SqueezeCenter

SqueezeCenter is an open source music server application developed to stream music (including locally stored music files, internet radio, podcasts, etc...)  to the Squeezebox player. It can be installed on all common computer platforms and is administered through a web browser (which makes it ideal for a remote server installations such as this).

To Install SqueezeCenter

The latest version of SqueezeCenter requires MySQL installed on the server, if this hasn't already been installed it can be done by either installing it via the ClarkConnect web interface (Services - Software Install - Software Modules) selecting "MySQL database server module" or log in as root with PuTTY and enter:

apt-get update
apt-get install cc-mysql

To install SqueezeCenter, log into PuTTY and enter the following to install SqueezeCenter:

rpm -Uvh http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/SqueezeCenter_v7.1.0/squeezecenter-7.1-1.noarch.rpm

You can adjust the above URL with the address for the latest RedHat Packet Manager (.rpm) file from the Slim Devices website:

    ...either use the current 'released' version which can be found here: http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/

    ...or the latest nightly 'beta' pre-release which can be found here: http://www.slimdevices.com/dev_nightly.html

More information on the SqueezeCenter RPM can be found on the wiki here.

Configuring and Using SqueezeCenter

Navigate to your shared drive with your Windows PC (see the 'Sharing with Windows' page) , and create two folders for storing your music and play lists. (for this example I'll assume you have made folders called Music and Playlists). Then copy all your music in to the music folder.

So that SqueezeCenter has permission to write to your Playlists folder, login as root with PuTTY and enter (remember to change the path if your playlists folder is in a different location) the following command:

chmod -R 777 /mnt/HardDrive/Playlists

Log into SqueezeCenter using your regular internet browser (replacing the server name or IP address with that of your server) using:

http://black-box:9000/       ....or:

http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:9000/

You should be presented with the Start-up Wizard on your first login, this is self explanatory, you will get the opportunity to navigate to your Music and Playlists folders.  When you exit the wizard, SqueezeCenter will automatically scan for your music and play lists, once finished, SqueezeCenter should now be up and running and ready to stream music to a Squeezebox....enjoy.

 

SqueezeCenter Add-ons & Tweaks

SqueezeCenter supports a variety of customisation and plug-ins to improve the user experience, some are listed here. Essentially all you have to do is download the plug-ins and copy them into the correct folder in the SqueezeCenter directory (/var/lib/squeezecenter/plugins) then restart the server for them to take effect.

AlienBBC

This plug-in allows the BBC's live and 'listen again' feeds to be streamed to the Squeezebox, see the detailed instructions here...

LAME MP3 Encoder

If you want SqueezeCenter to stream your music at a lower bit-rate than the original file (important if you want access to your music across the internet) you nee to install Lame (a MP3 encoder).

Log in as root with PuTTY and enter the following to download the development tools:

apt-get update
apt-get install lame

Updating Perl

If you are going to use a Squeezebox Controller you will have to update the version of Perl due to a problem with the version currently installed with ClarkConnect. Instructions can be found here.

 

To Update SqueezeCenter

To update SqueezeCenter to the latest version while keeping all your existing settings and plug-ins (AlienBBC), log into PuTTY and enter:

service squeezecenter stop

rpm -Uvh http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/xxx/xxx/xxx.noarch.rpm

service squeezecenter restart

(Replace the above URL with the latest address for the RedHat Packet Manager (.rpm) file from the Slim Devices website (see above))

Some extra tips:

If you are updating from a nightly release you might get an error reporting the pre installed package is newer than the one you are attempting to install; if so use this force update command:

rpm -Uvh --force http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/xxx/xxx/xxx.noarch.rpm

If you require to completely uninstall SqueezeCenter you can do this with the following command-

service squeezecenter stop
rpm -e squeezecenter

(This might be useful if you want to conduct a clean install of SqueezeCenter rather than an update)