Running
a Wire
Airport Express and AirTunes
Apple Remote
for iPhone & iPod Touch
Written
By: Adam Rosen
1 November 2009
These days many people have some or most of their music libraries on
the computer, and much of that is managed with iTunes.
It's very nice to have such quick and easy access to your music library,
but by default this plays back only in the room where the computer is
located.
Wouldn't
it be nice to have iTunes throughout the whole house or office?
Running a Wire
Connecting
a cable from the computer to the stereo is the classic (and easiest)
solution, and sometimes all that's necessary. Every modern Mac or PC
has an stereo mini jack for audio output, suitable for use with headphones
or other audio equipment. 
Simply
connect the computer's audio output to any available input jack (AUX,
TAPE, VCR, etc.) and start playback in iTunes. If your stereo
or AV system has multiple speakers setup throughout your home, instant
multi-room audio. If not, at least you'll have much nicer single room
performance.
Some
homes or offices already have dedicated multi-room audio systems installed,
like a Bang & Olufsen or Sonos. These are very nice indeed, but
are high end options which can cost many hundreds to thousands of dollars
and require professional installation. And, your computer may be in
the wrong room to connect to the main unit.
For
best results you will want the audio cable to be short (ideally 6 feet
or less) - this type of cable is very susceptible to hum and noise problems.
The longer the cable the more hum you may hear out of the stereo. Also
the "hard wire" solution is more convenient for desktops than
laptops, especially when more than one person wants to listen to music
but the laptop is traveling.
Fortunately
some relatively inexpensive gear from Apple offers a nice alternative
- and complement - to your existing systems.
Airport Express and AirTunes
For
some time now Apple has supported streaming audio from iTunes on your
home or office network via wired and wireless connections. This features
is called AirTunes and utilizes the audio output capabilities
of the Apple Airport
Express or AppleTV
products. Once configured these devices can act as "remote speakers"
for your iTunes library, relaying audio from your computer to other
parts of the house.
To
setup an AirTunes relay, you'll need at least one Airport Express/AppleTV.
This gets connected to an audio playback system in the destination room
- a stereo system, a pair of powered speakers, a boombox, etc..
For wireless relaying capability you need to have a WiFi network in
place (any kind of wireless router will work).
In
the remote room, connect the Airport Express/AppleTV to an ethernet
cable (if available) or configure the device using the Apple Airport
Utility to join your existing wireless network. Give the box a name
that relates to where it is located (e.g., Kitchen, Living
Room), then select the tab that says Music and make sure the "Enable
AirTunes" box is checked.
Click
Update to apply the settings, and your device will reboot. Now connect
the audio output of the Airport Express/AppleTV to your playback system.
Back in iTunes, go to Preferences, select the Devices tab, and make
sure the option to "Look for Remote Speakers connected with AirTunes"
is checked (this is the default).
At
the bottom right of your iTunes window there should now be a popup menu
for speaker selection. Initially this will say Computer. Click and hold
on this menu and you should see the new system (e.g., Living
Room) listed, along with an option to select Multiple Speakers.
To
change the output, select Living Room. To play both simultaneously,
select Multiple Speakers and in the box which comes up, select both
Computer and Living Room. The iTunes speaker menu will then say "Multiple
Speakers (2)".
Press
play in iTunes, and voilà! - multi-room playback for
a fraction of the cost of a dedicated system. Want more rooms? Pickup
another Airport Express (new or used), hookup that old stereo in the
garage or basement, and expand away!
In
my house my primary computer with iTunes is located in my second floor
office, connected to a dedicated audio system. I have an Airport Extreme
router and 3 Airport Express wireless relays to the Living Room (first
floor, stereo system), Kitchen (first floor, powered speakers), and
my Mac Museum (second floor, powered speakers). No audio cables are
longer than 6 feet.
For
a total cost comparable to one Sonos or B&O interface box, I now
have a 4 room audio system and can listen to music, news and those joyful
NPR Pledge Drives (seemingly every other weekend) throughout my entire
house!
Bonus
for the True Geek: for those with an old Mac or PC around with built-in
(or external) speakers, Rogue Amoeba makes an application called Airfoil
($25) that allows audio streaming from iTunes to the external computer
as a playback device. See the Airfoil website for instructions and downloads.(Current
version requires Mac OS X 10.5, Windows XP or newer; for older versions
click here.)
Apple Remote for iPhone & iPod Touch
OK,
so now you have multi-room playback going but most of us are still single-room-at-a-time
people. If you're not in the same room with your computer, how can you
control iTunes playback?
The
pièce de résistance of the AirTunes Home Audio
Experience is the free Apple Remote
application for the iPhone or iPod Touch. This handy software allows
your iDevice to act as a handheld remote for your iTunes library (or
any AppleTVs on the network), browsing playlists, controlling volume,
showing album artwork and even turning on and off individual speakers.
A
WiFi network and one-time pairing
is required (similar to setting up a bluetooth device) to link the handheld
with your library. Once connected your remote can roam with you throughout
your house or office, giving you full command of your iTunes playback
wherever you are located.
I've
been introducing clients and friends to this technology for the past
year, and every single person is delighted at the capabilities. Some
have even purchased (or justified) an iPod Touch JUST for this application.
"Impresses the friends and neighbors" as they say, and at
a reasonable cost. Truly a Poor Man's Bang & Olufsen!
The
True Geek, or anyone without an iPhone/iTouch but with a second computer,
can also control iTunes on the primary computer using Screen Sharing
(Macs), Remote Desktop (PC), or VNC software (cross platform); for more
on these options see Methods
of Macintosh Remote Control.
This
article was also published in the Adam's
Apple column on Low End
Mac
and the MacRx
column on Cult of Mac
