roomplayer guide

ROOMPLAYER
GUIDE
PLAY MUSIC FROM YOUR NAS
This guide will show you how to connect to your NAS and to
sync your music with your Roomplayer. Once you’ve got your
Roomplayer connected and your music synchronised, you
won’t need to turn your PC on to play music.
CONNECT TO YOUR NAS
AND SYNC YOUR MUSIC
To play music stored on your NAS, use the Roomplayer desktop app to
connect to your NAS and sync your music with your Roomplayer. This process
will tell your Roomplayer where your music is located and what tracks are
stored there; it does not move or copy your files. Once complete, you will be
able to play this music from any Roomplayer app, through any Roomplayer, at
anytime. You can connect to your NAS during the Roomplayer desktop app
setup wizard, which pops up when you first install the app on your computer.
You can also connect to your NAS from the system menu in the app. Here’s
how you do it...
HOW TO SYNC MUSIC FROM YOUR NAS
The following are step by step instructions, showing you how to connect to
your NAS and how to sync your music with your Roomplayer.
You will be given the opportunity to locate music stored
on your NAS when you first install the desktop app onto
a computer. A music libraries screen appears in the
Roomplayer setup wizard and asks if you want to add
local music (stored on your computer) and/or network
music (from a NAS). You can, of course, connect to
a music library stored on your NAS at anytime. Go to
the system menu (shown opposite) and select music
libraries from the drop-down menu.
When the music libraries screen appears, you have the
option to add a:
• local library - music stored on your computer or
DAS (direct attached storage) device
• network library (music stored on your NAS drive).
To add music from your NAS, select network library.
You will now be prompted to type in the network (UNC)
path to your NAS. You can choose what type of UNC
path you enter, the options are:
Option 1 (preferred)
Enter your NAS name, for example:
\\Vortexbox\multimedia\music
Note. If you need help finding your NAS name, go to page 5 for
instructions.
Option 2
Enter the IP address of your NAS, for example:
\\192.168.1.10\multimedia\music
Note. If you need help finding your IP address, go to page 9 for
instructions. We recommend that you only use the IP address method
(option 2) if your NAS uses a fixed IP address.
Once you have entered the address correctly, you will
be prompted to enter the username and password for
your NAS drive. Once you have entered it, select add to
continue.
Note. Your username and password are case sensitive.
What is a UNC path?
What is an IP address?
A UNC file path is used to describe the location of a
network resource. The UNC syntax is in the form:
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numeric
label that uniquely identifies each device on your home
network. In a home network (also called a Local Area
Network or LAN) it’s your router that takes responsibility
for assigning an IP address to each device. Your router is
not short of IP addresses, and it will give one IP address
(out of a possible 254) to each connected device on
your home network. So, your computer, printer, NAS
drive, Roomplayer, iPad, iPhone and indeed any other
networked device is each given its own IP address, which
will look something like this: 192.168.XX.XXX.
\\hostname\sharedfolder\resource
The ‘hostname’ can be your NAS name such as
qnap (preferred) or an IP address. In this example, the
‘sharedfolder’ means the share name such as public or
multimedia and the resource is the actual media. So your
NAS location and music might be found at:
\\qnap\public\music
On the next screen, you will see that the NAS music
library has been added to the list of libraries available for
synchronising with your Roomplayer.
It’s a good idea to change the name of your music
library to something more memorable. This will help you
manage your music libraries and it will help other users
decide which libraries they want to see appear when
they select their username in Roomplayer apps. To
rename a library, just click on the name of the library in
the music libraries window.
Note. Changing the name of your music library in your Roomplayer
app, only changes how the music is displayed in Roomplayer menus;
it does not change the actual file or original folder name.
You can now add more local or network libraries or
click apply to start synchronising the libraries you have
selected. There maybe a delay of up to 10 seconds
before it starts scanning for files.
As soon as you click apply a pop-up will appear
advising you that playback will pause during this time.
Select yes and the synchronisation will begin. You will
see a count of the individual tracks appearing as it
syncs. When your music has finished synchronising,
select close and your music will now be available to
play.
When you switch off your computer, you will be able to
see and play all the music stored on your NAS drive in
Roomplayer apps for your iPad, iPhone and iPod as well
as any other computers running the desktop app.
Use a user profile to show your NAS music
If you have a massive music collection on your NAS there’s nothing to stop you linking to individual folders on your NAS. Each
folder will then be available to view as a separate music library. However, we have also found that some people like to use
user profiles to exclusively view the music on their NAS. We know one man who calls his Vox. When he selects Vox from the
username drop-down, only the music from his NAS is available to view. He likes it this way and you might too. :)
HOW TO FIND YOUR NAS NAME AND
NETWORK PATH
Finding out your NAS name and the correct network path is straightforward,
albeit, the methodology varies, depending on whether you’re using a Windows
or Mac computer. Methods for both computer types are noted below.
FINDING IT ON A PC
First off, use your computer to browse for your NAS
drive. It should be located under Network. In the
example opposite, you can see we are looking for the
path to our Vortexbox.
Once you have located your NAS, navigate to the
music folder that you want to add. In this case, we have
clicked on Multimedia and want to add the folder
called Music.
Note. Do not link to a mapped network drive (such as D, E or F).
Mapped network drive locations can change and if they change
your music would no longer play. Instead, your NAS should be set
up as network location on your PC. If it is not, go to Add Network
Location and set this up.
Open the folder you want to add (in this case Music)
and if you now look in the explorer bar, you will see the
path to this folder. This is the network (SMB) path you
will need to enter into the Roomplayer desktop app, so
click inside the explorer bar and copy the path.
Once it’s copied, you can return to the desktop app and
paste the link into the Network Share field accessible
from System, Music Libraries, Network Library.
Go back to page 3 to continue reading about setup.
FINDING IT ON A MAC
First off, in your Finder view, select Go and Connect to
Server.
In the pop up, select Browse to navigate to your NAS
drive.
When you find your NAS, double click on it to open it.
If you are connected to your NAS as a Guest (which
happens by default if your username and password
have not been entered previously) you will need to
select Connect As to login to your NAS using your NAS
credentials.
In the pop up, select Connect as Registered User then
enter your NAS username and password. Remember
that these details are case sensitive.
Don’t know you NAS login details?
These can often be found in your NAS user manual.
Want to check that you are correctly logged in?
You’ll see a small eject icon next to your NAS drive.
If you are correctly connected to your NAS as a user,
(and not a guest) it means that your login details have
been previously stored. So, you can continue to the next
step, which is browsing for your music folder.
Navigate to the music folder that you want to sync. In
this example, we want to sync to the folder Music, so
select Music.
Now, right click on the folder and select Get Info.
In the Get Info pop up. Look for the server information
(highlighted in the image to the right). This is the path
that you need to use in your Roomplayer desktop app.
Select the path and copy and paste it into a text
document.
Before you return to the Roomplayer desktop app to
paste in the link you need to modify it.
The path you copied, will look something like this:
smb://NASCFAC10(SMB)_tcp.local/Multimedia/
Music
But, you want it to follow this format:
\\MyNASShare\Share\Music
So we’ll change our path to this:
\\NASCFAC10\Multimedia\Music
Note. The forward slashes have been changed to back slashes. The
capitalisation on the names have been retained because they are
important.
One final thing...
And finally, before you can connect to your NAS from
your Roomplayer, you need to unmount your NAS from
your Mac. For more information on why you need to do
this, read the grey box below.
To unmount your NAS drive from your computer, go to
Finder and select Eject.
That’s it, you can now return to your desktop app, and
paste your path into the Network Share field, which is
accessible from System, Music Libraries, Network
Library.
Go back to page 3 to continue reading about setup.
Why do I need to unmount my NAS from my Mac?
A Mac computer can only mount a NAS with an IP address once. So, if your NAS is already mounted on your Mac, your
Roomplayer will not be able to connect to it to sync your music. This is a Mac specific issue and does not occur with
Windows computers. The solution to unmount your NAS from your Mac, enables the Roomplayer to successfully connect to
your NAS. Once complete you can mount your NAS drive on your Mac again and there will be no further issues.
HOW TO CONNECT USING AN IP ADDRESS
You can use an IP address to connect to your NAS from the Roomplayer
desktop app. First you need to know what the IP address is, and second,
you should only do this if your NAS is set up with a fixed IP address. Read on
for tips on finding the IP address and how to setup a fixed IP address if you
haven’t already.
IF YOU KNOW THE IP ADDRESS,
ADD IT CORRECTLY
To enter an IP address make sure you enter it correctly
using this format:
\\192.168.1.10\share\music
In
other words you are typing:
\\NAS_IP_Address\Share_Name\Music_folder
Make sure there are no spaces in any name because
this will prevent the NAS from being found by your
Roomplayer.
If you don’t know the IP address of your NAS,
check out our tips for finding it.
HOW TO FIND THE IP ADDRESS OF
YOUR NAS
1. Use a third party app
2. Check your router’s admin page
Use a third party app to scan all the IP addresses
on your network. We use Advanced IP Scanner on
Windows and LanScan on Mac computers. Another
handy app we have used is iNet, which is available to
download on the App Store from your iPad or iPhone.
All these apps will show you the IP addresses of all the
devices you have connected to your router.
If you know your router’s IP address, type it into
your browser’s address bar using the format - \\
your_routers_ip_address_here\ - and proceed. You
may now be asked for a user name and password. If
you have not set one before, try ‘admin’ with a blank
password or ‘admin’ and admin’. Alternatively, check
the manufacturers documentation for the default login
details. Once you arrive at the router’s configuration
page, you will be able to find a list of all the connected
devices (usually under LAN or DHCP client list) and their
respective IP addresses.
Note. The third party apps listed above are examples of tools we have
used; there are many alternatives and you should check and decide for
yourself which one you want to use - we cannot endorse any particular
tools.
Other ways to check for your IP address
•
•
•
•
Guess it - your router’s IP address is always fixed, and manufacturers often default to 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1
Check the label on your router - it is sometimes shown
Check your original documentation
Contact your device manufacturer - check their web page for documentation or support. Popular routers include Linksys,
Netgear, Belkin and Dlink.
SET UP A FIXED IP ADDRESS
When you connect a NAS to your home network, it’s a good idea to give it a fixed IP
address. Many NAS instruction manuals recommend this too. You see, most products
(like an iPhone) are, by default, allocated a dynamic IP address by your router; dynamic
IP addresses change all the time. Your NAS drive is different, it needs to be found by
other devices on your network, like your computer or Roomplayer. Give your NAS a
fixed IP address and other devices will always know where to find it and you will avoid
problems like your NAS and your music unexpectedly disappearing.
To give your NAS drive a fixed IP address you may need to make changes to your router and to your NAS drive.
If you have no network experience, we recommend that you do not attempt to do this yourself. If you have some
network experience, the following steps noted below are a guide only. All routers and networks vary, even the
terminology can be slightly different depending on the products you own. You may want to refer to your NAS
setup instructions for more information on fixed IP addresses. If you are in any doubt at all, contact a network
specialist.
Here is a quick summary of the key steps required to
create a fixed IP address:
Step One: On your router
Open your router admin panel and make sure your
router has a dynamic (DHCP) range set. If not, set a
dynamic IP address range. To apply any new settings,
reboot your router. Any IP addresses outwith the DHCP
range can be used as fixed IP addresses.
Step Two: On your NAS drive
Open your NAS admin panel and change the
settings from the default obtain IP address settings
automatically via DHCP to use static IP address
(or similar). You will likely need to enter the following
information:
New Fixed IP Address: 192.168.X.X
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway: 192.168.X.X
Note. Other IP address ranges are possible, for example 10.0.X.X the format we have used 192.168.X.X is a generic example.
Once complete, save your settings and restart your
NAS to apply the settings.
Note. There are alternative ways to set up fixed IP addresses on your
router. The above is an overview of one tried and tested method.
Dynamic and Fixed (Static) IP addresses
Your wireless router can assign an IP address to your NAS
in two ways:
•
Dynamic IP addresses - these are allocated on
request from a device and change all the time
•
Fixed (or static) IP addresses: - a series of reserved
addresses; once a device is given a fixed IP address,
it will never get re-assigned to another device
By default, your NAS will get a dynamic IP address the
first time it’s connected. This dynamic IP address may
change when other devices get added to your network, or
if you reboot your router, or if the power is interrupted.
If you assign a static IP address, it will ensure that your
Roomplayer can always find your NAS at the same
address.
CONTACTS AND
USEFUL RESOURCES
We hope you enjoy using Simple Audio Roomplayers. If you’re looking for
additional information or you need advice, please feel free to get in touch with
your Simple Audio representative. Below, you’ll find links to some of our other
resources, including set up videos, quick start guides and online faqs.
Simple Audio Support Team
Roomplayer Setup Video
support@simpleaudio.com
Watch Roomplayer setup video and to find out how to
set up your first Roomplayer.
Simple Audio Website
simpleaudio.com
Social Channels
Twitter: @simpleaud
Facebook: facebook.com/simpleaudio
You Tube: youtube.com/simpleaud
Roomplayer Desktop App Installation Guide
Find out how to install the Roomplayer desktop
app and how to use it to complete the setup of your
Roomplayer.
Roomplayer Quick Start Guide
If you would like a more comprehensive look at how to
set up Roomplayers, try the Roomplayer Quick Start
Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Visit our support centre to find out the answers to
some of the most frequently asked questions.
About Simple Audio
Simple Audio released its first music streaming products in 2012 and this Roomplayer system quickly gained a reputation
for superior audio performance. Since then the Roomplayer has gone from strength to strength and in April 2014 a new
generation Roomplayer+ was released. Simple Audio is also creating a complete range of audio products for people of all
ages and in multiple listening environments – all designed to help everyone get the best out of the music they love at home or
on the go. For more information, visit simpleaudio.com