Hello, I am Allen Kao, Senior Manager of Software Development Group at Synology. Today I’d like to share with you how Apple AirPlay technology works with Synology DiskStation.
In late 2010, Apple released the second generation of Apple TV to replace its previously larger and pricier predecessor. So what’s different? The new Apple TV doesn’t come with any internal mass storage; it simply streams media content from iTunes Store or Mac/PC.
If you are enthusiastic about Synology DiskStation, you may have already been playing around with various multimedia features in DSM and wondering what could happen if DiskStation meets Apple TV. We would like to share with our blog readers some of our insights and the research that Synology Development team has done.
Home Sharing
Currently there are two major media sharing protocols used in Apple TV, namely Home Sharing and AirPlay. The difference between the two protocols doesn’t always seem easily distinguishable to most people. Here is how it works. When you enable Home Sharing on your Apple TV, you will be asked to enter your Apple ID before connecting to your iTunes library. Only upon successful authentication will you be able to browse your media collection, either purchased from iTunes Store or ripped from CDs, that is stored in your PC or Mac and control the playback using the remote of the Apple TV.
Although we have evidence that the protocol of Home Sharing is much the same as the DAAP (Digital Audio Access Protocol) used in iTunes Server, the authentication mechanism prevents us from developing a solution to browse your media collection on your DiskStation and control the playback using the remote.
AirPlay
After the enormous success of iOS devices and the release of new Apple TV, Apple decided to enhance what was originally used in Apple Airport Express, AirTunes, and rename it Airplay. Now the redesigned protocol is able to stream photos and videos, in addition to your music collection.
In Apple’s blueprint of a home media network, centralized media library hosted by iTunes would allow all iOS devices and other iTunes clients to stream media content via Home Sharing. The main difference between AirPlay and Home Sharing is that the latter is based on a client-server architecture, while the former illustrates a similar concept to a Point-to-Point architecture.
However, there is a setback for this type of client-server structure — users are wondering if they could share media content between iOS devices and iTunes clients without a centralized library. Apple addressed the issue with AirPlay, which illustrates a close concept to a point-to-point structure, and managed to allow media content on your iOS devices be pushed to Apple TV.
Given the increasing need to share media content between clients without limitation, we will see more and more 3rd-party AirPlay-compatible devices in the market this year and I expect it would become a standard soon for home-stereo sound system.
How would DiskStation integrate with AirPlay?
Audio Station
Audio Station is a web application on Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM) which allows you to manage your music collection stored on your DiskStation. If you are a fan of this app, you are bound to notice that this application could also play music through attached USB speakers and UPNP/DLNA media renderers within your home network.
The characteristics of AirPlay-compatible devices have a lot of resemblance to the media renderers, allowing these devices to become compatible with Audio Station. Once we have the Airplay-compatible devices acting as legitimate media renderers, choosing the one device you are looking for in Audio Station would become very easy. You will be able to manage the playing queue and control everything else just like you could with other media renderers. After all, you don’t need to have an iPhone or iPad to enjoy the high-quality sound from your AirPlay stereo system.
DS audio
DS audio is an iPhone and iPad app that allows you to enjoy your music on the go. In this app, We have integrated many core functions available in Audio Station. However, there is one feature still missing in DS audio – you can’t see a list of UPNP/DLNA media renderers, like you could do in Audio Station.
Should DS audio support UPNP/DLNA media renderers in the future, it allows you to control your music naturally and intuitively on your iPhone or iPad to any AirPlay compatible devices – it’d be like holding an audio remote in your hand.
Support for more audio formats
Not all media formats are supported by AirPlay on iPhone or iPad. We will enhance Airplay by using some of our audio transcoding techniques to support more formats than AirPlay originally can, especially for certain popular lossless formats like FLAC or APE. This will be a powerful feature to Synology’s audio streaming support, as Home Sharing on Apple TV stream limited formats supported only by iTunes.
Summary
As Apple is releasing specifications for home stereo manufacturers to build AirPlay-compatible devices, I believe devices that are cheaper, like AirPlay wireless sound adapter, would prove to become popular in the home environment. Ultimately, a versatile control center created by Synology DiskStation and its rich applications could see a promising future for its own.
- Allen
Update on May 21
The good news is that AirPlay is available on your DiskStation now! Please join our Beta Program, update your DSM and enjoy streaming the music from the DiskStation to the entire house with AirPlay-enable speakers!
Great write upThe desired addition of FLAC support can not be underestimated. Also don’t forget that not everyone uses apple products
Personally I despise all that I-rubbish. I once had I Tunes and it wouldn’t even allow me to copy the music I had legally purchased to another device.
Please, Synology, don’t lock us all into that I-nonsense. It’s not for everyone. Why on earth should I have to log in using an Applestore id just to listen to my own CD collection?
Apple products are going to audiophile world (http://www.odysseyaudiohk.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=Mac_CAS). I believe one day Synology Audio Station will also be popular in CAS kingdom.
So basically what I took from this is that there is no way to do either Home Sharing or AirPlay at the moment. Correct? Is there a way to integrate AirPlay into current iOS apps?
@Matt
It’s possible to implement AirPlay in Audio Station and DS audio. In DS audio streaming mode, you can select AirPlay device like Apple TV as sound output.
It’s good hearing that Synology sees the opportunity of this technology and it continues to improve its products.
Currently I use a DLNA app on the iPad to stream audio from the DiskStation to my DLNA enabled TV. This works okay, but it does not have the quality of the Synology apps. So it would be great to see this DLNA rendering implemented into the DS Audio app.
Great to hear that it’s feasible to implement Airplay in Audio Station. Any estimate as to when we can expect this feature update? Also, it would be desirable to select multiple stream targets or media renderers located in different rooms which is currently possible with iTunes.
I have iPad, Apple TV2. Thinking about Synology NAS. Which of the following 3 is possible now, which may be soon and which are unlikely to be?
1) I use the iPad to browse the diskstation for the track I want, then stream this to the Apple TV2 via the iPad.
2) I use the iPad to browse the diskstation for the track I want, then the diskstation streams this to the Apple TV2 directly.
3) I use the Apple TV2 remote to browse the diskstation for the track I want. The APple TV2 then plays the track.
@Ralph
1) Possible if iOS application supports Airplay and can read the NAS through SMB/UPnP/DLNA.
2) I think the iPad would be the conduit for streaming.
3) Not possible, iTunes authentication prevents connection.
There is a potential workaround for 2/3, if you have forked-daapd iTunes server you can pair this to the iOS remote app and use Airplay to send the media to an AppleTV. However Synology would have to upgrade their mt-daapd service to forked-daapd and provide a GUI for this functionality.
slightly OT:While AirPlay is a neat thing especially for home users, I would rather hope for improvements on AirPrint.
It would be very helpful if the AirPrint settings would also allow printing on common network printers, e.g. by utilizing CUPS.
Really great to hear that Synology is investigating further integration with Airplay.
One question: The post only mentions integration between DS Audio/Audio Station and Airplay. Any plans about integration between DS Photo+/Photo Station and Airplay? Personally I see a great potential here.
Imagine if you could store photos /videos on your DiskStation, use DS Photo+ on your iPad/iPhone to browse the content and show it on your TV using Apple TV?
Something i couldn’t make up out of this story:
Is or will it be possible to see the Synology as an Airplay device ,which can be choosen in itunes/airfoil to play its music?
Have been lookin around now for hours, without positive results ..
Cheers
@ Klass it is possible.
Given that Airplay target devices can now be emulated via open source Shairport but the question is would Synology dare incur the wrath of Apple by using that in a commercial product.
Apple licenses Airplay and it’s one thing for hobbyists to use Shareport but if companies do that’s another thing entirely, Apple would likely release firmware updates and change the private key used by Airplay.
Wouldn’t it just be easier to implement “Home Sharing” on the DiskStation and that way not have to use the DS iOS apps as basically pass-thrus?
Another good idea would be making the Synology NAS Airplay enabled as a target. Users with usb audio devices hooked up to their Synology NAS could then benefit as well!
http://elan.plexapp.com/2011/05/14/the-plex-penguin-friendly-media-server/
Dlna support / streaming to a media renderer would make the disk station even more perfect. Keep on doing such a great job
What really would separate Synology’s DSM from other NAS operating systems would be the integration of forked-daapd!!
By doing so the pairing of e.g. an Apple TV, an iPhone, an iPad, etc. directly with the respective disk station would be a piece of cake, you directly stream media from the disk station to the device of choice.
This is IMHO better than using AirPlay as a “vehicle” and it seems too be possible, as some blogs and articles about forked-daapd are saying!
So, what do you think about that?
@Jeeosch:
As original mt-dappd used in DiskStation has stopped the development, we are definitely evaluating the next generation of iTunes Server solution. We really appreciate your value feedbacks!
@Kyle:
DLNA support to media render should have been implemented in Audio Station and iPhone/Android DS audio.
I’m planning of buying an new Denon receiver which support airplay. Can i, with this new DSM , browse my music on a iPad in dsaudio and play it on those denon receivers ?
I hoping to buy a Avr-1912 or avr-2312, i have i ds210j… And a iPad2… Can someone confirm this
Nice, airplay support coming to the Synology NAS. Too bad that it is not for the x07 series. I own a DS207+ and cannot join the BETA program now.
Why is this BETA not for the DS207+ series?
@Carlo,
Sure you can!
@DaLass,
Well… I think it is because the hardware capability. Maybe it’s time for you to upgrade your DiskStation to a new model.
Thanks Synology. Choosing the renderer from the app was really missing. Another thing that is missing is DS Audio for Windows! Of course you can use the webinterface but why keep a browser window open when you can have all the functionality in a small program (with a widget?). Remember how many people are using WinAMP and similar tools. Please transport the code of DS Audio to Windows to fill this gap.
Thanks for the update. I and several of my fellow Synology owners are anxiously awaiting the home-sharing implementation so we can integrate with Apple TV. Is there anything we can do to help? Harass Apple? Help with a pseudo iTunes instance?
One of the reasons I selected DS411+II was the media player and iTunes server. Hoped that it would shameless connect to my apple TV, but unfortunatly it doesn’t. I hope it comes soon. Give us the ability to login, so e can start enjoying our NAS expericence.
Great app!!!! Thanks for that and best regards to your team. Really nice, but ….. (
)
- Once connected with an account to the Airport Express, AE, it nearly impossible to change or release that connection for other users (like my wife’s iphone). Even on the same iPhone is nearly impossible to switch between users and still use the AE e.g. if you log on with “admin” en redirect audio to the AE it’s fine, if you log off and log on with a different account on the same iPhone you can’t choose AE. The AE stills play’s the song chosing by the admin account, even if you paused the music before logging off it’s impossible to choose it with the new logged on account. I tried to find this out on the web and help resource’s, maybe I’m missing something.
- Is het possible to autoswitch DS Audio between several profiles, like if iPhone is connect with 3G/umts then use IP 88…. profile and if connected indoors with WiFi SSID x then us IP 169… profile (so not using DDNS). In this case you listen to your tunes, with the best quality possible at that location, where ever you go without switching and logging off and on , and telling you’re wife how to do that for the tenth time that day.
Maybe this can be stuff to put in an update.
I’ve got all the apple ‘stuff’ a new MacBook Pro, iPhone 4, iPad 2 but I’m beginning to draw the line here . . . I’ve just got a DS211 (replacing a 2 yr old Netgear ReadyNAS Duo) . . . what I want to do it be able to stream content, video mainly, from my NAS to my TV (Sony Internet TV) Blue Ray DVD player (also Sony) as well as other devices (which I can already do in limited format).
My TV will not stream video as I guess it’s not in the right format on the DS and there is no facility for transcoding. A media program (Serviio a DLNA compliant Media Server) that could reside on DS looked a perfect solution as it is recommended by Sony and would transcode on the fly. . . now I’m no fool here but I spent 5 hours trying to get it to work and couldn’t, possibly because I’m using DM 3.2 beta?.
Now I like the Apple kit but why can’t Synology devote some time to getting a solution like Serviio up a running and not pushing us down the route of Apple TV which not only costs more but restricts us to how we can stream video around.
I’ve ordered the slim version, I will be using it for mainly for Airplay & TM backup
So can I stream from the unit to 2 capable airplay speakers at the same time, like you do with a Mac? Or are you limited to one destination only?
Hi Yves:
Yes.You stream to multiple airplay speakers and each has its playlist. But it didn’t support to stream single song to play to many airplay speakers in synchronized way.
oh that is feature I want, one song to multiple speakers …
all managed from an iOS app like the Apple remote for iTunes.
I guess the workaround would be to use an iTunes computer, I hope the wifi can handle the and reading from the Nas and playing to the speakers …
Thanks for the clarification …
Your support for airplay via the DS Audio App is fantastic. Love the ability to control my music and stream throughout the house. One question…what about Internet Radio?
The stations are listed but when I select nothing happens. Is this a limitation of Airplay or Synology or am I just missing something? Thanks
Also, is it possible to stream to multiple airplay devices at the same time? I have both an air express and apple tv. I can stream to either but not both. Any suggestions?
Hi cdym:
I have forward both future enhancements to our product development team. Supporting multiple devices at the same time will be in our roadmap but we need to study if Internet Radio can be streamed via AirPlay.
Hi Allen,
you at Synology make a great job, i love my DS and the iPhone/iPad apps DS-Audio and the others.
But one thing i missing is to play the same stream of music to multiple devices, not only airplay, also dlna-renderer.
Do you have any information at wich time you wants to publish this services, maybe together with DSM 4.0 ?
Thanks
Allen,
Appreciate the quick reply and look forward to your update. I’ve investigated airplay and apple is able to stream and control internet radio. Would be nice to have similar functionality on Synology. Thanks for continuing to enhance this great product. I am a big fan and promoter! Cary
Audio station has a play queue facility, supported by a “add to queue” right click feature. Do you have plan to make t a similar function in DSAudio?
reading through the thread, can you guys confirm whether my understanding is right and if my suggestions are possible?
I have 4 airport expresses, a laptop, iPhone and a DiskStation. I would like the ideal scenario of using my iPhone with my NAS to stream with the AirPlay feature, to multiple speakers…….but ofcourse I realise this is not possible right now
so
1. Is multiple speaker output restricted by airplay rather than the synology DiskStation OS? i.e. you cannot stream youtube videos from an iphone to multiple targets from an iPhone or iPad in exactly the same way….
2. Do you think Apple will more likely implement Itunes rather than ipod behavior on IOS to provide HomeSharing capability?
3. Surely more people will move to NAS based storage and if Apple want their streaming ability to dominate, it makes sense to open Homesharing in some form? I don’t understand how a homeshared application could be used with Airplay unless you own some Apple hardware??
4. As a workaround, could the DS Audio App include an Album Artist view? Obviously it doesn’t get round the issue of multiple speakers but it would make viewing your music similar to the iPod experience.
I have not yet seen the answer to this question. unless I am not reading between he lines properly.
If you have your itunes library on your Synology NAS, can you stream music to your airplay renderer (B and W Zeppelin airplay for example) by way of DS Audio on an iPad WITHOUT HAVING TO HAVE A COMPUTER turned ON , e.g.MY MACBOOK PRO.
I understand I need the macbook to get my music onto the NAS but hopefully not for listening to it!!
Hi James:
You could use Airplay renderer without Mac. Just put music in the music shared folder and enable Audio Station. You could control playback in Audio Station and DS audio from now on.
Hi unclebob:
Mutiple airplay devices will be supported in DSM 3.2 but they have independent playing queue.
Home sharing is not supported due to Apple’s restriction. We will keep eyes watching Apple’s move.
Great. Thanks Allen. When you say “Music folder” are you not saying itunes library? Because would that not mean holding my music twice? Once in itunes on nas and again as mp3 files in a music folder on nas. I don’t want to have to have to hold iTunes library on MacBook either if I can help it.
Sorry for silly questions. I am new to all this and don’t have a nas yet.
Hi James:
The recommended setup is putting you music files in the DiskStation’s music shared folder. In this way, our applications like Audio Station, DS audio and iTunes Server can use these files to build the media library.
Sure, you could still connect to the music shared folder via afp on Macbook and point your iTunes library location to that shared folder. In this way, your files are securely stored in DiskStation and won’t have duplicated files to waste disk space.
Fantastic. That is great. Thanks for that Allen. Just need to save up for a DS211, 6 tbs of hard drives, a popcornhour A-200, a Vita Audio R4 and an airport Express
…. (english humour) But it will be worth it.
Will streaming to many airplay speakers in synchronized way be supported in the near feature? Maby in DSM 3.3? With this feature the disk station will be a complete replacement for Squeezebox or Apple Remote.
Apart from that the airplay support is fantastic. Great job!
I don’t have an answer but would love to have this ability as well
I’d love to have that feature, too. Then I would not need to have my macbook running to use itunes for the multiple speaker output.
I am looking to stream FLAC audio files from a DS211j to an AirPort Express that has powered speakers connected using the 3.5mm audio jack. I am looking to get the best possible audio to the speakers.
Will I be able to play a FLAC file in Audio Station and stream the music to the AirPort Express?
Thanks in advance.
Dear Mark:
Yes. You can stream FLAC and all formats supported by Audio Station to AirPort Express via AirPlay. This is even better than Apple’s implementation as iTunes only support mp3 and m4a.
Hi Allen!
I have all my music stored as Apple Lossless on a DS209. Do I have to rip all my CD’s again in to FLAC to get the best possible audio quality through Audio Station (and Apple TV2 or some other media renderer)? Or is there another way around it?
In another answer you recommend to put all the music in to “DiskStation’s music shared folder”. Is that a special folder or can I just make up any folder to be my music folder. I have now a folder called Music directly under DiskStation 209.
Hi Holger:
Apple Lossless is directly supported in Synology AirPlay implementation. The conversion is happening in DS’s side regardless of source music formats.
The special folder is also called “music” and your folder could be used directly by enabling Audio Station in Control Panel
I have my iTunes folder in the Synology NAS music folder with AudioStation enabled. My Apple iTunes program on my laptop is set to that folder for management of my music. I have plugged a USB sound card into the NAS which powers my stereo system, and I can control the playback from my iPhone without running my laptop, great!
What does the Synology iTunes app do for me? How do I use it? Not much info in the Synology Help file!
It would be perfect if DS photo+ supported streaming of images via AirPlay
Sure. That’s something cool and we will try to achieve it.
Cool! +1 on that feature!
Hello, I confirm it will be great if ds photo can use airplay. It’s Christmas soon…
)
DS photo+ and Airplay would be something I’d definetly vote for. Please consider this for an update of your software.
Love my DS211+.
-blubalu-
DS Photo+ with airplay would be great !
I like to see a DS Video too.
DS file can work well with AirPlay devices as well. =)
Daren, I managed to get DS File on my iPad to play movies on my ATV2. Only problem I’m having is that after a couple of minutes my ATV2 returns to the menu. And my iPad goes dark. When I turn on my iPad again the movie continues where it got cut off. Do you know how to solve this?
Thanks!
Hi Mike, please submit a support form and we are glad to help you.
Hey, First of all, Thanks to Synology for this great work and the attention they have for us, customers.
Just to +1 for Airplay integration in DS Photo +!!
And +1 too for following Apple’s move about possibility of Home Sharing on DS. Target for me would be to stream for Synology directly to Apple TV 2 without iPad or iPhone (even if iPad if a good remote for music trough DS Audio)
Still continue to work this way and hold us inform!!
Bye
Still no FLAC support in DS audio is a disgrace!
Hi bar2d2:
FLAC is supported to be transcoded on-the-fly in DS audio for iOS while for Android DS audio, this is only available for more powerful DiskStations, due to the limitation of Android OS.
Are your smartphnoe a Android Phone ?
Hi Allen
Do you know if I could stream FLAC files on my DS209+II to an Apple TV Device and control it with Synology DS Audio app on my android phone?
Would I also be able to stream pictures about 10 MB each from DS to Apple TV and navigate with Apple TV remote control?
I’m so disappointed with the bad DLNA implementation of some devices and the easy terms for getting a DLNA certificate, which kills the DLNA standard. So, I’m really considering moving to Apple TV for my streaming needs
Thx for your reply
- Chris
Hi Chrstian:
There is no problem to music files (including flac) to Apple TV and control it using DS audio for Android.
But I am sorry to the push of pictures to Apple TV is still not supported now.
Regards
yes !!!! i’ll update my DS to latest rev.
thank you
Synology rocks !
AE
I would appreciate DS-Photo+ (running on my Android phone) being able to send the photos to my ATV. Today I can reach the NAS via iTunes on my laptop from my ATV. But it takes hours to load and display photos on my ATV. Not really usable. But on my Android phone I get my NAS photo library “instantly”.
Hi,
it would be perfect if Synology creates the integration for Airplay in DS Photo +.
Can you please tell us, if Synology works in this direction?
Thanks!
Synylogy NAS, DMS and especially DS Audio are all great inventions.
But why not make an alliance with Sonos and let them handle the zoning functionality. It is the best multi-room vendor in the HI-FI market.
Multi Airplay support would be great but from what I have read Sonology Audio Station redering cannot manage this part as well as Sonos at this point and multi-room support (streaming to multible Airplay devices) is at the moment not possible.
Br. Mr. Borg
what about HFS and/or exFAT support for external drives?
(exFAT would be better)
QNAP has support for HFS now..
HI there !
I’m using DS-audio with my iPhone to stream the music in the NAS to an airport express.
Everything works like a charm. However, I noticed that when I play an entire album, it misses the very beginning of each song. It must be something like 0.1 second but it’s quiet annoying when you miss the attack of the first note…
Did you guys noticed that as well ?
Thanks in advance for your answers
Stéphane
Great, now DS-photo can stream to my ATV. Thanks!
Is AirPlay enabled in DS Photo? I am considering buying a DS 411j but this is an important feature. Thanks
Yes, AirPlay is enabled in DS photo+ on iOS.
Hi Allen,
First of all congratulations I recently adquired (1 month ago) my Synology DS111 and I am more than happy with its overall performance and features.
I have a question, I am interested on using my Marantz UD-5005 in order to listen to music through DLNA using NAS unit, no problem with this setting and working perfect!. But when using DS Audio application on my iphone/ipad the problem is that it doesn’t appear in my list of devices, so I always needs tu turn on TV to access to my library.
Is there a way to configure something in my DLNA client (Marantz) or NAS audio station application?.
Thanks in advance,
Jose
Hi Jose:
The DLNA device must support the protocol of DMR (Digital Media Render) to be controlled from Audio Station or DS audio. If you couldn’t see Marantz in the media render list, it’s possible that this device didn’t support DMR. You may contact the manufacturer for further details.
Do i have to put all my mp3 files in music lib?
When i use DS audio it dont find my mp3 dir, even i have index is as audio.
Does it matter if there few files thats not *.mp3 ?
or i i need to move the whole lib to get the music working?
i tested one file in music, it works. but i would like to use my mp3 dir for same use.
Hi Peter:
Before DSM 4.0, DS audio/Audio Station only see the music files under music shared folder. We have enhanced this in DSM 4.0 to allow DS audio/Audio Station to see musics in folders that have been indexed.
Hello Allen,
The rendering to my Aiport express is working but I am experiencing gaps or lapses in the audio stream, I have a disk station d 211 J.
Streaming with iTunes from a PC I don’t have this issue. Is this a know problem or there a fix to this.
Hi Piet:
Could you contact Synology support using the following link if this issue continues to happen ?
http://www.synology.com/support/support_form.php
Hello
I’m sorry this is quite unclear to me.
I use a DS210j running DSM 3.2-1955.
I have the DS Audio installed on both my iphone and my ipad
I don’t have any Airport Express or AppleTV device.
Can I use some Airplay speakers such as the Philips Fidelio systems with my mobile applications ?
By reading the comment, I assume the answer to my question is YES, but could you confirm ?
Many thanks
Julien
Hi Julien:
If this stereo system support AirPlay and is within the same LAN , you should find this device in Audio Station Media Render list and DS audio.
Many thanks Allen ! Now I have to buy my system
Hi!
Any news on sending music to multiple airplay/airport express devices at the same time? I´m really looking forward to this feature!
Thank you!
Hi Allen,
I really like the Audio Station and use it quite frequently to listen to music via Airplay using my AppleTV, esp. with the DS audio iOS App.
But as I am not only a fan of good Rock music, but as I also enjoy a lot of classical music, I lack the feature of sorting/searching also for “Composer”.
Is that feature planned for a future release?
I was hoping to see that in DSM V4.0…
Best regards
Stefan
Great product and software. Congratulations.
Would be a pleasure to get Flac embedded cover art in Audio Station and Ds Audio, and also to use my tv as Dlna renderer for my Flac files (mp3 works great) but Flac seems not transcoded when read from Ds audio.
—
Dsm4 on 1511+
Hi, FLAC format music will be transcoded if you install DSM 4.0 on your DiskStation. About the cover art, I will forwarded it to our developers.
Hello,
I’m trying to understand why it is even necessary to enable the iTunes service on the Synology. When I have it disabled, I am able to connect to my iTunes library simply by pointing iTunes to the network drive where my iTunes music files are stored. What is the advantage of the iTunes service enabled on Synology? Is there a way I can have my iPhone/iPad recognize the library on my Synology via the “Music” app if my computer is off? This way, I could see all the iTunes playlists I have created, which the DS audio iPhone app does not allow.
Thanks
Hi, DiskStation can work as an iTunes server so you can share music within a local network, namely you can share your music collection to multiple computers over the local network more easily. Of course you can connect to my iTunes library simply by pointing iTunes to the network drive where my iTunes music files are stored, but if you’d like to share your music collections, it is less convenient to do it.
About playlists, you can create playlists on Audio Station and you can get it when using DS audio. Importing .m3u playlist files are supported. I’d consult our developers if there is some way for you to see all the iTunes playlists you have created with the DS audio iPhone app and get back to you as long as I’ve got an answer.
I am not entirely clear. Some comments suggest that the DS Photo app has AirPlay streaming. Please could you confirm? I am considering buying a DS411j and AirPlay is an important feature. Thanks
I bought your product largely because it claimed to be an iTunes server. I wanted an itunes server to serve my itunes library to my AppleTV. Now I learn that your product cannot serve anything to an AppleTV or any iOS device. It appears that all it can do is serve as a remote source for an iTunes process running on my PC where the library was already in residence (before I waited 4 + hours for the copy operation from my PC to the DS). The whole fucking point was to move the library to a high capacity, low power device that could be always-on and always running a process that would serve iTunes content to the media renderer that I imagined the AppleTV was.
Your iTunes server adds no value at all; I am exactly where I was $400+ ago — in order to stream content from my iTunes library to my AppleTV I still need to have my PC on and running iTunes. What’s the point?
(As an aside, I don’t understand how Synology’s “iTunes Server” can be supplying content to an iTunes process running on my PC since the Synology “iTunes Server” is running without any knowledge of my Apple ID. Why can iTunes running on a PC deal with an unauthenticated home-sharer (the DS hosted “iTunes Server”) while the Apple TV can’t?)
How do I get my money back?
Sorry for the inconvenience. We are discussing the issue internally and will get back to you later.
Darren,
If I had read this thread I probably would not have bought the same. Can you provide an update on your internal discussions.
Thanks.
The scenario described here is exactly what I hope to do with the DS412+ or DS1512+ (I’ve not purchased either yet). I’d like to play music/videos on my Apple TV from the NAS without a computer. Is that possible?
No need to be annoyed!! I am running very happily (DSM4.0) as you want it to be.
I have all my audio files including the iTunes library in the Audio folder on the DS.
From my iPhone or my wife’s Android phone we use DS Audio to stream all the audio wirelessly to the AppleTV device or our Airplay speakers. No need to have
any computer switched on!
DSPhoto streams all photo’s from the Photo folder on the DS to the TV set wirelessly via the AppleTV device.
Both DSAudio and DSPhoto can stream simultaneously so we can watch the slideshow with a music background all operated from the iPhone!
Did you switch on Airplay in the AppleTV settings and did you select AppleTV in the DSaudio app!
Now I am going to install the new DSvideo product with DSM 4.1 !!
I believe the DS is an great product!
Dear Allen,
I’ve read your good article but I have a question for you.
Is Synology/Airplay a server/client environment? In other words, is Synology able to stream audio directly to an Airplay speaker? Or the stream is operated by the browser (or app) in the “middle” device (PC/Mac/Android/iOS)?
It will be nice to use a smartphone as a “remote controller” for Synology and that this phone could be disconnected while audio stream can continue.
What do you think?
Marco
Dear Marco:
Yes. Synology Disk Station can stream audio to multiple Airplay devices without middle-end devices, where you can control the playback in Audio Station (within browser) or DS audio (Android, iOS and Windows phone).
Our airplay implementation can do everything you mentioned above
Hi
I try to convert my old Sony Xperia into Airplay device. From my WIN7 PC iTunnes control the client very good but in Audios Station only can see the device but sound not work
I try DS AudioStation with my 2 Sony Tvs and Work very god.
Miss some step in configuration ? please help
Fernando
The aplication in Android device is AirBubble
DS 712+
DSM 4.1-2636
Hi,
it’s really cool, that Audio Station can now stream to multiple Airplay targets.
But is it somehow possible to select these targets within the DS Audio app?
On the iPhone/iPad I can only chose the option ‘Multiple AirPlay Devices’, but I don’t find any option to select which devices.
Michael
Hi,
Very interested in this feature.
Is this correct:
With FLAC files stored on a DS212j, I can stream them via Airplay to a B&W Zeppelin Air via my wireless network choosing what tracks to play using the web interface of Audio Station?
If I were to use an iPad I could use the DS Audio app to control what the DiskStation was playing? The iPad is not used to stream the music via Airplay – it is just a controller of the DiskStation?
Thanks for any replies.
I think it is great that I can go the Audio Station of my DS413j via web browser and stream audio to my Apple TV (using air play). Once the playlist has been selected I don’t even have to stay logged in to audio station for the music to keep playing.
What I am wondering is if there is a similar thing (or maybe a feature to be added) where I could log into the video station in a web browser and stream a video to the Apple TV (using air play). At the moment I have installed XMBC on my Apple TV so I can access my DS413j since I have the Media/ UPnP server bit installed.
I know that I can use DS Video on my iPhone to stream to the Apple TV but I don’t really want to my phone as a “middle man”. I think it would be great if it was possible to stream videos directly from the disk station to the apple tv using air play, similar to what you can do with audio station.
that link of the beta program is gone… can’t find any replacement
Hi! Awesome work! I am a home automation and home theater installer. This is what we in the industry have been waiting for. Thank you!
My question is this…. How do I size the server to the load?
If I am talking about this to a customer and they have 5 televisions in their home and a mix of mkv and mp4 files how or what logic can I use to determine how many consecutive streams of outgoing video one can utilize?
Thank you in advance
Daryl Kuchay