Is there an Android Tablet/ROM/App strictly for Controlling/Cast Music? - General Questions and Answers

Hey all,
I have an old (80's-style) full-length cabinet that sits on the floor. It's got a 8-track, FM/AM, and record player built-in, but the radio sucks and the record player is broken. I want to gut the whole thing, install some more modern speakers, install a new record player, and control it all from a tablet or touch screen computer. The big thing I'm looking for is a bit of "future-proofing" so that it can control both the built-in speakers and cast to other devices across the house or even the back patio. We have guests over pretty often, whether to cook out or just hang out in the house. I'd like to be able to pop open the lid of the cabinet and let anybody add/change the music playing, or be able to play the record player throughout the speakers in my house (my wife enjoys the records, while I prefer the convenience of Google Play Music).
I think the best way to do this is through Android, since it's much easier to cast to devices, and I can still change the music playing throughout the house via phones, tablet, and gHomes if I want.
Does anyone have a recommendation for building this solution? I think the most effective way to do this will be to set up the speakers in the cabinet and just plug them directly into a Chromecast Audio. I'll need either a ROM or a home launcher that's more conducive to selecting and limiting itself to a select few music apps & YouTube.
The big hurdles I see are setting up "zones" so that I can pick which Chromecasts the system plays to depending on where in the house we're going to be. I also need a way to feed the external audio (the record player) to the Tablet so it can forward that sound to other Chromecasts. I've looked for how to do this a bit, and it looks like Mozilla figured out a way to do it using a Raspberry Pi. I'm not opposed to this, but I want to be sure that I can use the tablet/computer I build into the cabinet to select which Chromecasts this streams to.
Thanks for the help / recommendations! If I get all of this figured out, I'll be sure to share the end result so people can see how well it all worked out!

Related

Remote Controlling Foobar with HTC HD2

Hi. Hope that this is the correct place to post...
I have been playing this weekend with a Foobar plugin that allows web control.
The web interface that this plug-in creates is skin-able, and indeed somewhat predictably there are already a couple of i-phone themes available. I did get them working well with the HTC HD2.
However the graphics quality is not stellar when an i-phone designed interface is scaled up, so I started having a poke at the javascript code for myself... I am no coder by any means, so I have been adapting other peoples work noteably the IxoFith template at the above link...
So far I have a HTC music playeresque theme working, with the odd glitch here and there, I reckon that a talented javascript programmer could do a lot more a lot faster than I can, anyone up for it?
I will continue to fettle this and eventually will post my code at "Justblair's Audio and Electronics Pages" but if you are interested in seeing what damage a ham fisted amateur can do to some competently written code, either comment at my site or contact me through here and I can get it to you..
It is very scrappy at the moment, though functional. I tried to post images, but outside links are a no no for newbies here. Google my site name if you want a taster. Hopefully the mods will lift the restriction soon.
Off-topic, but another way:
GRemote works VERY well with WinAmp, allowing you to browse all your PC files on your HD2, and play or queue files/folders in WinAmp (even tho I hate WinAmp!). You can also launch any file in whatever app you choose, so I can browse all my movies in a very slinky, fast-scrolling manner on my HD2, and whichever one I click starts playing full-screen (e.g. VLC, GomPlayer etc), and a swipe on my phone then gives me Play/Pause, fast-forward, rewind, volume, next file, full-screen/windowed etc.
Just a suggestion if you like finding new ways to play your media
smeddy said:
Off-topic, but another way:
GRemote works VERY well with WinAmp, allowing you to browse all your PC files on your HD2, and play or queue files/folders in WinAmp (even tho I hate WinAmp!). You can also launch any file in whatever app you choose, so I can browse all my movies in a very slinky, fast-scrolling manner on my HD2, and whichever one I click starts playing full-screen (e.g. VLC, GomPlayer etc), and a swipe on my phone then gives me Play/Pause, fast-forward, rewind, volume, next file, full-screen/windowed etc.
Just a suggestion if you like finding new ways to play your media
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's worth a look I am sure. I have tried the freebie version of G-remote which is of course a little limited. I did have a few crashes when using the free version of G-remote, kinda put me off spending on it.
I also happen to like foobar as it has the plug-ins needed to run it as an "audiophile" source, i.e. wasapi and native flac playback. I used winamp a while back and did not like it. I dare say it has improved since then.

[Q] Streaming from Android to PC

Sorry if there is already a thread for this.
I'm looking for an app which play the sound of my mobile on my computer (and them my Hifi)
Then I can listen to toutube or spotify easily on my Hifi, simply using my Android phone.
Thanks a lot
Android to Audio Stream
Is there a solution yet since I am also looking out for something like this.
I don't know guys if you are interested into, but there is an application that allows you to stream video and audio and see your picture via Wireless on your computer using your web browser...
Websharing file 1.6.1 apk
Nextapp is the company who create it, I use regularly everyday and is a good one!!
AFAIK, there's currently no way to do a raw audio stream from Android over the network; and I can almost guarantee you it won't be possible at all without root. Closest you could get would be getting a Bluetooth audio sink (like this or the official Nexus home dock) and hooking that to your hifi. There are apps to stream local content via DLNA, but there isn't anything to stream arbitrary audio in Android.
EDIT: Some PC Bluetooth stacks may also be able to receive A2DP audio as well, but it's not a universal feature.
Check out mecanto, it's an app that syncs your music to the cloud and then you can stream it from the cloud and play on your phone.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
I'm amazed that there's no interest in this. I'm sure I haven't searched enough and so probably should pick on a more current thread. But it seems a no-brainer to me to want to go this direction. Everyone discusses streaming from PC to phone. Why would I do that instead of just listening to the PC? Now if I could stream from phone to PC... I have many phone apps that let me listen to unlimited tunes and radios from all over the world, which of course I use outside the house. But using it in this way in the house, my phone would not only be the source, but the "remote" -- the controller. Walk around the house w/ just the phone. Beats my carrying my Squeezebox "portable" radio, as I do. Or maybe I need to pay $150 for the Squeezebox solution, their remote controller... Just don' get it.
yes. i also think this is a great idea. there a heaps of pc to android threads.
usage scenario i am thinking.
walking around with device. the device contains song files and player. if that player had a button like stream to ie desktop, home theatre speakers, etc etc. that would be great. sorta like wmp 12 stream to button if anyone is familiar with that. bluetooth has the restriction of range so ideally wifi would be the better solution. curious to know if anyone has come across any updates to this.
I use 2 apps because im undecided which is best firt one is called 2play dnla
and the other is upnp. search in the market for both :-D
THAKS DREA!!!! wow I have been wish exactly the 2play app do... I like to play music on my Android tha I can listen from my large PC speakers!!! COOL!!
Streaming from Android To SERVER STREAMING
Is there any application also in beta test to let the android phone act as Media encoder to stream to a Server what's coming on your phone?
On Iphone platform there an interesting app LIVU (stevemcfarlin.com/livu/features.html).
Would be nice to have one similar on Android phone
Fabio
Theres an app called Twonky which acts as media server on your Android. It lets you stream upnp to whatever device you have capable such as Apple TV, Playstation etc. I have an AC Ryan Playon HD player which is hooked to my local network and I am able to recieve and play media through this to my HD TV from my Desire over wifi.
Any suggestions on the following then:
I would love to find a program that can both send audio and video without transcoding that can manage both IOS and Android
Im currently using PS3 media server for the PS3 and StreamToMe for sending to my iphones/ipads. They both work excellent. Was also amazed with the lack of streaming programs.
A simple solution that worked for me from a windows pc to android was was using ES File Explorer (free), choose LAN from dropdown (top left), add new server, scan - it should then pick up your shared network.
Then navigate to your chosen movie, play with moboplayer. Voila.
If it doesn't play straight away make sure moboplayer is set to soft decoder.
Sometimes you may have to press and hold your movie icon, open as video, choose moboplayer.
---------- Post added at 06:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:08 PM ----------
Sorry my bad, thought you meant streaming from pc to Android device.
You may try skifta, it was recently showcased on market home site.
www.skifta.com
i'm looking for a way to stream notifications to my pc, especially the phone ringer. i'd like to be able to hear my phone ring, through my pc speakers, while i'm away from my computer and have music playing
ghostrill said:
i'm looking for a way to stream notifications to my pc, especially the phone ringer. i'd like to be able to hear my phone ring, through my pc speakers, while i'm away from my computer and have music playing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think MyPhoneExplorer can do that (not sure)
For youtube videos: the youtube app can link with your pc through Youtube leanback
There is an app called "Remote Droid Player"(play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.newandroid). Though it needs a small application needs to be installed on PC.
hmmm... I saw the program ArkMC in google play , when I have the similar problem , you can try...good luck!
vlc direct pro free
Sent from my GT-I9001 using xda app-developers app
Still no way to stream every sound that your android device plays to your PC? Is it not technically possible to create and android server that sends a raw stream of sound to the PC over wifi?
All the solutions linked in this thread requires you to actively choose what mp3 to listen to. I want to stream notifications/spotify/radio/everything that is played.

Use Android phone as DLNA renderer

Hi,
I am sorry if this topic previously has been discussed, butI have googled it for some time and haven't found any solutions.
I need to be abla to beam music from one android phone to another, i.e. use the phone as media renderer. I have two old android phones which I use only for sound in my bed room and living room. I would therefore want a way to control these phones from my primary phones. There are some ways to use them as media servera, etc., but I cant't the solution.
So, please help wouldn't this be possible? I guess a lot of people out there have old phones, which could be awesome to control from remote.
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App
Nice idea!
Hi, this is actually a interesting idea! I have an old G1 and if it can be recognized as a renderer I
Could plug it to external speakers and beam music to it from my Desire.
Result : cheap wireless speakers system!
I'm sure that someone must have tried this before.
Any experience to share?
BUMP
no news on this?
Will Skifta work? (Its on the market)
Thanks for your answer, but Skifta works exactly as other Android streaming apps - the music on the tv/computer can be controlled, not the other way around. I want to remote control the music on android from remote (e.g. from another android device).
Have you tried twonkey media?
It should do the trick... need to install it on both phones, then set one up as the library and the other as the output.
No, I have already tried Twonky player, but it does not allow me to beam the music from on android phone to another. If have two phones, A and B, I want to be able to control the music player on B, which is connected to the hifi in the livingroom from phone A, which is in the kitchen. Twonky, and other options allows me to stream music from phone B to A, but I want to control the B player, which I am nowhere close to. Does that make sense? It has to work like Gmote, where it is possible to control music from the phone on the computer, but here I want to control the music on B instead of a computer.
Ah, I see. You have a phone connected to your stereo playing music. You want to be able to control that phone with another one wirelessly.
I think you are SOL... I haven't heard of anything like that. You may be able to cobble something together with Tasker and gtalk/sms messages (ie. send a message like "next song" to the other phone that Tasker picks up and performs the action).
I've been looking for this as well to repurpose my HTC Hero and have finally found it!
An app called ArcMC Media Server and Player (market link) can turn any phone into a DLNA receiver. You can then use your other phone as the server with Twonky or similar. I almost made an additional hardware purchase for this but now my old phone does it just as well.
The app looks new which might explain why no one has found it and the bad review average so far. Also it requires 2.2 which may be a limitation for some. Installing a custom rom can fix that though.
edit: sorry, I may be confused. I want my new phone "play to" my old phone. For that my old phone needed to be a receiver, which Twonky does not do. The media lives on and is controlled by my new phone, I just use my old phone to receive it and output it to the speakers.
BubbleUPnP
FYI
I just found this app, which looks promising...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118891
I will install this on my HD2 that is connected to my outdoor speakers and I will then hopefully be abe to control the music from my Galaxy S2...
Cheers
Jonas
Here's one for ya... i went from an iphone 4 to an Atrix (woo hoo!) and would like to control my iphone music from my android. it is jail broken.
I know it's a long shot but figure'd it's the XDA forum, ya never know.
I can push YouTube videos from a phone that has Twonky Beam installed to a phone with ArkMC installed. I tried it with Samsung Infuse and Samsung Captivate.
jonolo said:
FYI
I just found this app, which looks promising...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1118891
I will install this on my HD2 that is connected to my outdoor speakers and I will then hopefully be abe to control the music from my Galaxy S2...
Cheers
Jonas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of the apps mentioned so far in this thread, BubbleUPNP is the one I found the most stable and most useful.
I'm using it to stream from my PC, from foobar with the uPNP plugin. Winamp is my preferred music player but foobar just works so smoothly as a control point for uPNP that there's not even a choice!
adrianconst said:
I can push YouTube videos from a phone that has Twonky Beam installed to a phone with ArkMC installed. I tried it with Samsung Infuse and Samsung Captivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ArkMC now supports YouTube as well. It's possible to subscribe for YT channels and share them to DLNA/UPnP device in local network.
Android Renderer
+1 for Arkmc . Using it for almost 1 year as a renderer on my old HTC.

[Q] Managing music on an ipod shuffle ?

I have a Galaxy S3 (9300), and an OTG cable that allows me to manage files on external media. Are there any apps out there that will enable me to manage music/playlists etc on an ipod shuffle via this route ? I would love to be able to ditch iTunes, and this is one of the last remaining things I need to solve!
I'd like to be able to sync music to my S3 using DoubleTwist, and then copy it over to my shuffle by playlist.
Do you leave the Shuffle away from home and need to be able to use the phone for this ? Just unsure why you couldn't just use the computer to do this ? Seems simpler than managing on the small phone screen (could you copy-and-paste as-is ?).
I've never used DoubleTwist, do they not support iPods ?
Does the Shuffle specifically need something that is more than the usual music management ? I've never had one, so I'm not sure and perhaps this is the problem I'm not seeing.
Pennycake said:
Do you leave the Shuffle away from home and need to be able to use the phone for this ? Just unsure why you couldn't just use the computer to do this ? Seems simpler than managing on the small phone screen (could you copy-and-paste as-is ?).
I've never used DoubleTwist, do they not support iPods ?
Does the Shuffle specifically need something that is more than the usual music management ? I've never had one, so I'm not sure and perhaps this is the problem I'm not seeing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Shuffle is the last ipod we have in the house, and I have migrated all of our music to Google Play Music. I would like to be able to ditch itunes totally. The files appear on the shuffle in a the right format, but the namings do not reflect the song titles. Also, I assume there must be a database on there to manage the playlists as there arent anything simple like .m3u files.
Since the Shuffle is so simple, it might be easier to just buy a cheap non-Apple MP3 player instead ($20-30).
I haven't used my iPod for a few months (I'm not even sure where it is), so I don't quite remember how it was set-up (and I never had a Shuffle). I'd check out, "manage iPod Shuffle without iTunes" or something. I use Winamp, and I think it can manage iPods, but I've never tried it (your music is still on the HDD, right ?).

[Q] voice controlled audio playback

Hello I was hoping someone here could help me with a issue I am having.
I currently use a few cheap android phones as squeezebox clients to have audio throughout my house and I use my tablet to control what plays where. Recently the tablet I used went belly up and had no way to control my audio clients. Got me thinking on alternative ways to control the music that plays in my house.
I would like to have voice control over my music that plays. It doesn't have to sync or any other features of lms. No zone control or anything just simply play the song I select in the room the phone is in. I installed google now and open mic+ so my phones are always listening however I can not find any way to just say "computer play american idiot" or something to that nature. My music is all stored on my raspi so the app has to be able to communicate with my storage server. I know google has a music app, but i store my music offline and I don't want to have to upload it to every phone for local playback. Jumping through hoops for the setup isn't a issue however my significant other wants it to be as painless as using the tablet was to select what to play.
I've heard Yatse has voice control however it communicates with googles servers I believe for voice support. This would be a issue as I keep my various media on one network and my internet on a different WiFi network. All phones run at least jelly bean as well.
Any suggestions would be mightily appreciated!

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