Basic question - iTunes server

Hi All,

Sorry for a basic question by I have been Googling like mad and can’t find the answer I need. I’ve worked in IT for 30 years but this is all a mystery to me!

My girlfriend have a Bose Soundtouch 20 speaker and would like to be able to stream her music without her PC on. All well and good and she has a library of mps3 which will be fine. But she says there are some songs she wants that are only on iTunes. She has no Apple devices or iTunes songs at present so we aren’t talking a huge library.

The simple question is, if I set the iTunes library up on the MyCloud, can you stream from it without having the PC on?

Yes. See the My Cloud User Manual (https://support.wdc.com/product.aspx?ID=904) for more information. One has to ensure iTunes support is enabled through the My Cloud Dashboard > Settings section.

When copying the My Cloud library from your computer to the My Cloud, make sure to copy over the entire library directory NOT just the directory holding the music files. Make sure to change the library location within iTunes to point to the My Cloud.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2996002/streaming-media/how-to-set-up-an-itunes-library-on-a-network-attached-server.html

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Perfect - you have saved my day as she has no idea what she wants for her birthday otherwise! Many thanks

Make sure to read the My Cloud User Manual (see link above) to learn which file formats the iTunes (and Twonky DLNA) media server support. Generally one can only stream music from the iTunes server on the My Cloud. To stream other media like movies, music, pictures one can use a DLNA client to do so across the local network.

iTunes can also be considered to simply be a shop. You do not need to use iTunes as a library, or a media player, or enable the iTunes server on the MyCloud.

You can use iTunes to buy the music, download it to anywhere on your MyCloud, and have the MyCloud’s Twonky media server index it, and make it available to any DLNA media client. I’m not even sure you need to install iTunes to buy music from Apple.

Personally, I wouldn’t touch the pc version of iTunes with a bargepole, at least as a media manager or media player. My experience of using it to interface with an iPad is that is hideous bloatware, with an awful user experience.

My recommended media manager/player for PC would be MediaMonkey or MusicBee.

Thanks for the advice - I have iTunes on my Windows and I agree, it is horrid. I have a 10 year old iPod and just use podcasts and audible and haven’t really used purchased music. Wanted to make sure it was OK as we all know who’s fault it would be if it didn’t work!