How can I stream MP3s wirelessly using my mix-and-match technology?

October 26, 2005 10:07 AM

What's a good solution to wirelessly play MP3s on my stereo though my mix-and-match collection of technology?

I currently use a three year old 1GHz Titanium Powerbook with a 40 Gig hard drive that's fairly full. I connect to the net in my home wirelessly through my wife's Belkin wireless router she uses for her business, which is PC based.

I plan to purchase a 200 Gig external hard drive to rip and store my collection of 300+ CDs. I then want to connect my laptop to it and somehow be able to stream music wirelessly to our stereo in the other room.

I've read about Apple's Airport with AirTunes, and can see how the two work together, but I don't need another wireless router - and I need to be able to do all this without disturbing my wife's business or creating PC/Mac compatability issues.

Is there a gadget I can get similar to AirTunes that can make this work with the wireless router we already have? I realize I could just hook my laptop and external hard drive directly to my stereo, but I want to keep my computer and drive in our home office. Cost isn't really the issue. I just want to make this happen without having to disturb the wireless setup we already have.

Thanks in advance for any insights or solutions.

posted by jeff-o-matic to computers & internet (21 comments total)

The Airport Express (which you mentioned) is really well suited to the mix of technology you have. It'll mesh in with your existing wireless network (or join it as a client), and will show up in iTunes as a "speaker".

If your stereo system is also your TV center, getting a Series 2 Tivo and USB Wireless interface is a good option. Tivo's mp3 player intergrates well with iTunes.
posted by Laen at 10:19 AM on October 26, 2005

So, I'd have to buy the Airport Express with Airtunes, and just use the Airtunes piece alone? It will automatically work with a Belkin router?

I guess this is really the heart of my question - Will Airtunes work with a Belkin router and be recognized by the iTunes on my laptop?
posted by jeff-o-matic at 10:27 AM on October 26, 2005

I'm using a Squeezebox2 from Slim Devices. It looks like the product line has marched on - the newest, unnumbered version looks pretty sharp.

Basically, you run a server program on your Windows/Mac OS X/ Linux box, and the client device wirelessly connects to it and streams music from your hard drive. Music selection can be done by the client, on the server machine, or by any machine that can open a browser and hit the server machine.

I picked it mainly because it support Ogg Vorbis as well as MP3, but I've actually started ripping to FLAC, which it also supports. It also supports AAC, which might be a good thing for an Apple person like yourself, and according to the sidebar on this page, it integrates well with iTunes.
posted by flipper at 10:29 AM on October 26, 2005

I have an older Slim Devices unit that I'm enormously pleased with. Their newer models are probably even better with iTunes integration and wireless options available.

One great thing about it is that the entire thing is open-source, including the server software that you run on your computer.
posted by odinsdream at 10:29 AM on October 26, 2005

Sure. The Airport Express can join your Belkin's wireless network as a client. As long as your laptop is joined to the same network, it'll see the Airport Express and it'll just show up in your iTunes.
posted by Laen at 10:31 AM on October 26, 2005

I use an Airport Express in a very similar configuration. (AE acting as a client on an existing wireless network). It works like a champ.
posted by I Love Tacos at 10:37 AM on October 26, 2005

Roku Labs' Soundbridge M500 is really cheap (I just got an offer in email the other day selling it for $99) that will jack into your wireless net and use either iTunes or Slim Server's software (downloadable from their site). I have two of the M1000's (display is the only diff) and they work great.
posted by DandyRandy at 10:45 AM on October 26, 2005

Thanks.

Everything I've read about AirTunes described it when running with an AirPort, and never with another kind of router. I guess I'll go with this combo, and just leave the AirPort portion of my purchase in the box.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 10:53 AM on October 26, 2005

I second the SlimServer. You can find some on eBay for <$100.
posted by noahv at 10:55 AM on October 26, 2005

SlimServer and Roku are both worlds better than the Airport/iTunes combination as far as functionality (you can walk up to the stereo and change the tunes without using a computer, or you can use a browser from anywher, or even a remote), compatibility (FLAC, AAC, MP3, WMV, and for Roku at least, even the PlaysForSure DRM that Napster/Yahoo! are using), and avoidance of planned obsolescence (with everything required to make it run available as open source, you don't have to worry about your vendor abandoning support of your unit for the next generation.)

If your question is "Will an Airport/AirTunes work in my Belkin/PC environment" the answer is yes, it'll work fine. If your question is "Is AirTunes the best tool for the job I have" the answer is probably no.
posted by toxic at 11:16 AM on October 26, 2005

jeff-o-matic writes "Everything I've read about AirTunes described it when running with an AirPort, and never with another kind of router."

Just to be clear, "AirTunes" is the name of the protocol used to stream the music; it's the format the music is encoded in as it streams through the air. The name of the device you're interested in is the "AirPort Express". The AirPort Express can act as a wireless router, but it also has a mode in which it just sits in a wireless network, receiving music from your computers and sending that music to your stereo. That's the mode that you'll want to use.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:18 AM on October 26, 2005

just leave the AirPort portion of my purchase in the box

I think you may be a little confused about what AirTunes is. It's a single box, which acts as both a wireless router (that's the "AirPort" part) and can do the airtunes thing (which is just a mini audio out, plus the software that lets iTunes find it on the network.) You can connect it to any existing network either via ethernet or wireless.
posted by ook at 11:23 AM on October 26, 2005

looks like I took too long typing that out...
posted by ook at 11:28 AM on October 26, 2005

If you have songs bought from the iTMS, the Apple solution is the only one that will play them.
posted by smackfu at 11:41 AM on October 26, 2005

If you want to try and skimp, you can always go buy an FM transmitter (like the iTrip that people buy to play mp3 players in their cars. I think if you hook it up to your headphones jack (just like it'd fit into your headphones jack on your cd player/mp3 player for the car), it should work. Work well? I'm not entirely sure about that, but I managed to jerryrigg something like this before using a cheap transmitter on my iPod that the stereo picked up.

Quality differs, I learned, so if you're an audiophile, you may want to go with these more expensive ideas. The general range also varies for these things as well.

But basically, all you need to do is plug the thing into your powerbook, tune your stereo to the right station, and voila, problem solved.
posted by Atreides at 1:01 PM on October 26, 2005

I've been using a Roku for a while and love it. Since I don't want to keep iTunes running 24/7, I have mt-daapd running on my linux server.

I've never been happy with the quality of FM transmitters, even in my car let alone at home. If you go that route you may want to try it out first at someone's home or make sure there is a return policy.
posted by beowulf573 at 2:02 PM on October 26, 2005

Wow. I was very unclear on how AirPort worked. It doesn't make sense to me-- If it needs to be connected to a cable modem AND your stereo via cables, you can't have it connected via ethernet cable to a desktop computer, unless it's close to the stereo! (Or, unless you have a really long cable, which seems kind of silly)

I'm going to look into the Roku SoundBridge. Looks like a better option so far.
posted by jeff-o-matic at 2:22 PM on October 26, 2005

When I evaluated these things a few months ago I decided that the Roku SoundBridge was better than the SlimServer option. The key for me was that the SoundBridge could play net radio stations without involving a computer. I really hate having to install some buggy server software just to get a device to work. Things may have changed by now but on balance I think the Roku devices are better all around. I love mine.
posted by intermod at 8:08 PM on October 26, 2005

If it needs to be connected to a cable modem AND your stereo via cables, you can't have it connected via ethernet cable to a desktop computer, unless it's close to the stereo!

Nope, you're still a bit mixed up - the device you want is an Airport Express. You can just plug it into a power socket near your stereo and hook it up using a minijack-to-phono cable, then after setting it up to join the network (the one you're on thanks to your wife's router), which takes two minutes tops, the Airport Express will show up in iTunes as a 'speaker' you can play through. In other words, an Airport Express definitely doesn't need to be connected to your modem.

The setup you're after is identical to what I have running here at home with an Airport Express, and it works so well I'm tempted to get another one so I can stream to the bedroom as well as the living room from my office.

Also, if you do go this route, you might want to check out Airfoil which lets you stream any audio to your Airport Express, not just iTunes and Salling Clicker, which lets you use a mobile 'phone as a Bluetooth remote control for iTunes.
posted by jack_mo at 6:14 AM on October 27, 2005

I should've just linked to the Airport Express page, which explains the above a lot better:

All you have to do is connect your sound system to the audio port on the AirPort Express Base Station using an audio cable (included in the optional AirPort Express Stereo Connection Kit) and AirTunes lets you play your iTunes music through your stereo or powered speakers — wirelessly. iTunes automatically detects the connection of your remote speakers, so you just have to select them in the popup list that appears at the bottom of the iTunes window and click play.

Or, you know, what Laen said in the first answer.
posted by jack_mo at 6:17 AM on October 27, 2005

x-ing the Squeezebox. They're the dog's bollocks. I also find the display easier to read from across the room than the Roku, though I'm only using a first gen Roku and a brand new Squeezebox so the display may have improved recently.
posted by blag at 2:21 PM on October 27, 2005