View Full Version : Does Boom play the music on my computer?
Hi!
I´m thinking of buying a Boom this week.
But I need to be sure of a few things first:
I have a computer in my livingroom that is attached to my amplifier with speakers.
I want to have my boom in my kitchen and be able to play music in both the kitchen and the livingroom.
So my question is:
1. If I start playing music on my computer in Windows Mediaplayer, will it play in the kitchen?
2. If I start playing music on the boom in the kitchen will it also be played on my computer in my livingroom?
3. Can I play music only in the kitchen (MP3s on my computer in the livingroom) and at the same time watch a DVD on the computer in the livingroom?
Very thankfull for an answer!
androidtopp
2008-10-01, 10:37
A Boom plus SqueezeCenter plus SoftSqueeze (a free software emulator of a SqueezeBox) will do what you need. So, to answer your questions:
1)No. I don't think Windows Media Player will sync with your Boom. However, if you use SoftSqueeze on your PC, you can play music there and have it sync with your Boom in the kitchen. So if your Boom is synced with the SoftSqueeze, and you start something on the SoftSqueeze instance, they'll both begin playing. All of this is controlled within the sync settings of SqueezeCenter. You can sync and unsync players from the device menus themselves, but not modify some of the more advanced sync settings.
2)Similar to the above, if SoftSqueeze is running and synced to your Boom, you should be able to start playing on the Boom and have the SoftSqueeze fire up as well.
3)Absolutely - Unsync the players (or just close SoftSqueeze) and your Boom will stream media from your PC, while the PC plays the DVD in the living room. I'm assuming your PC is powerful enough to both feed data to the Boom and play back the DVD, but I don't think you'll have any trouble.
Andrew
All the software for the Boom is free so if you want you can try before you buy. Download and install Squeezecenter on your PC and then try running softsqueeze. Other than Rhapsody support (which softsqueeze can't do right now), it works almost exactly like the boom would.
(BTW if you do end up buying a boom I'm guessing it won't be long before you want a Squeezebox for your living room so you can move the computer somewhere else!)
Thank you guys for your quick and precise answers.
Sounds like the softsqueze will do the trick for me.
I use the computer as a mediacenter for watching TV etc. So I need it in my livingroom.
So does this mean that I have to give up playing mp3s in WMP if I wan´t it to sync with my boom?
Will I be playing my tunes in Squeeze center instead of WMP?
Thank you guys for your quick and precise answers.
Sounds like the softsqueze will do the trick for me.
I use the computer as a mediacenter for watching TV etc. So I need it in my livingroom.
So does this mean that I have to give up playing mp3s in WMP if I wan´t it to sync with my boom?
Will I be playing my tunes in Squeeze center instead of WMP?
Yea, WMP doesn't know how to talk to SqueezeCenter, and since the Boom (like all the other Squeezeboxes) talk to SqueezeCenter (or SqueezeNetwork) WMP won't sync.
Download SqueezeCenter from http://www.slimdevices.com/su_downloads.html and give it a try.
One note, in the next release of SqueezeCenter will include a much better replacement for SoftSqueeze (called SqueezePlay). You can give it a try by downloading the Beta version of SqueezeCenter 7.3. Be warned that this is not a stable release, if you're not reasonably technical, you might want to just wait till it's out.
androidtopp
2008-10-01, 14:49
Correct - if you want to sync between your boom and your PC, you'll have to switch from WMP to SoftSqueeze.
Just to be clear, SqueezeCenter is the server component that ties everything together - it's what the Boom and SoftSqueeze connect back to for all the music they're playing. It presents a web interface that you can use to control any SqueezeBox, Boom, or SoftSqueeze instance connected to it, and it's the place where you add all your media so it's available to the players, but SqueezeCenter itself is not where music gets played.
On Oct 1, 2008, at 5:49 PM, androidtopp wrote:
>
> Correct - if you want to sync between your boom and your PC, you'll
> have
> to switch from WMP to SoftSqueeze.
>
> Just to be clear, SqueezeCenter is the server component that ties
> everything together - it's what the Boom and SoftSqueeze connect back
> to for all the music they're playing. It presents a web interface that
> you can use to control any SqueezeBox, Boom, or SoftSqueeze instance
> connected to it, but SqueezeCenter itself is not where music gets
> played.
Please note that sync on a PC is hit or miss due to OS and/or sound
card driver issues and most likely you won't be able to get perfect
sync. I suggest replacing your living room audio source with another
Squeezebox. ;)
Tryed the softsqueze and the squeezecenter just to see how they looked. And I´m not so impressed. Are there no better skinns for softsqueze that at least shows the albumart? I could not find any skins on the website.
Tryed the softsqueze and the squeezecenter just to see how they looked. And I´m not so impressed. Are there no better skinns for softsqueze that at least shows the albumart? I could not find any skins on the website.
That's one of the reasons why SoftSqueeze is being replaced by SqueezePlay. SoftSqueeze mostly emulates what the original SqueezeBox can do, it can't do album art, or anything fancy.
SqueezePlay is based on the Duet Controller's software, which has a much better interface and displays things like album art. It may not be skinable exactly the same way WinAmp or WMP are, but it does offer better customization, and looks much better "out of the box".
Well you can actually use Softsqueeze just as the playing "engine" whilst using the web interface to show you album art. You can even detach the Now Playing side of the web display on some skins (Fishbone I think, for one) to give you a reasonably small window containing everything you need.
davep
That's one of the reasons why SoftSqueeze is being replaced by SqueezePlay. SoftSqueeze mostly emulates what the original SqueezeBox can do, it can't do album art, or anything fancy.
SqueezePlay is based on the Duet Controller's software, which has a much better interface and displays things like album art. It may not be skinable exactly the same way WinAmp or WMP are, but it does offer better customization, and looks much better "out of the box".
Are there any test-versions of "SqueezePlay" available?
Do you know when "SqueezePlay" will be released?
Are there any test-versions of "SqueezePlay" available?
Do you know when "SqueezePlay" will be released?
Yes, you can get a beta version of SqueezePlay: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=52996. You need to install SqueezeCenter 7.3 Beta too though (available from same URL in that post).
SC 7.3 with SqueezePlay is due out in November, according to the roadmap in the wiki.
I'm running SqueezeCenter on my Media Center just fine, powering Squeezeboxen round the house. I also run SoftSqueeze from the Media Center itself, although I'm looking forward to SqueezePlay as I think it'll integrate better with the 10ft UI of the Media Center.
Simbo:
Great to hear that you are using SqueezeCenter on your MCE. Thats my plan to.
What do you mean by "the 10ft UI"?
I could not find any files in the DIR here?
http://downloads.slimdevices.com/nightly/latest/7.3/
But I guess thats because they are working on tdays build?
I will have to wait a few hours or so?
Simbo:
Great to hear that you are using SqueezeCenter on your MCE. Thats my plan to.
What do you mean by "the 10ft UI"?
Any interface intended to be viewed from a distance (e.g. 10ft away) rather than up-close like a standard UI. MCE being the obvious one, SqueezePlay in desktop mode will have a similar approach.
I could not find any files in the DIR here?
http://downloads.slimdevices.com/nightly/latest/7.3/
But I guess thats because they are working on tdays build?
I will have to wait a few hours or so?
Correct - they tend to have them ready by noon UK time.
Will SqueezePlay replace Softsqueeze completely or do I need to have both Softsqueeze, Squeezeplay and SqueezeCenter installed on my MCE?
Simbo:
Does your work fine with all your boxes around the house?
Will SqueezePlay replace Softsqueeze completely or do I need to have both Softsqueeze, Squeezeplay and SqueezeCenter installed on my MCE?
Yes, SqueezePlay is completely replacing SoftSqueeze, which is being deprecated with the 7.3 release of SqueezeCenter.
Simbo:
Does your work fine with all your boxes around the house?
Synchronisation between MCE (running SoftSqueeze) and a Squeezebox doesn't work well that well (as mentioned ealier in the post this is down to hardware/driver limitations). It's a few miliseconds out - not an issue generally but noticeable when you can hear other players at the same time. Of course sync'ing between Squeezeboxes is fine.
My MCE box is pretty low-spec, 2Ghz P4 (single core), but is able to watch/record TV and stream to my Squeezeboxen simultaneously without any issues.
EDIT: This is a good place to see what's coming in the next release of SC: http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.php/SoftwareRoadmap
They have now released the SC 7.3 beta. I have downloaded and installed it.
My question is:
Is SqueezePlay included in SC 7.3 beta installation?
I can´t find SqueezePlay in the http://downloads.slimdevices.com/nightly/latest/7.3/
dir.
Maybe its the same there. It will be released during the day?
They have now released the SC 7.3 beta. I have downloaded and installed it.
My question is:
Is SqueezePlay included in SC 7.3 beta installation?
I can´t find SqueezePlay in the http://downloads.slimdevices.com/nightly/latest/7.3/
dir.
Maybe its the same there. It will be released during the day?
You need to install Squeezeplay seperately, but the build takes place a little later in the day. You could always try yesterday's build if you're in a rush...
http://downloads.slimdevices.com/nightly/SqueezeCenter_7.3_trunk_v2008-10-01/
Thanks Siduhe!
My problem now is only that the SC just says "SqueezeCenter Starting" and nothing happens. I can imagine that it is searching for a device but it cant find any. Can I disable the search somehow?
Thanks Siduhe!
My problem now is only that the SC just says "SqueezeCenter Starting" and nothing happens. I can imagine that it is searching for a device but it cant find any. Can I disable the search somehow?
That happened to me to, in fact it happens about every-other time I up/down grade SC. I usually just uninstall and reinstall, which has worked every time for me.
androidtopp
2008-10-02, 08:26
I actually have no problems running a synced SB3, SBB, and SoftSqueeze at home - the sync is perfect, and I can definitely hear at least two devices at all times. I'll leave it run for a couple hours at a time, and every great while it will blip and one or the other will sutter a bit to re-adjust sync...but otherwise it's fine. Maybe down to differences in computer?
On Oct 2, 2008, at 11:26 AM, androidtopp wrote:
>
> I actually have no problems running a synced SB3, SBB, and SoftSqueeze
> at home - the sync is perfect, and I can definitely hear at least two
> devices at all times. I'll leave it run for a couple hours at a time,
> and every great while it will blip and one or the other will sutter a
> bit to re-adjust sync...but otherwise it's fine. Maybe down to
> differences in computer?
Right, some systems will work fine, others will be impossible to sync
properly. Alan often mentions his Linux box with 2 sound cards, one
of which works great, the other is terrible.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.1.12 Copyright © 2013 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.