User Profile: Puggie/Bill

Aims

My aim is to develop a simple home music server that will allow me to access any of my music anywhere at anytime. It must be simple to navigate, simple to keep up to date and be at least CD quality.

SlimServer and the SqueezeBox allow me to achieve this very easily at home. SlimCar is my way of achieving this in the car. I hope to have a SqueezeBox integrated into the car, accessible seamlessly through my current stereo (no extra complex remotes or touch-screens with multi layered menus), it must be active when I turn the stereo on (no 30second wait to boot up before I can listen to music), it should keep its music library up to date and synchronised to the home server automatically without me having to intervene on a regular basis.

How it will work

SlimCar will run on a very basic VIA EPIA machine; fanless and cheap. It should boot when the alarm on my car is de-activated and should have booted and be working by the time I start the car and want music. The shutdown process will include the command to Rsync with the home server and update any new music that has been uploaded automatically. The shutdown will be triggered by me activating the alarm. I hope to use the SqueezeBox 2's wireless bridge function to Rsync wirelessly with my home server when I park up outside the house. The output of the SqueezeBox shall be fed into the P1 processor of my Sony XES stereo optically, avoiding earthing issues and maintaining the best quality audio possible.

Remote Control

My intention was to control the SqueezeBox from the XES's remote with it emulating a CD changer, disc and track skip buttons being used for navigation. It now appears it may be easier to use the IR-Blaster to control the Sony XES from the SqueezeBox and modify a Sony wired remote to control the SqueezeBox. You can read about my efforts on the WiredRemote page.