Subsonic Forum

I have to admit I had strayed from the Subsonic mode of enjoying my tunage, mainly due to the kludgy implementation for playback on local hardware (remote phone/tablet was never much of a problem). I have Roku DVP boxen attached to my TV's (and now near-useless Chromecasts), but lets face it, Roku interface was never designed for large collections of music and navigation is a nightmare. Several Roku/Subsonic apps try, but fail in usability. Tried Plex, XBMC and while those seem like decent options, there was always some niggle that made it more work than worth. The interfaces were pretty, but lack audio functionality..they're primarily built around video, and even their support staff acknowledge audio wasn't their priority. I decided to revisit OLD tech..UPnP/DLNA. I was an (always) early adopter of renderers, and bought Netgear MP101's when they were first released. Those were real POS, but we managed by dumping Netgear's UPnP server and going with a new kid on the block Twonky. Was more than happy to dump that hardware and went with Roku Soundbridges for a few years, happily, running Twonky and Firefly servers. When Subsonic became a solution for my goal of WAN/mobile, I was hooked...ubiquity of my collection was now in hand. Now I could focus on better/newer hardware (succumbed to headphones/portable amps,etc.) but still a perfect solution eluded me in terms of needing to run a server fulltime, serving both Subsonic and a UPnP server. When my power supplies began dying (cheap chinese capacitors!) I was lazy and the Roku's got shelved, and I just used my phone/tablets and the Android apps to stream at home and away. Linking to my TV/Stereos had fallen off the map, sadly. So I began a quest to incorporate Android as a media solution..it was low-power, tends to be low-cost, but is robust enough to run a large music collection, and most Android users already have older hardware laying about after upgrading to newer phones, and even Rockchip 'stick' Android computers are getting 'throw-away' cheap..Okay, okay..I'll wrap this up...
I played with quite a few Android apps for audio, but found BubbleUPnP for Android (and for WIndows for WAN serving LAN servers) to be the most well-developed and supported. It's configurable, robust, and even links my cloud services: Dropbox, Google Music,etc. although I'm still harassing the dev to add more as I have Unlimited Cloud on Pogoplug, currently not supported.
With today's announcement and implementation of UPnP added to Subsonic, I can finally narrow down my servers to just Subsonic and Bubble, and I can now just use Bubble on my phone/tablets as a control point for both LAN and WAN use, connected to my TV/Stereos via Android sticks or old Android phones running Bubble in render mode and appropriate cabling. I can access my local collection, and most of my cloud services using Bubble as control point, or choose the actual Android apps on the sticks/phones, wireless keypads still suck but necessary in that mode, when Bubble doesn't yet support the service.
I still need to run a machine 24/7/365, and I'd still love to narrow this all down to Android Only for reliability and low power (no Win/Lin/Mac), especially since there is so much hope for Android in the 'home automation' role, but devs seem uninterested, convinced Android 'isn't there yet'. I disagree, but I can't code to prove them wrong! LOL!
Anyway, UPnP opens up many other Android and iOS players, and I thought I'd mention it here in case anyone could benefit from it! Cheers!

I'm curious about your setup. I've been trying to figure out how to build/buy cheap headless devices to put in my living room, basement, etc. These would be controlled via the BubbleUPnP app I'm assuming. All my music would reside on my "server" machine, running Subsonic.

What renderer devices are you using? How would the Bubble server integrate with Subsonic now that UPnP support is added?

tsquillario wrote:I'm curious about your setup. I've been trying to figure out how to build/buy cheap headless devices to put in my living room, basement, etc. These would be controlled via the BubbleUPnP app I'm assuming. All my music would reside on my "server" machine, running Subsonic.

What renderer devices are you using? How would the Bubble server integrate with Subsonic now that UPnP support is added?

Today the plot thickened!
I was invited to beta a new app called SoundSeeder, which syncs playback among Android devices, and does so convincingly, albeit with a few minor hiccups (occassional audio re-syncs-dev is aware):
https://play.google.com/store/search?q= ... ker&c=apps
Linked to a library (local as well as cloud storage or music service) you can use any Android device as control point (Music Player App) or renderer (Speaker App) on your existing wifi, without running complex servers/opening ports/fixed ip's /discovery,etc...in effect you're creating a poor man's Sonos system, but without Sonos' software walled garden. These two apps alone can almost handle a home LAN environment, but of course I want TOTAL ubiquity (LAN and WAN) among all my devices, and Android-only solutions...I'm tired of Win/Lin/Mac 24/7 energy and complexity for what can be done simply and efficiently, and cheaply (after purchasing a Chromebook 11, I *think* I'm done buying another Win/Lin/Mac ever again...we'll see). But to answer your questions:
Obviously I'm an Android household, with a new Nexus 5 arriving Wednesday, and my current/temporary plan is to repurpose perfectly good phones (Nexus 4, GS3,etc.) into renderers, attached to powered computer desktop-style speakers to play back synced audio in any room and patio or deck. I can also see me digging out my old RatShack Minimus 7's speakers, and adding a tripath t-amp to drive them, an android phone 'brain' to provide the stream, and create a Sonos-like system, controlled by my phone or tablets. I also have a MK808II Riko Rockchip Android mini 'stick' computer attached to my current HT setup, which injects Android there to the main 5.1 drivers. Long term, I can see me (or someone) building a custom box containing an Android stick computer pcb with integrated amp and wifi as a hanger box for ANY speaker, turning it into a total wireless, compact open-source 'Sonos'. I'm hoping for lots of rain this winter!

edit: Subsonic is now discovered and selectable within Bubble, so my library can be streamed locally using Bubble on phone/tablet->stick computer->HT 5.1 setup.

That's exactly what I'm looking to build, a poor man's Sonos! Even starting with one renderer will make me happy.

Looks like two android phones + BubblePnP + server with DLNA/UPnP support will get me started for a LAN-only setup. Let me know if there is any other parts I'm missing...