Turn your legacy Hi-FI Receiver into a music streaming device

I was recently testing a free trial of Apple Music, listening on my iPhone and iPad. After perusing the vast library of contemporary and classical music, I thought that to do justice to the music I should really be listening to it on speakers a bit larger than those on my iOS devices.

My first thought was to purchase some Bluetooth speakers. I was overwhelmed by the variety and numbers of portable speakers that are available. The obvious choice would be to go with Apple since I mostly have iOS devices, but these tend to be a bit pricey. Also, they only connect to iOS devices, and I have non-Apple hardware in my house.

Then I thought, I have some perfectly good speakers already hooked up to an old receiver that I use as a home theatre. In addition to a 5.1 system, I have another set of legacy speakers located in my living room where I could listen to the music. Now, it was only a matter of finding a device to which I could stream music from a phone or tablet. Ideally, the device would be able to connect to the Aux input of my receiver which would then send the music to whatever speakers I choose.

After some searching, I found the WIIM Pro AirPlay. This device does exactly what I want it to do, that is, it turns my stereo into an AirPlay 2 device. It works seamlessly for my Apple devices but would work just as well with Android devices. Once you connect the WiiM Pro to your stereo system through either the Line Out, SPDIF Out or Coax Out, you just power it up and go through a few simple setup steps. Next you install the WiiM Home app on your smart phone or tablet and your device will appear on the home screen. After following the in-app guide you will be ready to start streaming your music.

The device can be used as a Bluetooth device, but for best music quality and connectivity, I would recommend you stream to it using AirPlay. It also supports most of the popular music services, so you can stream directly from your Spotify or Amazon music account. If you have music stored locally on your device or on a Network Attached storage (NAS) device, you can stream directly from these as well.

After using the WiiM Pro for 2 months, I can highly recommend it for its quality of sound, flexibility and ease of use. For more information go to the product site here.

Free trials of Apple Services through your PC Optimum account

If you are a PC Optimum member (Loblaw’s loyalty program) and have an Apple account then you may be eligible for up to 3 months of a free trial on Apple’s services. All you have to do is log on to your PC Optimum account and go to the Dashboard and click on the “Enjoy entertainment and more from Apple”. You will then be brought to a screen that lists the Apple services that are included in the offer; these are: Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Apple Arcade and Apple News+. If you are a new subscriber then you are eligible for a 3 month free trial; even “qualifying returning subscribers” can get a 2 month free trial. Note that this offer can only be claimed once per Apple ID. This is a great deal since Apple normally only offers up to a 1 month free trial.

Ottawa Public Library On-line Resources

Did you know that in addition to borrowing books at any Public Library in Ottawa, your library card also gives you access to a number of on-line resources? I just recently renewed my card after many years of inactivity and I was surprised to learn that the services available to card holders have increased significantly since I last checked. These include: eBooks, Audio books, Digital Newspapers and Magazines, and streaming music and video. The full list of on-line resources can be found at the following website.

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Christmas Music 24/7

If just can’t get enough Christmas music, there are plenty of ways to satisfy your needs in the digital era.

From your computer, the easiest way to access your holiday favourites would be to find an online radio station. If you have a favourite terrestrial radio station, you should be able to find an online version that lets you listen live. Other stations that are dedicated to playing seasonal music can be found by searching for “Christmas music online”, you will find hundreds of streaming stations. Most of the stations are free of charge, although some may require registration. There are all sorts of genres to meet your needs, most play music continuously with only minimal interruptions for advertising. A music service that I find particularly well done is that on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) website (music.cbc.ca). On any computer you can access over 50 streaming stations, including two limited play Christmas channels, Seasonal Favourites and Classical Holiday.

You can access most of these same online stations described above using your smart phone or tablet through the browser although the user interface is much better if you are able to find an App for it. For example, the CBC Music application for iOS makes all of their Radio 1 and Radio 2 stations from across Canada available along with all of their streaming stations. Another application that I find quite good is “TuneIn Radio” which lets you listen to more than 100,000 stations from around the world. You can find dedicated Christmas stations, one of my favourites is Radio Santa Claus from Finland.

Seasonal music is also available through your television if you have a Smart TV or a set top box such as Roku or Apple TV connected to it. Most of these devices have a channel or application that allows access to online radio stations. For example, the Apple TV has a Radio application that provides access to hundreds of streaming stations under a number of genres. You can find Christmas music stations under the Religious category. If you don’t have a connected television and get your service through cable or by satellite, most providers have dedicated music channels. I am not talking about Much Music or MTV, but instead channels that play only music with no video, these are usually located in the higher numbers. For example Rogers Cable has approximately 20 music channels provided by Stingray Music, including Holiday Favourites, located on channel 222 and 710 in Ontario, Canada.

So if you’re like me and can’t get enough Christmas music there are many ways to satisfy your obsession.

Do you have any other suggestions? What are some of your favourite radio stations? Send a comment in below and share your experiences?

Happy Holidays.

iTunes Gift Cards on Sale

If you are a frequent flyer at Apple’s iTunes store you may want to head down to Future Shop before Sunday July 28 to pick up a discounted iTunes gift card. All Apple gift cards of $50 or more are 20% off, these can be used to purchase everything from music, movies, TV shows, books to Apps on Mac App Store.

Source: iPhone in Canada

David Bowie New Album free to stream on iTunes

It has been 10 years since David Bowie released an album and to celebrate the release of “The Next Day” it is now available to stream for free exclusively on iTunes. The music will be free to listen to until March 12, the day that it will officially be released for sale. Note that you can only stream it from a PC or Mac, it can’t be streamed on your iPad or iPhone.

Source: iPhone in Canada

Blackberry World starts to get populated (Updated)

Update:

Well Blackberry World is now live with all the new content recently announced.  Albums will run you from $8 to $12 and individual tracks from $0.99 to $1.49 while television episodes will cost $1.99.  All media is available with free samples except for television shows.

Source: Engadget

Just days before the launch of BB10, another piece of the Blackberry puzzle has come into place today with announcement of the music and video offerings as part of the reworked Blackberry World. RIM boasted that it’s storefront will offer an extensive collection of songs through it distribution deals with such companies as 4AD Records, Matador Records, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. The music will be available in 18 countries, including: Canada, USA, UK, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, France, Germany and Italy. TV shows and movies available for purchase or rent will be available from a number of movie and TV distributors such as: BBC, FOX, CBC, ABC, CBS, NBC and Warner Brothers. Many of the video offerings will be available the same day as their DVD release and TV shows the day after they were aired. No word on pricing yet, but it is expected to be in line with similar media available from Apple through iTunes and Google through Google Play. More about these new media offerings will no doubt be announced this Wednesday at RIM’s press conference.

Sources: Mobile Syrup and Engadget

Apple Software Updates

If you have an iOS device then you’re in store for an update today as iOS 6.1 is now available for downloading. Not much to look forward to here other than the usual incremental improvements and bug fixes. A couple of things to note are: LTE support for more carriers, iTunes match subscribers can now download individual songs from iCloud and there is a new button to resent the Advertising identifier. Also receiving an update today is Apple TV which will now have Bluetooth keyboard support as well as the ability to play your iTunes purchased music directly from iCloud on their Apple TV.

Source: Engadget Apple TV and iOS

iTunes Gift Card on Sale

For those bargain hunters out there, iPhone in Canada just spotted a sale on iTunes gift cards. Starting tomorrow, Friday October 5, a $50 gift card will only cost $40 at The Future Shop. Once added to your iTunes account you can use it for Apps, Music, TV Shows and Movies.

Source: iPhone in Canada

iTunes Festival

Since 2007 Apple has been sponsoring a series a concerts at the Roundhouse in London, England.  The event takes place throughout the month of September and the only way to get tickets is to win them.  The downside is that you have to actually get to London to attend.  If you are not in London over the next month you can still enjoy the great music free on your iDevices.  You can access the concerts by downloading the free iOS Festival App; this year they have even added a Festival App to Apple TV.  For a listing of the artists performing, starting on September 1, click here.

Source: iPhone in Canada