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[tuneup]

Hi Everyone,
I think I have reached my limit of dealing with recalcitrant Windows problems and before that with new Mac Minis causing MC to crash. If I want the Id to just run MC, with a Bel Canto REFStream as the renderer feeding a Bel Canto DAC and a Synology NAS storing the music files, is the Id Classic the right model to get?

It appears that after setting up the Id that the only connection I need to keep in place will be Ethernet. Is that correct?

[JimH]

Yes, the Classic will work fine as a Renderer.

Yes, after setup, you only need power and Ethernet.  You then can use JRemote or Gizmo to play.

[Listener]

Jim, I think the OP wanted to use the Id as the music server and his  Bel Canto REFStream as the renderer.

His question might have a different answer if the Id is used as server rather than as renderer.

It might be useful to describe operations that will require a keyboard, mouse and display after initial setup?

  - Changing media network settings? (like format conversion)
  - Changing auto-import settings?
  - Fixing tags that are wrong?

[JimH]

In that case, the Id would need to import files from the NAS and act as a DLNA Server.  But a NAS might also act as a DLNA Server.

[tuneup]

Thanks Jim and Listener. Yes, the Id will act as the DLNA server, the NAS will just store files and the REFStream is the renderer. I already have JRemote set up on an iPad and have been using the system this way, but with 2 Windows 7 Pro laptops, one in my system and one in a client's. Microsoft is being a horrendous pain and appears to be shutting down the computers whenever it wants to and bombarding my client with update messages that he doesn't want to deal with, etc. His brand new Dell is dedicated to just running MC20 (I don't want to move to MC21 until the systems are stable, which may only happen when the Id replaces the Windows laptops.)

[Listener]

Thanks Jim and Listener. Yes, the Id will act as the DLNA server, the NAS will just store files and the REFStream is the renderer. I already have JRemote set up on an iPad and have been using the system this way, but with 2 Windows 7 Pro laptops, one in my system and one in a client's. Microsoft is being a horrendous pain and appears to be shutting down the computers whenever it wants to and bombarding my client with update messages that he doesn't want to deal with, etc. His brand new Dell is dedicated to just running MC20 (I don't want to move to MC21 until the systems are stable, which may only happen when the Id replaces the Windows laptops.)

I have found Windows 7 to be quite troublefree.

I have my music files on a Windows 7 desktop PC dedicated to hosting JRiver MC 20.  The Windows firewall is on.  No anti-virus on that PC. There is one shared folder for copying between PCs but the library databases and music files are not shared. I have a hardware firewall between my lan and the internet.  I have Windows and JRiver updates turned off.  That MusicPC runs along quite happily giving me no trouble.  I do turn off that PC at night and on again when I want to start listening to music for the day.

[tuneup]

Listener, if your library databases and music files aren't shared, can you use JRemote or do you have to play music using JRiver on the computer?

Do you move music files into the shared folder only if you want to move them to another computer?

The setting I chose for Windows updates is "Notify me of updates, but let me decide whether to download and install them." I will be visiting my client on Thursday and will change that to "Never check for updates." I will also uninstall the anti-virus and anti-malware programs, which I previously turned off, but left installed.

Is the hardware firewall extra protection to make up for not having an anti-virus program?

[Listener]

My comments are in bold type.

Listener, if your library databases and music files aren't shared, can you use JRemote or do you have to play music using JRiver on the computer?

You have to turn on  The "Use media network..." option in the Tools/Options/Media Network dialog to allow another computer including a tablet running JRemote to communicate with JRiver MC on your PC.  Whether you need to make the music files shared over the network at the operating system level depends on what all you want to do on the other computer.  I use a laptop riunning JRiver or a tablet running JRemote or WebGizmo to control JRiver MC on the MusicPC.  I do not need to share the msic files over the LAN.

Do you move music files into the shared folder only if you want to move them to another computer?

Only to move files to/from the MusicPC.

The setting I chose for Windows updates is "Notify me of updates, but let me decide whether to download and install them." I will be visiting my client on Thursday and will change that to "Never check for updates." I will also uninstall the anti-virus and anti-malware programs, which I previously turned off, but left installed.

It is your choice.  You should make it based on your use.  I use my musicPC for playing music and nothing else.  I want it to function as an appliance.  I do not want modal dialog boxes to pop up and prevent me from playing music.  I do not want playback to be interrupted by JRiver wanting me to update to thelatest version.  I didn't want a storm of CPU use, disk I/O or Lan activity to occur while I'm listening to music.I sure don't want Windows trying to re-boot while I'm playing music.

I use Windows Security Essentials on my personal PC and the travel laptop.  It has been quite unobtrusive.  Turned off, it might be even less of a concern.  (On later versions of Windows, paret of the functionality is built into Windows and part is called Windows Defender.

Is the hardware firewall extra protection to make up for not having an anti-virus program?

No. The hardware firewall is analogous to the Windows firewall running on the Music PC.  The hardware firewall monitors attempts to connect to ports by programs outside my LAN; the Windows firewall monitors attempts to connect to ports on the PC where the Windows firewall is running.  The hardware firewall/router also performs network address translation (NAT) which makes it harder for an intruder to initiate a connection to any device on the LAN.  I have the Windows firewall turned on on the MusicPC.  That protects against probing from another PC on the LAN that has malware running there.

An anti-virus program monitors activity by software running on a PC to detect and prevent suspicious activity.  It also scans files on your PC looking for files with signatures matching those of known virus programs. If you are confident that you will not have a virus program on your PC, you don't need an anti-virus program.

[tuneup]

The client PC is dedicated to running JRiver. All files are in a Synology NAS, so there shouldn't be a need to share folders on the PC. Likewise, because the PC is dedicated to JRiver there should be very little risk of virus or malware. For my own PC and laptop, I just bought Bitdefender after reading reviews that rated it #1 both for preventing both virus and malware invasions and for having the least effect on the speed of the computer. But I also just ordered an Id Classic for my music server system as I too want it to be an appliance with zero interruptions and my other computers have multiple functions.

Thanks again Listener for all the good info.