Airport Express/Streaming problems

I just got Time Capsule, and one of the reasons was to extend my wireless network throughout my house. After some trouble, I was able to extend my wireless network to include my Airport Express with the Time Capsule as my DHCP server about 30 feet away in another room, and listen to my music through Airtunes/iTunes.
However, the music from iTunes keeps stopping, almost once every 15 - 20 seconds, for about a second at a time. It stops completely if I load a page (like the NYTimes homepage). Is it just signal strength? I only have 256 MB ram (with a 1GHZ processor, though) and up until now have never really had any speed problems. Anyone have suggestions on what to do?

Hello Garpster. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
Two things to consider here: bandwidth & signal strength. When you created a WDS between the Time Capsule (TC) and the AirPort Express Base Station (AX), you effectively reduced the bandwidth of your wireless network by one-half. Since a WDS can only operate in the 802.11g radio mode, the maximum bandwidth is now 54 Mbps/2 = 27 Mbps. Actual throughput is most likely even lower because of factors like Wi-Fi interference.
I suggest downloading a copy of iStumbler. Use iStumbler's Inspector feature (select Edit > Inspector from iStumbler's menu) to determine the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) at different points between the TC & the AX. Within the Inspector, note the values for "signal" & "noise" at these locations. Start with your PowerBook near the TC, note the readings, and then, choose the locations between and near the AX.
SNR is the signal level (in dBm) minus the noise level (in dBm). For example, a signal level of -53dBm measured near an access point and typical noise level of -90dBm yields a SNR of 37dB, a healthy value for wireless LANs.
The SNR, as measured from the PowerBook, decreases as the range to the base station increases because of applicable free space loss. Also an increase in RF interference from microwave ovens and cordless phones, which increases the noise level, also decreases SNR.
SNR Guideline
o 40dB+ SNR = Excellent signal
o 25dB to 40dB SNR = Very good signal
o 15dB to 25dB SNR = Low signal
o 10dB to 15dB SNR = Very low signal
o 5dB to 10dB SNR = No signal
If the SNR is 20dB+ at each of these locations, then you should be getting reasonable performance from your AirPorts, especially for the AX to receive clear iTunes streams. If less, either try to locate the source of the Wi-Fi interference or try relocating the AX until it is within a 20dB SNR range.

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Does airport express stream directly to wireless speakers or does it need to be connected through an audio cable to an amplifier before the speakers

Does airport express stream directly to wireless speakers or does it need to be connected through an audio cable to an amplifier before the speakers?

I got an additional question bout this topic:
is it possible to use both at the same time? in my case cable-connected speakers in the living-room and an Airplay-speaker in the bathroom and/or kitchen?
so I select the Airport Express as Airplay-Output on my iPad and from there it's shared via cable AND wireless? this would solve the problem of being able to only select ONE Airplay-Output on my iPad at the same time...

Apple AirPort Express - Streaming Music on iTunes - Frequent Music Drop out

*Apple AirPort Express - Streaming Music on iTunes - Frequent Music Drop outs*
I have just purchased an Apple AirPort Express for the sole use of streaming music from my laptop to my home cinema system.
My system has bundles of power (Core 2 Duo, 3gb RAM, 320gb hard disk, Intel-N WiFi) and is running Windows Vista Premium. I am using the latest version of iTunes (version 8) and have it setup to play through remote speakers. I have my AirPort Express connected to my home cinema system.
When I play music on iTunes through ONLY my computer speakers I have no problem with drop outs.
However, when I play music through either (1) my AirPort Express or (2) multiple speakers (i.e. the AirPort Express and my computer speakers together) I experience frequent and unbelievably annoying drop outs in the music stream.
I have determined this has nothing to do with interference with the wireless signal and believe this is something to do with iTunes - the reason being the drop outs occur in BOTH the computer speakers AND the AirPort Express speakers (when I select multiple speakers) but does not occur when I select ONLY the computer speakers.
Please could you provide some advice on this as I am unable to use the AirPort!
Many thanks
Elliot

You don't say which Airport Express you are using and what its settings are.
There are two Airport Express models. The original model works on 802.11b/g on 2.4 GHz. The later model can do 802.11n on 2.4 GHz or 5.0 GHz. My experience is that interference when using the 2.4 GHz band creates drop-outs when sending audio from iTunes to an Airport Express. I now have an 802.11n network on 5.0 GHz and no longer have drop-outs. I also have a 2.4 GHz 802.11g network for my iPhone and other devices that can't do 802.11n. They are connected to each other by ethernet.
Interference on 2.4 GHz occurs because a lot of people nearby have wireless networks too. You may not notice the interference when doing other network activity that is not time dependant but it shows when streaming music. Using a utility like iStumbler or AirRadar I can see I am the only one using the 5.0 GHz band in range of my computer.

Can airport express stream itunes music to ipod touch?

can airport express stream itunes music to ipod touch?

Hello cam baher. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
can airport express stream itunes music to ipod touch?
No.

Airport Express speaker problem

I have an Airport Extreme running my home network with two Airport Expresses, both hooked up to powered speakers. One Express is the older model, the other brand new. AirTunes intermittently drops one or the other speaker setup. My question is this- would I potentially fix this problem by upgrading the older Express to a new one? Thanks!

My question is this- would I potentially fix this problem by upgrading the older Express to a new one?
If all of your wireless client support 802.11n, then the answer would be yes. In that case you could create an 802.11n only network to get the best bandwidth possible for streaming.

AirPort Express -- having problems with music and stereo

Anytime I connect iTunes to my home theater system, the sound is very very quiet, and there is a slight "buzz, or humm" noise in the background, almost as though the Line out cable isn't connected all the way (obviously it is...). This system has worked when I first set it up, but now all of a sudden, it is having these problems...any suggestions or solutions? Thanks

I don't know what's going on inside the airport express, but I also loose various qualities of the sound when I'm streaming. Typically, if I have set my amplifier to apply some virtual surround mode using 4 speakers, two of them will go dead whenever I stream over the express unit. I tried using the mini-toslink out of the express, which changed nothing. I'd be interested in a technical explanation of what that thing is doing to the signal. A humm is typically a ground loop, probably more likely to come from within your home theater system. Can you try connecting the airport express line to another input channel on your audio system to check if it is a ground problem with the input you're currently using?

Airport express streaming audion drop out is unacceptable

The only reason I bought the airport express is because apple discontinued the old Apple TV mk1 - which had an analogue audio out port.
The comments on this group seem to always suggest the following (1) Don't extend a wireless group (2) Don't join a WDS (3) Upgrade firmware (4) choose a less congested channel (4) swing a dead cat around 12 times at midnight.
So the configuratioon
MAC BOOK PRO Snow leopard 10.6.4 -- 2.6Ghx INTEL Core 2 Duo, 4GB 667 Mhz DDR SDRAM
2 Airport Extremes [7.4.2]
1 Airport Express [7.4.2]
1 Time Capsule [7.5.1] (making a total of 3 Airport Extremes)
iTunes 10.0.1 (22)
MAC BOOK PRO disk checks out perfectly - format structure, file structure and hard disk sectors.
All Airport devices are at the latest firmware revision.
no WDS - each Airport Extreme "Creates A Wireless Network" - but uses the Time Capsule for DNS.
THE AIRPORT EXPRESS IS SET TO "NO WIRELESS"
The connection to the Airport Express is 100BaseTX via an intelligent router.
So - basically - NO WIRELESS CONNECTION to the Airport Express from the MAC BOOK.
MAC BOOK PRO -> (100BaseTX) Intelligent Cisco Router -> (100BaseTX) Airport Express
Every 4 or 5 minutes the sound will drop out for a second or so - right in the middle of a song.
The Airport Express has even been configured for NO WIRELESS.
Streaming Netflix to the TV makes no difference to the time between audio drop out - which suggest that the network is more than capable of handling the traffic.
Netflix also streams perfectly to the iPad (Wireless)
Network utilization is negligible. Network reliability seems excellent : 90M Sent packets, 70M Recv Packets ZERO errors ZERO collisions.
I noticed that when I use the iPad for remote control (V2) of iTunes on the MAC BOOK PRO - the drop out is worse (even when the iPad is not doing anything other than, I suppose answering a few "are you still there" inquiries). Interestingly, even with the iPad connected - but - control of iTunes from the Keyboard - the interval between drop outs is significantly greater.
I have not yet tried streaming the AppleTV Mk1 to the Airport Express - my bet is that it will stream perfectly.
It amazing that Netflix can stream perfect video and sound over a 20Mb internet connection (using the same Extreme as the primary DNS ie attached to the Time-Warner modem) and yet Apple cant even get consistent audio in a hard wired 100Mb intranet.
At the low data rates for streaming Audio - finding way to configure the Airport Express to effectively improve its response time hint at a significantly larger issue ie (a) iTunes not running at a sufficiently high priority (b) Small Internal buffer in the Airport Express (c) my guess both (a) and (b)
iTunes is set to "Large Buffer".
I have not yet tried 'nice'ing up the priority of any iTunes processes - as I've gone back to having the house Audio driven by my old reliable Apple TV Mk1.
If Apple cant even get Audio Streaming working properly - I don't hold out much hope for the AppleTV Mk2 (hopefully it has a seriously large buffer to compensate for the pre-emptive scheduling of MAC OS) - This may be one example of Windows being a better streaming Audio Platform that MAC OS.
Given all this information - other than "kill all the processes running on the MAC" - which completely defeats the purpose - that is to say - I had a perfectly great Streaming Audio "Appliance" (the Mk1 AppleTV) - now I'm being forced to use a GP Computer with all the inherent problems of reliability.
Any suggestions ?

No, in fact I abandoned it. Then I tried it again today, (hoping the various iTunes updates would help) it was better ... But after 15 minutes the audio dropped out again. However, my concerns about the apple tv2 were unfounded.

ITunes 9.2.1 Update & Airport Express Connection Problem

Hey, I bought an Airport Express recently, set it up on my current wi-fi network to stream audio.. worked perfectly and we had no problems. When iTunes 9.2.1 came out, I updated straight away and since then I've been having problems with the Airport Express. Now - if I want to use it to stream music, I have to go and unplug it and then plug it back in, wait for it to start up and then it will work. If I start streaming music pretty much straight away then I'll have about 45mins of playback before it will just stop. If I try to reconnect to the airport speakers then, it wont connect and comes up with a nasty looking error message in iTunes with loads of foreign looking symbols. I have to go unplug and then plug in again and wait for it to start up again before it will work again. If I don't start playing music soon after this 'reset', it loses its connection very quickly and I have to go plug out and in again to get it connected.
The green light is always showing, I've tried restoring to its default settings and then setting it up again, I've got the latest iTunes and Airport Express software.. but no idea how to stop this happening. Can anyone help as its getting very frustrating!
Thanks!

Same issue here. I just received a new Express N to replace my Express G (2004) since it was experiencing some minor stutter playing music (due to contention with the 10+ other clients on a 2.4Ghz wireless G network).
I have a dual-band Linksys 610n (latest firmware) with a 5ghz/40mhz N only network and a 2.4ghz/20mhz G only network. With the Express N configured to connect to the 5ghz N network as a client, I have to reset it every time I want to play music or I get the garbled error dialog in iTunes 9.2.1. In addition, after resetting, it only plays music for about 20 minutes and then starts to stutter and a minute later drops out completely and has to be reset once more.
I'm streaming from a 2009 MBPro/10.6.4 with 8GB Ram and it too is a client on the same N network. The MBPro is about 5 feet from the router and the Express N is less than 30 ft away through a few walls of drywall and wood studs. The Express G in the same configuration only experienced minor stutter during playback and never dropped from the network completely. I wanted to get the N express to remove contention by using the 5ghz network, obviously that's not going to work. I realize 5ghz has a shortened range (especially through objects), but 30 ft should be well within 5ghz reach and I have no problems with my other 5ghz devices (2 other MBPros).
The Express N has firmware 7.4.2 and the Express G has the latest firmware for it (6.x.x).
I'm going to try the Express N on the G network, but even if it works, I will probably just return the Express N and live with the Express G's minor stutters since there's no benefit to the N at that point.

Can't get started with Airport Express; WPA2 problem?

Howdy,
I purchased an airport express about a month ago and am unable to get it set up, at all. My goal is what the setup guide calls "Using AirPort Express on an existing wireless network and stream music to powered speakers" (pg. 15 for those who have the book). The failure is that Airport Admin Utility doesn't recognize my third party wireless network.
My wireless hub is a linksys wireless-G cable gateway, and has been in use with multiple computers in the current setup for a couple years. It is setup with WPA2 personal, TKIP+AES encryption, and MAC access list enabled. SSID broadcast is currently enabled.
I am running OSX10.4.11 on the computer that I am using to attempt to configure this.
Following the instructions for "Connecting to an Existing Wireless Network" (pg 25), I am attempting to use Airport Utility. But there is no such program on my computer, so I am assuming that Airport Admin Utility is what the book refers to as Airport Utility. Airport Admin Utility presents a "window titled Select Base Station" but lists no base stations. I click "Other", provide the IP address and password, hit OK, and ... nothing happens. After 20 seconds the beachball appears, and after another 20 seconds it says "The airport admin utility was unable to read the configuration of the selected base station".
The IP address I used is the one that I enter into the web browser to access the linksys box (no secret here, 192.168.0.1). The password is the one used to access those settings (e.g., the linksys default is "admin", but I changed it). I know the IP address and password are correct, but I do not know if this is the IP address and password the program is asking for. I don't even know if I am running the correct program!
Thanks for any help,
Bob H

Actually, I have it working now.
What I did after posting my last message was I connected the AE to my wireless hub, via ethernet cable. Then Airport Utility was able to find it, initialize it, and load new firmware into it ("it" being the AE). During initialization stage I told it it would be connecting wirelessly to an existing wireless network, and I gave it the network name, security options and password.
Then I told the wireless hub to allow this device (MAC address = Airport ID), disconnected the ethernet cable, power-cycled the wireless hub, and relaunched Airport Utility. It saw the AE, so I quit that. Then I launched iTunes and selected my AE as the speakers. It told me I needed to enable iTunes Music Sharing in my firewall. After doing that, iTunes is now playing through my external speakers. Exactly what I want.
Now I just need to go set this up on my laptop, with the AE and speakers on the other side of the house where I want 'em.
As a recap, I think I basically had two problems, both related to documentation. First, the program that the Setup Guide tells me to use wasn't in my Tiger applications folder, and I was fooled by a program with a similar name (in the past I have seen such name changes between what the setup guide said I should use and what I really needed to use). Second, it wasn't clear to me that, regardless of how I wanted to configure things for usage, I needed to establish a valid wired connection to the AE to initialize it. I think that could be made clearer in the book.
Thanks for everyone's help.
Bob H

Airport express range problems

First of all hello to everybody, i'm an italian mac user (so excuse my english). In my house i have a dsl connection with a us robotics g wifi old router. I continue to use this router because after a lot of trying i realized that this is the only one that can reach most of the rooms. A couple of days ago i decided to buy an airport extreme sure that it could cover in the same way the house but unfortunately the signal lack a lot so i had to leave the wifi signal of the router on. The thing is that i wanted to buy an airport express too to stream the music, now the question are: how can i boost the signal? have i to try to change the channels? It is better to use the extreme as bridge?

Just an add.....the question about the bridge mode is because on the extreme i have a "double nat" problem.

Belkin wireless modem and Airport Express lan problems

Let me preface my problem by stating the obvious - I'm not very technically proficient!
That said, I've had an AirPort Express wireless lan connecting three computers on my home/office network for the past 8 months without any problems at all. All machines on the network have been able to access the internet via a Thomson SpeedTouch 530 ADSL1 modem that connects via an ethernet cable to the AirPort Express. No problems.
The network consists of my G5 iMac (ALS), my husband's Mac mini and my Sony VAIO laptop (XP Pro SP2).
I should also mention that half-way between my office and my husband's office there is a second AirPort Express that 'boosts' the signal to his office.
I recently changed ISPs to a provider that offers the faster ADSL2+ service. This meant that I had to get a new Belkin ADSL2+ modem. This is my problem. I cannot connect my AirPort Express network to the internet using the Belkin modem. The Belkin modem connects without any problem if I just have it connected via ethernet to my iMac but that's not what I want to do.
My existing AirPort details are -
IPv4 Address: 10.0.1.3
Router 10.0.1.1 (this is the SpeedTouch 530 modem)
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
I thought I could change the new modem's address(?terminology?) from 10.1.1.1 (which is how it came) to 10.0.1.3 and that everything would work but it doesn't.
Belkin tech support said 'the problem is with your AirPort Express' (what else would they say)?
Do I have to keep the 10.1.1.1 and change my AirPort addresses? Or should I try to set up a new network?
2GHz 20-inch iMac G5 (ALS) Mac OS X (10.4.4) Mac Mini; 12inch PowerBook; 120GB external firewire hd; Video iPod; iPod mini;

No ideas?

ITunes Automatically Change EQ Setting Based On Which Airport Express Streaming? I have two Airport Expresses running at my house. Both are connected to different types of speakers. Neither speaker set has its own equalizer, and both require a different

I have two Airport Expresses running at my house. Both are connected to different types of speakers. Neither speaker set has its own equalizer, and both require a different EQ setting to sound just right. Does anyone know of a way to have iTunes automatically change its EQ setting based on which Airport Express it is streaming to?

I'm in the same boat. I have a 6 zone amplifier running with 6 airport expresses to different rooms inside and outside the house. Each has it's own acoustic characteristics. I'd really love to be able to set each airport to equalize based on my SPL frequency sweep I did for each room.
Setting the eq in itunes won't do it as that is global plus I have many more sources for auiod other than itunes that use the AEs directly.

Airport Express - streaming iTunes

I've been give an Airport Express which I'd like to stream music from iTunes.
I have a MacBook Pro and a Powerbook G4 at home, both with Airport cards and would like to use the iTunes libraries from both. The MBP runs 10.6.2 and the PB runs 10.5.8.
I have an existing wireless network which I run via a Netgear DG834G router. Would it be straightforward to stream audio over the network to the Airport Express from either Mac? Also, I'm not sure how that would connect to my stereo (Denon RCD-M35DAB) as the connection is an RJ-45 and the stereo doesn't seem to have that connection.
Would it be better to buy a NAS box to store a central iTunes library and to connect to the Denon?
I'm a novice at streaming music, so grateful for any advice!
Many thanks,
Colin.

According to the AirPort Express FAQ, it should work. Here are a couple of excerpts that leads me to believe it should:
Question: If my computer is associated with a non-Apple wireless access point, can iTunes send an AirTunes stream to the AirPort Express?
Answer: *Yes, if AirPort Express has joined the network in client mode,* or if it is connected via wire to a LAN port on the non-Apple wireless access point.
Question: A computer connects via wire to an existing wireless access point/router. Can this wired client send an AirTunes stream to AirPort Express via the existing router?
Answer: Yes, if they are on the same subnet. These are common examples of when it would work:
* The existing router is an AirPort Extreme Base Station set up as WDS main, with the AirPort Express set up as WDS remote.
** The AirPort Express has joined the network (AirPort or third-party) in client mode.*
* You have a wired-only router sharing your Internet connection with a separate wireless access point that bridges the network to wireless clients. As in the two examples above, the AirPort Express would be either a WDS remote or in client mode.
The bold text would address the OP's configuration.
The variables involving third-party access points are many, which is why I always advocate an all-Apple infrastructure.
Message was edited by: John Galt

Airport express stream to panasonic viera

Help please.
I have an airport express that will not play through my Panasonic Viera plasma tv. I am streaming from my macbook pro to the airport express because I tested it by plugging in headphones to the airport express. I am plugged into the tv via mini jack on the AE to audio jack to the tv. I have tried plugging into several inputs (comp1, comp2, video1, video2) with no success. I have also been through the menu for any settings that I may need to change. Am I missing something?

Panasonic plasmas will not play audio unless there is a picture. I see you mentioned connecting audio to the component and video 2 inputs, but did you connect a video connection to these inputs?
If the plasma is playing picture and audio from a standard video device on a composite connection (video 2) and it works fine - there is video and audio connected. The same is true for component as far back as Plasmas have had
tuners (2003).
No video = No Audio

Multiple Airport Express streams?

Is it possible to have more than one Airport Express Unit receiving different signals from different iOS devices? E.g. My iMac plays one track, my iPhone plays another and my iPad plays another?
I have a 4 input hub in my house powering 4 sets of ceiling speakers in various rooms and want to know if multiple Airport Express units mean I don't have to go down the Sonos route as all my music is on iTunes.
Thanks in advance

I do this regularly. I have 5 AX units connected to various receivers around the house. I can stream to a subset of speakers from one device and have another device stream to others. I don't see why I couldn't stream five stream to these speakers.
But the big caveat is that most of my AX units are connected via a gigabit ethernet network not a wireless connection (yes I know the AX units are not gigabit, but my network is). If you were trying to do this via wireless you might quickly run out of bandwidth. This is particularly true for IOS devices. For example, I have an ipad that can stream internet radio. If you think about it the ipod in this case has to first get the wireless signal and then send it back out to the AX, immediately doubling the amount of spectrum used compared to streaming from a device that has the music stored on it. That's probably why my internet radio app won't let me select multiple speakers the way I can with itunes or airfoil.

Airport Express/Streaming problems

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