SlimServer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The SlimServer (AKA SqueezeCenter) is a streaming audio server supported by Slim Devices, developed in particular to support their range of digital audio receivers. It is open source software.
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[edit] Players that use SlimServer
SlimServer is designed for streaming music over a network, allowing users to play their music collections from virtually anywhere there is an Internet connection. It supports a large number of audio formats including MP3, FLAC, WAV, Ogg, and AAC. It can stream to both software and hardware receivers, including Slim Devices Squeezebox, as well as any media player capable of playing MP3 streams.
The Squeezebox has been released in wired and wireless Ethernet varieties, and offers analog and digital audio output. There is a free software emulator version of the Squeezebox, called Softsqueeze, which is written in Java and can be run easily as an applet inside a web page. Another free emulator called Squeezeslave is also available, which operates similarly but without any display. Squeezeslave is designed to be run on a server connected to an amplifier/speakers, and can be controlled through the standard SlimServer web interface.
SlimServer also works with networked music players such as the Roku SoundBridge M1001, although Logitech does not officially support these competitive products. Popular software players capable of playing music from SlimServer include, among others, Apple's iTunes.[citation needed]
A Chumby can play SlimServer streams.[1]
[edit] Server hardware and other interfaces
The SlimServer software is written in Perl, and will run on Linux, Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, BSD platforms.
SlimServer itself can run on a number of NAS devices, such as QNAP TS-101, Infrant, Buffalo Linkstation, Linksys NSLU2 and any device running FreeNAS software. This generally causes lower energy consumption than running Slimserver on a personal computer whilst offering the same feature set (albeit with a slightly less responsive web interface under certain circumstances). Some NAS devices may require more effort than others to get SlimServer running, though.
More information on NAS-based SlimServer solutions can be found in the Slim Devices forum for 3rd party hardware.
There are numerous plug-ins and device drivers available for SlimServer, which include features such as support for automation systems from AMX LLC and Crestron Electronics.
On September 27, 2007, Logitech announced on their beta development forum that SlimServer is to be re-branded as SqueezeCenter, starting with the release of what was originally planned to be SlimServer version 7.[citation needed] Consistency of naming across the range of devices within the brand was cited as the reason (Squeezebox, SqueezeNetwork and now SqueezeCenter).
