it without having to pay for it.”
As digital music services continue to evolve, manufacturers of servers and streaming devices will redefine their products, adding new features and functions to keep their products fresh and appealing to all types of consumers. “With the proliferation of jukebox and Internet radio services, digital music has become something you don’t have to be a techie to enjoy,” says Cullen. Anyone with a home that has a broadband connection can have access to a wide selection of music without having to rip their CDs onto a hard drive or boot up their PCs to download tracks.

WMA is up to 7 times better then itunes format?
what exactly is itunes format?
and where do you get your 7 times better numbers from?
Microsoft is a very small player in the music business,
while apple is a major player - not only with their own music format, music players - portable and home, but also the best music distribution system in the country - selling more music then wallmart.
the quality is fine.
if you wanna get down to it - get your self a dedicated 2 channel stereo system for ultra high quality music,
but for distributed home audio, most speakers are not hifi stereo-file quality . .
apple tv has digital audio out and if you have your own cd’s,
you can rip these cd’s in whats called - apple lossless format . which i assure you is way better then WMV -
I am an L.A. native and I don’t own a Sonos system.
I’m not just an Apple guy, I’m a professional video editor in Los Angeles who knows a lot more than you. Sonos may be good for people like you in the flyover states.
No need for profanity, but certainly to be expected from an Apple guy. I would feel that way too if I drank the kool aid. MusicGiants actually has a fantastic music selection - all of the major music labels and more. As for my taste, it is exceptional and I prefer their WMA music files that are up to seven times better sound quality than iTunes.
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Actually, I was referring to WMA lossless files which are a much higher quality than standard WMA. iTunes plus samples at 256 kbps, MusicGiants’ WMA lossless files sample at rates up to 1,100 kbps. Their Super HD files sample at rates up to 11,000 kbps. This content is available in 2.0 and 5.1 surround sound. I agree that Walmart and Apple are major players in the music industry, but this discussion came about simply over sound quality for home audio. It is a matter of quality.