Inside iOS 4.3: mobile streaming with iTunes Home Sharing

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 44
    stuffestuffe Posts: 394member
    I haven't seen anyone confirm that you can "move" as well as "play" from homeshared iTunes. That's the neatest thing about going iTunes to iTunes, you can get it to show only the differences between 2 libraries (to remove duplicates), then drag content from one to another. If I can copy albums selectively and individually from iTunes to iOS without syncing, I'm going to be very pleased. I hate syncing over cables, am never in the same room as the romputer when I want to do it.
  • Reply 22 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post


    ... A drawback is that if your home has several libraries with different ITunes accounts feeding them, they have to use a common AppleID for Home Share to see each other on the Home Shared network. And it's not possible yet to have an iOS device participate in more than one Home.

    ...



    I don't think the highlighted (BOLD) one is correct although I have neither proof nor confirmation that it is. If you have one or several (cool) NAS devices in the same network that has iTunes Server capability (essentially files that are stored in the NAS drive are published as shared e.g. Buffalo LinkStation HDD or D-Link DNS-320 NAS drive or Amahi Home Server OS ) then the files can be accessed from many iTunes app in the same network w/o requiring using the same common ID. I believe this new iOS 4.3 home sharing feature uses the same function i.e. does not need to use any ID (although can be password-locked) beyond what the NAS is called.



    I the case of multiple libraries/multiple accounts, as long as they are published as shared and your (or their) iTunes app is looking for shared library then it can be accessed.



    For one iDevice to participate in more than one home (share), I believe the new (relevant) account credentials has to be put in before it can pull the contents so that only suck if you change location every so often I guess..
  • Reply 23 of 44
    superbasssuperbass Posts: 688member
    Can anyone tell me a single good reason why Apple allows wireless streaming but not wireless syncing?



    The Zune has had it since 2008, for god's sake and most Android devices do the same...
  • Reply 24 of 44
    timgriff84timgriff84 Posts: 912member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by STecchino View Post


    After this feature was announced yesterday I kept saying to myself just one word:



    FINALLY



    Now we just need wireless syncing, only been waiting around 6 years for it.
  • Reply 25 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splash-reverse View Post


    I don't think the highlighted (BOLD) one is correct although I have neither proof nor confirmation that it is. If you have one or several (cool) NAS devices in the same network that has iTunes Server capability (essentially files that are stored in the NAS drive are published as shared e.g. Buffalo LinkStation HDD or D-Link DNS-320 NAS drive or Amahi Home Server OS ) then the files can be accessed from many iTunes app in the same network w/o requiring using the same common ID. I believe this new iOS 4.3 home sharing feature uses the same function i.e. does not need to use any ID (although can be password-locked) beyond what the NAS is called.



    I the case of multiple libraries/multiple accounts, as long as they are published as shared and your (or their) iTunes app is looking for shared library then it can be accessed.



    For one iDevice to participate in more than one home (share), I believe the new (relevant) account credentials has to be put in before it can pull the contents so that only suck if you change location every so often I guess..



    Shared library does not equal home share library. ATV2 won't even see my firefly library.



    Libraries must have the same apple id to be on the same "home share", however you can have multiple home shares on the same network.



    I've tested all of the above.
  • Reply 26 of 44
    kent909kent909 Posts: 731member
    I might not fully understand this feature. I have my entire iTunes content on my iMac, iPad and iTouch. Why would I want to play the content on my Mac iTunes library if it is already on my mobile device. So the thought there is that I don't have to have my music loaded on all my devices. Except if I do that when I leave my house I leave my music behind. See I think I don't understand how this feature gives me something new.
  • Reply 27 of 44
    chabigchabig Posts: 641member
    Kent,



    Not everyone can keep their entire library on their mobile device. This feature makes the entire library available when at home, but yes, you'll only carry a subset when you leave home.
  • Reply 28 of 44
    jeff k-cjeff k-c Posts: 28member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kent909 View Post


    I might not fully understand this feature. I have my entire iTunes content on my iMac, iPad and iTouch. Why would I want to play the content on my Mac iTunes library if it is already on my mobile device. So the thought there is that I don't have to have my music loaded on all my devices. Except if I do that when I leave my house I leave my music behind. See I think I don't understand how this feature gives me something new.



    In order to fully understand this feature, you may need a much bigger iTunes library ; ) Seriously, if your library fits on your idevice, and is not creating space constraints on that device, the feature is no big deal, but this is not the case for some folks, myself included.
  • Reply 29 of 44
    ratay1ratay1 Posts: 13member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chabig View Post


    I believe iTunes has to be running and the computer must be awake.



    that's the biggest drag about an otherwise fine enhancement to the home media experience.



    i've really enjoyed the ATVs i've had (both the OG and the latest, streaming, version), but particularly liked to use the ATV as a media player in my home during social gatherings. i could pick a playlist and have a custom slideshow running (something thematic to the gathering), which was a nice conversation starter.



    with the streaming ATV holding no content of its own, i have to have my one media center mac awake to access playlists, photos & videos. as an interim step to an eventual cloud experience, this is less than optimal...



    that said, having netflix access has been a tremendous addition to the product.
  • Reply 30 of 44
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    1. How are rentals treated? Today, if you have a rental, you can transfer it to an iOS device, but I believe it is essentially then "checked out" to that device. Will you be able to use Home Sharing to watch a rental on an iOS device? Could two iOS devices be watching the same rental?



    2. What about photos? iTunes syncs photos from iPhoto or Aperture to your iOS device. Will this new feature allow me to access all my photos and albums without needing to sync them first? (Granda comes over and you want to show her the lastest photos of the grandkids. Grab your iPad so you can look at them at the kitchen table instead of crowding around a computer.)



    If those two things are possible, you've essentially turned an iPad into a portable AppleTV that you can take anywhere in your house to watch content. Add in the new video output capabilities and you can plug it into any TV in the house.
  • Reply 31 of 44
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ratay1 View Post


    that's the biggest drag about an otherwise fine enhancement to the home media experience.



    Would be nice if there was a simple way to configure iTunes or Home Share as a server service that would run w/o a user being logged in. When I saw this coming, I picked up a Mac Mini and just run it headless with auto-login and have iTunes run hidden from the Login Items. RAID 0 stripe for now but I'm going to hit 1TB in library content this year so I'm going to have to go external.
  • Reply 32 of 44
    Instead of playing music through my mobile device I'd like to play it through a good set of wifi speakers - I think this means AirPlay. Does anybody recommend a pair of AirPlay speakers or a site listing good options.
  • Reply 33 of 44
    For those saying you need your local iTunes running to use the iOS homeshare, having your iTunes on a remote server will allow you to access the service anywhere there is wifi, even if local machine is unavailable. Should be fairly soon now.
  • Reply 34 of 44
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    If those two things are possible, you've essentially turned an iPad into a portable AppleTV that you can take anywhere in your house to watch content. Add in the new video output capabilities and you can plug it into any TV in the house.



    If you have an EyeTV tuner and their latest software along with the EyeTV Remote app, you can also watch live TV or EyeTV recordings on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. See http://www.elgato.com/elgato/na/main...TV-app.en.html



    The app has been around for quite awhile, now.
  • Reply 35 of 44
    hammiehammie Posts: 8member
    SO, what is going to happen with the Apple Remote app? Will this be built into 4.3 or added to the Remote app?
  • Reply 36 of 44
    christophbchristophb Posts: 1,482member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hammie View Post


    SO, what is going to happen with the Apple Remote app? Will this be built into 4.3 or added to the Remote app?



    Remote still controls playback on a machine running iTunes and AppleTV. As it applies to Home Sharing, the Remote is restricted to devices connected to a single Home Share. It still control Apple TV1 outside of Home Share. Looks to still be a free app but doesn't come preinstalled from what I've seen. I don't think any changes were necessary for the Remote App since it just controls devices and doesn't send/receive media streams.



    It's the iPod App on the iPad/iPhone that allow connections to the Home Share that pulls content from libraries.
  • Reply 37 of 44
    hammiehammie Posts: 8member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post


    Remote still controls playback on a machine running iTunes and AppleTV. As it applies to Home Sharing, the Remote is restricted to devices connected to a single Home Share. It still control Apple TV1 outside of Home Share. Looks to still be a free app but doesn't come preinstalled from what I've seen. I don't think any changes were necessary for the Remote App since it just controls devices and doesn't send/receive media streams.



    It's the iPod App on the iPad/iPhone that allow connections to the Home Share that pulls content from libraries.



    Okay, so the iPod app will allow the streaming via Home Sharing. That's cool. I was sort of wondering since very little has been mentioned that I have been able to find about this feature.



    Thanks!
  • Reply 38 of 44
    My question is why not allow syncing via this feature as well? The data is already being streamed. Then it would finally be goodbye stupid wired syncing!



    The other thing that will make this awesome is if they eventually allow you to have zumocast-like features such as using your AppleID to set up your Mac as your own personal cloud that you can access from anywhere you can connect to the internet.



    "Personal Cloud Computing" is my version of the "Cloud Computing Future" keeping personal content personal instead of requiring you to sacrifice that privacy to hand over your documents and media to a 3rd party in order to access it from the Cloud. This is much more exciting to me than uploading and storing all my files to MobileMe or iDisk or DropBox, etc...
  • Reply 39 of 44
    hammiehammie Posts: 8member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MyopicPaideia View Post


    My question is why not allow syncing via this feature as well? The data is already being streamed. Then it would finally be goodbye stupid wired syncing!



    The other thing that will make this awesome is if they eventually allow you to have zumocast-like features such as using your AppleID to set up your Mac as your own personal cloud that you can access from anywhere you can connect to the internet.



    "Personal Cloud Computing" is my version of the "Cloud Computing Future" keeping personal content personal instead of requiring you to sacrifice that privacy to hand over your documents and media to a 3rd party in order to access it from the Cloud. This is much more exciting to me than uploading and storing all my files to MobileMe or iDisk or DropBox, etc...



    The issue with wireless syncing would be corrupt backups and other potential files. This is why many electronics companies state that firmware should not be updated over wireless. This could potentially brick an electronic device.
  • Reply 40 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hammie View Post


    The issue with wireless syncing would be corrupt backups and other potential files. This is why many electronics companies state that firmware should not be updated over wireless. This could potentially brick an electronic device.



    That is fair enough, and I buy that completely. But then how often would you have to sync hard-wired? Once very 3-6 months? That's much better than whenever I want to swap out or access files/media that aren't currently on my iPad.
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