Hi Scott, you wrote:
----- Original Message ----- From: "Scott Rutkowski" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Cc: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 1:06 PM Subject: Airport express questions HI all. I'm thinking about buying an airport express so I can listen to my music remotely on a stereo in another room away from my mac. Excuse my ignorance here but i've not played with an airport express before and am wondering a few things. Firstly does the airport express recieve it's power via a plugg pack which you plugg in to the wall outlet near your stereo to recieve power? dp: The Airport express is actually a power brick with a router in it. It feels just like a larger version of the brick that comes with a macbook. If you purchase the apple audio kit, there is a cord in it that plugs into the airport express just like on the macbook but the cord is not shipped with the AE. What else you get with the apple auido kit is a stereo mini to digital optical audio cable, a mini to two rcas and a mini to mini cable if I remember. I'd have to grab mine an look at it but I think the description is online. Secondly once you have used the airport utility to configure the device, I assume you simply use the remote speakers option in iTunes and the music you select in iTunes simply streams over your network to the airport express which is located near your stereo? dp: correct, the ae can be only as far away from your receiver as the audio cable is long. Also there's no way to somehow use the iMac remote to control iTunes out near the stereo is there? The stereo is about 20 metres away in another room. dp: as far as mac os is concerned, the remote is for front row and front row does not use airtunes. There would be no way of using a macbook to control the iTunes library on the iMac to which the airport express is connected would there? dp: Yes, if you share the library, you can have access to it through any ITunes you have authorized. I am thinking the macbook could be near the airport express and the music would stream via the macbook and this would also work. Is there any kind of lag or any brake up while the music is being streamed via airport express? dp: I have experienced interruptions especially on my IMac and am trhying to pin down the cause but there is so much running here that I'm surprised it works as well as it does. I know with some of the fm transmittors you can buy sometimes interfearance and or other issues can occurr and the music brakes up and sounds terrible. I take it also while the music is streaming you don't hear voice over through the airport express just the music itself? Finally is iTunes the only application the airport express works with for streaming? dp: Correct, all you get is what ITunes is playing. On the windows side, there is a program called airfoil which extends the capability of other apps to stream such as windows media player but I hagve not seen anything for macos. Thanks to anyone who can answer the above questions. You are welcome and let us know if you need any more help once you get the AE. It can be a bear to get going wih a router.
