bizmodeller blog

Major update to "iHomeServer for iTunes" software brings iTunes streaming to non-Apple devices including web browsers, Android, PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360

Filed under iHomeServer

APRIL 2014 PRESS RELEASE Bizmodeller has released version 3 of iHomeServer for iTunes - Windows software that extends iTunes with advanced media server features. iHomeServer for iTunes version 3 is a major upgrade that enables iTunes streaming to non-Apple devices such as Web browsers, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Smart TVs and Games Consoles (XBOX 360 / PlayStation 3) – in fact most of the devices in the modern family home. Available now to both desktop and Home Server users, iHomeServer provides an innovative iTunes Web Interface that allows users to access their iTunes libraries from any device with a web browser - within the home or on the Internet. The web interface is pure HTML/JavaScript and does not use proprietary technologies such as Silverlight or Flash. As a result, it is compatible with a wide range of today's browsers and devices. Furthermore, iHomeServer also includes an integrated iTunes DLNA server that lets users access their iTunes li... [More]

When is version 3 of iHomeServer being released?

Filed under Beta , General , iHomeServer , iTunes , rtRemote for iTunes

We are just finalising the user guide and adding support for streaming of your iTunes music and videos to additional DLNA devices (more brands of TVs). So version 3 of iHomeServer will be available to everyone within a couple of weeks. Just to remind you of the key new features in iHomeServer version 3: Automatic ripping of DVD into your iTunes library Update your iTunes metadata on any device Streaming of your iTunes music and videos using DLNA to Smart TVs, Windows RT Surface (using our rtRemote product available in the Windows app store), Android Smart Phones,  and many many more. Streaming of your iTunes music and videos over the internet while away from home – on holiday, at work, wherever – with the ability to select a suitable transcoding option for lower bandwidth connections Identifies which episodes in a TV series you have not already watched Plus all the great features already in iHomeServer version 2: Create multiple “Watch Folders” to synchr... [More]

New: WHSv1 iTunes Installer - free tool to help install iTunes on WHS v1 without Orca!

Filed under iHomeServer , iHomeServer 2 , iTunes

Many users will know that trying to install iTunes on Windows Home Server v1 can be a pain - they will usually be met with an error saying that the Apple Mobile Support requires Windows XP Service Pack 2 or higher which aborts the whole installation.

There are many posts on many forums which give detailed instructions on how to get around this by using Orca to edit the Apple MSIs and remove the installation launch conditions.

We have put together a small free tool that automates this into a single click. Once you have downloaded the "WHS iTunes Installer", you will be asked to point the tool to the iTunes Setup file you downloaded from the Apple Web Site (iTunesSetup.exe). The tool will then start the installation and remove the Service Pack 2 condition on-the-fly when required. There is also support for upgrades, if you use the Apple Software Updater to download iTunes instead.

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How to use iHomeServer with network drives or DriveBender disk pools

Filed under iHomeServer , iTunes , Windows Home Server

We have had quite a few users recently who have been unable to get iHomeServer to index content on network drives or local DriveBender storage pools.  The symptoms of this are that you can add and view files in iTunes that are stored on a remote / network or DriveBender drive when you are running iTunes interactively, however, when you run iTunes via iHomeServer then you can no longer add new content and existing content may not be available within iTunes.  Some users have also had problems seeing cover art and other metadata when they have pointed their iTunes to an iTunes library on a network drive.  You may see these symptoms immediately, or after a reboot or even intermittedly. We posted a blog post a while ago about File Not Found errors similar issues and it is the same root cause problem here. Windows Services cannot reliably see mapped network drives.  There are many Microsoft articles explaining why, but in essence, any network drive letter is tied to a Win... [More]

How to synchronise your iTunes purchases from one iTunes to another iTunes

Filed under iHomeServer , iTunes

When you set up a brand new iTunes media server, you will typically be starting with a blank media library. Many people will also have another copy of iTunes, say, on a laptop, and they'll use this one to download new content the iTunes store. How can your server and laptop iTunes installations talk together?

One of the simplest methods is to use iTunes "Home Sharing". This blog shows how to set this up to copy your existing media from your iTunes laptop to your iTunes media server and set up your media server to automatically pull new purchases from your iTunes laptop

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Using iTunes on a Server without a Sound card

Filed under iHomeServer , iHomeServer 2 , iTunes , Windows Home Server

iTunes doesn't like running on systems without sound cards. But there are many reasons why you might want to do such a crazy thing - for example, hosting a central iTunes library using Home Sharing, or hosting an iTunes server whose only purpose in life is to AirPlay to other AirPlay devices. When you start up iTunes on a server with no sound card, you will very likely get a dialog box saying:

iTunes has detected a problem with your audio configuration.  Audio/Video playback may not operate properly.

This post shows how iHomeServer for iTunes overcomes this by monitoring iTunes dialogs in the background and automatically dismissing dialogs that can interfere with running iTunes on a server.

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12 Ways to Make an Airport Express More Reliable

Filed under AirPort Express , General , iHomeServer , iTunes

So you've built a multi-room AirPlay setup; an Airport Express in every room hooked to a killer amp.  It's all working just great, but then just as you're about to woo the girl of your dreams by playing "Wonderful Tonight" simultaneously in every room of the house, you get the dreaded 'drop-out' or worse still, 'Bedroom Speakers' disappears from the speakers menu of your iPhone Remote App!

This post gives some hints and tips about how to get AirPlay working better, without dropouts so you get glitch free audio and video

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Use iTunes to create a Sonos like setup for a fraction of the cost!

Filed under iHomeServer

Sonos offers a solution to "Play all your digital music all over your house wirelessly". This post shows how you can save around £414 by building a multi-room streaming solution using iTunes and iHomeServer, which also supports video!

Why spend money on something when you probably have all the bits lying around the house to set up an awesome media streaming solution?

This post shows how to use AirPlay and Home Sharing to set up a server that can stream to any iOS device and how to integrate AirPlay into existing TVs, and hifi systems

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Where are the iHomeServer for iTunes log files?

Filed under iHomeServer

Lots of people have asked us where iHomeServer puts its log files. The answer is that most important messages are written to the Windows Application log file so you can use Event Viewer to look at the main events that have taken place or major errors. A much more verbose log is written to: %APPDATA%\iHomeServer (for iTunes)\iTunesHomeServer.log [More]

How to run iHomeServer for iTunes as a non admin user

Filed under iHomeServer , iHomeServer

When you install iHome Server for iTunes, you specify the user account under which you wish iTunes to run.  Of course, you can use your normal Windows account to do this, in which case, when prompted, just enter your account name in the form COMPUTERNAME\USERNAME, eg: WIN7-COMPUTER\Joe.Bloggs Enter your Windows logon password, or if you don't, leave the password fields blank. However, it makes sense to set up a brand new user to act as your system iTunes account.  In this case, follow these steps which are applicable to Windows 7.  If you are using a different operating system, then there may be minor variations: 1. Go to the "Computer Management" applet which you can find under Control Panel / Administrative Tools:      2. Create a new user account for your iTunes Home Server, specifying a password.  Ensure you uncheck 'user must change password on next logon' and make the account's password never expire:   3. Now comes the tricky bit.  D... [More]