Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. Reviews

Sony HomeShare review: A wireless music system for more than just your iPod

By
sony-homeshare-system
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Read on for an overview of the Sony HomeShare system, then check out our full reviews of Sony HomeShare components:

At CES 2011, Sony announced it was moving away from its Altus line of wireless speakers in favor of a suite of products centered around what it called HomeShare. In a rather surprising move, Sony’s HomeShare bucks the company’s trend of going the proprietary route in hopes that others will eventually toe its line. Instead, HomeShare is a non-proprietary, DLNA-based system that can access and wirelessly share most music file types stored on a networked PC or NAS drive.
Recommended Videos

While the technology is also coming available through select Sony Blu-Ray disc players, micro systems and TVs, HomeShare made its debut through five currently available network music products (and now a sixth, forthcoming speaker which was just recently announced at CEDIA 2011). You’ve got the NAC-SV10i iPod/iPhone dock, the NAS-SV20i iPod/iPhone speaker dock, the CMT-MX700Ni micro system, the SA-NS300 wireless network speaker and SA-NS400 wireless network speaker. Sony also recently introduced the RMN-U1 universal touch-screen remote control which, as it happens, integrates nicely with HomeShare to control any compatible devices in the home.

Though any of these devices can be used on their own, the real fun seems to be centered around integration. Perhaps that’s why Sony sent us a trio of HomeShare devices to evaluate together. But,to keep things simple, we decided to evaluate each of the components individually and publish separate reviews for the NAC-SV10i iPod/iPhone dock, SA-NS300 wireless network speaker and RMN-U1 universal touch-screen remote.

It comes down to this: Each of the products had their positive and not-so-positive points. Our biggest challenge was consistent network connectivity. Of the three devices we tested, the RMN-U1 was the most consistently easy to use. Unlike the network speaker and iPod/iPhone dock, it never seemed to have trouble communicating through our network (which was not occupied with any other tasks or accessed by any other machines during our tests, by the way). Also, the remote is definitely the ideal control interface for the HomeShare product family. The only real problem we see is that the RMN-U1’s $300 asking price makes attaining an easy to use wireless music system from Sony a pricier proposition. Of course, considering how much more the system can do than some similarly priced AirPlay speaker systems, maybe this product family is more competitively priced than we first thought.

Used individually, each of the three HomeShare devices we tested were able to provide some useful functions, albeit with some quirks here and there. Yet, it was when the three individuals were brought together as a team that a useful, comprehensive wireless system was born. We like most things modular, but in this case we’re going to say that the whole was definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Though individually rated in each review, we’d give the entire HomeShare system a respectable 8.0 rating.

Topics
Caleb Denison
Caleb Denison
Editor at Large
Digital Trends Editor at Large Caleb Denison is a sought-after writer, speaker, and television correspondent with unmatched…
You have until June 9 to save $500 off an 85-inch Samsung The Frame TV
A painting being displayed on a Samsung The Frame QLED.

Looking for great TV deals? You still have time to save $500 on the Samsung 85-inch The Frame QLED TV when you head over to Samsung. It usually costs $4,300, but right now the popular and stylish TV is down to $3,800, making it more affordable than before. If you’re keen to invest in a large TV but love to save money too, this is a good opportunity. Here’s what you need to know about the TV before you decide to buy.

Why you should buy the Samsung 85-inch The Frame QLED TV
One of the best QLED TVs around, the Samsung 85-inch The Frame QLED TV is a delight in so many ways. At its core, it’s a fantastic QLED TV with 100% Color Volume with Quantum Dot technology saturating the screen with a billion colors. QLED adds a layer of quantum dots to a TV’s LED backlight with these dots, once exposed to light, emitting their own light with a high level of efficiency to provide great picture quality.

Read more
It’s your last chance to get up to $1,900 off a Samsung OLED TV
The Samsung S90C in a living room environment.

There’s still a little time left to snap up one of the best TV deals available today, with Samsung still selling the 83-inch S90C OLED TV for $3,500 instead of $5,400. The $1,900 discount is a pretty vast one and one that you certainly don’t want to skip. If you’re looking for a great new TV for your large living space, you’re going to love this deal. Let’s take a look at how great the Samsung S90C OLED TV is.

Why you should buy the Samsung 83-inch S90C OLED TV
Samsung makes some of the best TVs around and we’re huge fans of the Samsung 83-inch S90C OLED TV. It has an OLED panel so you get self-lit pixels which can light up independently of each other. That means that you can enjoy the deepest blacks and the brightest colors all on the same scene, ensuring you never miss a detail. The Samsung 83-inch S90C OLED TV uses a Neural Quantum Processor with 4K upscaling so its AI-powered processor can transform whatever you’re watching. There’s also HDR OLED which uses AI deep learning to analyze each scene, detecting areas that need to brighter, darker, or simply richer in color.

Read more
This Sonos Bluetooth speaker has a discount in time for beach weather
Sonos Roam SL in black on a rainy rock outdoors.

A day out at the beach. Cooking outside using a discounted grill or smoker. Pool party madness. What do they all three have in common? A lot of fun, but also a great chance to get any sound equipment ruined by a sudden downpour or a splash of inevitable water. That's why there are models of waterproof Bluetooth speakers, of which the Sonos Roam SL is one. And the good news is that you can get yours at a discounted rate before summer officially gets here. Right now, the Sonos Roam SL is just $127, which is $33 down from its typical price of $160. To get yours, all you need to do is tap the button below. Consider also reading below, as we examine the speaker and see why it is considered an easy pick up.

Why you should buy the Sonos Roam SL
The Sonos Roam SL is an easy-to-use, compact speaker for wherever you roam. Connect to it easily over Wi-Fi at home or Bluetooth on the go, giving you easy options to control the sound in a way that makes sense for you and your location. If you're at home and connected to your Wi-Fi system and have other Sonos speakers, you can even get the Sonos multi-room experience, which syncs everything in a nice way. So, you can keep the Sonos Roam SL out on the patio (where it might get rained upon) and keep the best Sonos speakers indoors and have a really cool, worry-free party experience that not many others will be able to replicate.

Read more