Music Server and Niles

[JKalman]

I'm doing some preliminary research on adding a music server to my Niles home system (ZR 4630).

I was thinking of buying the lowest specifications Mac Mini and putting it on the cabinet that houses my Niles system, with a cheap LCD. Downloading all the music into i-tunes and storing it on a separate 500 GB or 1 TB HD in lossless format and buying the Airport Express Base Station with AirTunes.

I am curious if anyone has done any research or installed any thing like this before. The questions I have are how to integrate the Apple i-Tunes with the Niles ZR 4630 so that I can choose the music from i-Tunes through the Niles LCD touchpanels around the house in the different zones. I am a very proficient programmer, so if anyone knows how to get info on programming this stuff myself, it would not be problematic for me to make my own interfaces if necessary. I'm sure it has been done already though, there must be some kind of Niles interfaces out there for i-Tunes at this point.

If anyone has any advice or tips on integrating these two systems, please let me know. I know it is possible because of a device I bought called Roku that does something similar, I just don't know how to integrate either with the Niles for touchpad usage.

Thank you,

Jeff

[Kevin D]

The only thing you will be able to do with the 4630 is control it via IR. You won't be able to send info to the touchscreen or see the interface on it. All the touchscreen is is a graphical representation of a niles remotes, with the ability to see tuner stations and volume levels.

Kevin D.

[JKalman]

The only thing you will be able to do with the 4630 is control it via IR. You won't be able to send info to the touchscreen or see the interface on it. All the touchscreen is is a graphical representation of a niles remotes, with the ability to see tuner stations and volume levels.

Kevin D.

Can't you see playlists on the touchscreen? There is no way to get playlists on the Niles touchscreens at all for any devices, CD and/or server?

[JKalman]

What kind of device/product/company would I need to switch to to have this kind of control over my system from the remote touchpads?

Thanks

[Kevin D]

The only 'out-of-the-box' solution for multi-room with touchpanels is from Elan. You have to use their CD controller though, it's an older piece sourced from Escient. On the Niles programming software for the touchpanels, all you can do is rename/delete buttons for certain devices. The tuner feedback is the only thing you can get.

Aside from the Elan, you would have to step up to an AMX or Crestron system to get full feedback and visuals from a music server. A better solution might be to get a wireless touchpad PC running on a VNC connection to the Mac (virtual desktop).

The Escient music servers have web page control built in, so any touch device with a web browser can log into to the server and control it. No software or interface to figure out.

Kevin D.

[JKalman]

The only 'out-of-the-box' solution for multi-room with touchpanels is from Elan. You have to use their CD controller though, it's an older piece sourced from Escient. On the Niles programming software for the touchpanels, all you can do is rename/delete buttons for certain devices. The tuner feedback is the only thing you can get.

Aside from the Elan, you would have to step up to an AMX or Crestron system to get full feedback and visuals from a music server. A better solution might be to get a wireless touchpad PC running on a VNC connection to the Mac (virtual desktop).

The Escient music servers have web page control built in, so any touch device with a web browser can log into to the server and control it. No software or interface to figure out.

Kevin D.

OK, thanks.

Perhaps I will just buy a terabyte HD and use one of my older laptops to serve the files to a DAC1 hooked up to the Niles. Then program my own Java server and client GUI software to connect from other computers in the house. My house has extra Ethernet computer network jacks everywhere I have a panel anyway.

[xdvd]

What TV's are you using? If they have VGA input, you can make VGA cable using cat5 (In our house we have 2 Cat5 cables run between all of the TV's and I used 1 to send a VGA signal (from the output on the video card) to the input on my TV. When I move out I plan on trying to combine a S-Video cable and a digital audio cable onto one Cat5 run.

Hopefully this can give you some ideas?