1) What is the WM-201
The Roberts WM-201 is a high quality Internet Radio and Media Player. The Internet Radio function allows the user to listen to radio stations from around the UK, around Europe, and from around the world. The media player function allows the user to listen to music using files that they may have for their MP3 player (or iPod, or similar) which could be held on a computer in another part of the house.
The WM-201 features stereo speakers, a clear multi-line display, programmable timers, a large, easy to read, digital clock display, auxiliary input, headphone and line-level outputs, and operation either from the front panel, or via the compact, stylish remote control.
2) What is Internet Radio?
Internet Radio is broadcast using the Internet as the connection to the radio rather than radio waves. Conventional radio is broadcast using transmitters at fixed locations. The further that the radio is from the transmitter, the weaker the signal becomes until beyond a certain distance, the station cannot be heard. Internet Radio does not have this limitation. With your radio connecting to the internet, it becomes possible to listen to stations from all around the world, as well as those from broadcasters nearer home. For example, a Scot living and working in London could listen to a Scottish radio station; a Japanese working in France could listen to Japanese as well as French, Scottish or American radio.
That sounds like Shortwave Radio…. Not really – shortwave radio can be difficult to receive and suffers from atmospheric effects. Internet Radio uses the power of the Internet to deliver the radio station without these problems. In addition, the radio is automatically updated with lists of radio stations, sorted by country or genre. As a consequence, selecting stations or discovering new ones is very simple.
3) Do I need a PC to listen to Internet Radio?
No. The basic requirement to use Internet Radio is that you have a broadband Internet connection to your home (or wherever you use the radio). You may well have a PC, but it does not need to be switched on in order to listen to radio stations via the Internet.
4) What if I can’t get broadband where I live?
That depends… You do need a broadband connection for Internet Radio. But if you are not interested in radio listening, and wish to use the WM-201 to listen to your music collection (from your PC, for example) then broadband is not required. Broadband can still be useful if it is desired to be able to update the software in the radio to take advantage of any new features as they become available.
5) I have Broadband. What else do I need?
Typically you will have a modem (an ADSL modem if your broadband uses the telephone wiring, or a cable modem if you get your broadband access combined with cable TV). You will also need a router, but modern ADSL and cable modems generally include a router to allow several devices to be connected. The WM-201 can connect to such a router using either a wired connection, or wirelessly if your router supports Wi-Fi.
6) Which radio stations can I get with the WM-201?
There are too many to list here! The WM-201 is built using technology from a UK company called Reciva Limited. For the most up to date list of stations available, we suggest you visit their web site at HYPERLINK "http://www.reciva.com/"www.reciva.com. At the time of writing, there are over 6000 stations available, including over 600 from UK broadcasters, a massive 2700 from the USA, and many others from countries around the world.
7) What about DAB? FM? AM?
With so many radio stations available via the internet (including BBC national and regional stations, major commercial stations, as well as many smaller stations) there is relatively little benefit in having the ability to receive conventional radio broadcasts with the WM-201. In fact, some radio stations can be received in higher quality from the internet than when listening conventionally.
8) Am I restricted to the provided list of radio stations?
Absolutely not. If you come across a radio station which broadcasts using the Internet but which is not among those offered as standard, it is often possible to add this to your personal selection using a facility on Reciva’s web site. This permits you to create a customised list of radio stations for your radio in addition to those already on offer.
9) What audio files types does the WM-201 support?
The WM-201 can play back audio which has been compressed using MP3, WMA, AAC, Real Audio, AIFF or FLAC as well as uncompressed WAV files. WMA is the format most commonly used by Microsoft’s Windows Media Player software. AAC is the native format of Apple’s iTunes software. MP3 is probably best known and is used in many portable players.
Real Audio is used for many radio broadcasts, while AIFF, FLAC and WAV are all “lossless” file types which offer higher sound quality than the other types.
10) Does the WM-201 have an Auxiliary Input?
Yes. And it as been designed with selectable input sensitivity, so that you can connect a headphone output to it, or a line-level output if that is your preference.
11) Does the WM-201 have a headphone output?
Yes. A 3.5mm stereo socket is provided. Inserting the headphone plug will automatically mute the loudspeakers.
12) Can I record from the WM-201?
The WM-201 has a line-level output which is independent of the volume control and headphone output. This can be fed to any external recording device, or to an external amplifier. If you are recording, please respect the law in your country regarding copyright.
13) Can I operate the WM-201 without the remote control?
Yes you can. Although there is only a single control on the front panel, the design of the WM-201 allows all major functions to be accessed using either this control or the remote.
14) What is the output power of the WM-201
The WM-201 can output approximately 5 watts per channel from its long-throw, full-range loudspeakers.
15) Can I adjust bass and treble?
Yes. Bass and treble levels may be adjusted from the front panel, or using the remote control.
16) Can I turn down the backlight?
Yes. The configuration menu allows the backlight level to be set separately for active, inactive and standby modes. At its lowest brightness level, the backlight can be set to be completely switched off.
17) How many alarm timers are there?
There are four alarm timers. Each alarm may individually be set to operate Once, Everyday, Weekly, on Weekdays or at Weekends. They may also individually be set to Buzzer, or one of the preset radio stations.
18) Is there a sleep timer?
Yes. The sleep timer can be set to turn off the WM-201 after between 15 minutes and 2 hours (in 15 minute increments). At the end of this time the WM-201 will very gradually fade down the volume before entering standby mode.
19) How does the WM-201 access music files for the Media Player function?
The WM-201 can access files using either or two methods – Windows Shares and UPNP.
Windows Shares are folders or drives which have are configured to be available to other users on your computer network. This does not require a specific server application to be running on a PC. Other computer types normally support equivalent mechanisms which are compatible (Linux systems can us Samba for example).
Greater flexibility is generally obtained, however, if a UPNP server application is used. This allows a wider range of search criteria when selecting music to play. If a PC is used, then the server application could be Windows Media Player version 11 (this will serve MP3, WMA or WAV file types only). Third party UPNP server applications are generally much more flexible and can also be used (example: TwonkyMedia is a flexible server application which can serve MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC and other formats, and is available for platforms in addition to the PC).
20) What is FLAC?
FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. While MP3, WMA and AAC are satisfactory for normal listening, the methods used to compress the data result in very small but sometimes noticeable differences between the sound of the compressed audio and the original (from CD). To overcome this, a royalty-free codec was created which would still allow a degree of data compression, but which would not lose any detail. This method is often favoured by hi-fi enthusiasts. The trade off is that the file cannot be compressed so much as when using the other better known methods. In addition to FLAC, there are lossless coding systems developed by both Microsoft and Apple – WMA-Lossless and Apple-Lossless. However, many enthusiasts prefer the vendor independence that they get with FLAC. The WM-201 includes support for FLAC as a part of its Media Player functionality. The WM-201 does not support WMA-Lossless or Apple-Lossless coding.
21) Why does the radio say “Real Enabled” on the lower line of the display?
It is a condition of the licensing for the Real Audio decoder and related software that this message is displayed.