Yes, you can have any number of Squeezebox players on your LAN, using a single instance of the SlimServer software. Thanks to the efficient design of our software and streaming protocol, even a low-end PC can service more than a dozen Squeezebox players. Each player operates completely independently of the others, so you can have different music playing in your garage, kitchen, bed room, living room... wherever! In addition, if you have multiple Squeezebox players, you can synchronize them so that they play back the same audio in every room of your house.
We simply were not willing to compromise on the Squeezebox's interface. We evaluated several LCD displays from different manufacturers, but none came remotely close to the VFD in brightness and readability. Many were completely unreadable at a distance of just five feet. Fluorescent displays cost a bit more, and you get what you pay for!
Yes, the Squeezebox supports both DHCP and static IP addresses. It also has a feature called "Slim Discovery Protocol", which automatically locates the SlimServer on your network. For LANs which already have a DHCP server, Squeezebox is ready to run out-of-the-box, without having to do any configuration. If you don't have DHCP, you can enter the IP addresses manually.
Since the Squeezebox network interface is 10 megabit ethernet, you can use either a CAT3 or CAT5 ethernet cable. If you are connecting directly to a computer you will need a crossover cable, otherwise a regular straight cable will work just fine. (Note: Some Macintosh computers will work with either a regular or crossover cable.) The maximum length for 10base-T and 100base-T cables is 100 meters or about 328 feet, assuming that the appropriate type of wire is used and it is laid correctly.
An inexpensive 10Mbps hub has about 25 times the capacity needed to stream MP3 audio at the highest quality (320Kbps). Typically, MP3s are encoded at 128Kbps to 192Kbps. You do not need 10/100 Ethernet - Squeezebox is compatible with fast Ethernet LANS, as long as your hub/switch also supports 10Mbps (most do).
The Squeezebox is officially supported under Windows 95/98/NT/2000/Me/XP, Linux, and MacOSX. It is also known to work on a wide variety of other operating systems, so it's safe to say that just about any modern OS will be compatible. The Squeezebox has been tested on all of the following platforms:
BeOS, FreeBSD, Linux (X86, PPC, and MIPS), Mac OSX, NetBSD (X86), OpenBSD, Solaris (X86, Sparc), Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, Me, XP
We have users with single Squeezebox players using Pentium 166 PCs as servers with 64M of memory. We generally recommend a 300Mhz Pentium II with 128M of memory. You'll need more memory if your music library is large, approximately 32MB for each 15,000 songs. You also may need a faster CPU if you wish to use multiple Squeezebox players with a single server computer. Any macintosh capable of running OS X should be able to be a SlimServer.
Most companies would prefer that their customers not know about competing products. We have no such qualms - we think that the more you know about our competition, the more excited you'll be about owning a Squeezebox!
We've taken a completely different approach in designing the Squeezebox. We could have had our product on the market a year ago, if we'd decided to start with an off-the-shelf design. Instead we decided to do our own design - custom firmware, custom chips, custom protocols. As a result, our product is easy to use, small, wicked fast, versatile, and affordable.
The bigggest advantages of the Squeezebox over competing players are:
Here's a quick run down of a few specific features, although it's hard to do a tit-for-tat comparison. The best thing we can suggest is to read up on all the products, and decide for yourself!
Squeezebox | Audiotron | Rio | |
---|---|---|---|
Architecture | Our own custom hardware and open firmware. | ARM system-on-chip, running Windows CE | ARM system-on-chip, running Linux |
Display | Large vacuum fluorescent display | Backlit LCD | *tiny* Backlit LCD |
Capacity | Unlimited! Since the Squeezebox stores its database on your PC instead of on the player, it can handle MP3 collections of absolutely any size. | Max 30,000 songs | Max 10,000 songs |
Supported platforms | Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, MacOSX, and more! | Windows only | Windows only |
Protocol | Custom, open protocol | Windows file sharing | NFS and HTTP |
Software | Powerful and mature open source software | Proprietary | Proprietary |
Power supply | 110 and 240V compatible | 110V only | 110 and 240V |
Synchronization | Yes | No | No |
Customizeable | Yes | No | No |
Volume control | Yes | Yes | No |
Web interface | Yes | Yes | No |
The SlimServer software is open source (GPL) and available via and download from the Slim Devices website. If you make any improvements, we encourage you to post them to our developers list so that they can be shared with the rest of our community and possibly added to the standard release.
Yes, you can connect the player directly to your computer using an Ethernet crossover cable. You can purchase a crossover cable at most retail computer stores. Once you have this connection, you'll need to set up your network adaptor and the Squeezebox with static IP addresses so that they can find each other.
Squeezebox includes a regulated power supply with the correct plug style and input voltage for your shipping destination.
We figured most people would prefer to use their own choice of amplifier and speakers, so the Squeezebox does not have either built-in.
Yes! Both!
Yes! With the release of the SlimServer software 4.0, a daily alarm clock is available by using the remote to visit the Settings area on the Squeezebox.
Squeezebox let's you browse your collection by file name or by ID3 tags.
Yes. The Squeezebox lets you play MP3s by artist, album, genre, from a playlist, by file, from a single folder or folders of folders. You can shuffle the list at any time, add new songs to the list of songs or un-shuffle to play them in order.
Squeezebox sends the decoded IR signals directly to the server. It's possible to write plug-ins for the server that can control other programs or network devices from your computer.
You can create links or shortcuts to other folders and place them in your specified Music Library Folder. The contents of the linked folders will then be part of your Music Library.
Navigate into the "Player Settings" area with the remote control. Choose "Synchronize", then select the other player you want to synchronize with and press the RIGHT button. Both will play the same thing and you can control their "synchronized" playback from either remote. Go back to the same place and press RIGHT again to unsync.
You can also set up synchronziation from the Player Settings page in the web interface.
In any web browser, type in this URL: http://localhost:9000/. Replace "localhost" with the IP address for the computer running the SlimServer software.
Reset the player by removing and then reinserting the power cable.
No. The Squeezebox player needs a SlimServer running in order to listen to streaming stations.
No, you only have to enter it once. The Squeezebox stores its configuration internally in flash memory.
From the Administrative Tools folder, choose Services. You should see an entry in your service list for SlimServer. Right-click on it and choose STOP to stop the service. Right-click on it again to choose to start it.
SlimServer scans MP3 files for ID3 tag versions 1.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4. The tags it pays attention to include title, artist, album, comment, year, track number, disc set numbers, band/orchestra, composer and genre.
The Squeezebox supports MPEG 1/2, layers 2/3, for both VBR and fixed data rates up to 320Kbps (the maximum for MP3). The SlimServer software can automatic encoding/transcoding from other some other formats, but the player will decode MPEG.
The Squeezebox player can play back MP3Pro files using the backwards compatibility feature of MP3Pro, unfortunately, the audio quality in this mode has significantly reduced quality. We recommend encoding your music using standard MP3 format.
The Squeezebox player's hardware decoder only supports MP3 format for decoding. Unfortunately, the licensing issues surrounding these formats make it impossible for us to convert these formats to MP3 on the fly.
The Squeezebox player's hardware decoder only supports MP3 format for decoding. Under Mac OS X, Squeezebox software can convert iTunes AAC files to MP3 for playback on the Squeezebox on-the-fly. To enable this feature, you'll need to install the free (and high quality) LAME MP3 encoder. For more information about LAME in general, click here . LAME is free, but in some countries you may need to pay a license fee in order to legally encode MP3 files.
There are several ways to install LAME, including the excellent iTunes-LAME Encoder, an Installer package provided by Mike Solomon, and the Fink package system.
Once you have LAME installed, you should be able to playback iTunes-ripped AAC files (.m4a) as well as the audio from any QuickTime movie (.mov). Music purchased from the Apple Music Store (.m4p files) is protected and cannot be played back with Squeezebox until Apple provides the necessary hooks to enable this. In the mean time, it is possible to burn your Apple Music Store songs to CD and re-rip them.
Note that LAME-based encoding to MP3 for playback can use a substantial amount of CPU power. We continue to recommend high-bitrate MP3 encoded files for best performance, highest audio quality, and best compatibililty.
If you have both LAME and the ogg tools installed, SlimServer will automatically convert Ogg files to MP3 on the fly for playback. To enable this feature, visit the Server Settings -> Additional Server Settings -> File Types section of the web interface and turn on this feature. There may be some reduction of quality due to the conversion, but it generally sounds pretty good. Note that this conversion will use a substantial amount of CPU power and may put a substantial load on your server computer.
If you have LAME installed, SlimServer will automatically convert uncompressed WAV and AIFF files to MP3 on the fly for playback. To enable this feature, visit the Server Settings -> Additional Server Settings -> File Types section of the web interface and turn on this feature. Note that this conversion will use a substantial amount of CPU power and may put a substantial load on your server computer.
Yes! SlimServer can proxy to all of the popular MP3 streaming protocols, including HTTP, Icecast/Shoutcast, and Live365.
Yes, the Squeezebox has a sophisticated, easy to use playlist management system. It lets you easily create playlists from the remote control or the web interface. In addition, the Squeezebox can use .m3u and .pls files.
Yes. CUE files are interpreted as playlists containg a number of songs, corresponding to the tracks within a single MP3 file. CUE files can also be used to point to index points within a single MP3 song.
Make sure that UDP ports 1069 and 3483 are open for communication between the Squeezebox player and the SlimServer computer. Make sure that TCP port 9000 is open for access to the SlimServer web interface.
The Squeezebox will respond to the infrared signals intended for a JVC DVD player. Check the instructions that came with your remote control to find out how to program your remote to send these codes. If you have a Philips Pronto remote, check the third-party support page on the Slim Devices web site for some pre-programmed screens for this remote.
To remove a song from the "Now Playing" playlist, navigate to the "Now Playing" menu and scroll to that song in the playlist and press the ADD button. If you press and hold the ADD button, the currently displayed song gets removed from the playlist and added to a special Saved Playlist called Zapped Songs for you to view later. To clear the whole playlist, navigate to the "Squeezebox Home" menu and scroll down until it says "Now Playing" on the second line. Press the ADD button and your playlist will be emptied.
Yes. Open this URL with your player application: http://localhost:9000/stream.mp3. (Replace "localhost" with the IP address of the computer that's acting as a server. This will start the streaming from SlimServer. Initially, this will just be silence. Now use the web interface to control SlimServer. You'll see a new "player" corresponding to the IP address of the computer that's being streamed to. Now use SlimServer web interface to browse and click on "Play" to choose some music to be played back. After a couple of seconds you'll hear that music. (The delay is due to buffering in the MP3 player software.) If you are using SlimServer's password security, you'll need to use a slightly modified URL like this: http://username:password@localhost:9000/stream.mp3
Replace "localhost" in the following URLs with the IP address of your SlimServer computer.
Yes. The Squeezebox has both an HTTP interface and a command-line style which can be used to control the player from your own scripts or from the command line. See the Technical Information section on the online documentation.
The Squeezebox has an i2c bus that you can control directly over the network. Dallas Semiconductor has a number of interesting i2c peripherals or you can roll your own i2c slave device using a microcontroller.
Yes, with a Psion Wavefinder.
These "get you going" notes are based on using another application called DABBar to control the Wavefinder. I have heard that WinDAB http://www.simanse.com/windab/ works as well although I believe that you might not be able to retune the Wavefinder directly from the Squeezebox across multiplexes using WinDAB. Perhaps someone could post on that. DABBar does not need to be on the same machine as your SlimServer.
[playlist] numberofentries=4 File1=http://192.168.1.11:8080/49706.mp2 Title1=1Xtra - BBC Length1=-1 File2=http://192.168.1.11:8080/49707.mp2 Title2=BBC 6 Music Length2=-1 File3=http://192.168.1.11:8080/49708.mp2 Title3=BBC 7 Length3=-1 File4=http://192.168.1.11:8080/49697.mp2 Title4=BBC Radio 1 Length5=-1 Version=2
Hope that helps a few we are truly fortunate that Slim Devices provided mp2 capability within the Squeezebox (thanks guys) one of the few players that does and also an ability to play 48Khz bitrates again one of the few players to do this. If you managed to buy your Wavefinder at one of the recent discounted prices you have ended up with an awesome solution based on two very capable products that know nothing about each joining as one. Now how often does that happen ??? My thanks to Alistair MacDonald, author of DabBar for the magic that makes it all work !
I have pasted my complete playlist file below maybe Slim Devices have a place on their website to store it as a downloadable file. While my station list will be somewhat different to yours I think that most of the stations are national and the ID's are consistent.
My local multiplex TWG-EMPA W.Yorks offers Classic Gold KISS Sunrise Radio and The Pulse so these probably won't work for you unless you're in Yorkshire ! Just paste the following into a text file and name it DABRadio.pls. If your Wavefinder is on the same PC as your SlimServer then tit should works as is pop it in your Playlists file on SlimServer and navigate into the file, select and play ! If it's on a different PC then search and replace "localhost" by "192.168.1.100" or whatever ip address your Wavefinder is on and then save and move the file. There should be 24 replacements. Happy listening - Kevin
[playlist] numberofentries=24 File1=http://localhost:8080/49706.mp2 Title1=1Xtra - BBC Length1=-1 File2=http://localhost:8080/49707.mp2 Title2=BBC 6 Music Length2=-1 File3=http://localhost:8080/49708.mp2 Title3=BBC 7 Length3=-1 File4=http://localhost:8080/49697.mp2 Title4=BBC Radio 1 Length5=-1 File5=http://localhost:8080/49698.mp2 Title5=BBC Radio 2 Length5=-1 File6=http://localhost:8080/49699.mp2 Title6=BBC Radio 3 Length6=-1 File7=http://localhost:8080/49700.mp2 Title7=BBC Radio 4 Length7=-1 File8=http://localhost:8080/49701.mp2 Title8=BBC Radio 5 Live Length8=-1 File9=http://localhost:8080/49718.mp2 Title9=BBC Asian Network Length9=-1 File10=http://localhost:8080/49720.mp2 Title10=BBC World Service Length10=-1 File11=http://localhost:8080/49825.mp2 Title11=Classic FM Length11=-1 File12=http://localhost:8080/52683.mp2 Title12=Classic Gold Length12=-1 File13=http://localhost:8080/50112.mp2 Title13=Core Length13=-1 File14=http://localhost:8080/50368.mp2 Title14=D1 Temp Length14=-1 File15=http://localhost:8080/50624.mp2 Title15=D1 ten Length15=-1 File16=http://localhost:8080/49612.mp2 Title16=KISS Length16=-1 File17=http://localhost:8080/50880.mp2 Title17=Life Length17=-1 File18=http://localhost:8080/51136.mp2 Title18=OneWord Length18=-1 File19=http://localhost:8080/49856.mp2 Title19=Planet Rock Length19=-1 File20=http://localhost:8080/51392.mp2 Title20=PrimeTime Radio Length20=-1 File21=http://localhost:8080/52939.mp2 Title21=Sunrise Radio Length21=-1 File22=http://localhost:8080/49344.mp2 Title22=talkSPORT Length22=-1 File23=http://localhost:8080/51632.mp2 Title23=The Pulse Length23=-1 File24=http://localhost:8080/49600.mp2 Title24=Virgin Radio Length24=-1 Version=2
Some Squeezebox owners have written "Plugins" for the SlimServer software that add functionality beyond what comes with the SlimServer software. A few of these have been included with the latest version of the SlimServer software.
To turn on the Plugins menu on your Squeezebox, use the "Server Settings" web page and click on the Additional Server Settings link at the bottom of the page. Then click on "Add", next to the listing for the Plugins menu on this page.
You can find some of these plugins here on the Slim Devices web site. To install these files, download them with your web browser and place them in the folder named "Plugins" that's inside your "server" folder. Double-check that the files have a ".pm" at the end of the file name. Now reboot or restart your server software. The new functions should appear in your Plugins menu.
Mac users: The Plugins folder is hidden within the SlimServer preference pane. Look in either the folder named Library at the top level of your hard disk or the Library folder in your Home folder. Inside one of these folders you should find a folder called "SlimServer.preferencePane". Control-click on this folder and choose "Show Package Contents", then open the "contents" folder, then the "server" folder, then the for a folder called "Plugins". Place the downloaded plugins files in this folder. Note: If you upgrade your SlimServer software, you'll need to re-install any plugins you may have added.
Windows Users: The Plugins folder is installed by default here: C:\Program Files\SlimServer\server\Plugins
Make sure that your energy saver settings on your computer are set so that your computer doesn't go to sleep. If it does, your player will go to sleep as well. If that's not the problem, make sure that the IP address on your computer isn't changing. To do this, adjust your TCP/IP settings to use a static IP address.
If you have a Squeezebox custom remote, make sure your batteries are fresh and installed properly and that you have installed the latest SlimServer software and firmware.
If you have one of the Sony universal remotes try the following steps.
Make sure you are running the latest SlimServer software and firmware. The new remote requires version 3.1 of the server software and version 2.0 of the player firmware to operate. If you are running the latest software, check that your batteries are fresh and installed properly.
Check all your network connections, and make sure that the DHCP server is running. Try a different Ethernet cable, even if the hub indicates a good link.
Ensure that the SlimServer software is running, and that you can access it using a web browser.
Squeezebox is capable of slightly higher volume levels than most consumer audio gear and may cause clippin" with some receivers. If you notice clipping, you may wish to reduce the Squeezebox's volume level. If the volume is too low even at the maximum setting or if it varies between tracks, try using your encoder's normalize setting to ensure that all your tracks use the full range.
Make sure that the audio cables are connected firmly to both the Squeezebox and your amplifier. Also, make sure you aren't using the "phono" input on your amplifier, as it may have the wrong impedance. Finally, try to keep the volume level on the output of the Squeezebox as high as possible and use the volume control on your amplifier whenever possible. This will reduce the loudness of any analog noise or interference by keeping the output levels from the Squeezebox as high as possible.
Any such messages may be safely ignored–they're for troubleshooting in case you have problems later.
The SlimServer's web interface is available in several different "skins". Some skins use JavaScript, Java, CSS, or other elements that may not be available in all browsers. The "Default" skin is very simple, and should render correctly in all web browsers. To change the skin, open the web interface and go to the "Additional Server Settings" area.
To use BROWSE MUSIC FOLDER on a network-mapped volume in a Windows environment, and you are running the SlimServer software as
a Windows service, you need to register the SlimServer service to login with a user and password that has access to that volume. Under Win2k and XP follow this path:
CONTROL PANELS --> ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS --> SERVICES --> SlimServer --> PROPERTIES --> LOG ON Tab --> Activate THIS ACCOUNT
Now enter a valid Windows user account that corresponds to a network share volume user account on the machine hosting the share.
If this doesn't address the problem, try using a UNC-style path to specify your music library in the Server Settings page. Instead of X:\path for a mounted volume, use \\SERVER\path style addressing. This may work for some servers where direct volume letter mapping does not.
The default installation of Perl on RH9 doesn't include Time::HiRes as it should. There's a binary perl-Time-HiRes-1.38-3.i386.rpm RPM on disk 2 of the RedHat install that works fine and is what you need to get the SlimServer software running under RH9. I also found a copy on the net that worked for me. As root, use this command to install it from the net:
rpm -i http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/misc/perl-Time-HiRes-1.38-3.i386.rpm
Check to make sure that any playlists in your music library contain valid paths to music files in your library. Playlists that refer to themselves or other folders in your library, or playlist entries that refer to disks that aren't available can cause the SlimServer software to get confused.
If this isn't the problem, try moving all of your music files out of the library and then move them back in groups and restarting the server. Try to find, by process of elimination, which files are confusing the SlimServer software.
By default, Windows doesn't give high priority to services and the SlimServer software sometimes needs a fair amount of CPU. To work around this, open your "Control Panels", and then open the "System" control panel. On the "Advanced" tab, find the "Performance" section and click on "Settings". On the "Advanced" tab, choose "Backround Services" under "Processor Scheduling". Click "OK" and the SlimServer software will now get more CPU cycles and perform better.
If you've moved your iTunes music files around, iTunes can export incorrect information about the songs in its library. You'll need to make sure that iTunes has the correct folder for your music library. Visit the iTunes Preferences and click on Advanced. If the path to your Music Library folder is incorrect, you'll need to fix it. If it is correct, try changing it to a different folder and then change it back to the correct folder. iTunes will then update the paths to all your music and export that data correctly. (This process won't move any of your music, but it will force iTunes to scan your music library and update the paths to all the songs.)
If this doesn't resolve your problem, iTunes might get confused if you changed the "Keep Music Folder Organized" or "Add Track Number" settings in iTunes. Try changing them and then changing them back to have iTunes update the correct information about your music files.
Mac OS X aliases are not supported by the SlimServer software yet. Symbolic links, however, are but they require a little more work to create. Here's a brief tutorial on doing so.
iTunes can get confused if it's trying to update its music library while the SlimServer software is importing it. If this happens frequently, we recommend you stop the SlimServer software when you are ripping music.
There is probably a problem with the MTU setting for your network interface. VPN clients such as the Cisco VPN client utility may change your machine's MTU setting from the default. This causes the fast-stuttering on the SLIMP3. If you have the Cisco client installed, run the included Set MTU utility and change the MTU setting to "default" for your network adapter. Reboot your machine to implement the change.
If you aren't using the Cisco VPN client, then check the settings for your network interface and make sure that the MTU is set to 1500. There is some additional information for changing your MTU setting here.
Another approach is to visit the SlimServer software web page for Server Settings -> Additional Server Settings -> Network and change the setting for "Maximum number of bytes of audio data to send to player in a UDP packet" to a lower number. Note that this approach will reduce the efficiency of your network.
Try using the following URL: http://127.0.0.1:9000/. (Be sure to type the "http://" part, as some versions of Internet Explorer require it when accessing a URL by IP address.)
Here are some things to try:
Try following these steps:
If the update succeeds and you find that the remote control does not work then you may have de-programmed the remote when you where holding down a key to get the SLIMP3 into boot mode. Try resetting remote.
If the updater fails to write to the SLIMP3 device then there is some sort of communications error. Check the following:
If your Squeezebox is connected to the SlimServer software, you can press and hold the BRIGHTNESS button on the remote for 5 seconds to automatically start the upgrade process.
If the firmware upgrade failed and the display reads "Ready to update this Squeezebox." and indicates the IP address for the player, then you can open up this URL: http://localhost:9000/firmware.html. This page will have a place for you to enter the IP address displayed on the Squeezebox. Click Submit to begin the upgrade process.
If the firmware on your Squeezebox is corrupted, the Squeezebox may be reset to the IP address "192.168.1.69". If this happens AND the IP address of the computer running the SlimServer software does not begin with 192.168.1, you may need to temporarily change the network settings on the SlimServer computer to an IP address that does, such as 192.168.1.65, in order to peform the firmware update.
The SlimServer software connects to the server update.slimdevices.com every time it starts up and every 24 hours after that to check for updates. You can disable the automatic checking for updates in the Additional Server Settings area of the SlimServer.
This is a "feature" of Internet Explorer on Windows. To turn off the annoying "click" when exploring/ clicking on hyperlinks, navigate to Start Menu / Settings / Sounds and Multimedia / Sounds. Look for the sound settings: Windows Explorer / Start Navigation and change the selected sound to "none".
Check out the Help area at the bottom of the SlimServer software home page or visit the support area of our web site at http://www.slimdevices.com/. There are also active user forums on Yahoo Groups for both end-users and developers.
We welcome email to support@slimdevices.com, or call us at +1 650 210 9400.