Can anyone help me find what I’m looking for?

I’m looking to set up my home media centre and I’m currently just going round in circles and need some recommendations.

I don’t have a TV but watch films through a laptop linked to a projector with the audio being delivered through my HiFi.

I listen to music, either internet radio or music stored on an external HD again through laptop / HiFi combo.

Basically I’m looking for a programme to manage music & film library with a nice app Available both on iphone & android tablet. I have played with xbmc but it did not like my film collection so refused to display them on the app.

Secondly, I would like to add the ability to listen to music in the bedroom.

I believe my requirements are;
+Manage my library of music and films.
+Be able to be remotely controlled by phone (iPhone) and tablet (andriod)
+play music in different rooms.

I think my best option for the multiroom requirement is to add a speaker switch to main hifi & run a cable under the floors with some nice bookshelf speakers in the bedroom. This shouldn’t be a big job as its one level & have crawl space under the floors and an access hatch in the bedroom.

What other options are out there I should be considering?

I’ve not come across a video format that XBMC cannot play [on an AppleTV or Raspberry Pi] – maybe you need to re-encode in a different format or look at a different app?

Definatley check out the offer from Sonos for the multiroom and steaming bit plus remote from a phone app.

Expensive but it does a lot of what you are after (and more) with more flexibility and is expandable. Get a demo if you can.

A Connect for your current amp then one of the Play speakers for the bedroom. No having to get up to adjust volume or turn the remote speakers on/off etc. Stream different suff to each location or group them and run the same.

I’m a recent convert and am trying to work out how to justify more!

Sonos for multi room, every set up I have seen works exceptionally well.

Any idea what was wrong with XBMC and the media? Did it work for the TV?

I don’t bother with XBMC for music and use Spotify here for all my music needs (works with Sonos)

I have seen the sonos system & my xmas present to my parents was vouchers towards a sonos for their kitchen. That only does audio though so I don’t think that would solve my conundrum.

As for my previous attempts at video and xbmc, not sure what the issue was (user error most likely). The HDD on the laptop died shortly after installing it therefore the dying drive may have been an issue.

Would a raspberry pi with xbmc installed, linked to projector with music on a nas drive be an eligant solution?

The projector would be off for normal music playing duties, would thstvbe an issue?

I use Plex for my media server. My setup is all mac, but Plex also supports Windows and Linux boxes.

It has a small server utility you install on your host computer. This has a web interface for managing your media, as well as streaming it. You can also use the Plex Home Theatre app, which would be ideal for your projector. This provides a real nice utility for controlling your media center via a remote control, or a keyboard if you don’t have one.

It has android and iOS apps I believe, although I just use the web interface. You can access this via your host computers IP, so best to make this a static IP, although the home theatre app will automatically detect this.

I can’t comment on how to best setup your audio hardware though, that’s not an area I know too much about. Some screens shots to give you an impression of the web interface below.

That plex looks just the ticket, thanks. Will give it a whirl.

Basically I’m looking for a programme to manage music & film library with a nice app Available both on iphone & android tablet. I have played with xbmc but it did not like my film collection so refused to display them on the app.

Secondly, I would like to add the ability to listen to music in the bedroom.

I believe my requirements are;
+Manage my library of music and films.
+Be able to be remotely controlled by phone (iPhone) and tablet (andriod)
+play music in different rooms.

Two different requirements here, user interface and playback hardware, in fact three if you split music and video as I would recommend. You can solve all with hi-end hardware and associated user interfaces but at great expense, let’s assume that option is not on the table…

So, as noted by several STW colleagues above Sonos is ideal for Music. I understand the attraction of managing everything via a single UI but the simple truth is that Sonos, hands down, is better (for music) than anything else on the market. OK it will mean using two apps for media control but this is a small consideration, if you try and integrate the two you may end up with something that works quite well but it will never be as good. I’ve been in the industry 20yrs and have battled with this for a while – I’ve satisfied myself that right now this is the best solution. For your home theatre add a Sonos Connect and in your bedroom, either a standalone integrated speaker like the Play:5 or a Connect Amp and separate speakers. Trust the advise it’s brilliant.

For Video I’ve heard great things about Plex but not used it myself. Video is a secondary consideration for me so at home I use a Western Digital WDTV and NAS, it’s OK but simple. Having just had another look at Plex I might have a tinker using the Roku media player and Plex interface – I have an old Mac Mini lying around so this would make a nice Plex server. If you keep your computer connected to the theatre system then this will be all you need, if Plex works for you I’d then look at Roku as a media streamer is much tidier than connecting computers to AV systems.