Hi!
If I have a HTPC running Plex Media Server, which I have added all my music to - if that HTPC is connected directly to my stereo system (USB DAC), is it possible to browse the album´s on my Ipad for example, and tell the audio output to be played on the HTPC itself, and out through the DAC/default sound card ?. (essentially to use it as a remote control) Or is the only way to achieve this, to select Chromecast audio for example on the Ipad, as the output, which should ´pull´the audio directly from the PMS ?.
I´m really looking for best audio quality here, and also to minimise the network hops for getting audio to my stereo.
Cheers!
If you were to select your HTPC in the iPad app, you can control playback from the iPad but it will play using the HTPC + USBDAC, as far as network hops go, the only hops will be your iPad saying what to play next, and the HTPC grabbing the media from your network location (if it is on one)
Yes, this is possible.
Load your HTPC with either OpenPHT or Plex Media Player
Start either of these.
Load the iOS Plex app
(you can even use the free version because you only need to pay the app when you want to play media directly on your iDevice)
Connect the iOS app to your server/your plex account.
Make sure that your WiFi network is in the same logical subnet as your wired network.
(This is the default with most home routers, but some also support a kind of ‘guest WiFi network’ where the two are separated. Make sure your router is not configured like that.)
Tap the Fling/Cast button and connect your iOS app to your Plex app on the HTPC.
https://support.plex.tv/hc/en-us/sections/200276908-Plex-Companion
Thanks for that! So essentially, as long as I have PMP installed somewhere, I can use that as an endpoint. Do you know if PMP plays music ´bitperfect´, without altering the stream in any way ?. If so, then this can be a good solution to output music from the HTPC directly to the DAC.
@blodsbror said:
Thanks for that! So essentially, as long as I have PMP installed somewhere, I can use that as an endpoint.
Yes.
Do you know if PMP plays music ´bitperfect´, without altering the stream in any way ?
Most likely not. You can experiment with the ‘Exclusive’ check mark under the Audio Settings in PMP, but in my experiments PMP did not switch the sample frequency of my sound interface to match that of the input file.
The best you can do (and what I do) is to switch your sound interface manually to a high default sample rate (like e.g. 96 or 192 kHz, instead of the 44.1 or 48kHz which are usually chosen by operating systems).
That way the sample rate conversion within PMP is executed with a rather high accuracy and minimum sonic penalty.
Appreciate your answers here!
