Worse case scenario happened. The laptop I was using for a Songbird powered stereo had a sudden and massive hard drive crash. Nothing is recoverable, the drive isn’t even recognized.
It’s not the end of the world, I keep all the actual music files on a Drobo connected to a server in the basement. So those are relatively safe. But all the intangible stuff, like the meta data for ratings and playlists are gone. With over 18,000 tracks they’re not easy to get back.
But what to do now? I’m taking this as a sign to do something better. I’d prefer not to have a laptop just sitting in the living room any more. In the realm of Network Music Player there are only a few real choices:
- Logitech Squeezebox
- Roku Soundbridge
- Apple Airport Express
And they all have their problems. (And the Sonos is too expensive to even bother talking about.)
The Squeezebox hardware is pretty pricey and I don’t have an audio system on the main floor that could take advantage of the fidelity that they put out. Only one package has anything other then a text based screen with an IR remote. Ug. It also requires a service running on a computer somewhere. I tried installing it on the PowerMac I’m using as a server but it refuses to start. Not even an error message in the console to explain why. I’ve been able to get it running on other PC’s and the service interface is UGLY. The only playlist management is through reading an iTunes database. Ouch.
The Roku seems to be very tied to iTunes as well and the Firefly media server feels really bare-bones. After their new video player, I think this is being forgotten about.
The Airport Express is a nifty little device, but it’s specifically designed for iTunes. And if you want a controller for it, you need at least an iPod Touch.
I’m a very committed fan of Songbird, but I’m not left with many options for it. There’s a Songbird Remote for the iPod Touch, but Songbird still can’t “speak” through the Airport Express. Unless I get Airfoil as well – which will allow any app to pipe it’s sound through the Express.
Sounds good, right? Well then there’s the issue of Songbird not having a PowerPC build anymore. There was someone who was producing their own PowerPC package, but I don’t know if it’s still being maintained. Then there’s the question if all the extensions and addons will work with it as well.
I picked up a Airport Express to try out and so I’d be able to play something on the main floor. It’s streaming from iTunes on a everyday laptop for now, but it is working. And it gives me Wireless-N to boot. But it’s still not Songbird and all the flexibility that comes with it.
So, to get everything working just right I need a PowerPC version of Songbird, an iPod Touch, Airfoil, Songbird Remote iPod app and Songbird Extention.
What could possibly go wrong with that?
*sigh*
Tags: Airport Express, Apple, drive crash, Drobo, Hardware, iPod, iPod Touch, iTunes, media server, Music, playlist management, PowerMac, Roku, Songbird, Sonos, Squeezebox
You might want to try a Squeezebox Boom. It has speakers with plenty of power and good sound quality. Also, if you have an iPhone, you can try a number of different iPhone apps that turn the iPhone into a remote control. The Squeezebox Boom also works with the Squeezebox Controller. It’s wireless so let’s you control one or more Squeezeboxes from anywhere in your home.
And of course with any Squeezebox you get access to a world of music from Pandora, Slacker, last.fm, Rhapsody, Napster, Classical.com, SIRIUS Internet Radio, Mediafly, RadioIO and the tens of thousands of Internet radio stations. So when your hard drive crashes, you can still listen to great music.
As for getting the s/w to work on your powermac, that’s an interesting question as that configuration is supported and should work. I suggest you try technical support and see if they can set you straight. Another option is to store your music on a NAS drive which runs the Squeezebox software. There are several makers out there that support it (Netgear ReadyNAS, Exito Bubba, Synology, QNap and others).
Matt Cuson
Director of Business Development
Streaming Media Business Unit
Logitech
Hi Matt, thanks for taking the time to scour the internet for little posts like mine. (Or more realistically, a Google Blogs alert, but it’s the thought that counts!)
I am a fan of the Squeezebox hardware and Logitech’s decision to keep SqueezeCenter Open Source when it was bought.
The Boom is a nice piece of equipment and since it’s the only device with actual buttons to press it is unique. (No “Where’s the remote?!” moments.) But when we moved into this house I installed speaker wire through the walls to create a “distributed” sound on the main floor. Each of the two central areas have 4 speakers apiece. The end result is that it has a nice even sound level everywhere without having to turn the music up very much. It’s great for when we have people over – the music doesn’t drown out the conversation. Sure the speakers themselves are only Creative Labs satellites but they work well enough. (And no wires on the floors!) So the Boom’s speakers would only be used if I took it outside – which is not an insignificant feature.
Does the Squeezebox receiver work with no controller, other then an iPod Touch?
That would probably be the best solution for me, but then what would be the point of it? The receiver is still nearly double that of a Airport Express with less overall features. (Save for what I imagine would be technically better sound reproduction, but until I can upgrade the audio equipment I have I doubt I’d hear a difference.)
And then we come to SqueezeCenter. When I first moved in about 3 years ago I was chomping at the bit for a Squeezebox device. Then I downloaded the software for it. Ug. SqueezeCenter is probably the biggest reason, even more than price, that I’ve never pulled the trigger and gotten a Squeezebox. I’ve just downloaded the Windows version and trying it out on my laptop I have rediscovered my dislike of it.
The interface is just painful, and the weak integration with iTunes just pours salt in the wound. Unless I’m missing something you can’t even set a rating from the Squeezebox itself. It’s like driving a Hummer without power steering, all this power but it’s just too difficult to get it pointed in the right direction.
As for Pandora, Slacker and the rest, I’m in Canada and most (if not all) of those services are neutered North of the 49th Parallel. You can’t imagine how stunted my social education is without access to Hulu.
I really, *really* want to like Squeezebox but I need a better way to manage things. I’m no fan of iTunes, but Apple gives a very easy interface to everything and if come across a random song playing I can quickly set a rating for more frequent playing. Which is exactly what I want.
If only I didn’t have to use iTunes.
Does Logitech have any plans to use the Open nature of Songbird as an auxiliary interface for SqueezeCenter?
Or, ideally, bypass SqueezeCenter all together and have Squeezeboxes run off of Songbird. *That*, I’d pay the extra cost for easily.
I don’t mean to come off just complaining about Squeezebox products, if I didn’t have high hopes for them I wouldn’t care enough to highlight the problems I have with them. You should hear my incessant whining on the Songbird forums: http://getsatisfaction.com/people/wayne_74461 (Including asking for support for Squeezeboxes.
)
Thanks,
Wayne
Wayne,
I appreciate your situation. I can’t offer solutions for all your requests but we have a couple things you can still try. First, download our nightly build for the next version of SqueezeCenter s/w. You’re not the first to complain about the UI of the s/w. We’re addressing that and you can see some of the changes in the latest version. Let us know what you think.
Your Songbird suggestion is a good one. We’ll look into it. Feel free to add such requests to our bugbase at bugzilla.slimdevices.com.
We can support music in other libraries besides iTunes. Pick your library and playlist locations under the Basic tab of SqueezeCenter. Your Songbird folder might just work. Or you can also run something like MusicIP.
As for the receiver working standalone, I’m sorry to say that you need a Controller to do the initial set up. You’re not able to use the iPhone app to set up a controller from scratch.