Until recently, I used a Whole Home Transmitter connected to my laptop to stream Internet radio stations and my own media library of music to my home stereo. Sound quality was excellent, and it was nice to actually listen to all my CDs rather than just have them piled in a corner next to my 5-Disc CD player. I LOVE the transmitter, as it allows me so much freedom.

However, using this configuration was a bit of a pain, as I have to drag the transmitter around with the laptop, making it not so portable. Also my laptop is usually in the back of the house in my office, and the thick log walls cause the signal to weaken before they get to the front of the house where the stereo is located. So, I would have to move the laptop to the kitchen to enjoy the music on my stereo.

So, two days ago I was in Costco and bought a Sanyo R227 wireless Internet Radio appliance. I figured it could sit in the middle of the house and I could attach the transmitter it instead of my laptop. Free up my laptop and allow the wireless Interent Radio to access the Internet directly. No more running WinAMP on my laptop, or moving the laptop around for better reception.

The setup of radio was easy and it's a great little machine, and the transmitter plugs into the back no problem (a little problem with interference, but nothing a good ground can't fix). However, the Media Player option is a whole other story. It should just be able to find any shared media player on my wireless network, but it turns out -- after several frustrating hours of trying to setup the media player to work with my shared, networked media player library on my laptop -- that it won't work with Vista. Sanyo confirmed that in an email. Only works with Windows 2000 and XP. I am sure it would work if someone took the time to figure it out, but I doubt Sanyo will spend the cycles because Vista is being replaced by Windows 7.

Basically I have two choices. Buy a cheap MP3 player and load all my songs onto it and plug it into the auxilary port, OR try and find a standalone, cheap wirelss MP3 audio device or inexpensive notebook which runs a compatible Media Player to load my music onto. Either way seems to be a cop-out, because I should be able to get this stuff through Windows Vista, but Sanyo basically say they don't support it.

If anyone has any suggestions as to what I should do, I would greatly appreciate it.

Short answer...return it to Costco. Unless you can google an answer to the specific model and someone has figured out a way to have Vista work with it then you would be out of luck.

Have you looked at an Airport Express? If I read your post correctly all you want to do is stream music and internet radio from your laptop.

I do like the idea of having a standalone radio appliance, so I would likely keep it. More interested in accessing my library of music on my laptop, but honestly, I have no problem putting it onto another device.

I guess what I really want is a media player I could plug into my stereo system (like a jutebox), rather than having to even stream from my laptop, either directly or via some other device.

Check out the Apple Airport Express as QuickSilver suggested. They're under $100, small form factor, and they even have optical out (you need to use a 3.5mm to optical adapter for that). The Airport Express simply shows up as "speakers" from within iTunes and it will stream directly to it. Then if you have an iPod Touch or iPhone you can download the free Remote App from Apple and control iTunes from that so you can browse your library, see Now Playing, etc. Very slick and easy to setup and also very inexpensive.

I do like the idea of having a standalone radio appliance, so I would likely keep it.

I use Apple Express so it's a great solution.

You may also consider replacing the Sanyo unit with something like a Roku Soundbridge Radio since it can access internet radio as a standalone unit and it can get music from your PC. Roku knows a lot more about this area so you are going to get better support and probably a better product.

Thanks. I will check out the products, although I have no Apple products of any kind. I am going to check and see if the Roku works with Vista.

I guess what I really want is a media player I could plug into my stereo system (like a jutebox), rather than having to even stream from my laptop, either directly or via some other device.
There are lots of available media player solutions. The catch is that most need a TV to use the interface. Most will work with either an internal or USB drive and will also work with networked music files or streamed music. There is a lot of variability in capabilities due to newer designs and compatibilities (or lack of) with newer operating systems. Apple products are easier to use but command a high price. There are much cheaper solutions and/or much more flexible ones. As suggested, even a cheap, generic MP3 player with lots of internal storage will do a good job of jukebox playback. I've seen 8GB players with excellent sound output for less than $50. Just load it up with music and set it to play.

ps. I would return the Sanyo player. If it doesn't do what you want, it's not worth keeping and the price seems a bit steep for what it does. Review: Sanyo R227 Internet Radio (http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/reviews/article.php/3786661) Pros: Looks good; sounds good; works as Internet radio, FM tuner, media player; thousands of pre-programmed Internet radio stations
Cons: Media player functions difficult to set up; weak user interface

Another option would be a Logitech Squeezebox Radio or the Boom.

It works! I disabled the Norton Firewall and was able to access the library. However, I now have to figure out how to configure the Norton Smart Firewall to allow it through. At least I know where the problem lies.

Fixed the problem with Norton by changing the Trust Control to Shared. It worked fine after that. Good to know for others in future.

Just goes to show you persistence always pays off.

Glad you got it working and thanks for keeping us up to date on how you fixed the problem.