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Thread: Media Streaming Options

  1. #11
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: Switerland

    Posts: 1,199
    I'm rupert.

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    Quote Originally Posted by diceman View Post
    B) The NAS/SBT need rebooting in the event of a power outage (which is relatively frequent here although I guess I coudl live with it).
    To avoid a corrupted filesystem on the NAS you should maybe consider something like an APC Battery backup to bridge the power outages. Power the router, the SBT and the NAS with it. They come quite cheap these days (sub 100 EU).

    On the hardware side, I am a great fan of a Pi based system with an onboard DAC. They are easy to set up and very robust (i.e. they will run for weeks without any problems.)

  2. #12
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Gloucestershire

    Posts: 977
    I'm Ian.

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    Quote Originally Posted by simon g View Post
    Bluesound Vault will do all that, and more. Very easy to use and operate. Will also stream Tidal and the likes, if of interest. Whether it's a sensible price is one for you to decide

    I prefer the App and UI of the Aries Mini. You can install a hard drive in these (I use a SSD) and they act as their own server. And it's very fast indeed. Re indexes are very swift, when needed. It'll also play from your NAS, although indexing from that is much slower. You could rip to the installed hard drive using your existing set up, but just change the target location where files are stored to the Aries Mini drive (it just shows up on your network as a NAS). The Mini will also output via USB, which can be useful in some set ups. Both will output via coax and Toslink SP/DIF. Both work very well and I've never had any problems at all setting them up and the like.

    Either of the above can be backed up in the normal way as they both just appear as drives.
    Hi Simon,
    I've read about the Aries mini before and it looks an interesting solution. At the moment I use a dedicated Vortexbox which works very well but I've noticed a drop off in activity around this system including fewer sellers of ready-made Vortexboxes. The one big advantage I can see for the Vortexbox is it's ability to rip CDs. If I went down this route I'd want it to be a standalone unit with its own storage but how do I get new recordings on to it? I'm assuming I'd have to rip to my laptop then transfer them which is a bit messy compared to simply sliding the CD into the Vortexbox.

    Cheers, Ian

  3. #13
    Join Date: Feb 2017

    Location: Poole

    Posts: 27
    I'm Colin.

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    Subsonic is the way to go for streaming in the house or out and about.

    $12 a year to stream outside home network, free inside home network

    App you install on PC/Mac/linux/server, tell it what folders to watch and a time you spec (like 3am) it'll scour the network for changes.

    You can set bitrates and users and what folders they can/'t see (when remote or not)

    DL app to phone/pad log in and listen, either via wifi or mobile (it chews mobile data - I use about 1.5gb a day streaming from home to my phone)

    my own tidal/netflix all rolled into one for $12 a year.

  4. #14
    Join Date: Dec 2010

    Location: Surrey

    Posts: 135
    I'm jp.

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    The vortexbox options do look favourable although I suspect a fair amount of tinkering to get the bugger to work unless you purchase a readybuilt unit.

  5. #15
    Join Date: May 2016

    Location: Gloucestershire

    Posts: 977
    I'm Ian.

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    For the Vortexbox you'll also need a USB DAC if you want to link direct to your amplifier.

  6. #16
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Valley of the Hazels

    Posts: 9,139
    I'm AMusicFanNotAnAudiophile.

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    Reading this ...
    Ideally I'd like an all in one that
    will rip CDs,
    incorporate the HD/storage (I'd probably look at SSD now),
    has a facility to easily navigate music choices remotely via tablet or mobile phone (definitely not TV screen and ideally not a touchscreen located on the device.)
    Has digital co-ax out to feed a DAC located on the other side of the room.
    ...makes me think you're not all that interested in trying to get your existing setup working properly, so I hope you understand my reluctance to get too embroiled.

    There's nothing wrong with a Squeezebox Touch, especially when it's set up properly in an appropriate environment.
    Chris



    Common sense isn't anymore!

  7. #17
    Join Date: Dec 2010

    Location: Surrey

    Posts: 135
    I'm jp.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stratmangler View Post
    Reading this ...

    ...makes me think you're not all that interested in trying to get your existing setup working properly, so I hope you understand my reluctance to get too embroiled.

    There's nothing wrong with a Squeezebox Touch, especially when it's set up properly in an appropriate environment.
    I've lived with it for many years. I understand that it may come across as "I can't be arsed" and to be honest it is close to that but more " I have young children now and don't have as much/sufficient time to research all my options and set out on a path of discovery as I once did :-) I'm thinking about the pain I went through with EAC ripping all my CDs, tagging, XBMC PC build and setup (at considerable cost, time and just finding it clunky in my admittedly poor setup choice). There was probably a couple of montsh of evenings spent doing all that and my evenings are no longer as long :-)

    If I could get the SBT setup to work more reliably and a bit more responsive it is probably the path of least resistance (which maybe I am now more in-tune with current options I can reconsider).

    I guess I had hoped that something like the original Meridan all in one setup was now much much cheaper (as I had hoped) then jumping ship would have been a path of least resistance.

    Would ditching the NAS/router and using a USB SSD drive help or is that totally the wrong way to go? IIRC the NAS has SB Server running on it rather than the SBT (I have tried both) - no idea which is better or what are the limitations TBH but both seemed fine when working well and froze when not.

    I'd appreciate some input if you feel I have cocked up somewhere :-)

    PS - whilst I don't post much here I have been active for a fair few years elsewhere (can't be bothered with the politics anymore there) and a few of the members know me, I am not just passing through so to speak.

  8. #18
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Valley of the Hazels

    Posts: 9,139
    I'm AMusicFanNotAnAudiophile.

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    I've had an extremely reliable and user friendly NAS/Squeezebox setup running for a good many years.
    My son has had no difficulty getting music to play when he has wanted it to from around the age of six (he's doing his GCSEs at present).

    A question about your NAS.
    Is it running LMS (Logitech Media Server)?
    It's useful to know where your server is being run from, because the Touch player can be run off an embedded internal server too, which as you can appreciate sometimes makes it difficult to diagnose problems.

    If your server is being run on the NAS, then it's useful to know what the NAS IP address is.
    If you connect to the network to which the NAS is connected, open your web browser, and type in the server IP address, adding the suffix :9000 you will find that you have web browser control of the players connected to that server, and also means that you can browse the file system for your music.
    On my network the NAS server is on 192.168.0.16 , so to access LMS I need to have 192.168.0.16:9000 in my browser's address bar.

    There are several ways to browse - I tend to go for Artist, but it's also possible to use playlists.
    As you have ripped the majority of your CDs to WAV you'll find your options slightly limited, as WAV files carry no metadata for the server to utilise.

    Most of the time, both my son and I control the respective players from a web browser. We both have a Squeezebox tab set up on our web browsers.

    I do have an app on my Smartphone that can control the players too, but I use it far less than the web browser option, and of course there's the infra red remote controls, and the touch sensitive screen to navigate the players too.

    Have a play with what I've covered so far, and let me know how you get on
    Chris



    Common sense isn't anymore!

  9. #19
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Coventry

    Posts: 3,039
    I'm Will.

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    Quote Originally Posted by diceman View Post
    I've lived with it for many years. I understand that it may come across as "I can't be arsed" and to be honest it is close to that but more " I have young children now and don't have as much/sufficient time to research all my options and set out on a path of discovery as I once did :-) I'm thinking about the pain I went through with EAC ripping all my CDs, tagging, XBMC PC build and setup (at considerable cost, time and just finding it clunky in my admittedly poor setup choice). There was probably a couple of montsh of evenings spent doing all that and my evenings are no longer as long :-)

    If I could get the SBT setup to work more reliably and a bit more responsive it is probably the path of least resistance (which maybe I am now more in-tune with current options I can reconsider).
    AS Chris states, plus a few other suggestions...

    1. Use dbPoweramp to rip, its tagging, artwork, and accurate rip capabilities are much better than EAC...

    2. You can easily 'beef up' LMS performance by installing piCoreplayer/LMS on a Rpi3, then point it at your NAS music library...my pi3 did a complete new index build of 3k flac cds in under 30 mins, and a new music rescan in under 3 mins, faster than when I ran LMS on my NAS.

    3. Use a smartphone app to control it all, my preference is 'Orange Squeeze' but there are plenty of options

    4. Staying with an open source architecture future proofs you, and allows you the flexibility of Rpi/DIY clients and players too...LMS now has end point for Chromecast Audio
    Cheers, Will

  10. #20
    Join Date: Dec 2010

    Location: Surrey

    Posts: 135
    I'm jp.

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    Presumably there is no direct way to attach the hard drive with media on it to the RPI? Thereby doing away with the NAS and network switch.

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