Play simulaneously from iTunes and Soundbridge

[Anonymous]

Can anybody help.

I have set up a mac mini in a shop with 2 soundbridge units. I have created 3 different zones for playing music – 1 from the mac mini on the first floor, 1 from a soundbridge in a different part of the first floor and the second soundbridge handling the ground floor area.

My question is – can I make the first floor units play the same playlists simultaneously in time. In other words the shop owner wants the same music upstairs from two different sources. At the moment clients are drifting across the two zones we have set up and the different tracks that are playing from the Mac Mini and the SB clash with each other. Can the MM and the SB be controlled as one?

Any ideas?

Thanks – Palmy

[Anonymous]

Not as I am aware of… but then again, wouldnt it be a whole lot easier if you just split and extend the stereo-wires from 1 SB to the two-audio receivers?

If both systems have different playlists (and thus songs), you could just use an nfs mount to index locations.

[Anonymous]

Alternativly you could look up the rather expensive but awesome sonos system. which does exactly the job, (at a price though) http://www.sonos.com

[stretch]

Multiple SoundBridges can’t synchronise with each other. The best you can manage is to have them within about 1 second of each other but you need 3rd party software to do it.
http://www.rokulabs.com/community_3rd_sb.php has links to some 3rd party software. Cidero claims to offer basic synchronisation.

The SoundBridge has three audio outputs (Digital optical, digital coax & analogue)
All three work all the time & are independent. In another thread at least one person has used the multiple outputs to achieve the desired goal of a cheap multizone system.

Your other alternative is to stream the music (like an internet radio station does).
I think shoutcast is the application used.

The easiest setup to try out would be to have the ground floor SB in a multi-output setup & have the 1st floor SB loosely synchronised to it using Cidero

Or just go and buy a multi zone amplifier.

[Anonymous]

You may want to look at Nicecast, I have just tried the trial edition and it is very quick and easy to setup and sort of works, in that there is a significant delay between the Mac playing and the Soundbridges around the house.

Just the Soundbridges are close until one of them has to re-buffer then all bets are off.

NiceCast is $40

[dovad]

All would be in sync with Apple Airport Expresses. They are cheaper than SoundBridge’s as well. The SoundBridge’s are a great choice if you want to have different stuff playing in each location but for all to be in sync then you can’t beat Airport Expresses.

[Author]

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