I'm new to this forum and have found lots of really helpful stuff here poking around. I'm looking to put together a music server system and could use some specific advice on a number of design decisions.
A little background: first, I'm operating, for better or worse, in a Windows XP environment. Currently I have digitized about 1/3 of my music into iTunes (in AIFF, at least since I got hip) and plan to tackle the rest once I have the storage piece worked out. Some of the music is on the desktop computer, some on a laptop-I am hoping to consolidate it all together in one place once the storage is worked out. I'm currently using an Apple TV (thanks to suggestions from this site) to tie into the home theater system synced to the desktop library and allowing streaming from the laptop-works pretty well. I have an Airport Express to tie into the audiophile setup and am considering getting another to tie into my teenage daughter's stereo.
My goal is to have one music library that serves the various audio systems in the house (family room, listening room, my office, teenager hangout), so this requires a storage solution and a distribution solution. So far, the iTunes/Apple TV/Airport Express approach is working well for the distribution part and seems like it can be expanded as needed. I'd like to see how far I can go down the whole-house path this way-not sure when/if I might start to bump up against the limits, but I'd like to see if perhaps this could be expanded in a flexible way as our needs and desires evolve.
It's clear to me that I need a storage solution. My first question is whether it should be an external drive attached to the desktop PC (also used for ripping CDs and conveniently located) or an NAS attached to the (less conveniently located) router. From what I've read, NAS sounds like the better answer longer term, but it seems more complicated to implement and maintain (and my computer skills are modest.) Can I achieve what I am after with an external hard drive attached to one of the computers on the network, i.e. the desktop, in effect serving as the central data hub for the other computers on the network (and iTouches and Apple TV) that provide the local interface and access the central library? Or is this asking too much of the desktop computer and its attached storage? I have an available WD MyBook Mirror Edition 2TB drive, with USB interface only. This could certainly be my desktop external drive. Could this be also be used as a NAS device? Is there a feasible way to connect a USB drive to an ethernet-only router? Or am I better off with a drive that connects by ethernet if I decide to go the NAS route?
My second question area is about how to set up the iTunes library and media files and how to consolidate all the files once I have the storage part worked out. Right now, neither computer has enough room to take all of the other's music in. I've seen articles on how to move an iTunes library, but not on this specific case of trying to combine two separate libraries into one. Any advice on how to combine two libraries would be appreciated-perhaps it is not a complicated matter, but I'd prefer to get it right the first time. Also, should the library files reside with the media files on the storage device or separately on the PCs that access the files?
Any thoughts that can help me implement this system will be much appreciated. I feel like I have most of the pieces but need some help to get them to all work correctly together.
Thanks!
George
