iHomeServer Presents Your iTunes Library on All your Devices

One of the most popular features of iHomeServer for iTunes v3 is it's ability to extend your iTunes library to your favorite devices.

Out of the box, iTunes is a highly proprietary system - there is excellent integration between iTunes on your computer and Apple devices such as your iPhone, iPad, iPod or Apple TVs. iTunes also includes technology for streaming media to third party devices that conform to Apple's AirPlay specification such as sound bars and some receivers.

Until iHomeServer v3, all your other non-Apple devices have been left in the cold. Your Blackberry phone or your Android Tablet. Your new LG Smart TV. These devices, do not speak Apple's proprietary protocols so normally cannot access your media.

iHomeServer v3 changes that by opening up your iTunes library to a galaxy of new devices.

The table below shows the main streaming mechanisms supported by iHomeServer for iTunes:

Technology	Devices	Built-In to iTunes	Supported by iHomeServer	Supports DRM protected media	Description
AirPlay	AirPort Express, Apple TV, AirPlay compatible receivers	Yes	Yes	Yes	AirPlay is Apple's proprietary protocol for streaming media. The ability to send AirPlay streams is built into iTunes and iOS devices. The ability to receive AirPlay streams is built into AirPort Express adaptors, Apple TVs, and selectedthird party speaker and hifi components. iHomeServer supports iTunes built in AirPlay features. Many iHomeServer users deploy iHomeServer on a home server and then use the Apple Remote app for iOS (or our very own rtRemote App for Windows 8/8.1) to remote control the iTunes instance running on their home server. Both these remotes allow you to select which AirPlay speakers are used by iTunes allowing you to stream your music and video to any room in your house that contains an AirPlay device
Home Sharing	iOS Devices, iTunes, Apple TV	Yes	Yes	Yes	Home Sharing is another proprietary protocol by Apple that allows iTunes and iOS devices to stream media from another iTunes library within the same Home Sharing group. This allows, say, an Apple TV to stream media from your iTunes laptop A key restriction is that all the devices in the same Home Sharing group must be running the same Apple ID, therefore you cannot share media between your iTunes library and, say, your wife's.
iHomeServer Web Access	Most modern browsers on most platforms, including Windows, Mac OSX, iOS, Android, Blackberry, Chrome, IE, FireFox	No	Yes	No	iHomeServer Web Access is technology built in to iHomeServer v3 that allows your iTunes library to be made available to any compatible browser on any supported device. iHomeServer web access provides a fast, fluid interface that is responsive and renders brilliantly on smart phones, tablets or full-size computers. In addition to allowing streaming access, the iHomeServer Web Access also gives you the ability to edit track metadata including AutoTagging and internet metadata searching from any browser. Finally, it allows you to stop and start iTunes and reports the status of any in-process conversions and other status information.
Stream My iTunes - internet access to iHomeServer Web Access	Most modern browsers on most platforms, including Windows, Mac OSX, iOS, Android, Blackberry, Chrome, IE, FireFox	No	Yes	No	"Stream My iTunes" is our web site to give you secure access to your iHomeServer Web Access when you are out and about. Simply log into Stream My iTunes with your supported browser on any supported device, and you can access your iTunes library and stream your music and videos. iHomeServer even supports transcoding on the fly so that you can watch your movies on reduced bandwidth networks such as cellular networks.
DLNA	Smart TVs, Consoles (XBOX 360 / PS3), DLNA Software, XBMC,	No	Yes	No	Many modern Smart TVs, receivers and games consoles feature DLNA compatibility that allow them to access media from your collection. iHomeServer extends iTunes with an iTunes DLNA server that presents your iTunes library to any DLNA device on your network so you can stream your media to these devices too. This includes popular Games Consoles including the XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3. Some devices may not be able to process iTunes media natively (eg M4A lossless files) in which case iHomeServer's DLNA server will transparently transcode the file to another compatible format.
rtRemote Streaming	Windows 8/8.1 Devices running rtRemote	No	Yes	No	Finally, our app rtRemote which is an iTunes Remote control for Windows 8 integrates seamlessly with iHomeServer and allows iTunes media to be streamed directly to your Windows 8 / 8.1 Surface tablet through the rtRemote interface.

These technologies are described in further detail in the following sections.