While I can't comment on your hardware/connectivity needs (I don't stream, pretty much at all), I do have some experiences/opinions about player software. (I'm very opinionated on that topic - spent 20 years managing/designing 'the art of software development' that did things FAR more complex that just playing audio!)
You'll spend far more time 'hands on' with the software than the hardware, so, aside from meeting basic HW requirements, I'd suggest you trial every software package pretty intensively. Even little things 'wrong' with a UI can drive you (me, at least) mad over time.
For instance - how will you be 'viewing' or 'interacting' with the software? - by phone, tablet, or monitor viewing from a distance?
I was totally unprepared for the difficulty of reading a very dense and feature laden software package like JRiver from a distance of 10' from a 50" screen! (And now is NOT a good time to try to get new prescription lenses made!)
As much as I like tablets, I find the touch screen interface too limited for some things...but good streaming software specifically designed for tablet/phone use might be a joy to use!
Hope this helps even a tiny bit - happy decision making!!
You'll spend far more time 'hands on' with the software than the hardware, so, aside from meeting basic HW requirements, I'd suggest you trial every software package pretty intensively. Even little things 'wrong' with a UI can drive you (me, at least) mad over time.
For instance - how will you be 'viewing' or 'interacting' with the software? - by phone, tablet, or monitor viewing from a distance?
I was totally unprepared for the difficulty of reading a very dense and feature laden software package like JRiver from a distance of 10' from a 50" screen! (And now is NOT a good time to try to get new prescription lenses made!)
As much as I like tablets, I find the touch screen interface too limited for some things...but good streaming software specifically designed for tablet/phone use might be a joy to use!
Hope this helps even a tiny bit - happy decision making!!