NAs and media server option for EA3

[obas]

I'm planning to buy a NAS server (music/media server) to store all of my old CD. I'm thinking what the best option is

1) connect to my EA3

2) connect to my AVR directly

If I go with option 1) is there any recommended NAS (Synology, QNAP, ...)? The EA3 has a built-in music server.  Does that mean it knows how to access and index the files on the NAS or do I need some additional software that acts as an interface (Plex, mediamonkey,...). Assuming the EA3 can do all of that, what does the user interface look like? Is it user-friendly, does it look clean? I'm not very impressed with the control4 home screen on the app, the icons and such remind me of the 80s.

Wrt music managers/servers, I only know Plex and mediamonkey (I read that EA3 has native support). I'm sure there are plenty of other good options. Any suggestions?  I read on the forums here that the Plex c4 integration has some issues. 

Thanks

[dcovach]

On 2/24/2018 at 2:40 PM, obas said:

I'm planning to buy a NAS server (music/media server) to store all of my old CD. I'm thinking what the best option is

1) connect to my EA3

2) connect to my AVR directly

If I go with option 1) is there any recommended NAS (Synology, QNAP, ...)? The EA3 has a built-in music server.  Does that mean it knows how to access and index the files on the NAS or do I need some additional software that acts as an interface (Plex, mediamonkey,...). Assuming the EA3 can do all of that, what does the user interface look like? Is it user-friendly, does it look clean? I'm not very impressed with the control4 home screen on the app, the icons and such remind me of the 80s.

Wrt music managers/servers, I only know Plex and mediamonkey (I read that EA3 has native support). I'm sure there are plenty of other good options. Any suggestions?  I read on the forums here that the Plex c4 integration has some issues. 

Thanks

Synology or QNAP are both great for a NAS.  The C4 Listen menu for MYMUSIC is simple but you can program playlists to play with keypad buttons or customize the conditions of when other playlists play.  There all sorts of ways to program media to play rather than searching manually for it.  Its better to create playlists.  For a single user music collection, a thumb drive (or powered usb drive) formatted to FAT32 and connected to the EA3 will be detected automatically.   A NAS drive will need the C4 NAS driver installed and configured for network folder.  Once set up, the media can be scanned into Control4 but you will have to create new playlists from scratch.

There is another thread on here detailing how to import a library from mediamonkey and using the control4 plugin to convert it to a control4 xml file.  This will save time a lot of time in scanning and creating a new library in control4.

[obas]

ok, thanks for the answer.

I like Synology better, but I read somewhere that QNAP has certified drivers for C4. Ideally, I also want to be able to see the CD's with artwork on my tv and/or app and select from there. Is that possible using C4 interface (or any other compatible music server)? Regarding mediamonkey, I read somewhere that EA3 has native support for that (ie. similar to pandora, tuneIn, deezer, etc). Is that correct?

Can I  create playlists, scan media, and such, directly from the app or do I need composer HE for that? It seems very useful for tweaking the system, but it is at an additional cost I think.

Thanks,

 Marinus

[dcovach]

On 2/26/2018 at 1:11 PM, obas said:

ok, thanks for the answer.

I like Synology better, but I read somewhere that QNAP has certified drivers for C4. Ideally, I also want to be able to see the CD's with artwork on my tv and/or app and select from there. Is that possible using C4 interface (or any other compatible music server)? Regarding mediamonkey, I read somewhere that EA3 has native support for that (ie. similar to pandora, tuneIn, deezer, etc). Is that correct?

Can I  create playlists, scan media, and such, directly from the app or do I need composer HE for that? It seems very useful for tweaking the system, but it is at an additional cost I think.

Thanks,

 Marinus

Control4 has QNAP drivers.  There isn't native support for media monkey with Control4 or any of the controllers.  If you manage your library with iTunes, there is a free driver that integrates that into Control4.  You don't have to do any extra work to have albums and CD art organized properly in the C4 navigator.   If you manage your library with media monkey, you will be able to export that library file (with the use of a "plugin"), convert it, and import it into the Control4 media data base using free software called Media composer.  You could also purchase Composer HE and that will give you the ability to custom program your system with media composer built into the softare.  If your media monkey library is managed well and has CD covers and all the tracks organized, your Control4 data base will be the same (if you follow the proper steps of conversion).  Your library audio files will have to stay in the same network location as they were with media monkey so that the new library file will have valid network file locations for Control4 to pull from.  Control4 can also scan network file locations for music and will try to find meta data. 

 

[rea]

On 2/24/2018 at 12:40 PM, obas said:

I'm planning to buy a NAS server (music/media server) to store all of my old CD. I'm thinking what the best option is

1) connect to my EA3

2) connect to my AVR directly

If I go with option 1) is there any recommended NAS (Synology, QNAP, ...)? The EA3 has a built-in music server.  Does that mean it knows how to access and index the files on the NAS or do I need some additional software that acts as an interface (Plex, mediamonkey,...). Assuming the EA3 can do all of that, what does the user interface look like? Is it user-friendly, does it look clean? I'm not very impressed with the control4 home screen on the app, the icons and such remind me of the 80s.

Wrt music managers/servers, I only know Plex and mediamonkey (I read that EA3 has native support). I'm sure there are plenty of other good options. Any suggestions?  I read on the forums here that the Plex c4 integration has some issues. 

Thanks

Quick question, how much music do you have? If you're primarily looking to do music, you can get 128 or 256 gb flash drives for MUCH cheaper than a NAS and that equates to a LOT of music unless everything you have is lossless. As mentioned above, flash drive can be integrated even without a dealer so just want to make sure that's not a viable option. Probably the only problem with this option is adding remotely doesn't seem to work for me like others on her report. I've got Deezer as well so I rarely even use it anymore, to be honest. 

If you're looking at video now or in the future, well, that's a completely different scenario. 

 

[Cyknight]

Hmm.

When it comes to music from CDs - your best bet is to get a simple storage device and just use the native database. While that DB doesn't work great for music 'bought by the song' - it was designed and works well around 'old fashioned' CD rips.

What storage works best? Honestly for the purpose of music a NAS is likely overdone. As per above, chances are a plain old USB drive will do the trick unless you have a huge library. Even then, a standard external USB drive (PLEASE make sure it's externally powered!!!) works the same way as far as C4 is concerned.

Just be sure you have it formatted in FAT32...you may need an external program to do so. Oh and make sure partition type is MBR, not GPT (normally is MBR)

Load it up with your music, attach it - wait a few minutes and it should show up automatically.

 

Note that for USB drives (sticks or otherwise) C4 software can be a bit iffy. Generally though a normal/decent brand drive that is a plain device (ie n encryption, backup r other fancy features) work and work well.

One final note on USB storage though - the MA limit the controllers allow is 2TB (per storage device) - if you end up with more than that, you'll have to go with a NAS.

 

Guess one more note - once attached to a controller, the USB device becomes accessible on the network so adding more files can be done without moving the device around. If that part is giving you grief, chances are the drive is formatted NTSF (which C4 can read, but not write to)

[rea]

"Guess one more note - once attached to a controller, the USB device becomes accessible on the network so adding more files can be done without moving the device around. If that part is giving you grief, chances are the drive is formatted NTSF (which C4 can read, but not write to)"

Good to know. I'll have to check the formatting the next time I pull the drive out to see if that's my issue. 

[obas]

Thanks for all the replies, it's very useful. It's about a 100 cd's. I have sent them out to be ripped professionally in FLAC format. Will get them back in a few weeks. There are two reasons why I consider NAS (above usb stick / drive)  1) I might want to put photos there as well eventually, to show on my TV. 2) I also want to play music through my bedroom speakers, which is connected through a Sonos connect AMP (I prefer everything to be controlled by C4, but for now it's not worth to spend a lot of money on an audio matrix, amplifier). Aside from that I also read there are some programs/apps to have karaoke on the tv.

 

[dcovach]

5 hours ago, obas said:

Thanks for all the replies, it's very useful. It's about a 100 cd's. I have sent them out to be ripped professionally in FLAC format. Will get them back in a few weeks. There are two reasons why I consider NAS (above usb stick / drive)  1) I might want to put photos there as well eventually, to show on my TV. 2) I also want to play music through my bedroom speakers, which is connected through a Sonos connect AMP (I prefer everything to be controlled by C4, but for now it's not worth to spend a lot of money on an audio matrix, amplifier). Aside from that I also read there are some programs/apps to have karaoke on the tv.

 

MP3, WMA, MP4, FLAC, and AAC are suppported audio file types.  I believe Kodi has a Karaoke plugin.  If you were to also import your music library into there too, you should be able to see the words on the screen.  I have not tried this yet as I have not had time to get together some friends, drink lots of beer, and sing along terribly to some good music.  If you had the https://www.chowmainsoft.com/kodi-xbmc-full-driver-for-control4/  Kodi Full or Lite driver, you would be able to also import your movie library into C4 and have access to them on the C4 Nav and be able to play them on a supported Kodi device.  The Raspberry Pi 3 is a very popular low budget video player to use with Control4.  

[zaphod]

If you are tech-savvy then instead of a NAS you might want to consider a DIY unRAID server.  unRAID is a version of Linux that is essentially an OS for a NAS.  But it lets you run Dockers that are applications of various sorts, such as Plex, Kodi, etc.  You can also use it to host Virtual Machines of Windows, Linux, etc.  And it is more flexible in terms of the hardware you use such as hard drive, CPU, etc.  You can essentially use whatever you want.  So if you have an old PC lying around you could use that as your unRAID server.

[obas]

Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions. I'm actually learning a lot. @dcovach I checked out Kodi, looks good, especially with the Karaoke plugin. Will make my wife happy to  @zaphod I'm reasonable tech save, especially with software. I hear about unRAID, but never tried it ou. Don't have experience with Docker (only Singularity). Great suggestion, I will try it out too. Have a bunch of old PCs lying around here.

Really trying to use my control4 more. Right now, it's just a fancy remote for the tv/receiver/direcTV (my doorbird is not connected, neither are speakers in the bedroom)

[sonic30101]

Kodi is amazing BTW. I just set up the karaoke plugin for a friend. I couldnt get mikey's karaoke to work properly but FTG works well

[dcovach]

1 hour ago, obas said:

Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions. I'm actually learning a lot. @dcovach I checked out Kodi, looks good, especially with the Karaoke plugin. Will make my wife happy to  @zaphod I'm reasonable tech save, especially with software. I hear about unRAID, but never tried it ou. Don't have experience with Docker (only Singularity). Great suggestion, I will try it out too. Have a bunch of old PCs lying around here.

Really trying to use my control4 more. Right now, it's just a fancy remote for the tv/receiver/direcTV (my doorbird is not connected, neither are speakers in the bedroom)

Thats good news.  If you need help integrating anything else, feel free contact me (doorbird, kodi, alexa voice control, etc).

[Cyknight]

On 2/28/2018 at 12:38 AM, obas said:

1) I might want to put photos there as well eventually, to show on my TV.

IF you mean using the C4 on screen display's screensaver - you should NOT do that from a NAS. Not because it won't work (it will) but because it will cause your drives in a 24/7 spin because the system is constantly loading the pictures - so it will likely degrade your disks much faster.

[obas]

@dcovach Thanks for offering. I keep that in mind. the C4 installer did integrate the doorbird but it doesn't work very well. When someone pushes the doorbell, it takes a long time before it actually rings through the speakers; c4 notifies the receiver, the receiver has to change the input, play the sound, and go back to the previous input ( in the meantime tv screen will turn black when playing the door sound for a bit . All takes at least 30 seconds. If the receiver was off, even much more. 

[obas]

@sonic30101 you mentioned you set up FTG karaoke. Also just installed it. Did you also set up the microphone, so it will broadcast through the receiver? Does anyone have any experience and is it even possible? Thanks.

 

[sonic30101]

6 hours ago, obas said:

@sonic30101 you mentioned you set up FTG karaoke. Also just installed it. Did you also set up the microphone, so it will broadcast through the receiver? Does anyone have any experience and is it even possible? Thanks.

 

I used these mics connected to an intel fanless mini pc so when the mics needed to be used the USB soundcards 3.5mm jack was used

Wireless Karaoke Microphone, U-Kiss Handheld Microphone (2 pcs) with Portable Receiver for Apple iPhone Android Smartphone Ipad or PC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0714KKRDK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_vdYqhDFvyOtQ7

[obas]

6 hours ago, sonic30101 said:

I used these mics connected to an intel fanless mini pc so when the mics needed to be used the USB soundcards 3.5mm jack was used

Wireless Karaoke Microphone, U-Kiss Handheld Microphone (2 pcs) with Portable Receiver for Apple iPhone Android Smartphone Ipad or PC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0714KKRDK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_vdYqhDFvyOtQ7

Ok, thanks. I already bought a similar microphone last week. I tried it with FTG karaoke, but I didn't hear anything. My Kodi is installed on a windows pc, which is connected through an HDMI cable to the receiver. Audio for computer is set  the receiver. Just wondering why it's not working.

 

[steinway379]

On 3/1/2018 at 5:14 PM, Cyknight said:

IF you mean using the C4 on screen display's screensaver - you should NOT do that from a NAS. Not because it won't work (it will) but because it will cause your drives in a 24/7 spin because the system is constantly loading the pictures - so it will likely degrade your disks much faster.

 

[marcdds77]

On 2/25/2018 at 9:18 PM, dcovach said:

The C4 Listen menu for MYMUSIC is simple but you can program playlists to play with keypad buttons or customize the conditions of when other playlists play.  There all sorts of ways to program media to play rather than searching manually for it.  Its better to create playlists.  For a single user music collection, a thumb drive (or powered usb drive) formatted to FAT32 and connected to the EA3 will be detected automatically.   A NAS drive will need the C4 NAS driver installed and configured for network folder.  Once set up, the media can be scanned into Control4 but you will have to create new playlists from scratch.

So are you saying, if I hook up an external hard drive, formatted to Fat32, with folders containing my music in Flac and DSD, the Control 4 will automatically detect it, and it will show up in My Music?

[Cyknight]

4 hours ago, marcdds77 said:

So are you saying, if I hook up an external hard drive, formatted to Fat32, with folders containing my music in Flac and DSD, the Control 4 will automatically detect it, and it will show up in My Music?

Nearly. The drive will show up by itself - once it does, it needs to be 'manually' triggered to scan and/or set to autoscan daily/weekly/whatever your preference (all of which can be done in HE)

[marcdds77]

So thanks. I hooked up the Hard Drive, and so far, it only shows up on my Computer Network.

I don't see it on my Control4 Remote under My Music. I will try looking at the App on my iPad.

If that doesn't work, I'll have a tech come over from the installer I used.

 

Thanks again.

[Cyknight]

Like I said - the driver gets loaded, but before music is shown, the drive needs to be scanned/set to autoscan.

This can be done in HE - Media tab.

[Cyknight]

Ah. The drive IS formatted FAT32 right?