[turnstyle]

Hi all, just wondering if folks here play their music over the Web and/or a home LAN? If so, what do you use?

(Just so you know, I make software that helps some folks do this, but I don't want to seem spammy and so I'm not going to say what it is.)

For example, do you keep your music on a home server and/or NAS, and play it from another PC on your LAN? Do you direct audio from one PC to another (ie, to remotely control playback on a device connected to your stereo)? Do you access your home music collection over the Web?

As for me, I have a PC (ie, a 'server') wired into my stereo via a USB DAC, and I use Remote Desktop to control what happens on that PC from other PCs on my LAN -- that way I can control the stereo from wherever. I also serve files from that server to other PCs on the LAN, when I want the sound to play on them locally rather than out through the stereo.

That all said, it would be super interesting to know what sort of solutions you've come up with, what you like, and what you don't.

 

[gspence2000]

I have speakers in five rooms around my house hooked up to a little 45-watt Parasound Zamp and 5-way ZSelect speaker switch. The source is a Logitech Duet.

Initially I ran a media server in the house, but before long I just gave that up and I have been using Rhapsody, Pandora, and streaming National Public Radio exclusively for about a year and a half. Switching between the online sources and the local media server made things a little too complicated for my wife and I found she just stopped listening to music for a while.

With two young children in the household, we listen to "background music" more than dedicated, serious listening sessions. I always play an album during the dinner hour. Yes, I can drive all five sets of speakers at once with only 45 watts.

I am overall very happy with the online music services. There are a few unfortunate lapses in the Rhapsody catalog, but it is not a problem for me. I like the ability to discover new music--it is more important to me than maintaining a vast personal collection.

I do wish that I could use my Duet controller to control the speaker selector switch. I'm a programmer and an electronics hobbyist so I'm tempted to add software control to the speaker switch--but I don't think I'll ever find the time.

My serious listening is exclusively through headphones and a dedicated headphone amp.

 

[turnstyle]

Hey gspence2000, thanks (and I hope others share their approaches).

I'm not terribly familiar with how the Duet works -- you keep the Duet device patched into your stereo, and you can play MP3s/Rhapsody/Pandora/NPR/etc. on your local PC, and have the audio routed over the network to play out the Duet? Is that about right? And so you keep your music collection on your PC?

 

[gspence2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turnstyle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey gspence2000, thanks (and I hope others share their approaches). I'm not terribly familiar with how the Duet works -- you keep the Duet device patched into your stereo, and you can play MP3s/Rhapsody/Pandora/NPR/etc. on your local PC, and have the audio routed over the network to play out the Duet? Is that about right? And so you keep your music collection on your PC?

Rhapsody/Pandora/NPR streams go from the Cloud right to the Duet receiver, which uses WiFi for input and sends audio to the amplifier. There is no PC in the middle. The Duet controller communicates directly with Rhapsody/Pandora servers and has them send the stream to the receiver device.

Optionally, you could set up a home PC as a media server, in which case it would stream your MP3's to the Duet receiver as well. But the PC media server can only stream local content--not Rhapsody/Pandora/NPR. Myself, I don't currently use a home media server--thus, no personal music collection.

 

[SoulSyde]

The evil iTunes is also great for accomplishing this task over a LAN.

 

[turnstyle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoulSyde /img/forum/go_quote.gif The evil iTunes is also great for accomplishing this task over a LAN.

Indeed, though perhaps not as great over the Web -- in iTunes, let's say you're on 'computer A' and your music is stored on 'computer B' and 'computer C' is patched into your stereo -- can use use computer A to play music stored on computer B and have it play through computer C?

 

[BadassBob]

I have 3 Squeezebox Duets and 3 softmodded Xboxes. Xboxes connect to my server through Samba and the Duets through Squeezebox server. I built a new server for my place a couple months ago, and it stores everything.

 

[mojave]

I use J. River Media Center as my player/library server. I have a music library at home and one at work. I can access either library from wherever I have a network or internet connection with my laptop or desktop computers. I also can share my library at work with other coworkers. In fact, that library consists of a combination of employee's ripped music that they store on their local computer. Some have purchased JRMC and can now use my library during the day. The library can be streamed either lossless or it can be transcoded on the fly to a lossy format. The client computer has settings that allow you to decide how you want to receive the music.

At home, when I use my laptop to access the library server on my HTPC, I can choose to have the playing now be either Here or There. In other words, I can play the HTPC library through the laptop to whatever DAC, etc. the laptop is connected to. Or, I can use the laptop to control the music that is played through the HTPC.

My dad recently purchased JRMC, too. Now, when I am at his house, I can access any of my libraries and play them through his system. Again, this can be lossless. He has a large collection of classical music. If I want, I could also access his library from my house and play some of his nice classical albums.

 

[turnstyle]

Hey mojave, thanks (and I hope other folks will continue to share their solutions).

Do you need to use a JRMC client app to access the media? (ie, is there also a web interface?)

 

[turnstyle]

So far we have:

Squeezebox Duet
iTunes
J. River Media Center

Anybody using anything else? (thanks!)

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I have a hard drive with all of my iTunes files plugged into an Airport Extreme, and I stream wirelessly to my computer, sometimes to play back through my system, sometimes to listen to directly out of the laptop's headphone jack (...I know...the horror!). I listen to my iTunes files that way and to internet radio via Radioshift.

P

 

[ROBSCIX]

I am currently working on a media network if that counts. Using one main system as the media servier and use a bunch of lan players in the various rooms. Still in the planning phases but is on topic.

 

[krmathis]

I stream most of my music over WLAN, using AirTunes and a Apple AirPort Express.

 

[turnstyle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROBSCIX /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am currently working on a media network if that counts. Using one main system as the media servier and use a bunch of lan players in the various rooms. Still in the planning phases but is on topic.

What are you thinking about running? Do you only care about playback over your LAN, or over the Web too?

 

[ROBSCIX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by turnstyle /img/forum/go_quote.gif What are you thinking about running? Do you only care about playback over your LAN, or over the Web too?

Just a storage server loaded with audio/video and connected to a router wired/wireless with net players or something similar in other rooms.
I am really at the researching stage right now. I am not really into the music over the web thing, I just want a media network for the house.