RogerS
Established Member
Struggling with Apple's lousy Home Sharing option on iTunes to relay and control my music collection while out in the workshop I tried out the Logitech Media Server (aka SqueezeCenter) on the iMac. This software is FOC. It is essentially a database that can store references to anything in your iTunes library, radio stations plus a whole load more.
To use it, you require two other elements...a controller on a device and a player. The player might be on the same device as the controller. In my case, the controller is iPeng (superb program and fantastic support from the developer) and the player is iPlayer (both are paid-for apps but well worth it). Both are running on an elderly iPod Touch into which I plug the sound system in the workshop. Connectivity back to the iMac via a wifi access point and ethernet. So while in the workshop I can select anything I want to listen to very easily. What's more, iPeng has a very good search facility (are you listening, Apple?). So far..so good.
But it gets better. While woking with the developer in trying to sort out a minor glitch, one of the features of LMS is that any player can connect to it. So I opened up a few ports in my router and the berlin based developer was able to stream my music and test the software fixes.
It gets even better still. In our kitchen we have an elderly Panasonic CD/FM radio. The CD player has gradually been giving up the ghost and especially now with the Radio 3 infantile FilmInfestation and the general dumbing down of Radio 3, there is hardly any incentive for me to tune in to that station. Music is important to me so what to do when I'm cooking?
Then :idea: I remembered I had an old USB FM transmitter. It still worked but I remembered that the downside was that whenever I wanted to pause or change a track etc then I'd have to charge upstairs and alter things in iTunes on the iMac. But maybe if I got an LMS player on the iMac......and maybe if iPeng running on the iPod Touch connected via wifi back to the iMac could control this LMS player then .....voila.
And it works !
If you've never played with Squeezebox or any of its variants then I thoroughly recommend trying it as the system is so damn flexible.
To use it, you require two other elements...a controller on a device and a player. The player might be on the same device as the controller. In my case, the controller is iPeng (superb program and fantastic support from the developer) and the player is iPlayer (both are paid-for apps but well worth it). Both are running on an elderly iPod Touch into which I plug the sound system in the workshop. Connectivity back to the iMac via a wifi access point and ethernet. So while in the workshop I can select anything I want to listen to very easily. What's more, iPeng has a very good search facility (are you listening, Apple?). So far..so good.
But it gets better. While woking with the developer in trying to sort out a minor glitch, one of the features of LMS is that any player can connect to it. So I opened up a few ports in my router and the berlin based developer was able to stream my music and test the software fixes.
It gets even better still. In our kitchen we have an elderly Panasonic CD/FM radio. The CD player has gradually been giving up the ghost and especially now with the Radio 3 infantile FilmInfestation and the general dumbing down of Radio 3, there is hardly any incentive for me to tune in to that station. Music is important to me so what to do when I'm cooking?
Then :idea: I remembered I had an old USB FM transmitter. It still worked but I remembered that the downside was that whenever I wanted to pause or change a track etc then I'd have to charge upstairs and alter things in iTunes on the iMac. But maybe if I got an LMS player on the iMac......and maybe if iPeng running on the iPod Touch connected via wifi back to the iMac could control this LMS player then .....voila.
And it works !
If you've never played with Squeezebox or any of its variants then I thoroughly recommend trying it as the system is so damn flexible.
