Greetings Every1 Newb Here

[deadone]

greetings every1, new around here.
name is Mick 40 male and im from the UK.

im new to the jukebox stuff although im a huge fan of music and have a pretty large collection of mp3, flac, Cd's , DVDs id love to be able to get them onto my own personal jukebox for the home.
im def looking for some assistance in this.
i have tried a few software programs for the PC like media jukebox, e jukebox etc but they are not quite what im looking for, i want something for the house on a wall etc.
im sure you tech minded people here can lend me a helping hand in getting started and what i need to know.

any for those interested my jukebox collection will be mainly for metal music but other genres will be on it also.

regards
Mick

[Drnick]

Some quick advice.

1) Ensure all your ripped music is tagged properly and has artwork.  This was the hardest bit for me I used Media Monkey for this.
2) Use a fairly simple directory structure  IE \Music\Metal\Slayer\Greatest Hits\xxxx.mp3
3) Decide on whether you will have a single or a dual screen setup as some software is better then others when it comes to dual screens.

As for the software I am using Jukebox Arcade  works well for what I need (Single screen setup).

[egosbar]

media monkey for sure , definitely tag them and embed cover are through media monkey , i find nearly every album cover on google images, i try to get a pic 500 x 500

as far as software goes i think ive tried most of em at one point

question is do you want to pay

skg is good free version, was a little buggy when i used it but was pretty good
touchjams is my choice, 50 bucks but you pay for what you get and its a great program with no bugs that ive encountered

are you playing your music through an amp , i build a corner unit and put my computer behind it so no need to pull it apart , i run a pre amp and amp to external speakers , quality speakers i paid 1300 for mine but i got a good deal custom made

lots of ways you can go here , my best find was to use the ipad using log me in and touchjams to remote control the juke if im sitting out the back

good luck

[deadone]

yeah all my music is tagged, im a sucker for having things like that organized.
and all album art work is embedded as well.
and i have all the music artists in there own folders as well


as for the home jukebox i was just considering buying one until i seen the prices and for the storage space most offer they are way to high in cost.
so to be able to get me started with a home jukebox what would i need to do.

regards
Mick

[wcndave]

Do you really want to have a jukebox? or do you just want to play the music?

I use logitech squeeze centre, with all the music in flac / mp3 on a NAS, the NAS has the server, and each room has it's player.

eg a proper amp in living room, and a boombox in kitchen.  can be synced etc, and you can use your smartphone / tablet as a remote control.

my number one thing with music was not having a computer "on" to play it.  I use a NAS anyway for my files, so that was perfect.

on the otherhand if you want an authentic looking jukebox type thing... ignore me!

[egosbar]

making a juke is pretty easy mate , are you handy at woodwork ,

if not you can always get a carpenter to rip something up

use mdf

now how much is your budget , computer (good if you have one) , touchscreen , amp and preamp , or run active speakers

as i said i just built a corner unit that my computer sits behind still looks and acts like a juke

my cousin just mounted a touchscreen flush with his wall which looks really modern , he just used a mounting bracket that swings out when needed and run all hes leads through the wall to a computer that is hidden behind his bar

plenty of ideas here on building

you can do it very cheap or like i did , i bought quality amps  speakers and used an old cheap tower computer , good touchscreen so all up probably around 3k for mine but the speakers and amps were 2200 , screen was 500 , so if you have all that you can get away with a couple of hundred



heres my build it might give you ideas -   http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,105231.0.html

[deadone]

to be honest playing my music around the home is what i want to do, and id prefer not to use a laptop or computer to do so.
even if the setup is only my living room i can always expand if i want to.
i currently on my pc use itunes and jriver media center to play music but the pc needs to be used and id like to be able to just select a song from/album from my list and play it without turning my pc, speaker set up on.

@egosbar .
you images and design look pretty cool and thats the sort of idea i want but without all the PC, laptop connections .

@wcndave
now the idea of that sounds good.
this is the type of thing im looking for but do i need a nas and more to the point i have not really came across one or can i use something like the western digital my-book live.
are there any alternatives to doing it that way as im sure the last time i checked the Squeeze box was discontinued.

i have a pretty large collection of music located on external drives including the western digital my-book live so im def open to all of your suggestions.

as for price range im not looking for anything too expensive but not bog standard cheap either of the sound quality will suffer

regards
Mick

[egosbar]

do you have a plasma with external hard drive option , maybe use a platstation 3 or xbox 360

[deadone]

yeah i have all that but to be able to play music this way i would have to turn on my tv, ps3 then connect it to my external drive and then play he songs.

all i really want to do is have something that i just turn on, select the song/album and play.

and from what i have seen so far the suggestions from wcndave seem th better option for me but as im a newcomer im def open to suggestions.

@egosbar. looking further into your design images how exactly does your setup work. i notice the keyboard and mouse so im guessing your pc is situated behind all the mdf and screen etc.

regards
Mick

[deadone]

also just been checking the boards for some inspiration.
now this is very nice indeed.
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,118952.0.html

thats the sort of idea im looking for but without the disc changer.

to be honest i have no idea on prices for this kind of stuff and dont even  no were to begin

[wcndave]

You want exactly the same as me.

I have a synology nas, which can be pretty cheap.  Sqeeze is a supported package, supported by the nas people...

Get a nas and use your wd book as a backup (offsite).

Having a nas with raid/mirror is NOT backup as many people think.  It provides availability (which most of us do not need 100% of), however does not protect agains flood, theft, fire, accidental delete etc.

So you need another disk anyway, so do yourself a favour and get a nas that does what you want.

As smartphones support by acting as remote, this is now really cheap option.

I have music in living room and kitchen synced right now, but the wife wants to listen to "her stuff" in kitchen now, so she can do that np...

Pm me if you need more details.

[deadone]

yeah thats the sort of thing im looking for, to be able to play different songs in a couple of different rooms.
so what do i need to get me started.
i already the have the music of which i have transfered to my WD live all tagged and ready to go.

Mick

[egosbar]

@egosbar. looking further into your design images how exactly does your setup work. i notice the keyboard and mouse so im guessing your pc is situated behind all the mdf and screen etc.
Mick
[/quote]

yah mate tower is behind the juke case sits in there perfect without having to break it down , towers
are cheap now so also allows me to easily update my computer , i do have the keyboard and mouse which are needed occasionally

the led left right up down arrows are powered using a usb cord cut , i just used the red black if i remember to power with 5v

the volume knob is a usb knob

[egosbar]

how many rooms do you want to play music in

you could look at this http://lifehacker.com/400235/turn-your-iphone-or-ipod-touch-into-a-multi+room-wireless-music-remote

if its only two rooms  you can get a amp that supports two sets of speakers which can be played separately and use an ipod or ipad using remote login as a remote

i use logmein to remote control my jukebox from the bbq area , best remote going and it cost me about 10 bucks for the app i think

if you put your system into hibernation im sure the remote ipad login will wake it up and you can play without haveing to turn it on or off