Mike's Home Page > Jukebox Home > Facts, Figures, Costs

Facts, Figures, Costs

The Jukebox stores and processes an extraordinary amount of data by the normal standards of PC operation. It's necessary to take great care during the design process to ensure that the data, the time required to process it, and the cost of the components, all remain within reasonable limits. Many of the factors are difficult to predict in advance, which is why on this page I've summarised the relevant facts and figures, so that you can see what's involved.

File Formats

  • Jukebox library: WMA (Windows Media Audio) lossless
  • iTunes and iPod: AAC 128 kbps

Timings

All timings refer to our jukebox, are typical values, and are approximate.

Activity Time Taken Comments
Rip a CD with EAC, convert it to WMA, and write it to the server PC 5 minutes per CD (or less: see Two PCs)
Export the Media Center database for use by the Database Converter 2 seconds *
Run the Database Converter 1 minute *
With the Directory Synchroniser, compare the Jukebox Database on the main PC with that on the server PC 3 minutes *
With the Directory Synchroniser, copy the entire Jukebox Database from the main PC to the server PC 8 minutes *
After clicking a page on the remote control, the delay while the next page is displayed 2 seconds
With the Directory Synchroniser, compare the music files on the server PC (Jukebox + iTunes) with those on the backup disk 3½ minutes *
With the Directory Synchroniser, back up a CD's music files to the external disk 2 minutes per CD
Import a CD's music files to iTunes, with compression to AAC 9 minutes per CD
Download a CD's music files from iTunes to an iPod (connection: USB 2) 20 seconds per CD

(*) Items marked with an asterisk relate specifically to the database described in the next section, "File Sizes".

File Sizes

The file sizes below relate to a database with:

  • 906 CDs
  • 12,228 tracks
FilesTotal Size
Music files, including album art and lyrics 270 Gb
Media Center Database, excluding album art 4.7 Mb
Media Center Export file 2.7 Mb
Jukebox Database 60 Mb
Music files imported to iTunes (also their size in an iPod) 46 Gb

Custom Software Sizes

Software Component No. of Files Total Size
Database converter: Perl programs 1 file 90 Kb
Database converter: HTML templates 28 files 53 Kb
CGI Programs: Perl programs 12 files 47 Kb
CGI Programs: HTML templates 10 files 40 Kb

Costs

All costs are what I paid, in UK pounds. Costs, especially those based on US dollars, are variable. You might pay more or you might pay less. Items in bold make up the minimal jukebox or Jukebox Lite: total cost was £880, plus anything from £5 to (say) £25 for the network and audio cables, depending on length and quality.

Hardware costs

Hardware ComponentCost
Server PC (from Dell Outlet) £268
Sound card £70
500 Gb hard disk, internal £175
WAP/switch £45
CAT5 Blaster QC transmitter and receiver £90
500 Gb network hard disk for backup £207
Powerline adapters (pair) for for backup disk £134
Psion remote control (one) £322
VGA extender (transmitter+receiver) £66
8" LCD VGA monitor £105
VGA-to-AV converter £26
5" LCD TV £43

Software costs

Software ComponentCost
Apache HTTP server £0
ActivePerl £0
Winamp £0
Windows Media Encoder £0
Exact Audio Copy £0
J River Media Center £14
JPEG Resizer £0
httpQ £0
Mozilla Firefox £0
AJC Directory Synchroniser £17
RealVNC £0
Full Fullscreen £0
Cursor Hider £12