Electric Jukebox

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Electric Jukebox
DeveloperThe Electric Jukebox Company[1]
TypeDigital media player[2]
DiscontinuedAugust 2017
Soundup to 320 kbps streaming[3]
Connectivity[2]
PowerMains power (HDMI Dongle) Micro-USB (Controller)[4]
Websitewww.electricjukebox.com

Electric Jukebox was a digital media player[2] developed by The Electric Jukebox Company.[1] Designed as a dongle,[5] and a "Nintendo Wii style"[6] motion-sensitive controller with a built-in microphone for voice search,[7] The device played music audio content on a high-definition television and home audio system by directly streaming it via Wi-Fi from the Internet.[8][9][10][11]

Electric Jukebox combined hardware, software, and premium music streaming access into one package;[12] Ars Technica described it as "a box with everything you need to get started in streaming music".[3]

Hardware[edit]

Electric Jukebox stick[edit]

The Electric Jukebox dongle had a HDMI plug built into the device's body.[13] The dongle was powered by mains power through an integrated power cable. Electric Jukebox ran on a Rockchip processor. The dongle contained a 3.5mm audio jack as a line out[2] to HiFi’s and speaker systems.[14]

Electric Jukebox controller[edit]

Electric Jukebox Controller was a motion-sensitive remote control with built-in gyroscope and accelerometer to position itself in space in relation to the cursor on the TV screen. The controller also had a microphone for voice search. The controller used HDMI-CEC protocols to switch between other devices on the television without needing to use the television set's remote to change to or from Electric Jukebox.[2]

Software[edit]

Electric Jukebox ran on a heavily modified version of the Android operating system. The front-end user interface was built in HTML5[4] enabling OTA updates which negate users from having to perform software upgrades or app downloads normally required when using music streaming services on computers, smartphones and televisions.

User interface[edit]

Electric Jukebox's user interface incorporated neon[14] iconography and music songs and albums represented as spinning disks – a digital manifestation of a physical music product; a CD. The user interface was met with mixed reactions from commentators; several technology-focused media outlets have said the user interface is overly simple compared to other services[15] while mainstream consumer media view the simplicity of Electric Jukebox as opening up music streaming to audiences who are alienated by the complexities of music streaming.[6] CNET commented "Here's an easy way to think about Electric Jukebox: Remember when the Nintendo Wii came out, and suddenly the whole family, who didn't know their Atari from their elbow, was jumping around the living room playing video games? Spotify is the PlayStation, Sonos is the Xbox – and Electric Jukebox is the Wii."[4]

Features[edit]

Voice search[edit]

The Electric Jukebox controller's built-in microphone provided access to the full catalogue of music. Voice-activated functionality was provided by Nuance.[3]

Celebrity playlists[edit]

Electric Jukebox featured exclusive playlists from a range of celebrities, including; Robbie Williams and his wife Ayda Field,[16] Sheryl Crow, Alesha Dixon and Stephen Fry.[17]

Curated music channels[edit]

7 Digital provided a range of curated music channels for Electric Jukebox.[18]

Music recommendations[edit]

Danish music tech company Moodagent provided music discovery and recommendations features for Electric Jukebox.[19]

Playlist creation[edit]

Electric Jukebox users could create their own playlists using the Electric Jukebox Controller.[20]

Music catalogue[edit]

Electric Jukebox had a music library of "over 29 million songs"[21] from all major and independent record labels and publishers including Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Merlin, PIAS, Believe Digital and INgrooves.[22]

Geographic availability[edit]

Electric Jukebox was available in:[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Ho, Geoff. "New music gadget set to bring streaming into the mainstream", Daily Express, London, 18 October 2015. Retrieved on 7 November 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Cooper, Daniel. "Electric Jukebox: the music player for everyone else", Engadget, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 7 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Walton, Mark. "UK’s Electric Jukebox takes on Spotify, Apple Music with all-in-one music appliance", Ars Technica, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Trenholm, Richard. "Electric Jukebox gives you hassle-free music streaming on your TV, for a price (hands-on)", CNET, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  5. ^ Woods, Ben. "Electric Jukebox launches super-simple streaming dongle to take on Spotify and Apple Music", The Next Web, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 7 November 2015.
  6. ^ a b Skinner, Carry-Ann. "Electric Jukebox aims to bring easy music streaming to your television", Good Housekeeping, London, 15 October 2015. Retrieved on 7 November 2015.
  7. ^ Temperton, James. "Electric Jukebox is a £180 Spotify rival with a difference", Wired, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  8. ^ Hamm, Michael. "Music on your TV – Britain gets its rival to Spotify and Tidal", The Guardian, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  9. ^ Cellan-Jones, Rory. "Electric Jukebox – will anyone pay for music?", BBC News, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  10. ^ Mulligan, Mark. "First Take: Electric Jukebox aims to take digital music to the mainstream", Midia Research, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  11. ^ Snider, Mike. "Plug and play device transforms your TV into the Electric Jukebox", USA Today, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 6 November 2015.
  12. ^ Brown, Michael. "The Electric Jukebox: For music lovers who think Apple Music and Spotify are too expensive and too complicated" Archived 16 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, MacWorld, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 7 November 2015.
  13. ^ Cutlack, Gary. " The Electric Jukebox is a Dongle/HDMI/Remote/£180/£60 Stream of Confusion", Gizmodo, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 12 November 2015.
  14. ^ a b Travis, Ben. "Electric Jukebox: The plug-and-play device for listening to music in your home", The Independent, London, 23 October 2015. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  15. ^ Brown, Michael. "The Electric Jukebox: For music lovers who think Apple Music and Spotify are too expensive and too complicated" Archived 16 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Mac World, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 7 November 2015.
  16. ^ Tesseras, Lucy. "How Electric Jukebox is taking on the music streaming giants", Marketing Week, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 5 November 2015.
  17. ^ Newton, Thomas. " Chromecast-for-tunes service Electric Jukebox summons Stephen Fry and Robbie Williams to take on Spotify", Recombu, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 12 November 2015.
  18. ^ a b Reid, Scott. " 7digital sounds out Electric Jukebox deal", The Scotsman, London, 16 October 2015. Retrieved on 7 November 2015.
  19. ^ Williamson, Coral. " Electric Jukebox planning immediate international expansion?", Music Week, London, 26 May 2016. Retrieved on 27 May 2016.
  20. ^ Plunkett, John. "Electric Jukebox offers 'plug-and-play' music streaming through your TV", The Telegraph, London, 14 October 2015. Retrieved on 12 November 2015.
  21. ^ Langridge, Max. "Electric Jukebox launches bringing millions of songs to your TV", Pocket Lint, London, 8 November 2016. Retrieved on 9 January 2017.
  22. ^ Lunden, Ingrid."Electric Jukebox a new streaming music startup debuts 169 service for casual fans", Tech Crunch, London, 8 November 2016. Retrieved on 9 January 2017.
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