Hi everyone,

After reading this thread and going over the info on the Linkplayer site, I'm considering adding a Mac mini (with Beoport) to act as a media server, as well as providing N.MUSIC and N.RADIO, all via Linkplayer.

Current set-up is BS3200 (audio master, linked to 3 other rooms on ML - audio only) with a Pioneer HD TV (connected to BS3200 via RCA leads to A.AUX for TV sound through BL6000's) all controlled via Beo5. TV and BS3200 are in the same room. Mac mini and Beoport to go in the same room (hidden and no additional IR eye or speakers connected to Beoport).

With this in mind, I have the following questions I'm hoping can be answered before going ahead:

1. Will I be able to wake-up the Mac and control Front Row with this set up? i.e. press V.MEM on Beo5/4 and have the BS3200 (in V.MEM mode) acting as the IR receiver, sending commands through ML to Beoport and on to the Mac? Presumably N.MUSIC/RADIO will work also?

2.  I'd like to connect the Mac mini to the TV via HDMI to get the best quality video signal. If I do so, what will be the result for the audio signal? Presumably for N.MUSIC/RADIO to work I'll need to connect the Mac's headphone jack to the Beoport Audio In. With both this and the HDMI connection to the TV, what happens to the audio signal?

Here's hoping I can get a reply and a solution, as from what I'm reading here the Linkplayer software seems to be a great leap forward in integrating Mac with B&O.

Thanks in adavce for any help, guys.

Matthew

Hi Matthew

The BS3200 will only pass the N.MUSIC and N.RADIO commands to the Beoport. If you want to control other sources in fullscreen mode on your TV, there are 2 possibilities:

1 - You set N.RADIO to MENU. In this solution, you press NRADIO, and the 2 to get N.RADIO, without turning the TV on. Or you turn the TV ON and then press N.RADIO and you get the menu interface, with all the sources to choose from.

2 - You get an IR receiver for the Beoport (they are not the same as for the Beolink active, so make sure you order the right one). You can then set LinkPlayer to react to either PC or V.MEM or the source of your choice.

Beoport should wake up the mac mini when you call N.MUSIC, or N.RADIO or V.MEM...

The problem with the new mac mini is that you have to go to the sound preference panel to change the sound output from the HDMI to the mini jack and vice versa. It cannot output from both at the same time.

In your setup, in the 2nd solution as described above, it would need to send the sound in analog to the Beoport (for N.MUSIC distribution) and in digital through the HDMI (for the PC or V.MEM) usage.

I will try to include a feature in LinkPlayer to make this happen automatically, but it will take a few weeks to be ready.

I would start by the first option a described above, and then when you see the LinkPlayer has this new feature, maybe you can order an extra IR receive and switch to the second option.

p.

Thanks for the response, Philippe - much appreciated.

Suggestion 1 makes sense and may be the way forward. If I understand correctly, the idea is to use N.RADIO on the Beo4/5 to activate the Linkplayer main menu and from there, pressing 2 activates Linkradio. This will put the BS3200 into N.RADIO mode and, given N.RADIO is recognised by the BS3200, commands from the Beo4/5 should be sent through the BS3200 to the Beoport without any problems? Will the display work as it should too?

Presumably, I can then access any of the Mac's available media options/sources through the BS3200 (in N.RADIO mode) in this way, including FrontRow, Video, Photos and Web?

If I have all of that right, does the audio issue you describe in suggestion 2 go away as long as I set 'audio out' on the Mac to the headphone jack? If I'm accessing/controling Linkplayer with the BS3200 in N.RADIO mode, and the Mac's 'audio out' is set to the headphone jack, all sound from the Mac should go out via Beoport to the BS3200, and this would be independent of any video sent to the TV via HDMI - is that correct?

If I have that all right, it looks like I might have a solution here, which would be fantastic. If you have time Philippe, and can let me know if I'm on the right track (or not!), that would be great. Thanks again,

Matthew

You have understood perfectly!

I still recommend solution 2 when I have solved that issue.

p.

Thanks for your help once again Philippe. I really appreciate it.

Cheers,

Matthew

LinkPlayer 1.1 has jest been released with plenty of new features (Use LinkPlayer > Check for Update to get it):

General

•Improved Menu System
•Compatibility with HDMI Macs (New Sound Options)
•Possibility to disable LinkRemote control (in case you have 2 LinkPlayer on the same network)
•Improved usability when controlled my PUC
•Plasma Protect (Moves the album art and text every few seconds)
•In Vintage compatibility mode, it is now also possible to put the whole system to standby
•LinkPlayer does a better job at hiding the mouse cursor in full screen
•ITunes and iPhoto Libraries are loaded at startup. LinkMusic, LinkRadio, Photo and Video sources start faster.
•The interface sounds when browsing the menu are less intrusive
•Compatibility with Beolab 2000 and 3500 in option 2.

LinkMusic

•The top level menu (MENU, STOP, STOP) now allow you to choose between Playlist, Genre, Album and Artist navigation, so you do not have to remember the colours when navigating in full screen mode.
•The top level menu now allows you to activate/deactivate Random and Repeat.

LinkRadio

•Possibility to set the buffer size. A smaller buffer size allows the radio to start quicker.

Video

•Performance improvement when navigating the menus
•Possibility to view videos stored in the iTunes Library.
•The video name and the poster picture is sent to LinkRemote

iTunes

•Enhanced Menus

EyeTV

•Possibility to access EyeTV native menus (Red button). Use EXIT to return to TV programme.
•Teletext (TEXT or Blue button) - When in teletext mode, you can use colour buttons and number keys. Use EXIT to return to TV programme.
•When recording, it is now impossible to activate another source.

EyeTV Recordings

•No more Preview Picture when navigating the menus, this is because the latest version of EyeTV has removed this possibility. Will try to find a way to bring it back.

Photo

•Faster start
•Possibility to browse by Faces
•Possibility to choose a playlist and activate background music from the top level menu
•Photo and Photo name are now sent to LinkRemote

Menu

•When a source has been called through the MENU source, it is now possible to come back to the source selection menu by pressing the MENU key twice. This can be disabled.

 

wow this app is so good!!!!!!!!!!!! I dont have beoport yet, but can use it anyway thru BS 9000. But only pilot it with iPad/iPhone..... question: When you browse thru artist an you have couple of Cds, you only get a long list of songs. It would be nice if there where kind of line or something between each album!! Nice work!!!!!!:-)

another thougt....nice if this app where in windowsversion to....so my BeoMedia1 comes to life again...LOL

mr_anders_son:

wow this app is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must admit... I have been a lurker and have read everything that has been posted regarding Philippe and LinkPlayer!

I have, however -never posted, until now... I don't have a BeoPort either.

Just wanted to take a moment and compliment him on all the massive work he has put in and the hugely favorable responses posted by other BeoWorlders!

Incredible job!

burantek:

mr_anders_son:

wow this app is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!

I must admit... I have been a lurker and have read everything that has been posted regarding Philippe and LinkPlayer!

I have, however -never posted, until now... I don't have a BeoPort either.

Just wanted to take a moment and compliment him on all the massive work he has put in and the hugely favorable responses posted by other BeoWorlders!

Incredible job!

I absolutely agree; I actually voted (as did others seeing as Philippe was a runner up) for him to get a Beoworld award ... still every one who got the awards deserved them so I am not complaining, maybe we just needed something special from us all ...

Also note that it is possible for you to dip you toe into the LinkPlayer pond without a BeoPort, in fact this version has a few tweaks that Philippe added so we could better support Cliff's installation.

INCREDIBLE JOB

mr_anders_son:

but can use it anyway thru BS 9000.

LinkPlayer works just fine with the BS 9000. I have created a "Vintage Audiomaster Compatibility" mode that works pretty well. See this page. If you are interested, send me an email describing your setup (which device in which room and their option settings) and I can tell you if it'll work.

 

 

Thanks for the praise everyone.

The goal of this update (1.1) was to improve the user experience. The menu system has been much improved. Every menu has a title (so you know when you are) and there is also an indication of what is the parent menu.

Some sources now have a top menu that allows to choose between different modes, so it is not necessary to remember colour buttons.

There are new indicators as well that appear to the right of a menu item. It can be a tick mark to indicate that this track is currently playing, or a ">" sign to indicate that a sub menu will be shown. It can also show a value, such as On or Off or a play list name.

The cool thing is that the menu improvements are also shown in LinkRemote on the iPhone and iPad.

I'll be taking it easy in August, but I thought I'll tell you what I will be working on next...

I am planning to add native support for more digital sources, such as podcasts and streaming content like Last.FM, etc... I am not sure how far I'll get, as those streaming source do not necessary have public APIs, but I'll give it a go...

p.

elephant:

Also note that it is possible for you to dip you toe into the LinkPlayer pond without a BeoPort

OK... I think I am going to "dip my toe"!

What do you mean by not needing a BeoPort? What could I expect w/o one to just get started? I noted a few posts up that [mr_anders_son] uses it w/ a BS9000 and no BeoPort.

I am also interested in the "bring N.MUSIC and N.RADIO to a vintage audio master" from the site.

Is this the best thread to post in as my journey progresses?

yes, and if you have any question you can contact me directly. See how on the Feedback page.

Great!

I'll try to keep this simple. I'll post what I have to use.

 

REVISED

 

Room A

V: BS1 > BV4

A: BS9000 Mk. II (no N.MUSIC... yet)

S: BS1> BeoLink Passive > BV3000 passive panels

 

-ML-

 

Room B

A: BeoLink Active w/ IR Eye -> BL3000 Panels

C: G5 PowerMac  w/ BeoPort (to purchase)

 

Computing

Full hardwired network + Apple Extreme wireless + Apple Airports

Primary: G5 PowerMac running Leopard, AppleTV

 

Thanks much!

burantek:

I'll try to keep this simple.

I am glad you did not try to baffle us ....

Today I visited Cliff to progress his BeoPort-less installation;  what we found is that the LinkPlayer iPad remote makes a BIG difference to usability.  I think I have a hazy recollection that you were an early iPad adopter ... I would certainly look at that combination as a useable combination.

On the other hand, without the BeoPort with its support of things like the [MENU] key, the colour keys (Red, Green, yellow, Blue) are not possible: effectively you are constrained to the keys that an Apple Remote has.

So for example, when LinkPlayer is iTunes mode playing in Library (Yellow) mode to change to Playlist (Blue) mode these are the two alternative approaches:

 

• Beo4 to BeoPort

 

Press the Blue arrow key

 

 

• Beo4 to Apple PUC

 

Press the [EXIT] key; LinkPlayer displays MENU?

Press [EXIT] again; LinkPlayer displays PC?

Press [EXIT] again; Linkplayer displays BLUE?

Press (GO); LinkPlayer switches from "Library" mode to "Playlist" mode, using the the last used Playlist.

 

and that sequence [EXIT], [EXIT], etc is what you would have to do if you just had the Apple Remote and no Beo4

 

PhilLondon:

Burantek,

I'll be analysing your setup later today.

Thank you... I was going to EDIT the previous post, but I think I will leave it intact and EDIT as things develop... ending up w/ a final working configuration for others to reference -something that would be neat to add perhaps to your site. (i.e.) Ways of using LinkPlayer.

For now... I have indeed D'loaded LinkPlayer and installed it. Even in my primitive current environment -it is working great. I am still finding my way around. Until I can source a BeoPort, I would be interested in hearing feedback on folks using it sans the BeoPort. I am thinking about moving an AirPort Express over to the AUX on my BS9000 and having a go w/ the iPod app on my Touch. EDIT: As an early adopter of the Touch... I am locked at 2.2.1, no 3.0 -alas, no LinkRemote.

Currently, I have iTunes running from PC as well as establishing an N.RADIO playlist.

The journey has begun!

PhilLondon:

In Cliff's setup (Mac mini controlled by PUC, not using a Beoport), I recommend using LinkMusic instead of iTunes.

LinkMusic now has a top level menu where you can choose the navigation mode (PlayList/Artist/Genre/Album) and even activate Repeat/Random.

So controlling it with the Apple Remote would be:

Menu, Go, to display the Menu        (Or Exit, Go, using the Beo4/PUC)

Left, Left, to display the Modes menu

Thanks Philippe, yesterday we chartered the LinkMusic instructions for Cliff so that he has the options of either iTunes "colour" navigation (Blue=Playlists, Yellow=Library, Red=DJ ... Cliff has not activated Genius so Green is not an option), as well as the LinkPlayer options you mentioned.

What I had missed was that [>>] and [<<] can scroll the top line menu forwards and backwards ... I had been using repeated [EXIT] clicks which of course is unidirectional

 

burantek:

As an early adopter of the Touch... I am locked at 2.2.1, no 3.0 -alas, no LinkRemote.

No iPhone ?

No iPad ?

hmmm, I must have been thinking of someone else

 

One challenge I have with Cliff's configuration (and mine from a future view perspective) is how to get distributed video going from an HDMI MacMini ... I am contemplating Apple TVs as a solution ... just not sure if I should play it safe and get a current one, or wait until the upcoming (rumoured) Apple media announcement where one HOPES there will be a new ATV (that still retains composite or component analogue support ....)

 

elephant:

hmmm, I must have been thinking of someone else

Likely [beojeff] in your siggy!

Shocking, but true ...especially for friends who know I am a huge Apple fanboy.

My personal cell account is eligible for iPhones in mid September ...about (4) weeks.

Back to LinkPlayer... still running in my primitive mode. I figured out how to change sources/playlists/tracks, etc... using the keyboard. No issues so far! Regarding my project... I will likely be ML'ing my eligible rooms together, so I will start to revise my list (above)!

 

burantek:

I figured out how to change sources/playlists/tracks, etc.

Just replied to your email with advice on playlists ... and included the two KeyNote instruction files I put together on Music and Video usage in a BeoPort-less environment.

Sent under my olifant ID ... so check your spam lists if they don't appear soon.

Burantek,

Looked at your setup. The issue is that neither the BC9300 not the BS9000 can be set to option 6. 

So they cannot be on the same ML.

Also, I'd like to know if any of this (G4, Cube, iBook) has been upgrade to Leopard? (I am not sure they can)

p.

Linkplayer keep crashing all the time:-(...paid my 80US dollar today I have it in option 6 and Linkmusic mode Is there a problem with new iTunes 10??