Is this Holy Grail for AirTunes dropouts?

Many thanks to prior poster (afjafj) who suggested leaving AU always open so that Airtunes maintains constant connection to AX speakers via iTunes. Nothing else I've ever tried works so consistently! How about others?
Message was edited by: jcpom
Message was edited by: jcpom

If you're getting 10 megabytes (MB) per sec that's not too bad, if it's 10 megabits though it may be a bit slow.
AppleTv doesn't have a gigabit ethernet interface either, so on paper across 100Mbps ethernet 10MB/sec would be great considering non-data bandwidth in the equation. If it's 1MB/sec though streaming would be pretty much impossible.
AppleTv does not have blazing fast hardware anyway, and part of the problem is relatively slow disc storage which by the nature of the drive's used is not surprising - 2.5" drives are not going to be up to speeds of modern SATA 7200 rpm + drives.
AC

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Syncing - is this the holy grail for atv, wanting fast syncs?

Hi folks,
I've been 'playing' with what I thought to be slow sync problems for the last few days -after fitting a 228gb HD to my ATV (iTunes 8.0 & atv 2.1 - also on both wireless and wired set-ups, I set the atv to the same ip address throughout and not via dhcp). I have a wired network (100mb full duplex two cisco switches catalyst 2900xl and cisco adsl router 877) and 2 wireless networks (cisco 1121G 802.11g and Apple airport extreme 802.11n) - long story.... anyway here's the low down of the tests....
Starting point. Wired ethernet (connected Mac-switch-router-switch-atv all 100mb full duplex) peek throughput 10.8mb/s.
I disconnected the atv from downstairs moved to to the bedroom and plugged it into the same switch as the Mac and got 10.9mb/s - no problems with synced/linked computers which someone else reported.
Next off, I plugged the Mac into the Airport Extreme (1gb full duplex) but left the ATV on the switch (100mb full duplex and 100mb full duplex trunk connection between switch and Airport) this gave 2.3mb/s peek throughput !! (airport is in bridged mode and port on cisco is trunked)
Lastly, I connected the Mac to the Airport Extreme (1gb full duplex) and the ATV to the Airport via wireless (802.11n WEPA encryption) and got 8.9mb/s peek.
I'm not going to redo the cisco Aironets config to allow the simple WEPA encryption as they are set-up for 802.1x at the moment and frankly I lost interest!
And the same went for 'playing' with the MTU size on the Mac from 1500. Given I've not hacked the OS on the atv yet I figure that's running at 1500 as well - so I've left this alone.
All the cables were tested and in the case of the upstairs to downstairs connection, I even tried a cable out the window between the 2 switches - very little change, also I tried straight through and crossover cables between the switch and the airport extreme.
I also replaced the router I normally use with a spare - 2wire BT2700HGV. Holy Sh*t Batman!! throughput dropped to 900kb/s!! I checked everything twice, yep both the switches were connected to the 2wire with 100mb full duplex!
So, peek I managed was 10.9mb/s on the same switch, dropping right down to 900kb/s when going through the 2wire router in the Mac-switch-router-switch-atv config - note this was with ethernet connection through the 2wire and not wireless - I couldn't face that one...
Look's like 10.8mb/s where I started is now looking not so bad. I didn't test the atv and mac connected directly or with them both connected to the gigabit interface on the airport since this didn't have any practical value to me, but it did show up a major problem with the ethernet on the back of the 2wire router, as well as going through the 'uplink' on the airport extreme. I have in the past attempted to connect the switch to one of the 4 normal ethernet ports on the back of the airport, but never had this stable with the usb printer connected to the airport.
So, with the wired set-up Mac-switch-router-switch-atv and after resetting the link I've got over 200gb synced in the last 12 hours and reading the some other posts around I'm not so unhappy, but....
Is there anyone getting better throughput on wired connection even with gigabit switches or is this maxing out in the software/hardware design now?

If you're getting 10 megabytes (MB) per sec that's not too bad, if it's 10 megabits though it may be a bit slow.
AppleTv doesn't have a gigabit ethernet interface either, so on paper across 100Mbps ethernet 10MB/sec would be great considering non-data bandwidth in the equation. If it's 1MB/sec though streaming would be pretty much impossible.
AppleTv does not have blazing fast hardware anyway, and part of the problem is relatively slow disc storage which by the nature of the drive's used is not surprising - 2.5" drives are not going to be up to speeds of modern SATA 7200 rpm + drives.
AC

Modem encryption needs to be changed in order for airtunes to work?

Hi all,
I was happily listening to airtunes, closed the mac, opened it and airport express then had a flashing amber light. Now, if I try airtunes it won't work thru my speakers. I can only hear music thru the macbook. I spent a fair amt of time today on the phone with mac support and was told that my modem encryption needs to be changed. Apparently it has to go from WEP to WPA?
Has anyone else had to do this in order for airtunes to work? It was working fine and then poof, gone.

I've fixed the issue. I called support back again after reading this http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2098
and the girl on the phone was wonderful. We changed the setting from wep 128 to wep 40 and it works!

I have an apple tv 1st generation, and there is a setting for airtunes. can someone tell me what this is and how to use it?

I have an apple tv 1st generation, and there is a setting for airtunes. can someone tell me what this is and how to use it?

I've looked at that, but on my PC, "look for remote speakers connected with airtunes" isn't an option.
The only options I get are "prevent ipods [etc] from syncing automatically" , "warn me when [X %] of the data on this computer will be changed" and "forget all remotes". Its also got a list of backups I have saved, as well as a button to reset sync history.
When I am playing a song, the "airplay" button isn't even visible.
I am sure that the apple tv setting is on as well. Is there anything else you can help me with?

Airtunes Dropouts

My setup: Airport Extreme for internet with an Airport Express used only for Airtunes set to join the Extreme's network. This works fine.
My problem is bandwidth. I have a MacPro with all my music on it down in my studio and my G4 15" PB in the living room with the Airport Express and HIFI. My MacPro shows up on the PB as a shared library and music streams to the Express fine .. as long as it's an MP3 or MP4.
Seeing as how most of my music is lossless this causes problems. My setup just can't handle sending lossless around and I get dropouts, stutters, etc.
The thing is, I've had this setup working fine, in the same way that I've had screen sharing working with super fast refresh, almost as if the mac I'm controlling is the mac I'm using to control it. But now screen sharing still works but it's jerky and slow.
Something is eating my bandwidth and I don't know what it is. There's nothing going on on the network, no big downloads or anything and the network is secure so it's not someone stealing bandwidth.
Is there anything I can do to get this working so I can listen to music? I've set multicast to 11 on the Extreme to no effect.

It is very possible that you may have some form of Wi-Fi interference in the immediate area that is preventing your AX from getting a good clean signal.
I suggest you perform a simple site survey, using utilities like:
KisMAC, MacStumbler, iStumbler, or IPNetMonitorX to determine potential areas of interference...and then, try to either eliminate or significantly reduce them.

IPad 2 ... "Holy Grail" ... Computer World

Have you guys been following all of the recent reviews?!
This just hit the WWW from Computer World!
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9214339/Apples_iPad_2_is_the_Holy_Grail_ofcomputing?taxonomyId=77

Terrific article and a nice, thought-provoking description of the ideal — "holy grail" — of computing. Thanks for the link!

Sudden Airtunes dropouts since Airport upgrade

I have only had AEXpress for a few days. But from the moment I connected it it worked flawlessly. I streamed music for hours all day the first day and a few hours running the next few days. All simply perfectly.
Now, since the Airport update I am experiencing dropouts. The music just stops. It could be a coincidence - I have seen reports of dropouts on this board but I was not experiencing them. Now I am.
Other experiences with this update?

I have a mid 2011 iMac, an "n" Time Capsule and an "n" Airport Express. The Time Capsule is connected to my router (a BT one - I'm in the UK) with an ethernet cable and the iMac is connected to the Time Capsule with an ethernet cable too.
The Airport Express is in the next room and is only used for Airtunes to my HiFi system, streamed from the iMac. I too have been suffering dropouts and these seem to have increased since upgrading to AirPort Utility 6.0 and the latest firmware updates for the TC and AE.
At the moment, the AE is connected wirelessly to the network created with the TC and the iMac's internal WiFi is turned off. I have also tried setting the AE up as a separate network, turning the iMac's WiFi on and connecting to it directly. I have also tried limiting the AU to 5GHz only. In the past I have also tried selecting individual WiFi channels.
None of these actions have cured the problem. I'm coming to the conclusion that the only way to het a really secure connection to the AE is to connect to it with an Ethernet cable, but that sort of defeats the object, doesn't it?
I really wish this would work as it should. It's so nearly brilliant.

AirTunes dropouts - what to buy next?

I have had AirTunes dropouts with my Airport Express (g, 2007) since the beginning and haven't used it for this reason for a long time. I am now looking at upgrading our modem/wireless setup and I would like to ask what I should purchase and if that is a guaranteed solution.
Current setup is a Thompson ST780 modem/wireless router running at "g", WPA protected. iTunes is running on the current iMac (mid 2011) and the Airport Express ("g", 2007). All are in the same (small) room. Music dropouts occur irregularly, but tend to occur more often in the evening. To try and understand the issue, I made some measurements.
The iMac detects 21 other wireless networks. Nevertheless, noise appears to be low (-98 using terminal command), signal strength is -48. These values do not change (much) in periods of dropouts. I did a couple of tests with 1,000 pings to google. Without streaming: packet losses are below 1 percent, average time is around 23 ms, some spikes to 200ms but standard deviation is low (5 to 10%) so these are exceptions. Whilst streaming the major statistics do not change except the outliers approach 300 ms and the stdev increases slightly (<20ms). However, during very bad dropout periods, packet loss rises to 2%, minima are still 19ms but maxima go up to 1841ms, average is now 73ms and stdev 177ms. Needless to say, surfing becomes very slow. Moreover connection to the AE is occasionally lost and it is hard to re-connect. It seems that the AirTunes problems are taking up all wifi bandwidth, as soon as it is unplugged internet works great again. Interesting is also the graph of incoming and outgoing data from the imac. Outgoing is obviously high, incoming low. Around the time of a dropout, the incoming signal goes to zero whilst outgoing remains stable. As the dropout ends, both incoming and outgoing spike for a brief moment, after which they pick up the normal pattern. Looks like buffering the missed data. Btw, I've tried all channels and also WEP incryption etc.. I am also not doing any other heavy-duty internet work, just mail. Any thought on the reason for this problem?
The question is, is it save to conclude that the AE will never function flawlessly in this setup and environment? Even if the wireless router is replaced by -say- an Airport Extreme? Or are there any alternatives, like assigning specific IP-addresses? And if I were to replace this unit with the latest n-AE (and obviously get an 'n' router), will the problem be solved for sure?
What is irritating about this issue is that technically the device is not broken (I have two, both have the same issue), but it still does not work as advertized.

I have a mid 2011 iMac, an "n" Time Capsule and an "n" Airport Express. The Time Capsule is connected to my router (a BT one - I'm in the UK) with an ethernet cable and the iMac is connected to the Time Capsule with an ethernet cable too.
The Airport Express is in the next room and is only used for Airtunes to my HiFi system, streamed from the iMac. I too have been suffering dropouts and these seem to have increased since upgrading to AirPort Utility 6.0 and the latest firmware updates for the TC and AE.
At the moment, the AE is connected wirelessly to the network created with the TC and the iMac's internal WiFi is turned off. I have also tried setting the AE up as a separate network, turning the iMac's WiFi on and connecting to it directly. I have also tried limiting the AU to 5GHz only. In the past I have also tried selecting individual WiFi channels.
None of these actions have cured the problem. I'm coming to the conclusion that the only way to het a really secure connection to the AE is to connect to it with an Ethernet cable, but that sort of defeats the object, doesn't it?
I really wish this would work as it should. It's so nearly brilliant.

How to hook up TWO Airport Expresses and base to reduce AirTunes dropouts?

Any suggestions on the best way to set up Airport Extreme base station with two Airport Expresses to allow iTunes to drive two separate stereos?
I've had a lot of problems with random Airtunes dropouts with this system, even now that I have removed all security from the network (removal of which definitely helps AirTunes). And I can consistently play music through ONE of the stereos without dropouts. But whenever I try to use the Multiple Speakers option in iTunes, the dropouts start again.
I've changed my channel to one that none of my neighbors is using. I've tried moving all of the Airports away from other electronics. Right now the two Expresses are clients of the network created on the Extreme base, which is where the cable modem is connected. Is there some better way to do it? Like use the Expresses as relays instead of clients, or something?

While I don't have any suggestions to make beyond what you have already tried, I can tell you that configuring the Airport Express units as relay or remote base stations will likely make the problem worse because of the bandwidth penalty you get from such a setup.
In case you haven't yet seen it, this is what Apple has to say on the topic:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108065

AirPort Extreme + AirPort Express for AirTunes

Hi there,
I've just unpacked my new AP Extreme station (v7.3.2) as a replacement for the AP Express (v6.3) and it works just fine. What I now have been trying for some hours is to set up AP Express for AirTunes, but it doesn't work.
I just want to add AP Express to the wireless network created via the AP Extreme not to extend the network, but simply use AirTunes.
I tried the guided set-up via the Airport Utility, also the manual one. I tried to create a closed and normal network. The problem is always the same: After the update of the AP Express station, the station can't be found and needs a hard reset to start just another try for a set-up...only the AP Extreme shows up.
Any idea?
Thanks in advance.

...I solved it myself this morning at about 1.00 AM, but this page was down, so I couldn't post my message earlier...sometimes its easier than you think: I just forgot to enter the MAC address of the AirPort Express under the "Access" menu of he AirPort Extreme. That was the reason why the Express couldn't join the network created by he Extreme. The rest is as Nee Kun stated above with one difference: Once the Express is plugged in, I of course see/access (frankly you cannot see it, because its "closed"=invisible) only one network, but in my AirPort Utility I can see both, Extreme and Express

Airport Express for Airtunes Apple TV Only - Internet Through Ethernet

I just upgraded to faster internet and when I connect my computer directly though the ethernet it's world's faster than the Airport Express I have. I cannot update my Express since my MacBook Pro won't do 801.1n. I want to use the AE just for Airtunes and AppleTV, but when I turn on the AE it seems to disable the direct internet connect via ethernet. Is there a way I can have my laptop wired to the internet and still use AE for Airtunes and AppleTV?

I just upgraded to faster internet and when I connect my computer directly though the ethernet it's world's faster than the Airport Express I have.
I assume that you mean that you connect your MBP directly to the new Internet modem by Ethernet ... correct? If so, then the bandwidth of this Ethernet connection is at least twice as much as the maximum provided by the 802.11g AirPort Express Base Station (AX) ... which would be 54 Mbps.
I want to use the AE just for Airtunes and AppleTV, but when I turn on the AE it seems to disable the direct internet connect via ethernet. Is there a way I can have my laptop wired to the internet and still use AE for Airtunes and AppleTV?
Most likely this is because your MBP's network configuration has the AirPort connection at the top of its list, followed by Ethernet. If this is the case, your MBP will attempt to connect to the networking device in order of that listing.
Unfortunately, if you are connecting your MBP directly to the modem, the AX will represent "another" network ... and you would have to "switch" networks between Internet access and streaming.
You have a few options:
o Get an 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn); connect the AEBSn to the modem, and in turn, connect your MBP to the AEBSn by Ethernet. The AX could then "join" the wireless network, created by the AEBSn, for streaming.
o Replace the current AX with the 802.11n version. In addition, get an 802.11n USB wireless adapter for the MBP.

Using powerbook for "airtunes".... sort of.

Hi.
I have mac mini hooked up to home stereo.
In another area of house, I have powerbook hooked up to other speakers.
I'd like to listen to the same iTune/audiobook/CD in multiple rooms as I move from room to room.
Essentially, I want to use the powerbook (and speakers hooked to it) as an airport express "airtunes" set up.
Is there a way to do this?
Thanks for input and ideas.
R

Yes. You'll have to purchase an "airport express" unit. You won't be able to use the Powerbook as a substitute. Also, you'll need the latest version of Airport installed on your machine - v 6.3, which allows use of multiple speakers (available through Software Update once the base station is installed).
I have this configuration set up in my home, and it works really well - no drop offs/great sound.

Airport Express used to be base station, now want to use only for AirTunes

After I moved to to different neighborhood, ATT informed me I had to upgrade from my former "elite" DSL to UVerse, which has wireless router. Want to use my Airport Express for AirTunes in a different part of the house, but I have repeatedly screwed up my network trying to reconfigure AE. Anybody have experience with this? Help!!

Thanks, Bob, for your quick response. Bit of a long story - I am talking about my place in the city where I live to work, about 6 hours away from where I am now; I am heading back there shortly. But, here's something like the whole story (as much as I can recall without the scratchy notes I have down there):
When I moved from apartment to house I bought 2 weeks ago, everything seemed fine - Uverse was installed and I used the AE to run powered speakers while I moved in. But then I noticed that my iPhone, and my friends' smart phones, would not connect to my home network. It was after I spoke to ATT support the first time, and they had me change security from WAN to WEP that my Airport problems started. My messing around trying to figure it out crashed my network at least once and caused another hour-long session with very helpful ATT support person re-setting my network.
So, Uverse security is WEP. My newish MacBook Pro runs 10.7.4. I was very frustrated by Airport Utility 6.1 not showing the AE, or only doing so if I made it my "base". I see from my older iMac here at home that I possibly need an older Airport Utility to detect the AE. But beyond that, I am gun-shy to try anything else with the AE without some advice.

Use Iphone as an speaker for airtunes

Hi,
I would like to know if there is a possibility to use my IPhone as a speaker for airtunes, or if it is possible to build an IPhone app and get it into the store to do this?
I do not mind the lesser quality of the sound, just to enjoy my music from my IMac through airtunes from my IPhone speaker in my garden.
Kind regards,
Marc

Yes, Airfoil for Mac and Airfoil for Windows will do that. I am a happy user of Airfoil for Mac, it's fantastic!
But what I ask for is an application like that for iPhone/iPad.
Airfoil speakers for iPhone is the other way around, it's for sending audio to iPhone. Unfortunately, rogueamoeba is not able to make an app that sends audio from iPhone/iPad to airtunes, ref http://www.rogueamoeba.com/support/knowledgebase/?showArticle=AirfoilforiPhone
So it's up to Apple to give us this functionality, that IMHO is really strange they haven't included from the beginning. After all, all items involved are Apple products.

Firewall software & using a remote control for AirTunes?

I recently turned on the built-in firewall on my MacBook Pro. Ever since doing so, every time a run iTunes, get the following message:
Your computer is using firewall software that prevents
you from using a remote control for AirTunes.
To use a remote control for AirTunes, open System Preferences, click
Sharing, then click Firewall, and select "iTunes Music Sharing."
I always tell it to "Ignore" and I am able to play music through my AirPort Express without any trouble. What is the "remote control" to which this message is referring? I have searched Apple's support pages and this forum without any luck. I thought that opening the "iTunes Music Sharing" port in the firewall would allow other people on my local network to see my music if I was sharing it, which I am not. I don't see what this has to do with a remote control.
Thank you for any info you can provide.
-- Gary

Hi,
there is no remote control for AirPortExpress or Air Tunes. Maybe we will see something like this in the futue, who knows.
As AirTunes uses streaming, it probabely needs the same port open as Music Sharing. Because shared music is streamed too.

Is this Holy Grail for AirTunes dropouts?

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