B&O Moment - Accessing Music From A Macbook

Hi All,

On Wednesday my B&O Moment arrived, and I'm pleased to say it was fairly straightforward to set up.  I have my music collection on my Macbook Pro accessed through a Time Capsule Router, and once I 'pointed' the Moment to recognise this, it was immediately able to stream my music to my new Beolab 18's (which sound marvellous, incidentally...).

However, a problem arose about 10 minutes in, when my Macbook put itself into a power-save mode - of course, the music stopped until I woke it up again and the wireless connection with the 'Moment' could be re-established.  This is a problem for me as my laptop is not 'ON' constantly as I move around the house and go in and out during the day I open and close it, put down the lid, let it do its own 'sleep-mode' thing etc. - but this means I don't have continuous access to my music, nor does my wife if I happen to be out and my laptop goes to sleep!  I've  overcome this in the short-term by going to Deezer and 'adding' my favourite albums so the 'Moment can stream them from the internet rather than my laptop, but this gives me a duplicate entry in the jukebox panel of the 'Moment', which can be confusing, and I don't consider as a long-term solution .

Maybe I should have realised this before committing to the 'Moment', but I think this inevitability was skipped over a bit too lightly by my dealer - it's very frustrating to have one's music cut out abruptly half-way through a track! I hope there is something obvious I'm doing wrong or there's a simple solution which one of you may be able to suggest, but I suspect my only option may be to buy yet another hard-drive which I'll have to leave permanently powered-up, somehow move my iTunes library onto this, then redirect my 'Moment' to stream from this instead of my Macbook?

I'm not hugely technical re. laptops and routers, but any comments or solutions would be greatly appreciated...

Beocat47:

but I suspect my only option may be to buy yet another hard-drive which I'll have to leave permanently powered-up, somehow move my iTunes library onto this, then redirect my 'Moment' to stream from this instead of my Macbook?

A simple solution is to buy a NAS with DLNA capabilities, and copy your iTunes media folder to it.

Redirect the Moment to the NAS, the media folder and music will play.... always.

Every mediaplayer can play from a MacBook... as long as you keep the power on 

Thank you for your response Chris...

I suspected this would be the case, but I had a forlorn hope there might be 'something else' I could do with what I have.  Despite all this 'state-of-the-art' Apple and B&O technology, it seems I'll still have to go out tomorrow and buy something else!

Best Regards.

I've just looked at NAS drives and they seem a little complex and pricey for what I actually need, since the Time Capsule already backs up my Macbook automatically:  Could I instead just buy a cheap 500GB external drive, copy my iTunes folder onto it from my Macbook, then plug this drive 'permanently' into the back of my Apple Time Capsule with an ethernet cable and point my 'Moment towards this?

As I said before I'm not hugely technical so apologies if this seems simplistic, but this does seems to be an obvious solution within my abilities...!

When you go to a restaurant and start eating something, you feel good

If the waiter takes the plate away, before you have finished, you can't eat the rest

It is as simple as that!

 

You need to have your files and itunes running somewhere on your network in order to have access to your music.

Alternatively you would need a computer or a NAS with your files and a DLNA server running....

This is basic knowledge for home streaming.

Your dealer could have told you that - but he probably assumed, that you would know that already.

If you want to stay with iTunes, get a small MacMini (a second hand one will do), and let that stay active 24/7.

MM

Thank you Millemissen for your comments.

I know it seems obvious now, but when evaluating the Moment the dealer spent much of the time explaining the beauty of being able to stream music from Deezer to my hearts content, as well as being able to access my ripped CDs via iTunes on my Macbook; we didn't dwell too much on the actual time the lid on my Macbook is down during the day - but perhaps we should have. He was actually superb to deal with, but neither he nor I spent much time considering the impact of my laptop's power management settings on the performance of the 'Moment'!

Anyway, none of this should reflect badly on the 'Moment' - which has so far performed flawlessly - but hopefully this thread might be useful to other forum users when considering exactly 'how' they intend to use this device.  Until I actually had it in my house and set up, it was difficult to really understand its benefits (which are many...), as well as the limitations of what is essentially a 'new' technology for an old codger like me...  We live and learn.

 

Now that's bizarre as, I'll tell you why, I stream from my iTunes to my iPhone HD videos of surfing and my MacBook goes to sleep BUT the iPhone still has access to my complete iTunes library. Why can an Apple product do this and not a B&O???

Also the MacBook Air and SSD MacBoook Pro's do not even need to be opened (as long as iTunes is open, you can close the clam shell lid.

I'd HATE to use a NAS drive as i'm always updating my iTunes on a daily basis and changing playlists. The thought of having to mess around with a NAS would be horrible.

Wake on LAN is a simple command which is sent from the simplest of applications. In OS X you can instruct your computer to Wake on LAN (Wake for Network Access) in the energy Saver preference pane. I'm curious if this wasn't implemented (yet) in the Moment. Obviously, if the computer is OFF, there's nothing that can be done, but that's the case if the NAS has to be off, or restarted after a power failure or something, but if the computer is running / asleep, the moment should be able to wake it up.

Heck I wake up my Mac Pro from my iPhone all the time if I want to access files.

Hi Paul W,

I actually thought the same - I often listen to iTunes via my headphoneswith the lid down on my Macbook, and it's also the same on my iPad (I have one of those magnetic covers - when 'closed' it still plays...); unfortunately my Macbook stops my 'Moment' within ca. 30 seconds of putting the lid down, or when the Macbook putting itself to sleep.  I'm very far from being a Mac expert so I thought perhaps my settings were somehow not 'optimum', but it now looks like the only option might be to have a 'permanently on' copy of my music on an external drive.  I really don't want to have to maintain yet another copy of my library, but unless someone knows better it looks like my only option.

Kind Regards.

Hi Paul W,

I actually thought the same - I often listen to iTunes via my headphones with the lid down on my Macbook, and it's also the same on my iPad (I have one of those magnetic covers - when 'closed' it still plays...); unfortunately my Macbook stops my 'Moment' within ca. 30 seconds of putting the lid down, or when the Macbook putting itself to sleep.  I'm very far from being a Mac expert so I thought perhaps my settings were somehow not 'optimum', but it now looks like the only option might be to have a 'permanently on' copy of my music on an external drive.  I really don't want to have to maintain yet another copy of my library, but unless someone knows better it looks like my only option.

Kind Regards.

Hi Sal,

Thanks for your input.  You are seeing things the same way as I expected things to operate; my Macbook isn't being switched off or powered down by me, it's just that, after 10 minutes on battery it turns off the display and puts the hard disk into sleep mode - note that I do have power nap enabled.  I'm really no expert, but I expected the clever old Macbook to perhaps know just to keep broadcasting  the music so the 'Moment could still hear it once it started on it's power-saving mode - but apparently not...

 

Hi Beocat,

Great advice from Sal. What we need is Michael to offer some advice here as he's an IT guy and does indeed own MacBooks. 

I've just checked my MacBook settings and i've got it on Computer sleep 15 minutes, Display sleep 15 minutes.

If Michael does not have an answer, then definitely Email B&O about it and maybe it can be sorted out in the next software update.

Same though for my Apple TV, I can access my surfing videos from the macbook upstairs whilst the MacBook is sleeping no problem. 

The very best of luck with it :)

Millemissen:

When you go to a restaurant and start eating something, you feel good

If the waiter takes the plate away, before you have finished, you can't eat the rest

It is as simple as that!

 

You need to have your files and itunes running somewhere on your network in order to have access to your music.

Alternatively you would need a computer or a NAS with your files and a DLNA server running....

This is basic knowledge for home streaming.

Your dealer could have told you that - but he probably assumed, that you would know that already.

If you want to stay with iTunes, get a small MacMini (a second hand one will do), and let that stay active 24/7.

MM

Most Mac users and iPhone users are use to the phrase "it just works".  Most dealers are just not very knowledgable and will say almost anything to make a sale.  They have tried that on me but I have been an IT engineer for a long time and believe nothing a dealer says.  I have not forgotten a dealer telling me I needed a Cisco router they would configure and need remote access.  This was for a BEO 6.  I canceled the order for the BEO 6.  I use iTunes and have almost 2 TBs of ripped music on a 4 TB drive connected by a Thunderbolt fiber optic cable.  I will not change that and other people will not change their iTunes setup either. 

The Beosound Moment is not available in the US yet probably because of Deezer.  I will not give up on the Beosound moment but I will want to test it when it is available.  Bang and Olufsen should have either a software fix for this or tell dealers about this issue.  I fully expected that if I bought a Moment that all I would have to do is point it to the iTunes music folder.  One problem that I suppose I could live with is the Beosound Moment is 2.4 GHz WIFI.  My entire home network is 5 GHz including the Apple TV.  

MM  As for the waiter who took away the plate before I was finished, he probably won't get a tip.  I would also not go to that restaurant again.

MM what about if twonky was installed on his Mac?

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the thought, but I already have Twonky installed on my Macbook - unless I haven't set it up properly, this doesn't seem to have any effect on the problem...

 

From the B&O webpage:

'Twonky Server

Recommended by Bang & Olufsen as the best way to integrate your iTunes collection with your BeoSound Moment,

Twonky Server is a DLNA-compliant Digital Media Server for PC/Mac.

When integrated, your music is yours to conveniently browse on the BeoMusic App and stream with BeoSound Moment.

Twonky Server scans and indexes your music, giving you one-point access to everything from BeoSound Moment.

Music and playlists already stored in iTunes on your PC/Mac are also supported.

To access music on BeoSound Moment, your computer must be turned on.

Once the Twonky Server software is installed, it automatically starts as you switch the computer on'.

From the Moment User Guide:

'However, a quick way to get started, especially if you have spent time in the past maintaining a digital music collection, is to add it to your BeoSound Moment. You can choose an ‘always on’ media server, i.e.. a NAS or iTunes on your computer.'

 

.

Millemissen:

From the B&O webpage:

To access music on BeoSound Moment, your computer must be turned on. 

Millemissen:

From the Moment User Guide:

You can choose an ‘always on’ media server

Loud & Clear

linder:

MM  As for the waiter who took away the plate before I was finished, he probably won't get a tip.  I would also not go to that restaurant again.

That is exactly the reason, why I would not 'give a tip' for a solution with a MacBook as the only serving device.

And I would not 'go to that restaurant' again, if anyone there would recomment it as a solution.

All in-house streaming solutions need a device, that is running 24/7 (or at least in the daytime) - thus my advice for a MacMini with Twonky and access to the files stored via iTunes.

Just imagine that 'he' has taken the MacBook away, and 'she' wants to listen to music using the Moment

At least do 'her' the favour not to take the serving device with you, when you and the MacBook leave house.

MM

 

Yesterday I went to my local PCWorld and considered buying a Seagate NAS drive as a solution to this issue.  Fortunately they were out of stock, because the more I thought about it the less happy I was to buy YET ANOTHER storage device on which to manage my music collection.  There are only two of us living here, yet we have two MacBooks, two iPads, two iPhones, a Dell laptop, a WD Terabyte drive, an old iPod and iPod Shuffle and a Time Capsule - all of which contain copies of my music in some form or other; additionally there are two Airport Express networks, an Apple TV, and now a B&O Moment.  To have to buy a NAS drive just felt too ludicrous - and also I'm running out of plug points!

So last night I went through Deezer and added >95% of my existing iTunes/CD/vinyl to my account - including many albums I had forgotten that I loved.  I turned off access to my iTunes on the Moment, and now all of my music will be streamed from my very stable, reasonably fast internet connection - and I can go back to using my Macbook the way I like.  The money I saved on the NAS drive will pay for the Deezer subscription for a couple of years, and hopefully as time goes by Deezer will up the streaming quality further - already it's better than some early rips in my iTunes collection.

I think I got a bit sidetracked worrying about my existing collection (I'm getting a bit old and untrusting of these newfangled 'virtual' technologies...), but I've decided to just commit to the future and trust in streaming.  So far it's worked perfectly, but I can always point the Moment back to my Macbook if necessary in the future.  The lesson here as with all technology always seems to be 'Caveat Emptor though...

Thanks to everyone who offered help and comments.

Nice work beo at. I also have a WD My cloud however I hate having it on all the time so most ip times it's off.

I also run my network with a Time Capsule at its ludicrous that Apple don't have an iTunes server on their own devices.

I have put my iTunes media folder on a external HDD and I plug that in to my Avant. to me that's a good solution for me and it may not be to everyone. I already has this HDD and my MacBook Pro does not have room for all my media including my iTunes music, iTunes movies,DVD rips and BluRay rips

I don't want to pay for iTunes Match when I already own the music.

Out of all of this I have learned that I will buy physical media and rip it from now on. It's easier than working out what source prefers what device. For example music through iTunes is DRM free however movies I purchased on iTunes can only be played in an Apple TV , when if I have paid for it, I want to access it on whatever device.

Therefore I am paying for limitations when i shouldn't.

Aussie Michael:

when if I have paid for it, I want to access it on whatever device.

Exactly Michael... that's my thought also. 

 

Hi Beocat47,

you have just taken the step from 'your own cloud solution' (a NAS/computer with a DLNA server/Twonky/iTunes) to a 'real cloud based solution' - the streaming service of Deezer.

Congratulations!

That is the step most of us will take in the next years.

Have fun with your Moment ---- and the access to Deezer from all your other devices.

MM