Features - iHomeServer for iTunes
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Access and manage your iTunes library from any web browser
- iHomeServer for iTunes provides a
full web interface to your iTunes library that is compatible with most major platforms and browsers including iOS, Windows Phone, Android, Blackberry, Windows and Mac. From this interface you can stream your iTunes library, manage playlists, modify metadata, AutoTag your tracks, and much more
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Securely accesss your iTunes library from the internet
- iHomeServer's Web Access interface can optionally be published onto the internet through our sister service "Stream My iTunes.com". Your computer serves you your content when you need it acting as your own personal cloud†. Therefore subscriptions to iTunes Match, etc, are no longer required. iHomeServer internet web access is secure, using industry strength HTTPS to protect your media and authentication using username and password. Stream My iTunes also keeps track of your public IP address so you can always log into your library from the www.StreamMyiTunes.com URL.
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Access your iTunes library from DLNA clients like Smart TVs and Hifis
- iHomeServer extends iTunes home sharing so that DLNA clients such as televisions, hifis, personal media players, PVRs and some DVD players can stream your iTunes library†.
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Integrates with Handbrake for DVD ripping straight into iTunes
- iHomeServer integrates with third party software including Handbrake to allow you to automatically rip DVDs or convert files in non-iTunes friendly formats into MP4/M4V files that are perfect for iTunes use‡. Just insert a DVD into your computer or server and iHomeServer will do the rest - ripping the DVD, autotagging it with metadata, and automatically adding it to your iTunes library - without any user intervention.
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Create multiple “Watch Folders” to synchronise your iTunes library with your existing media folder structure
- One of the issues people face when running iTunes on servers is how to add new media to the server. The last thing you want to do is have to open iTunes manually on the server whenever you need to add a new CD or track downloaded from Amazon. iHomeServer makes this easy. Create ‘Watch Folders’ that watch areas of your file system (such as the WHS Music and Video shares). Any content already in these folders will automatically be added to your iTunes library. iHomeServer actively monitors these folders so if new media is added, or existing media is modified (eg due to a modification of metadata), iHomeServer will update the track in iTunes transparently. You can even watch network locations or remote storage if your keep your media on another server or NAS.
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Edit your iTunes library's video and music metadata and Cover Art remotely
- iHomeServer allows you to view and edit the metadata of tracks stored within the iTunes library running on your iHomeServer computer. This functionality is available from the iHomeServer web interface, the iHomeServer Console (that can run on remote Windows computers) or, if you are running WHS, from the Windows Home Server or Windows Server 2012 Essentials dashboard. You can even set track Cover Data within your Server iTunes library by copying and pasting from your local PC.
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Runs iTunes on systems with no sound cards
- iTunes is meant to be run on a normal desktop. However, today’s microservers are ideal to run as a headless iTunes media server, but most do not come with sound cards. This would normally prevent you from automatically starting iTunes when the computer boots, because iTunes will present a message indicating there is a problem with your audio/video configuration. iHomeServer actively watches the iTunes process for these messages and dismisses them transparently in the background to ensure iTunes starts successfully. You can view any messages that iTunes has presented using the iHomeServer ‘Messages’ window
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Integrates with Windows Home Server v1, WHS 2011 and Windows Server 2012 Essentials Dashboards
- iHomeServer supports starting and stopping iTunes from the WHS Dashboard / Console. You can also view and manage all your iTunes media libraries and playlists, directly from the WHS Dashboard – creating and managing iTunes playlists, adding, removing and playing tracks – most of your day to day tasks can be performed remotely from your laptop, but controlling your WHS server’s instance of iTunes.
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Perform batch metadata and cover art updates
- Not only can you update the metadata of individual tracks, you can also use an existing track’s metadata as a template to set a collection of related tracks, just like the iTunes ‘Get Info’ interface, but via the WHS Console.
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Automatically delete orphaned tracks
- If you delete files directly on your file system, iTunes will keep the track in its library, but when you attempt to play the file, you will get an error indicating that the file no longer exists. iHomeServer can automatically remove deleted tracks from Watch Folder locations so that you have confidence that all your tracks in iTunes exist. You can also ask iHomeServer to perform a complete sweep of an iTunes library to look for orphaned tracks and automatically delete them. These functions are ideal if you reorganise your media folders in order to avoid duplicate files appearing.
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Supports all iTunes native functionality – AirPlay, Remote, Wifi Sync, iCloud and Home Sharing
- Take advantage of all the major functions within iTunes but benefit from them being ‘always there’ and not having to turn your desktop on first. Wifi Sync, AirPlay, iCloud sync and Home Sharing all work with iHomeServer. Use the Apple Remote app (for iOS) to remote control your iHomeServer’s iTunes instance and AirPlay your media library to all your favourite devices! The Apple Remote app for iOS devices is a fantastic partner with an iHomeServer/iTunes microstation allowing you to remote control your server’s iTunes instance and direct media streams to other devices such as Airport Expresses, Apple TV (1 and 2), iPhones, iPads and other AirPlay compatible hardware devices.
† Note that streaming capabilities (including web access, Stream My iTunes access, library synchronisation and DLNA streaming) do not support DRM or FairPlay protected media
‡ Note that DVD ripping requires you to download and install Handbrake onto the computer running iHomeServer. Decryption of DVDs/BluRays is not provided by iHomeServer, however, is provided by third party products. Use of these features is limited to reproduction of non-copyrighted materials, materials in which you own the copyright, or materials you are authorized or legally permitted to reproduce.
