Apple Remote App - Foobar

I'm almost envious of you apple fanboys 

Tom,

I dont get the joke... if there is one somewhere in there.

I am as far from a apple fan boy as one gets.  But I do like the iPhone4 immensely.  I despise the Mac OS and most of their software (read iTunes), but their hardware is pretty sexy.

Anyway.... the Remote App is one of the best ways to control a media player.  If it is controlling anything other than iTunes it is the best thing in the world.

The one shortcoming of the Remote App (with iTunes) is not being able to create and edit playlists.  Somehow the developer (pieceofsummer) of Touch Remote has surpassed what Apple can squeeze out of the app when used with iTunes.

Not only did they add playlist edit/creation, but also customizable titleformat strings. 

Anyway.... Foobar run by Remote App is STRONG!

-Patrick

My mistake Patrick, for some reason I thought you were a fan of all things Apple (even though I know you run Foobar!!??).

Seriously though, I even looked on ebay to see how much secondhand ipod touch are going for. Still a bit pricey just for a remote control however.

From my point of view, I wish something similar would come out for Android as this is what I have.

I have also been checking out the Asset control point. It shows some promise, but I found it quite buggy (it's only a beta release), and I don't think development on it is a high priority at the moment as it hasn't had any updates since last September. Also, you can't install Asset on Nas drives, so this looks like a disadvantage for the future.

At some point when I get some time I will try and write a post on foobar XML browse tree configurations, as I think this is where a lot of improvements to the Uniti-Foobar user experience can be had....one for another thread...

Cheers
Tom

Tom,

I am pretty sure you can pick up a refurb 3Gs iPhone for ~$50.  Dont get a 3G (without the "S"), as they are too slow with the OS's these days

The iPods are likely to retain more value as they have yet to be superseded.

More importantly, pieceofsummer developed this latest TouchRemote with you in mind.  From Wintense:

"If you’re Android user, your choice would be either free TunesRemote+ or paid Remote for iTunes.
Windows Phone 7 users have the only paid Remote app."

Please give it a shot and let us know how it works.

The component is free of course, but I encourage dropping the dev $10 or something if you like it.  You can chime in and offer suggestions which, if reasonable, are often adopted.

Good luck!
Patrick

Hi Patrick,
Thanks for your suggestions. 
I just tried TunesRemote+ (with foo_touchremote), but unfortunately I cant get them to pair. I've tried opening the suggested port, and disabling the firewall, but no luck.
I'm sure it is possible, but at the moment I don't have the time to go through the pain of trying to figure it out! Maybe i'll just have to wait for the apps to mature a bit.

I can't believe refurb 3gs are so cheap in the US. Here second hand ones are still going for £200+

Think i'll just go and listen to the new Radiohead album instead  

Tom 

Hi Tom,



Have you tried Plugplayer as a controller for your android, I've had some success with various apple versions, but they've got an android version too. I've managed to get it to control PS3 media server to send music to my TV. Don't know if it will work with your Uniti and foobar.



The UIs clunky, but it seems to work when others don't!



Rich

Tom,

Well then buy your 3Gs from the US..... no brainer.  I just took a quick peak on a popular auction site and saw many for under $100.

Also, regarding pairing.  I cant help you as I dont do android.  But I can assure you the "maturity" of the component is not the problem.  It might be the Android app though.  Although MANY people are using this perfectly with Foobar and their Androids.

Tom, I would simply drop a line on the website and pieceofsummer will help you out.  Be prepared to supply to contents of the "log"/console so he can see what is going on.  If it is something with the foo_touch component he will fix it right away and drop a new revision on us.

I use PlugPlayer as well (with J River).  It is OK.  It did have the advantage of playlist creating and editing, but that is now a moot point.  PP used to be fairly buggy, but it now seems very stable.

Each media player has its own benefits and drawbacks....  so I use both.

Foobar has:
- Lyrics
- Biography
- Apple Remote App.

JRiver has:
- Theater mode (full screen)
- VERY nice artist image background slideshow
- "Radio" Playback style

Tom,

I just thought of one obvious potential stumbling block.  You must use Foobar's Media Library i think.

I cant imagine using Foobar without it, but I guess people do.

Go to preferences>media library.  Then add each drive location you have music in.  Click apply.

Done deal.

-patrick

"one obvious stumbling block"



That will be the one from Redmond ...





Tog

Tog,

PLEASE show me the way...  How can I run Foobar, EAC, MP3tag, JRiver along with FLAC playback on the Mac OS.  Can you help?  Also, I am assuming I can very easily still use MC and Foobar as my UPNP server is this arrangement?

I am about to build or buy another computer.  It will be a Mac Mini if you can help with the above.

iTunes is not an option unfortunately as it cannot handle my library size.

Thanks!
Patrick

The force is weak with you....

Crossover Mac works well, or if you like to tinker Sun's VirtualBox. I've run Asset very well on the former - Wine if you have the time - both liquid and software.

Big library ? ... size isn't everything

Tog (no complaints thus far)

If you really think running a windows emulator in Mac OS will successfully allow for FLAC playback from Jriver > ASIO using JRiver as a UPNP server and renderer, I am interested.  I gave my old macbook to a friend's kid a while back so dont have anything to try it on.

I will go over to my Mac buddies house tonight and give it a try.

My best friend in NYC REALLY wants to use Foobar, I will tell him to give this a shot as well.

It takes about 4 minutes to even open iTunes with 1/2 of my library.  Then it is so slow when scrolling etc....

With ALL of my music in Foobar or JRMC, the media players opens in a fraction of a second and is ready to play.  There are no performance issues whatsoever.

Unfortunately this is a deal breaker for me, hence no iTunes.

-Patrick

Patrick, Rich,

Thanks for your suggestions. I've now tried Remote for iTunes as well, as TunesRemote+, and neither of them can pair with TouchRemote (foo_touchremote 0.2.7).

I have disabled my firewall. Mr router is allowing multicast packets, and the Bonjour service is running, so i'm not sure what the issue is. 

I've emailed both developers, so i'll see if they have any ideas.

I think this is an interesting area. The way we are interfacing with music is changing rapidly, and these kind of products address a wish that many people have - to choose music wherever they are. It's encouraging to see developers working hard to make this software work.

I had a similar problem with Remote and after several days I figured out the solution:

My internet connection is through the proxy and my Mac was trying to access proxy when communicating feedback to Remote app on my iPad.  The solution was to set "network proxy settings" to by-pass proxy for local network addresses such as those starting with 192.168.0.*

Bobby

ok, an update:

I have now got my HTC Desire phone (running Remote for iTunes)  to pair with TouchRemote on foobar, and it is all working.

I had to change the port in TouchRemote preferences to 3689, and I think a reboot also helped to reset everything.

The dev of TouchRemote (pieceofsummer) was very helpful, as you said Patrick, and helped me sort it out. 

With Remote for iTunes, there is no way to create playlists on the fly when interfacing with foobar through TouchRemote

The volume control on my handset works to control foobar ok though.

 Patrick, how do you get foobar to control your Uniti through your phone? 

I have got it to control my Uniti renderer, by using the ‘Playback stream capture’ feature of foobar UPnP component, although this is a bit clunky, and has a fairly long delay - still, it’s progress! 

Tom

Tom,

Firstly, I don't have a Uniti.  I go straight from my Juli@ (soundcard) to the Naim DAC.  Therefore I obviously dont use UPNP with Foobar.

I do use UPNP with J River Media Center and PlugPlayer, but not traditionally.  I only use it so I can have an iPhone/Pad remote for J River.  I use the same instance of JRMC as the server AND renderer.

If I was you, I would entertain trying Plugplayer if you are streaming from Foobar.

Sorry I cant help more on the Foobar+UPNP front.

-Patrick

This is probably the best thing happened to foobar since... ever. I've been using this plugin for a long time and was devastated when it stopped working recently when Apple updated Remote. Happy to see that it works again. I use foobar 1.0.3 and iPhone4 and everything works flawlessly. I stick with 1.0.3 since I have it so nicely setup. If I upgrade I lose the settings. But no need to upgrade because everything works fine.

I suggest that you try out different transports Patrick. I used to have ESI Juli@ but HiFace simply destroyed it. Clearly more dynamic and lively sound. Now I have Audio GD Digital Interface in order and it should arrive early this week.

Oh and about updating foobar to newest version, I've tried it. It lost all my configurations and I couldn't restore them.