Roku legacy products

[rhclinton131]

Soundbridge Connection

About 16 years ago I set up a new music system in my new house. It consisted of iTunes running on a Windows XP computer located in the upstairs office and a Roku M2000 Soundbridge in the living room. The connection was by wired ethernet LAN. Worked great for many years. No other device had features as good, especially the ability to display track information. As backup I bought a M1001 Soundbridge.

Eventually the M2000 stopped working and I swapped in the M1001 which worked fine, although the display wasn’t as large. Then last year it too gave up. I knew the Soundbridge line was long out of production but I was surprised to find a couple of M1001s on eBay. One new, the other used. I bought both and paid the shipping from the USA to the UK.

Unfortunately, I ran into problems..Neither of the devices would connect to the iTunes music library. Itunes was now running on a Win10 machine, but the last original M1001 worked with this installation (though MS may have slipped in a subversive update). Further facts are:

Bonjour is running

The replacement M1001s have been connected to the LAN and I can ping them

Configuration of the M1001 LAN connections appears OK.

The iTunes server appears on the Soundbridge selection list but I get “Server not found” messages when I try to connect.

If I change the name of the iTunes library this change shows up on the Soundbridge, so they are obviously communicating to some degree.

I even tried monitoring the connection with Wireshark. This revealed a dialog which appeared to show that the connection was being rejected. I don’t have sufficient familiarity with this protocol so I couldn’t understand exactly what the cause was.

If there are any Soundbridge experts out there who could suggest a solution, I would be very grateful.

Robert Clinton

[MitchyMitch]

Hi Robert,

Did you check what version firmware your replacement M1001 is running? I'll bet that's your issue.  Latest known firmware I have on mine is 3.0.44.  I've seen reference to a 3.0.52 but none of my units have it.  Find the IP address of your Roku in the system config menu and then go to that address in your browser (i.e. http://192.168.1.x) and you'll see the built-in webserver of the Roku which allows you to configure things and shows you the firmware version.

Also, when you say your previous Soundbridges "died", did you try swapping in a known, working AC adapter?  I've had a few AC adapters die but the Soundbridges themselves are just fine.  The only actual hardware failure I've seen on a unit was the analog audio output died (digital still worked).

I actually recently did just as you and I got an NOS M1001 off the 'bay and it unfortunately has old firmware on it which doesn't have some features I use.  I wish Roku would at least make the latest firmware available for us to download. See here: https://community.roku.com/t5/Roku-Legacy-Products/Roku-Soundbridge-legacy-software-updates-unavaila...

I love my Soundbridges too (I've got 6!!).  I've got the original M1000, M1001 and even an M500. There is just nothing quite like them.  Companies just assume people want to  bluetooth from their phone, which I guess is true for the masses. But the Soundbridge just does what it's supposed to so well- displays the song info on it's awesome VFD display, requires no fussing with your phone, no bluetooth cutting out.  It's a dedicated appliance that just works.  I use mine the vast majority of the time to stream my favorite 'radio' stations.

Pretty please Roku people- Make the latest firmware available for us on your server or allow us to download it.

Mitch

[djsrubin1]

Hi - I am also one of the few remaining Soundbridge loyalists.  I have been running a M2000 for 15+ years.  Similar to what you described - ethernet connection running from my family room to a itunes on a mac.  I really like the way I can play playlists and that it leverages my 20+ years of itunes history and ratings system.  I too have had power supplies die - bt last night my display seems to have died too.  I am currently running an extra M500 and am about to replace that with an extra M1000.  While i wait for a new M2000 power supply to arrive.  My question for both of you is...have you found a newer alternative that will use itunes and has a display.  I was looking at Marantz option - but not sure if its compatible with itunes playlists.  Let me know if you have found anything!  thanks

[kathrineandrew]

It seems like the new and used M1001 Soundbridge devices are not connecting to the iTunes music library despite proper LAN connections and configuration. The user is seeking advice from Soundbridge experts to resolve the issue related to installation.

[SB-M1000]

I've got an M1000 with the last available firmware update and it doesn't connect with iTunes.  It works fine with my NAS and Windows Media Player though.  But for me it is not worth the hassle anymore.  I've listed it for sale if anyone wants it.  https://www.ebay.com/itm/334874466490?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e12000.m113256.l116967&mkcid=7&ch=osgood...

I've moved on to more modern streaming options.