tigerwoodKhorns Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 I am looking at ways to stream music from my server / network with an old receiver that has optical and coaxial inputs. Is an xbox 360 a good option? How about a raspberry pi? Each seems to be around $50 or so. I am looking at setting this up in maybe 3 or 4 locations in the house and want a cheap but good solution. New receivers seem to be disposable and I have receivers with DACs in each of the places where I want to stream (except for one which will need RCA audio line inputs). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Easy fix, Chromecast Audio. They are $35.00 each and you can use multiples around the house. I currently have one in my bedroom rig and soon to get another for my living room. Bill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 A bluray player with Pandora, and other apps is also an option. Most will have an optical out and connedt wired or wireless to the nome network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 5 minutes ago, willland said: Easy fix, Chromecast Audio. They are $35.00 each and you can use multiples around the house. I currently have one in my bedroom rig and soon to get another for my living room. Bill This will access music on my server? Sorry, I do not have the time to look this up right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 It will but I think you have to download some type of app on your computer. Here you go. http://www.guidingtech.com/37079/stream-music-chromecast/ https://www.google.com/chromecast/audio/ I have not tried to stream via my home network but often stream Pandora/Spotify to my CCA with my SMART phone. I hope these links will provide what you need. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opus Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Take a look at Plex: https://www.plex.tv/ There are Plex players for most platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, Windows Phone, Roku, AppleTV, nVidia Shield, Android TV, xBox One, PlayStation, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, as well as a web-based client). The Plex server app is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD, several NAS systems, and Docker. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtr20 Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 Amazon echo dot works very well. $50 You can link it to Pandora, iheartradio, Spotify, and even Sirius/XM if you have a subscription. I use mine all of the time when I'm listening to music. I plug it into my receiver's switched outlet so it turns off when I'm not listening. Just a warning, if it has power, it's always listening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaman Posted July 13, 2017 Share Posted July 13, 2017 I use my ipod touch or old iphones to plug and play streaming while charging....on one of the Pure i20 ipod docks with digital outputs. Sounds pretty darn good, is versatile and they sell on Ebay for under $100. I believe Arcam or Cambridge Audio also make one similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted July 13, 2017 Author Share Posted July 13, 2017 I will have to look into all of this. I assume that any streaming solutions involve internet streaming. I am more concerned about streaming from a server or storage attached to the device. Actually, making several copies of my music collection on hard drives and attaching with docking stations would be ideal as I would have several copies of my music and can easily turn them on and off instead of running a server all of the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eq_shadimar Posted July 14, 2017 Share Posted July 14, 2017 Find yourself an older Popcorn Hour A100 or even a newer one or a similar one from a different brand. They will be able to stream music from your network. Oppo bluray players can also stream from network or PC drives. Additionally you could look at a NAS from QNAP or similar that will run a music app or PLEX or KODI etc. The raspberry PI is also a good option but not really plug and play. You will have to fiddle with it. Another option is to get an old notebook with an optical or digital output and use that with something like Media Monkey. I have used all of these options and for me the network media streamers like the Popcorn Hour are the easiest and most reliable method to do what you want (most of them will also accept an internal HD or USB HD that you can play your music from). The notebook media monkey is great when you really want to explore and manage your music library. I have over 70,000 songs that I manage with Media Monkey. Here are some good links to get you started: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-networking-media-servers-content-streaming/ https://www.cloudmedia.com/ http://dune-hd.com/eng EDIT: Forgot to add that you can get a USB DAC so really any older notebook with work, not just ones with a digital output. I use this one. I like that I can also covert my old mix tapes and LP's to digital if I want to https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-BEHRINGER-U-CONTROL/dp/B000KW2YEI Laters, Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor420 Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 I have a Chromecast Audio plugged into an old NAD amp. I am currently streaming lossless from my pc using Plex. I can control it with my Android phone remotely. A very slick and inexpensive solution.Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 7 hours ago, Trogdor420 said: I have a Chromecast Audio plugged into an old NAD amp. I am currently streaming lossless from my pc using Plex. I can control it with my Android phone remotely. A very slick and inexpensive solution. Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk Plex is the name I was looking for in my reply earlier. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burninator Posted July 18, 2017 Share Posted July 18, 2017 Another vote for Chromecast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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