Discussion
Northbloke said:
So what connector will I need to link my incoming Dot to my main speakers in the lounge then?
I currently have everything set up via an ageing Arcam AVR350 with a million slots, many already filled.
Any clues?
You can use Bluetooth if you have a receiver unit that you can plug into your amp. Some don't work properly though as they keep auto-reconnecting when you instruct the Dot to disconnect.I currently have everything set up via an ageing Arcam AVR350 with a million slots, many already filled.
Any clues?
Otherwise, there's a 3.5" stereo audio jack which you could split out to standard phono L/R connectors.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Ta, so one of these:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ugreen-Auxiliary-Stereo-S...
Not sure where I've got left in the AVR to plug it though as CD, Amazon FireTV, Sky, DVD etc all in there.
Well the Dot has just arrived...and so far great fun.
Dead easy to set up (via phone app) and use without prior knowledge of the question syntax.
Daughter loves the Magic Door, also playing Top Chart music and guessing who it is and then asking Alexa to see if she's right. Jokes and Fun Facts aren't bad either.
I've done the football scores, weather, traffic, wiki brain, timer, alarm all with no problem.
The sound for all of this is fine through the Dot itself. Will have a go at connecting to my main system later.
Amazing value for £40 I reckon even if the novelty stuff wears off.
Dead easy to set up (via phone app) and use without prior knowledge of the question syntax.
Daughter loves the Magic Door, also playing Top Chart music and guessing who it is and then asking Alexa to see if she's right. Jokes and Fun Facts aren't bad either.
I've done the football scores, weather, traffic, wiki brain, timer, alarm all with no problem.
The sound for all of this is fine through the Dot itself. Will have a go at connecting to my main system later.
Amazing value for £40 I reckon even if the novelty stuff wears off.
Been looking at an Echo for some time but put off by the bad reviews and the price tag. So when the Dot came up for £40 I bit the bullet and bought it. It arrived today less than 24 hours since I ordered it.
Setup with the phone app took 3 attempts, I have the dreaded BT Home Hub, but once connected it was up and away.
What a brilliant little device it is and no problems with the voice recognition, The inbuilt speaker isn't bad at all though I will connect it to something better when I get around to it. First impressions are good and Alexa has answered all my questions and played the songs I asked for. Worth the money just for the fun of it.
Setup with the phone app took 3 attempts, I have the dreaded BT Home Hub, but once connected it was up and away.
What a brilliant little device it is and no problems with the voice recognition, The inbuilt speaker isn't bad at all though I will connect it to something better when I get around to it. First impressions are good and Alexa has answered all my questions and played the songs I asked for. Worth the money just for the fun of it.
I was going to get one of these but not sure how it will work with my current "services"
I'm a big Google user, Nexus 6P using all the Google services such as Calendar, Google Play Music, Gmail etc etc.
From what I can see it won't interact with Google so would be useless for me, so whats my schedule for today wont work for example?
I have an Amazon Prime account, would music playback from Prime Music work? or do I need to be signed up to there new music service?
I'm a big Google user, Nexus 6P using all the Google services such as Calendar, Google Play Music, Gmail etc etc.
From what I can see it won't interact with Google so would be useless for me, so whats my schedule for today wont work for example?
I have an Amazon Prime account, would music playback from Prime Music work? or do I need to be signed up to there new music service?
AJB88 said:
I was going to get one of these but not sure how it will work with my current "services"
I'm a big Google user, Nexus 6P using all the Google services such as Calendar, Google Play Music, Gmail etc etc.
From what I can see it won't interact with Google so would be useless for me, so whats my schedule for today wont work for example?
I have an Amazon Prime account, would music playback from Prime Music work? or do I need to be signed up to there new music service?
It works with the music that comes with prime membership. I'm a big Google user, Nexus 6P using all the Google services such as Calendar, Google Play Music, Gmail etc etc.
From what I can see it won't interact with Google so would be useless for me, so whats my schedule for today wont work for example?
I have an Amazon Prime account, would music playback from Prime Music work? or do I need to be signed up to there new music service?
I do feel it is a novelty item though, I don't think ours gets used much now. I do like what the Google Home can do though so thinking of selling the Echo and waiting for the Home. Still novelty I guess though.
AJB88 said:
I'm a big Google user, Nexus 6P using all the Google services such as Calendar, Google Play Music, Gmail etc etc.
I have an Amazon Prime account, would music playback from Prime Music work? or do I need to be signed up to there new music service?
Works well with Google Calendar and Prime Music. Plus all the other standard stuff; Wiki, weather, Home automation, shopping lists, to do, Amazon ordering. And then the quirky stuff inc Magic Door.I have an Amazon Prime account, would music playback from Prime Music work? or do I need to be signed up to there new music service?
You can't really go wrong for £40
If you catch the train to work you can check your commute to see if there are any delays. On the phone app go into skills and enable National Rail. Ask "Alexa open National Rail" it will then ask if you want to add you starting location then your destination station. Once confirmed you just say "Alexa ask National Rail to check my commute".
Cotty said:
If you catch the train to work you can check your commute to see if there are any delays. On the phone app go into skills and enable National Rail. Ask "Alexa open National Rail" it will then ask if you want to add you starting location then your destination station. Once confirmed you just say "Alexa ask National Rail to check my commute".
Very handy to know. I have just bought an echo for my normally technophobe partner who was very impressed with my dot. This could well be the most used feature of the new addition.
You can add the skills just by saying "Alexa, enable Network Rail", no need for app.
Took it to bed last night.
"Alexa, play relaxing music."
"Alexa, set alarm for 8am"
"Alexa sleep in 15 minutes" (turns music off then)
"Alexa stop alarm"
"Alexa play music". You might like this.
"Alexa what's the news". Plays latest Sky News bulletin, latest Sport and weather (as defined by me in app). Then returns to music.
All whilst lying half asleep with eyes closed.
I've never had Spotify or similar so I'm finding the free music stuff fantastic. Not sure where the source is half the time: my historical bought Amazon CDs, the free Amazon Prime stuff or the Tune-in "radio" (no ads, just music) but it seems to have everything (maybe not new albums).
You can ask for genres, bands or specific songs. Play rock music, Play Royal Republic, Play Welcome to the Jungle.
"Alexa, I like this". Thanks, your preferences have been adjusted.
"Alexa who is this". This is Throw by Bring Me the Horizon.
"Alexa, next song".
So for me it is massively worth it for just this basic stuff. I've not even got on to the automation stuff yet which I'm really interested in too. Looking forward to adding more "skills" and seeing what comes in the future.
"Alexa what time and channel is the Grand Prix on". I'm sorry I don't have access to TV schedules yet.
Not sure it will work as planned with my TV Amp as that will not always be set to Dot as the source, so for example I can't use it when watching TV. OK when just music playing but a bit of a flaw in the plan.
But it's still a definite VFM 10/10 for me.
Anyone found any other good skills?
<perv> When you're lying in bed with eyes closed, Alexa sounds a bit like that fit Synth off Humans </perv>
Took it to bed last night.
"Alexa, play relaxing music."
"Alexa, set alarm for 8am"
"Alexa sleep in 15 minutes" (turns music off then)
"Alexa stop alarm"
"Alexa play music". You might like this.
"Alexa what's the news". Plays latest Sky News bulletin, latest Sport and weather (as defined by me in app). Then returns to music.
All whilst lying half asleep with eyes closed.
I've never had Spotify or similar so I'm finding the free music stuff fantastic. Not sure where the source is half the time: my historical bought Amazon CDs, the free Amazon Prime stuff or the Tune-in "radio" (no ads, just music) but it seems to have everything (maybe not new albums).
You can ask for genres, bands or specific songs. Play rock music, Play Royal Republic, Play Welcome to the Jungle.
"Alexa, I like this". Thanks, your preferences have been adjusted.
"Alexa who is this". This is Throw by Bring Me the Horizon.
"Alexa, next song".
So for me it is massively worth it for just this basic stuff. I've not even got on to the automation stuff yet which I'm really interested in too. Looking forward to adding more "skills" and seeing what comes in the future.
"Alexa what time and channel is the Grand Prix on". I'm sorry I don't have access to TV schedules yet.
Not sure it will work as planned with my TV Amp as that will not always be set to Dot as the source, so for example I can't use it when watching TV. OK when just music playing but a bit of a flaw in the plan.
But it's still a definite VFM 10/10 for me.
Anyone found any other good skills?
<perv> When you're lying in bed with eyes closed, Alexa sounds a bit like that fit Synth off Humans </perv>
Mine arrived today.
Very impressed so far. The sound quality is great for the kitchen and it is very responsive.
To be honest, we mainly bought it for music, timers, quick questions and the shopping list stuff and it is actually a lot better than I thought it would be.
"Alexa, play 80s music."
Played some great 80s station
"Alexa, play some childrens songs."
Found a channel perfect for my 3 year old straight away with a load of nursery rhymes.
"Alexa, set the timer for 10 minutes."
"Alexa, what's the weather going to be like tomorrow?"
Every single thing worked perfectly.
Very impressed so far. The sound quality is great for the kitchen and it is very responsive.
To be honest, we mainly bought it for music, timers, quick questions and the shopping list stuff and it is actually a lot better than I thought it would be.
"Alexa, play 80s music."
Played some great 80s station
"Alexa, play some childrens songs."
Found a channel perfect for my 3 year old straight away with a load of nursery rhymes.
"Alexa, set the timer for 10 minutes."
"Alexa, what's the weather going to be like tomorrow?"
Every single thing worked perfectly.
OK, took the DOT around my old mother's house today to see if it is any use for her. Firstly it connected with her wifi no problem so yes you can use it in different locations.
She loved the easy to use timer (she's always burning stuff when cooking these days) and the alarm to stop her falling asleep in her chair all night.
Again the music was a revelation. It handled everything she threw at it: play 30s music, play the Inkspots, play Nelson Eddy, play Brandenburg concerto no1, play Opera, play several old blokes I've never heard of. It handled the lot no problem (how?). This will make a big difference to her as although she has loads of music she never gets out of her chair to put it on and actually listen to it.
She laughed at the "cracker" jokes and we tried the Magic Door...she joined in and loved it. She's on her own so I think having "someone" to talk to is a bonus! She now wants to try some audio books. Anyone know the best way to get some freebies to get started? Or what about podcasts, anyone done that?
She also wants to turn on her leccy blanket before she goes upstairs to bed to save her the journey. Think we should be able to do that with a fancy plug? So that's the next challenge.
Anyway, that's her Xmas present sorted. Will probably get the Echo as she's going deaf and the better sound will help.
She loved the easy to use timer (she's always burning stuff when cooking these days) and the alarm to stop her falling asleep in her chair all night.
Again the music was a revelation. It handled everything she threw at it: play 30s music, play the Inkspots, play Nelson Eddy, play Brandenburg concerto no1, play Opera, play several old blokes I've never heard of. It handled the lot no problem (how?). This will make a big difference to her as although she has loads of music she never gets out of her chair to put it on and actually listen to it.
She laughed at the "cracker" jokes and we tried the Magic Door...she joined in and loved it. She's on her own so I think having "someone" to talk to is a bonus! She now wants to try some audio books. Anyone know the best way to get some freebies to get started? Or what about podcasts, anyone done that?
She also wants to turn on her leccy blanket before she goes upstairs to bed to save her the journey. Think we should be able to do that with a fancy plug? So that's the next challenge.
Anyway, that's her Xmas present sorted. Will probably get the Echo as she's going deaf and the better sound will help.
Noticed a couple of glitches with the music and voice recognition.
Didn't recognise "4-6-1 Ocean Boulevard" but "Four - sixty one..." worked. Took a me while to figure out though.
For the life of me I can't get it to recognise the band Sparks, but it will play individual albums OK
I gave up with getting it to recognise the album Love by Beatles/Cirque du Soleil and the artist MC 900 ft Jesus and had to resort to creating playlists on Spotify and asking it to play those
But on the whole the voice recognition is far better than Siri.
And yes the irony of using an amazing 21st century gadget to play music that's at least 25 years old has not escaped me
Didn't recognise "4-6-1 Ocean Boulevard" but "Four - sixty one..." worked. Took a me while to figure out though.
For the life of me I can't get it to recognise the band Sparks, but it will play individual albums OK
I gave up with getting it to recognise the album Love by Beatles/Cirque du Soleil and the artist MC 900 ft Jesus and had to resort to creating playlists on Spotify and asking it to play those
But on the whole the voice recognition is far better than Siri.
And yes the irony of using an amazing 21st century gadget to play music that's at least 25 years old has not escaped me
Northbloke said:
OK, took the DOT around my old mother's house today to see if it is any use for her. Firstly it connected with her wifi no problem so yes you can use it in different locations.
<snip>
Or what about podcasts, anyone done that?
Handy to know about the wifi, I think I will take mine to my parents to show them.<snip>
Or what about podcasts, anyone done that?
With podcasts I have found it easiest to look for a particular one using the Tunein app on my phone, and then ask for it using the exact title. Any variations seem to trip it up. And I haven't found a way of choosing which episode to play, it only seems to want to play the most recent one. Hopefully this can be addressed over time...
Edited by funinhounslow on Sunday 27th November 21:20
Northbloke said:
She also wants to turn on her leccy blanket before she goes upstairs to bed to save her the journey. Think we should be able to do that with a fancy plug? So that's the next challenge.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009SA9Z6S/ref...
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