2 adults, 3 kids (9, 6, 3). 1 Squeezebox server, 4 Squeezeboxes, 1 docked iPeng client (iPod Touch), plus the occasional Android phone client (Squeeze Player). Using IR remotes, the iPod, and several Android devices as remotes.
> Do you have a need to let each family member browse their library > individually ? Yes, I have. So far I've split out (via the Custom Libraries plug-in) audiobooks, podcasts, but not individual music libraries, leading my spouse to browse by file name (rather than library/tags) to locate her music. > If so, where are the music files stored ? On a central computer/NAS, on > a computer/NAS per family member or on the portable device of each > family member ? Central computer. (I guess in the future (as my kids grow older) we'll have several computers and portable devices that we need to integrate into the streaming solution, either online or via occasional sync operations.) > If you have individual libraries, do you also have a need for shared > libraries which is common for multiple family members ? Yes. > Do you have a need to keep track of playlists for each family member ? Yes; in particular, the current playback position of the current playlist. This is in fact my major gripe with the setup right now: I regularly listen to long podcasts, and I often lose my resume position when another family member listens to something else in between. Ideally, the current track's resume position (and perhaps the current playlist as well) should be bookmarked for later use whenever an active (resumable) playlist is replaced with a new one. > Do you have a need to keep track of favorites for each family member ? > > Do you have a need to keep track of ratings and playback statistics for > each family member ? No, and no. > Does each family member have individual players which only one of the > family members mostly use ? No, all players are shared (mostly -- the iPod Touch and the phones are personal device). > If so, should all players be controllable by everyone or do you want > access to certain players to be restricted ? In that case why ? I'd welcome the ability to restrict which player / smartphone app instance can control which other player. > Does each family member have their individual remote control/smartphone > to control the players or do you also have remote controls which you > share between different family members ? > > If you have a remote control which you share between multiple family > members, is it a IR-remote, smartphone, tablet or computer ? Some individual (phones, iPod), some shared (IR remotes, Android tablet). I also occasionally use the server's web interface to control the clients. > How would your dream system work to work as good as possible for usage > of local music on Squeezeboxes and portable devices in your family ? Ideally, the portables should sync their entire music library to a local server (or a cloud service such as Google Music or Amazon, for people who don't have privacy concerns), and the clients should stream it from there. Streaming directly from the portables seems too fragile to me. _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
