Will the pi run iTunes at all

[Jekubwarrior]

Please help I am a complete n00b really with computers and I would like to know if in any way I can get the pi to run iTunes. Also what's an easyish programming language I should learn ??

[JeremyF]

The Pi cannot run iTunes.

[mahjongg]

There is no reasonable way to get iTunes running on the PI!
Itunes is closed source, and only runs on intel CPU (x86) based systems (Windows and Mac OS X).
Because its closed source it cannot be converted to work with Linux, not to run on any ARM based system.
Also because its written only for intel CPU's it won't run on an ARM, and emulating both an x86 CPU and a whole OS (like Windows) on top of the emulated CPU would become far slower than what would be considered a minimal useable speed.

But do not fret, there are many nice alternatives that do run on Linux, and are open souce so can be converted to run on an ARM system, the best of these offer similar functionality as iTunes, without becoming overly commercial.

Here you can find a short list of 10 possible candidates: http://www.simplehelp.net/2007/07/08/10 ... your-ipod/

here are a few screenshots (right-click on them and open them in a new screen for full size):

Amorak, looking at an iPod contents list


Media Monkey, main screen


As for learning to program, the official starters language would be Python, which comes pre-installed on the normal distro's

[lunchbox]

Learning python is fun and relatively easy. I recommend you take a look at learnpython.org and Codeacademy ( http://codeacademy.com/tracks/python ). There are tons of other great tutorials and books available for begginers learning python, but the best way to learn is by doing, so find one which has you writing code of your own from the start. I would also highly recommend becoming familiar with linux. Most of the operating systems available for the raspberry pi are linux and understanding how to use it will probably make your life better. I learned about using linux by playing with another experimental computer called the OLPC XO1. The raspberry pi is a similarly great opportunity. When you get stuck, ask the internet (and this forum in particular). Linux is a community not a product. Getting started with linux is pretty easy, but there often aren't many guideposts to show you what to do next or how to accomplish a particular task. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Even experts ask each other about how best to solve Linux problems, even Linus himself.

If you are a complete beginner with linux, congradulations. Either way, Happy Hacking!

[Jekubwarrior]

Is the pi fully necessary or could you download a python command line and do the same thing on a pc?

[lunchbox]

The raspberry pi running raspbian is a great place to start learning python because it comes preloaded with everything you need including some great examples of simple games you can make with python. Many of the games use the pygame library, which is already installed on raspbian. If you don't have a raspberry pi set up yet, you can start learning python anywhere. Python will run on any modern PC. It comes already installed on most popular linux distributions like Ubuntu. If you have a Mac with OSX 10.5 or later it is already installed. You can open the terminal application and start playing with python by simply entering the "python" command. If you use Windows, I believe you will need to install it. This is quite easy. You can find more information about it at http://www.python.org/getit/

If you want to learn python on a PC, I recommend using Ubuntu if you have the option. It is very easy to install the OS, python is already included, and installing any additional python modules is extremely easy. Ubuntu and raspbian are very similar, so what you learn on Ubuntu, you should be able to apply directly to your pi.

[munklefish]

WIth all the plays based around the Raspberry Pi name im really disappointed that no-one has gratuitously thrown in 'PiTunes'. I thought this was supposed to be a place for nerds to hang out. Shame on you.

[jamesh]

WIth all the plays based around the Raspberry Pi name im really disappointed that no-one has gratuitously thrown in 'PiTunes'. I thought this was supposed to be a place for nerds to hang out. Shame on you.

Fair point, well made!

[mikebiggs]

Whats your reason for wanting to install iTunes? If it was for Airplay to stream music to various devices like your iPad or iPhone from a central iTunes install holding all of your music, you could try installing RaspBMC, and Raspberry Pi version of the XBMC media centre. When you add music to it, you can enable AirPlay, which will allow the RaspBMC playlists and tracks to appear in the other devices iTunes....in theory.

[aperry]

Hi guys, reviving this thread to see if anyone can help with my "RaspberryPi iTunes-related requirements":

I currently run iTunes on a Windows server that's on 24 hours a day and manages a large library of music which I can send to three different Airport Express "zones" via Airplay (kitchen, living room, patio). I use the Remote app on my iPhone to select music from my iTunes library for playback and to turn the "zones" on/off. It's been a great way to manage music in my house.

I'd love to replace this 40-watt Windows server with a super low power RaspberryPi. Even though XBMC supports Airplay, I don't know if it can handle the scenario above. At least I can't figure out how to do it. Can XBMC send music to an Airport Express?

Are there any other Linux-based apps that can do something like this?

Thanks,
Aaron

[andrewmiller]

aperry - this is *exactly* what I'm trying accomplish as well! So far I've also found nothing... but I'm still looking.

-AM

[aperry]

Thanks Andrew, let me know if you come up with anything. I've stopped looking into this for the time being. My raspi has been relegated to print server until I arrive at a more useful idea.

Aaron

[Jim JKla]

WIth all the plays based around the Raspberry Pi name im really disappointed that no-one has gratuitously thrown in 'PiTunes'. I thought this was supposed to be a place for nerds to hang out. Shame on you.

I think you just threw that gratuitos fish.

[ghostwheel]

You can try using mpd. There are many clients to control mpd - from linux, iOS, OSX etc.
Here http://www.markwallis.id.au/blog/post.php/15 Mark Wallis describes how to get mpd to play
on airport express. I think you'd then need one mpd server running for each airport express, but I'm not sure.
You could probably have a couple of servers running, each with the option to output to any of the airport express, and then you could tell each to start/stop a certain output.
Since mpd is easily controlled by scripts, you can easily set up scripts for redirecting music a certain way.
e.g.

Code: Select all

mpc -p 6600 disable 1
mpc -p 6601 enable 1

(of course you could also replace each of the airport expresses by a raspberry pi, which would make it all easier

[ghans]

Can Squeezeplug act as Airplay server ?

ghans

[aperry]

Circling back on this. For some reason I never noticed the recommendation for Squeezeplug, just above this post. But I did chance upon a different discussion where Squeezebox/LMS was mentioned for multizone, and this caught my attention.

The last few days I installed two Squeezeplug clients (one Raspberry Pi, one Dockstar), which are talking to a LMS server running on my Windows HTPC (but it could just as easily run on the Pi). Wow. I am really impressed with how well this works. It fully replaced my previous "Airplay and iTunes Remote" multi-zone setup, and even provides more functionality. I'd recommend anyone who has the use case that I described above (months ago) to give this a try. Here's what I like about it:

1. The client player (Squeezelite) can run on pretty much any architecture, including Raspi and even cheaper hardware like Pogoplug. Combine these with a $3 USB sound card and you're in business for as little as $25 total.
2. Just like iTunes with Airplay, you can easily synchronize music across clients ("zones"). So far my testing with a Raspberry Pi and a Dockstar acting as two zones has been excellent with respect to synchronization. I have an open layout in my house, so sync is important.
3. Unlike the iTunes/Airplay solution, you can send different songs to different zones at the same time. This is a big architectural limitation of the iTunes/Airplay solution IMO. This Squeezelite-based solution is more akin to a poor-man's Sonos.
4. I don't know how to personally verify this, but I understand that LMS with Squeezlite is capable of a higher quality playback. They sound good to me, even with a cheap USB sound card. I think sound quality is heavily dependent on the quality of the sound card (DAC), so you can optionally pay $30 and get a much better one.
5. LMS has some great plugins, like Spotify, which are not available in the iTunes/Airplay solution. Of course you can load Spotify on an iPhone and send it to an Airplay speaker, but you cannot sync it across multiple zones. There's also Pandora and NPR and Rhapsody and others. Note that Spotify and Pandora and possibly others require premium accounts.
6. I believe (but have not verified) LMS is capable of more media formats than iTunes.
7. LMS seems far less resource-intensive than iTunes. I love Apple products but I have an utter hatred of iTunes. So it's been a pleasure to turn that off.
8. LMS itself can run on a raspi. Bonus! Two Raspi's plus two USB sound cards and you have a complete 2-zone system for under $100 (without amplifiers and speakers of course). Additionally, Squeezeplug has a few other goodies along for the ride. Owncloud, Crashplan, etc.
9. So far, this solution seems both more responsive and more reliable compared to Airplay.

On the downside:
1. Logitech has pulled the plug on Squeezebox. They've publicly stated that they will continue supporting Squeezebox owners, which presumably means keeping their online service alive, and I think this is important for plugins. But I would imagine its time is limited.
2. You can't "beam" content from your iOS device to Squeezelite. The Squeezeplug distribution does include Shairplay, which enables Airplay support on the Raspberry Pi. However as far as I can tell you can't have it running together with Squeezelite. It seems to be one or the other. I'm hoping to find a solution to this, because then you could (theoretically) have the best of both worlds.

One more note: Although there's a Squeezeplug distribution for the Dockstar, it's old and doesn't include any "players". It's meant for server only. I used this as a starting point, and then manually installed Alsa and Squeezelite. Seems to work well now. If you're looking to get this working on the Dockstar feel free to contact me. On the Raspi it's very very easy thanks to an SSH-based menu system.

Thanks to everyone/anyone who contributed to the Squeezelite and Squeezeplug. They're really great!

Aaron

[ghans]

Good to know that i tipped you towards the right direction.


ghans

[dataAce16589]

WIth all the plays based around the Raspberry Pi name im really disappointed that no-one has gratuitously thrown in 'PiTunes'. I thought this was supposed to be a place for nerds to hang out. Shame on you.

I read this and immediately thought "If only I could like this comment"
Great PiPun by the way.

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