streaming itunes outdoors

December 4, 2008 6:24 AM

How can I stream itunes outdoors?

Hubby would like to listen to his extensive itunes colletion whilst we enjoy a refreshing beverage on the patio. I would like to make this happen with an appropriate Christmas gift, but am somewhat overwhelmed by the options available (we're not the most computer savvy folks, but we can keep up most of the time). We have a Logitech wireless system linking our four personal PC's, and it's range does extend to the patio. He has mentioned buying outdoor speakers, but I can't find a permanent outdoor weatherproof solution to the wireless link. I've read previous posts, and it seems as if a Squeezebox Boom would be the easiest solution, and just carry it outdoors, like we do now with a boombox. Am I on the right track? Any other suggestions? Thanks a million, folks.

posted by raisingsand to computers & internet (14 comments total)

Screw wireless, just get some normal wire and run that from your computer (probably through a stereo amp first) to some weatherproofed speakers outside.

Low-tech rules.
posted by dunkadunc at 6:34 AM on December 4, 2008

I have a a little USB powered minjack to FM Radio transmitter that i use to 'broadcast' an itunes playlist from the computer room to a boombox FM radio elsewhere around the house.

it was about $10 on ebay.
posted by mary8nne at 7:01 AM on December 4, 2008

Not the cheapest solution, but if you can stream to an Apple Airport Express.
posted by General Malaise at 7:30 AM on December 4, 2008

Seconding dunkadunc's idea. It should work perfectly as long as you're OK with needing to go inside to control what's playing and possibly the volume.
posted by theichibun at 7:43 AM on December 4, 2008

The official supported way to do this is with an Airport Express connected to a stereo or speakers.

The nice thing about doing it this way is that iTunes will give you a pop-up menu letting you choose whether the sound comes out on the patio or inside or both. If you have a laptop, or an iPod touch or iPhone with the Remote application, or another cell phone with Salling Clicker, you can control the music wirelessly from outside as well.
posted by designbot at 7:52 AM on December 4, 2008

OP here:

I do have an iTouch (almost my favorite possession ever, no kidding) and I've checked out the Airport Express stuff, but I'm concerned about setup issues as we're PC, not Mac and some of the posts show some compatability issues. The way I understand it, you just plug in the Airport Express and wire the speakers to it and it finds your existing wireless network. I have an outside electrical outlet, but I would have to unwire the speakers and bring it inside after every use, right? The OUTSIDE issue is what's tripping me up. Because of the floor plan, running the speaker wire to outside speakers would be almost impossible, we've already tried to think that one through and hit a brick wall (literally). I could give you a long, drawn out explanation, but just trust me, we don't think it's viable because of the location of the patio.

So, can I trust the Airport Express to work with my Windows system? And how would I deal with the OUTSIDE issue?

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I would love to give my husband this seemingly simple thing for Christmas.
posted by raisingsand at 8:32 AM on December 4, 2008

ichibun: If you have a iPhone or an iPod Touch, you can use the free Remote plugin to control iTunes over the network.
posted by dunkadunc at 8:33 AM on December 4, 2008

As a regular Coverville listener, I have heard about the AudioEngine W1 dingus a few dozen times now. I don't have any personal experience with it, but I do have experience with a few cheaper gadgets that do similar things... or claim to. And my conclusion based on throwing money down the toilet is "don't cheap out on wireless transmitters and receivers."

In my house the Airport Express would probably be the way to go. Over Thanksgiving we were at a house with one where the owner had put it and some fairly inexpensive wireless speakers over the cabinet in the kitchen, plugged into a switched outlet. He wants music, he flips a switch which powers them up and then controls the output with iTunes and a laptop that usually lives nearby. The nice thing about the AE was that my brother could very easily connect to it and play things from his laptop's iTunes instance, despite never having used it in that house or any other AE anywhere.

In my house this would be nice since there's at least 4 machines that could be used for playback and my iPhone and the Remote app could drive them remotely. If control would be an issue for you then I think that Squeezebox boom would be a good solution, though having to run Yet Another Music App (the required SqueezeServer) would annoy me, personally, particularly if I'd have to install it in 4 places.

Alternately, if those four locations are running iTunes and can thereby have shared libraries you could get a cheap micro laptop like the Asus EEE for $300 or under and just use it as the audio source. If you're mac folk I see old 12" iBooks on ebay for $200. Neither are permanent installations but for me that would be a positive feature: I could take them into the yard for BBQs and the like.
posted by phearlez at 9:04 AM on December 4, 2008

I'm concerned about setup issues as we're PC, not Mac and some of the posts show some compatability issues.

The Airport Express is supposed to work with Windows as well as Macs. I'm not sure what compatibility issues you've seen, but if you're wary, you can buy it from some place like Amazon with a generous return policy.

I have an outside electrical outlet, but I would have to unwire the speakers and bring it inside after every use, right?

I wouldn't bother doing that, myself. Just leave it set up outside. The Airport Express is rated for operation from 32° to 95° F, and storage at -13° to 140° F. You might want to get a weatherproof outlet cover to protect against moisture. Cheapo speakers would probably work fine, but you could get outdoor speakers for greater durability.
posted by designbot at 9:13 AM on December 4, 2008

raisingsand - the Airport Express has a utility you use to configure it, and there's a version for both the PC and the Mac.

However the audio output it has is a 3.5 headphone jack, so you will need something to plug into it that accepts that. Meaning you need an amplified speaker set, not ones that use the traditional two-wire system. If your patio is reasonably weather-shielded, almost any computer speaker setup will work.

Personally I'd either feed that audio into a boom box that I could use more flexibly or I'd buy okay but cheap computer speakers for $25 that I could expose to the elements and not have to worry if they crapped out. But that's me, and I'm kinda ghetto. There are plenty of nicer outdoor speaker & amplifier solutions out there if you look at any stereo or boating supply store.
posted by phearlez at 9:14 AM on December 4, 2008

The Airport Express works fine with Windows and is no more complicated than any other wifi setup.

Since the signal coming out of the AX is just line-level, what I use is a 1/8"/3.5mm to RCA cable to plug the AX into the CD Input of the receiver that powers my speakers.
posted by rhizome at 12:38 PM on December 4, 2008

Every day, I walk into my house, flip on my iPhone to the Remote App, and start playing music from my iTunes on my computer in my room over my stereo in my living room through the Airport Express. It is the easiest thing in the world to set up. You plug it in, put the CD on your computer, it sets up automatically, then a little drop-down menu appears at the bottom of any iTunes on the network to allow play-through to the Airport. We're a Windows household, and it works perfectly. The Remote app is also really, really well designed and works like a charm.
posted by General Malaise at 1:50 PM on December 4, 2008

Thanks, you guys! I knew you would come through. I'm probably going with AE and the cool black Polk Audio Atrium Speakers, leaving it all outside except maybe in the winter, and using my iTouch with Remote to run it all. I'll lean on my neighborhood Radio Shack geeks to help me work it out, at least now I have the vocab to communicate in their language. The addition of the weatherproof outlet cover was the final piece. I love MetaFilter.
posted by raisingsand at 5:24 AM on December 5, 2008

If you are talking about this line of Atrium speakers you'll need one more component: some sort of amplifier. The only one in that line that is self-powered is the 45P, which says very stridently that it is indoor only.

You need some form of powered speaker that will accept line-level inputs. Running the output from a AE straight into a traditional unpowered speaker isn't going to get you anything but disappointment.

There's plenty of cheap amplifier options out there but if you're lookin at the Polk series I think you might not be happy with the cheapie stuff you'll likely get at Radio Shack.
posted by phearlez at 8:45 AM on December 5, 2008