audio source

[bwally]

i'm just getting around to playing with this plugin ...

Q) is it only possible to play audio on the machine that homeseer is installed on? Or can this plugin somehow control WMP and audio files located on a remote machine?

my homeseer box is in the basement connected to my HAI panel and my audio server is upstairs in the theater. I'm hoping to use MainLobby to control the audio in the theater.

TIA

[mwaite]

If the audio files are upstairs, why not just create a share on that computer, then WMP on the basement computer can access them. I have all my audio files on one computer, and my HS computer accesses them via shares. WMP can be configured to watch folders for changes. WMP then becomes the audio server, the other computer is simply the source for the audio files.

[bwally]

mwaite,

thanks for your reply.

i do that now, but the problem still remains. it is not a problem of where the content is or where even WMP is, the problem is where Homeseer and the HSMediaPlayer plugin resides.

it seems HSMediaPlayer can only control an instance of WMP on the hosted machine. and of course the plugin has to reside on the machine with Homeseer.

there does not seem to be anyway to redirect the audio output to another machine. which is what i need to do.

[mwaite]

OK I get it now, you are correct as far as I know. That would be nice. I image with HS2 there will be more flexibility with this, just a guess though.

One other thing I do, I have the HS computer set up as an audio streamer so I can access my music from the Internet. This would work on the local lan as well of course. In my case I'm using ULiveServer/UMediaServer, which as a free version has a lower-than CD quality bit rate, but for playing on my laptop while on the road it's pretty decent.

[flynnwt]

Have you looked at J River Media Center and controlling it remotely from the HS machine? I use it and NetRemote; not sure what the options are if you want to use MainLobby.

[bwally]

well, unfortunately, J River seems to be the ONLY option for Mainlobby users. and i have tried many times over that past couple years to come to terms with the POS and it just doesn't happen. and at least 5 more times in the past 3 weeks, spending countless frustrating hours trying to make it work reliably. i now realize i hate that software and it treats me like someone who hates it.

it has regular lock-ups. hard to control. difficult to setup. far more bloated and resource hungry than is needed for the simple task that is required. basically, it sucks IMO.

i'm turning my attention to slimserver

[Al213]

I agree..

If all you want is simple playback, take a look at Krumpys work around via his plugin and the WMP9 plugin. You have to pass playlists to it but you can build a pretty impressive player full of function. Its pretty light weight. I am using it and I love it. So does the wife! I have it all over the house on 14" dell touchscreens. Great! The only thing it doesn't do is allow you to select playlists on the fly or manage/create playlsits. It plays my live 365 and shoutcast playlists too.