Music lovers can now sample songs over the Internet without turning on a personal computer.
Unlike digital music files that are bought and downloaded for portable playback, tunes offered through subscription services are typically streamed and require live Internet connections.
In the past, that has meant turning on a computer and running software. The maker of the Sonos Digital Music System, a multi-room home audio setup, now has a way to bypass that.
The ZonePlayer devices already are connected to a home computer network, but new software for the boxes will now let people access a music service directly without the need for a PC.
The Rhapsody music service from RealNetworks is the first to adopt the technology, which is being offered as a free software upgrade, but Sonos expects others to join.
Users would still need a high-speed Internet connection to act as the delivery mechanism for the music streams, but eliminating the always-on PC hassle is a smart move, especially because subscription services want to attract all kinds of music lovers and not just techies, said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research.
Subscription services offer access to millions of songs to users for a monthly fee. Subscribers can listen through a live Web stream or download the digital files to their own devices, though the downloads are only "rented" and disappear if the subscription ends.