Here I go again... streaming

Dan.Scott1234 · 30-10-2009, 12:15 PM

OK well here's the back story-

I've been streaming music for a couple of years now mainly just in one room although that might change in the future.

I have used Apple TV's (Returned to Apple) and the iPhone remote app as I already have a Mac Mini server and used to have Airport Express' (They have since both gone pop)

At the moment I have the Mac Mini connected via optical into my Beresford DAC controlled via my iPhone (That may become a Naim DAC if they'd hurry up and release the damn thing

)

About a year ago I had a Sonos bundle pack but struggled to justify the cost over the Apple kit I already owned, plus the CR100 controller was pretty dated compared to the iPhone remote app. This has now changed of course with the CR200 and iPhone Sonos controller.

Anyway I'm once again looking at solutions and what's best in my case. I'm very happy with the iPhone remote app but would like remote access to a hosted music service - Spotify has got me hooked and whilst no-one has access to it yet I could give the Napster £5 a month service a go. Also I'd like to be able to build playlists on the go which is a badly missing feature of the Apple remote app.

How is the Napster functionality on Squeeze / Sonos? I've read it can be slow to search? any owners shed any light on how it all works?

Is Napster available from iPeng and how is iPeng to use compared to say Apple remote / Sonos controller for iPhone etc?

I'm thinking of installing Squeezeserver/centre/whatever it's called now on my Mac Mini and Softsqueeze so I can try iPeng that way - worst case scenario I'm down £7 ish.

What do you all think?

Cheers
Dan

nacmacfeegle · 30-10-2009, 12:57 PM

"I'm thinking of installing Squeezeserver/centre/whatever it's called now on my Mac Mini and Softsqueeze so I can try iPeng that way - worst case scenario I'm down £7 ish."

I'd recommend you do exactly that.
I've been using napster on my squeezies since about April. I was using the free one month trial until they finally caught up with me this week! I'll be signing up this weekend to the 5/month deal.
Napster is a joy to use with Ipeng, fairly quick to find stuff, faster once you have added items to your online library (more like preferences). You even get the artwork on the Ipeng, and you can run it via the domestic based server and via the Squeezenetwork (AKA mysqueezebox.com), which is better described as the internet based server.

If your dithering , dither not, 6 quid for the Ipeng, and a fiver for the napster trial would be well worth trying out before committing to Sonos/Squeeze set up.

Whilst your at it you may as well sign up to LastFM which is free, and also integrates well with Ipeng and the Squeezies.

neilball · 30-10-2009, 1:30 PM

With a reasonable internet connection I find little, if any, lag when using Napster via my CR200 - album art sometimes takes a little time to appear when viewing a list of albums following a search but at most it is only a second or two and does not prevent me scrolling up or down the text list in the meantime. It really makes little or no difference whether I'm searching my own library or Napster, they both seem about as quick as each other.

*gavan* · 30-10-2009, 2:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan.Scott1234

How is the Napster functionality on Squeeze / Sonos? I've read it can be slow to search? any owners shed any light on how it all works?

Is Napster available from iPeng and how is iPeng to use compared to say Apple remote / Sonos controller for iPhone etc?

I'm thinking of installing Squeezeserver/centre/whatever it's called now on my Mac Mini and Softsqueeze so I can try iPeng that way - worst case scenario I'm down £7 ish.

What do you all think?

Cheers
Dan

Napster integrates very well on Squeezebox. It's very similar to browsing your own music library but you are restricted to browsing under Artist, Genre or Song title. No 'album' category, which is a little annoying when you add a compilation album and your artist list swells making finding an album through the 'artist' list a chore.

Also, adding new music to your Napster library is best done on a web browser rather than through the Squeezebox menus and remote control.

Napster plays just fine using the iPeng interface too. With the larger screen and smooth scrolling it makes navigating the library easier.

Dan.Scott1234 · 30-10-2009, 4:36 PM

Thanks for the input so far guys. I'm going to buy a copy of iPeng this weekend and install Slimserver/softsqueeze on my Mac Mini to test things out.

Will softsqueeze give me a fair representation of SB3/Classic functionality or will it be a bit slow/clunky? Indeed with my Mac Mini next to my hifi would I even need a squeezebox in the lounge or would I just be able to use Softsqueeze?

Also, out of interest what's squeezenetwork / mysqueezebox.com?

Sonos still looks very slick (Yes I am a sucker for advertising

)

Cheers
Dan (Did I get enough squeeze's in that post hehe)

*gavan* · 30-10-2009, 5:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan.Scott1234

Thanks for the input so far guys. I'm going to buy a copy of iPeng this weekend and install Slimserver/softsqueeze on my Mac Mini to test things out.

Will softsqueeze give me a fair representation of SB3/Classic functionality or will it be a bit slow/clunky? Indeed with my Mac Mini next to my hifi would I even need a squeezebox in the lounge or would I just be able to use Softsqueeze?

Also, out of interest what's squeezenetwork / mysqueezebox.com?

Sonos still looks very slick (Yes I am a sucker for advertising

)

Cheers
Dan (Did I get enough squeeze's in that post hehe)

Softsqueeze is certainly a pretty good representation of using a Squeezebox 3. It emulates the user interface very well.

However it doesn't work with Napster or Last.fm, or at least the setup I have on my PC doesn't. Maybe some more configuration is needed - I didn't get into it too much as I was just playing around with it.

I think there's another software player that does work with those services - I saw it when I was doing some browsing, however I can't remember the name.

Dan.Scott1234 · 30-10-2009, 5:18 PM

Damn, without Napster support that will be a shame as it's one of the things I would like to test. Anyone have any ideas?

**amcluesent** · 30-10-2009, 6:03 PM

>however I can't remember the name<

Squeezeplay probably, which is the firmware in the Touch and Controller. However AFAIK they've only cross-compiled it as a Win32 binary.

Dan.Scott1234 · 30-10-2009, 6:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amcluesent

>however I can't remember the name<

Squeezeplay probably, which is the firmware in the Touch and Controller. However AFAIK they've only cross-compiled it as a Win32 binary.

I'll take a look, I've got a testbed laptop running Win7 Enterprise at the moment that I can chuck it on if need be.

coolio107 · 30-10-2009, 6:26 PM

I believe you need a hardware player to be able to use the services.

Druboo · 30-10-2009, 7:02 PM

Napster will definitely play on my SoftSqueeze (I'm listening to it as I type)

SoftSqueeze 3.9b1 Squeezebox Server7.4.2 Ubuntu Server 9.10

Dan.Scott1234 · 30-10-2009, 9:28 PM

nothing but problems so far!!

Bought iPeng, installed squeezecenter and first squeezeplay and now softsqueeze.

When I try to play Napster files (I've paid for a month of Napster and account is logged in successfully) no sound is heard, and the track skips to the next in the queue after a few seconds of no sound.

Any ideas?

Squeezeplay just doesn't seem to want to work at all - says that the player is already registered to another account when I try to access My Apps so I have to uninstall and reinstall then launch napster to be able to see it.

I'll keep persevering!

Dan.Scott1234 · 30-10-2009, 9:45 PM

OK Napster definitely isn't working - I can browse all the tracks but they won't play - just silence. Tried on Slimserver / Softsqueeze installed on Windows and Mac - same thing.

Log into Napster - Plays just fine on the web so no issues with the account etc.

Any ideas anyone?

Dan.Scott1234 · 30-10-2009, 10:34 PM

OK after a bit of rejigging/installing/hair pulling I've got napster working (Not quite sure how but hey-ho.

One thing when using iPeng if I put the add track to playlist mode in + (ie it should add the track to the end of the playlist) and then select a track it is putting the whole album in the playlist?

If i click the + in Squeezeserver web interface then it works as it should.

Anyone know why iPeng is adding the whole album?

Dan.Scott1234 · 31-10-2009, 2:37 PM

OK i'm going to try to call a hifi dealer I've bought bits from in the past and see if they've got a ZP80 / 90 I can borrow for the day see how I get on with the Sonos iPhone app.

I've been using iPeng but I just can't see my other half getting on with it. Every now and then it loses the player and has to be restarted. Functionality is there but it's all a little fragile.

With a bit of luck I can test the Sonos for nothing if not I may end up just buying a ZP90 and see how I get on. Resale values look pretty good so if I did end up selling I shouldn't lose too much.

Dan.Scott1234 · 31-10-2009, 4:42 PM

OK I now have a ZP80 that my local hifi dealer has leant me for a few days.

It has taken approximately 7.5 minutes to get my whole music library indexed, Napster playing out flawlessly and a playlist saved.

Very cool iPhone app and safe to say I'm pretty sold on the comparison between the two solutions. Yes I know it's unfair to compare a software emulated squeezebox with an actual Sonos zone player but it's not a million miles off.

The Sonos iPhone app is very impressive (Especially for free) I'm building playlists, listening to radio stations, browsing Napster all with no learning curve. I had a quick go with the CR200 in the shop and it's very impressive - if I used the system a lot I'd definitely consider one but to start with the iPhone remote is more than adequate. I get the missing functionality from the Apple remote - mainly playlist building and music service integration.

I seem to be reaching to myself mainly on this thread but hopefully it may benefit others in the future.

I'm off for a listen

coolio107 · 31-10-2009, 6:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan.Scott1234

Anyone know why iPeng is adding the whole album?

Not that you would care anymore :-)
But that's actually a bug in the current Squeezebox Server incarnation (7.4). Fixed in recent betas.
Bug 14848 – Rhapsody menus don't add single track through SqueezePlay

coolio107 · 31-10-2009, 6:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan.Scott1234

I've been using iPeng but I just can't see my other half getting on with it. Every now and then it loses the player and has to be restarted. Functionality is there but it's all a little fragile.

Could you elaborate a bit on what was happening then? That should not be and I haven't seen that myself.

Dan.Scott1234 · 03-11-2009, 11:27 AM

Sorry for the delay I missed the update email - basically I just didn't like the interface very much and sometimes it would say that it could not contact the player forcing a restart of iPeng. I'm sure that issue would not happen with a physical Squeezebox and was more down to me using Softsqueeze.

I just prefer the Sonos remote interface and had it all setup in no-time. I'm definitely going to buy a ZP90 although I now find myself wanting a CR200 as well

coolio107 · 03-11-2009, 1:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan.Scott1234

it would say that it could not contact the player forcing a restart of iPeng.

I understood that you didn't like it and that's of course OK.
However, I would still like to understand what happened there.
I don't know of a scenario where iPeng would lose connection to a PLAYER and a restart of iPeng would help. So I'd like to understand this.
There can be issues about connecting to the server, sometimes the connection can be down when WiFi gets shut off by the device (actually I find that to be worse using the Sonos app) or the software player could crash and you have to restart the player.
And then there is an issue with DHCP servers that are not detected automatically and you might have to starts the app twice to connect to the server unless you activate a "forget last server" option in settings. could it be this? But this only happens when your server's IP address has changed.

But a scenario where the player disconnects or becomes unavailable DURING OPERATION and a restart of iPeng actually helps is unknown to me. Which is why I would like to understand it.
What exactly did it say? Where? And what did you see? Do you remember that?

Wazza69 · 03-11-2009, 3:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan.Scott1234

I just prefer the Sonos remote interface and had it all setup in no-time. I'm definitely going to buy a ZP90 although I now find myself wanting a CR200 as well

Hi Dan (again!),

Did you find out what the difference in functionality is between the CR200 and the iPhone app? I have only seen the demos but they look broadly similar to me

Waz

Dan.Scott1234 · 04-11-2009, 7:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wazza69

Hi Dan (again!),

Did you find out what the difference in functionality is between the CR200 and the iPhone app? I have only seen the demos but they look broadly similar to me

Waz

Hey Waz! Yeah the functionality is the same. With the CR200 you get some physical buttons for volume, mute and zones and the UI is a bit cleaner. Also the response time is a bit quicker.

There's nothing wrong with the iPhone app whatsoever in my testing although, the CR200 us just a cool gadget

I've got to take the ZP80 that borrowed back tomorrow

Better work out what bits to buy!

Dan.Scott1234 · 04-11-2009, 7:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolio107

But a scenario where the player disconnects or becomes unavailable DURING OPERATION and a restart of iPeng actually helps is unknown to me. Which is why I would like to understand it.
What exactly did it say? Where? And what did you see? Do you remember that?

There's nothing more to say than what I've said already... I'd pick up my iPhone and in the bottom left of the screen where it shows you the selected SB / Softsqueeze it said something like 'no player selected'

As I've already said - probably has something to do with using a Java emulated Squeezebox. My Wife is very happy with using the Sonos system - that's the main thing as I don't get moaned at for wasting money!