Management of Digital Music Libraries Removed From Multiple PCs and Centralized on Terabyte-Plus Whole-Home Media Server
Dedicated Devices, Inc. (DDi) and Leviton Manufacturing’s digital home entertainment network, LE&AP, is the industry’s first digital media server to embed the Gracenote Intelligent Playlist Engine to automate the copying of multiple digital music collections, provide accurate song information and enable homeowners to quickly and easily create playlists for simple access and enjoyment throughout the home.
Embedded in the Leviton Entertainment and Applications Platform (LE&AP), Gracenote Playlist™ allows users to rediscover music from their existing collections and enjoy music that fits their mood. With the touch of a button, users can tell the system to play “more like this” song. Gracenote Playlist will then instantly create an intelligent playlist of similar songs from the user’s collection. If users want to pinpoint a specific type of music, they can define track parameters such as genre, artist type, era and region. Playlist has the capability of drawing on the global Gracenote Media Database of more than 49 million tracks and 1,500 genres to automatically build new custom mixes from the user’s music library.
“With DDi’s and Leviton’s LE&AP providing over one terabyte of storage for digital media, home users can easily build a virtually limitless library of songs. The challenge is they need an easy way to manage and enjoy their music,” said Craig Palmer, CEO, Gracenote. “With Gracenote Playlist embedded into LE&AP, home users now have the ability to enjoy instant and intelligent playlists directly from their television, giving them the best way to enjoy their growing music libraries.”
Whenever digital music is added, LE&AP automatically checks for the most accurate and complete information using Gracenote MusicID. This important feature gathers and normalizes music collections from multiple family members who may have a number of digital music devices and personal computers containing a variety of digital music file formats – from lossless copies of CDs to low bit-rate MP3s with little if any music metadata such as track, artist, album and genre information. With LE&AP and embedded Gracenote Playlist, the result is a uniform digital music library that provides consistent and robust music listings making navigation through a TV interface intuitive, quick and easy.
“At DDi we strive to develop digital media experiences that enhance and simplify the enjoyment of homeowners’ ever-expanding collections of digital music, photos and videos. By embedding Gracenote Playlist, users of LE&AP can enjoy massive digital music libraries as simply as playing a single CD,” said Jeffery K. Moeser, CEO and President, Dedicated Devices, Inc.
Also Announced at CEDIA:
Recognizing that homeowners’ experience with ever-growing digital media collections and new on-line services is driving their decisions to adopt new technologies, DDi and Leviton have announced new product upgrades to LE&AP at CEDIA today, including: ActivLink™ Media Management for automated collection and synchronization of digital media, new Media Modules which expand LE&AP’s storage beyond one terabyte and Rhapsody integration for whole-home access to over one million songs.
About Gracenote
Gracenote is a leader in global digital entertainment technology and content. Formerly known as CDDB, Gracenote provides critical embedded software and content to businesses, which enables consumers to better manage, enjoy and discover digital media. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, Gracenote also has offices in New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Seoul and Hong Kong. Gracenote’s solutions are embedded in leading media players such as Apple’s iTunes, RealNetworks RealPlayer and AOL’s Winamp, as well as software applications for Creative, iRiver and Rio portable devices. Gracenote’s technology powers leading home and automobile consumer electronics brands such as Alpine, Denon and Marantz, Dedicated Devices and Leviton, Kenwood, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sony and Yamaha, as well as international mobile music applications for KTF, (Korea), Musiwave, (Portugal), Oi, (Brazil), and Goldenbytes (Benelux). For more information about Gracenote, please visit www.gracenote.com/corporate/.
About Dedicated Devices, Inc.
Dedicated Devices, Inc. (DDi) designs and manufactures a built-in media manager that makes it easy for new home owners to get the most out of their digital music, photo and video collections. DDi has a co-branded distribution agreement with the Leviton Manufacturing Company. In recognition of their innovative approach to addressing the delivery of digital media such as music, photos and movies throughout the home, the Consumer Electronics Association awarded DDi and Leviton the Mark of Excellence Award in February 2005. DDi is privately held and was founded in 2003.
