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[sirganty]

Hi there,

I know this has been asked many times before, but I figured I'd resurrect the subject....

Is there any chance MC could expose itself as an airplay client; i.e. allow me to stream directly from my iDevice to the HTPC running MC as if it were an extremely well spec'd apple tv?

There are other windows based solutions e.g. the open source http://code.google.com/p/airstream-media-player/ which accepts some video sources, and the ubiquitous http://sourceforge.net/projects/shairport4w/ for audio only.
XBMC is also capable of complete airplay client functionality.

My primary reason for asking is I would then have the ability to stream Lovefilm, iPlayer & Virgin Media TV Anywhere straight into MC; forcing all the fantastic features of MC like madVR and DSP onto the streamed content.

I assume each "zone" would need to be exposed individually, as they are all theoretically independent playback devices?

Thx

[BartMan01]

Do a search on 'Airplay licensing cost' in your favorite search engine and you will see why this likely won't happen anytime soon.

[sirganty]

how do the various open-source software solutions work then?
they clearly aren't paying any sort of licensing fee.
I suspect the license fee only applies to hardware manufacturers.

[pcstockton]

PlugPlayer can do this for you.... if memory serves.

-Patrick

[BartMan01]

how do the various open-source software solutions work then?
they clearly aren't paying any sort of licensing fee.
I suspect the license fee only applies to hardware manufacturers.

There are plenty of 'open source' or non-US treaty organizations that are doing stuff like this (ignoring licensing/copyright).  Try doing it as a U.S. company and you would be sued out of existence pretty quickly.  AnyDVD is a prime example - they are doing things that have forced companies to shut down here in the U.S.

[new2hifi]

I understand the point about licensing but we need this....and many other features.

What would be the additional fee per customer to have this feature in JRiver 18? JRiver team can first post an estimate and have a voting from current license holders to see if this is a viable option or not instead of blindly denying the option on cost basis alone.

[MrHaugen]

There's inbound several alternatives to Airplay that's supposed to be a lot more open. Google and MS is two of them. It would be much better to look at such alternatives imo.

[sirganty]

The thing is, airplay is designed into apps available on iDevices, so in order to stream from the most popular tablets / phones to jriver, it needs to be airplay enabled.

Nothing else will do, regardless of how open other solutions are.

[glynor]

Do a search on 'Airplay licensing cost' in your favorite search engine and you will see why this likely won't happen anytime soon.

That's for hardware devices.  It isn't clear at all that this applies to software products.

In any case, there is a great standalone application for Windows and Mac OSX that does everything I can imagine wanting as an AirPlay receiver.  It isn't free, but it isn't expensive:

https://www.reflectionapp.com/
$14.99

I use it.  It works perfectly.

[bilbo2112]

I'm a JRiver user since 2009.  This is the most advanced media player regarding audio tweaking.

Reflector is a good option but I want JRiver as a client for one reason:  I have VST audio plugins I want the audio to go through. 

Anyway, Airplay is too popular to be ignored. It is a big turn off for me right now.

Not to mention the lack of interest from MC team to develop modern good looking skins for Theater View. 

The ONLY thing keeping me from moving entirely to XBMC is the music library handling and VST plug-in support...

I don't mind to pay extra $$$ for Airplay support.

[6233638]

I agree - I own a copy of Reflector as well, and it would be nice to have an integrated solution in MC.

Do you have any examples of "modern good looking skins" for Theater View? I've been thinking of looking into skinning and examples of good skins are always helpful to see.

[MrHaugen]

Xplain's skins in the "Third Party Plug-ins, Programs, and Skins" forum is some of the best for showing Theater View's skinning possibilities. The skin called WIP also shows what amazing things you can do with videos in Theater View.

[glynor]

Reflector is a good option but I want JRiver as a client for one reason:  I have VST audio plugins I want the audio to go through.  

It is a bit fidgety, but you could use MC's WASAPI Loopback feature to support Reflection and still get your VST plugins and all of that.

[6233638]

It is a bit fidgety, but you could use MC's WASAPI Loopback feature to support Reflection and still get your VST plugins and all of that.

You don't get madVR scaling for any MP4 files being sent though, and the built-in scaling looks awful.

And I don't have a sound card installed, just the Nvidia HDMI driver.

[bilbo2112]

Do you have any examples of "modern good looking skins" for Theater View? I've been thinking of looking into skinning and examples of good skins are always helpful to see.

I'm thinking Aeon Nox in XBMC.  Full tweaking possibility with stunning look. 

[sirganty]

Transparency! is very pretty too, if you like your fanart.

 

Its a shame MC can't compete from a interface / extensibility perspective, because its far superior in other (more important?) ways, like a/v quality and simplicity.
I guess they are mutually exclusive.