MonkeyTunes & RiverMote

In case people are wondering Rivermote can be configured to show individual CD's [with only the individual CD content] in it's smartlist file without a problem.

To do this simply remove all the default playlists etc. from the playlist section in JRiver and ad a Playlist Group. Drag any CD you wish to have in the group to the location and name appropriately.

The reason why you might want to remove all the default playlists in JRiver is because they will all show up in Rivermote, and you might not want to see a huge list of files that are of no use. Besides all that data will slow down Rivermote as it tries to stay in sync.

Now on your Rivermote iTouch screen you will have a smartlist that shows each individual CD. When selected, the CD will play and each song will be shown in the Rivermote playlist, you can choose any song to play etc. Switching CD's simply choose it from the smartlist and again only that CD's songs will appear in the playlist.

I have been using it for more than a year now without any problems.

I sure would like to see Melloware make this type of remote for Foobar...I've put the bug in his ear already, so I suggest if anyone else wants it to ask also.

Have Fun!

Does anyone know whether it is possible to do a hierarchical search using MonkeyTunes? Something like: Click on Genre, get the albums displayed, click on an album and get the songs displayed for that album? With MM this is possible...

Another question: When pairing with the library I need to type in a code on the i-pod and on the computer. Does this have to be done every time I reboot the computer / ipod? If this would be the case I would not be able to use my music server in a complete headless way.

Thanks for the advise in advance!

johniboy,

To answer your questions:

1. Yes you can do hierarchical searchs with MonkeyTunes. Click on Genre called "Acid" it would show all Acid Artists like "EMF", "Soup Dragons" etc and you can drill down into their albums.

2. No you only have to pair once. Apple has this as a security measure so people can't just download Apple Remote and start controlling your MediaMonkey/iTunes. It makes sure you have to pair once to essentially give that device permission. You will have to do it for each unique device you own though. So if you own two iPod Touches each one has to be paired once.

Good luck!

Thank you for the quick response. This sounds like a really nice piece of software! I will definitely give it a try!

I have a highly skilled technical person who has set up my entire server system- Dell Vista, Lynx sound card, Berkeley DAC, Media Monkey, etc.

He worked for more than an hour with this app and my i Touch and never made it go. He may give it a try again in the future, but if he struggles with it, others are likely to as well. Be forewarned.

I've been watching this post and in over a week there have only been 4 comments, which I presume means it's not much of a popular topic in any case.

Hi Shaq - I wouldn't judge the popularity of this topic on how many people have commented. I think I may move this to the front page as most people don't think about browsing Page Two.

I had MonkeyTunes up and running in no time without any issues. What kind of problems were had? If you can post them maybe everyone here can help figure it out. Plus, people in the future may search for the same answers.

Shaq,

Why didn't your tech support guy actually go to my forums???

http://forum.melloware.com

See our Troubleshooting FAQ:

http://forum.melloware.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=7703

Actually I have had sales pouring in and there hasn't been a user yet I haven't been able to get working just by looking at their log file and doing some simple diagnosis. 99.9% of the time it is their firewall or virus software blocking the TCP and UDP ports too aggressively. The other 0.01% of the time it is because another application is already using Port 3689 like Itunes or Remote Speakers Plugin.

Feel free to have your tech guy post on our forums or do a little research. I am shocked he gave up so easily without actually trying to contact my support?

Melloware

With regards problems getting the software working.......I too had problems and couldn't get MonketTunes to work or more specifically the Apple remote application part that supports MonkeyTunes would not work. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with MonkeyTunes itself.

I haven't definitively proved this but it certainly looks like your iTouch and the machine you want to control have to be on the same IP subnet. I suspect this is a limitation of the "bonjour" protocol that Apple use to advertise services etc. For most people this won't be a problem but for some (myself included) it won't work unless I change the way my network is set up which will require new hardware. Some other applications such iPenq for the SB doesn't have this limitation and works perfectly well.

It may be the problem experienced, I don't know but well worth being aware of.

Mike

Mike,

I think you are correct. Bonjour and subnets do not seem to get along, and I have also seen Bonjour not play nicely with some router configurations.

In the Android client, it tries to use Bonjour but allows you to override it with "Manual IP" setting so you can force it to an IP and that works great. I wish Apple didn't rely so much on Bonjour and allowed a similar ovverride, but then again...they are Apple.

There is an iPhone app called ROZeroConfig that is FREE that is a Bonjour Browser. It helps you diagnose on your iPhone what Bonjour networks and IP's you can see and helps diagnose problems.

I just installed the app and ran the .exe program from my pc. The port you need is listed in the log after you run it the first time and it doesn't work:) I entered that port and my units ip in the settings under rivermote and wala!

Question to Melloware: I don't use playlists! How can I access my genre and albums directly?

Jesus R
www.sonore.us

Jesus R,

Great question. Unbelievably Library access is not exposed in the JRMC API. Which is why MonkeyTunes is a superior product to Rivermote because MediaMonkey allows full access to their database for queries like Genre and Artist and Album Browsing.

Here it is explained. And I have even have a thread with the JRMC team and they admitted it is not possible.

http://forum.melloware.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7894

understood.

Jesus R
www.sonore.us

I just downloaded the exe for the pc and ran it. Downloaded Bonjour and loaded it. Then the free Apple app. In settings I added the library and inserted the 4 digit code in MediaMonkey. My itouch comes up and the app displays "connecting to library. I have windows firewall off and the firewall in the router off. No connection though and it just sits there turning away. Any thoughts?

Jesus,

I think our support forums might be a better venue for tech support questions than this thread. There you can see other users issues and their resolution. If you do not see a user with a similar problem and solution then start a new thread please.

http://forum.melloware.com/

I just want to report back that I joined your support forum and posted my issue with some additional information. I received a solution right away from the admin and resolved the problem:)

The Monkeytunes app is very cool!

Your support service exceeds my expectations and is very professional!

Thank you

Jesus R
www.sonore.us

Yeah Monkeytunes is great, and Melloware is very helpful over on his forums. I haven't got it working properly yet, with Melloware's latest thoughts being that it may be an IP issue. My iPhone is not managing to connect to the Mediamonkey database.