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MagicPlay: the Open Source AirPlay
New submitter JonLech writes "Ever since Apple launched AirTunes in 2004 (later renamed AirPlay) they have remained unchallenged in the Wi-Fi music streaming market. With various manufacturers releasing AirPlay-only Wi-Fi speakers, Android and other non-Apple device users have been left out in the cold. Today that changes with the release of MagicPlay, an open standard for music streaming (think 'HTTP for music') with a BSD-licensed open source reference implementation that any app developer or hardware manufacturer can integrate into their products. For the Linux fans out there, I've written up some instructions on how to turn your Raspberry Pi into a MagicPlay device."
If there isn't wide spread hardware adoption, its a useless 'standard'
While it's great an alternative to AirPlay had been released, I doubt it'll get much support from accessory manufacturers unless the likes of Samsung decide to integrate it with their phones.
If it's not compatible with AirPlay what's the point? My Linux music server already supports AirPlay, so does my MythTV, so does my iPhone. Why do we need yet a different new standard, especially if it doesn't work with existing devices?
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
Bingo! urn:upnp-org:serviceId:AVTransport & urn:upnp-org:serviceId:ContentDirectory already provide this... and have been implemented in quite a few devices & OSes.
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There are lots of protocols to play music over the network. This summary suggests there was none but AirPlay.
If it's not compatible with AirPlay what's the point? My Linux music server already supports AirPlay, so does my MythTV, so does my iPhone. Why do we need yet a different new standard, especially if it doesn't work with existing devices?
I don't think you understand (Well actually I think you do) from Wikipedia "AirPlay (previously called AirTunes when it was for audio only[1]) is a proprietary protocol stack/suite developed by Apple Inc. that allows wireless streaming of audio, video, and photos, together with related metadata between devices."
I find it somewhat ironic that your defending Airplay...against more open standards like UPnP or DNLA...as someone who uses MythTV SMB works better...but then you have an iPhone and Apple stuff *only works* with their proprietary garbage. Personally I hope this...and Airplay die a death.
UPnP AV is one of the most awful standards ever developed. I don't know about the AVTransport spec, but the rest of it is just horrible crap.
Never Ever Bloody Refer To UPnP AV As A Good Thing.
Obligatory XKCD.
The joke is about creating a standard to replace multiple incompatible standards...simply adds to the standard. This is about pragmatism; its about creating an open version of Apple Inc proprietary protocol stack/suite.
It's already dead, unless Google themselves back it and get device manufacturers on board. I have a Yamaha audio receiver that already does DLNA and airplay, what niche does this fill? There's no way that AV receiver is going to get a bios update to support this, and there's no way I'm re-buying $1000 of equipment that already supports 4k resolution so I can have maybe 1 more format be supported. Linux already supports Airplay, this is typical ideological chest beating over open standards. Reinventing something that already works on Linux and Android is stupid and why Open code is having such trouble gaining adoption. You have to lead in innovation not play catch-up to the big boys. Don't try to get airplay remade, rather try to make 3d content stream,or something else that hasn't been done by the competitors.
Seems like Miracast will be much more likely to be the alternative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracast
Nope. Shitty name.
Reinventing something that already works on Linux and Android is stupid and why Open code is having such trouble gaining adoption.
Maybe "adoption" is not the point (especially when "adoption" means another avalanche of redundant consumer goods).
The point is the principal of creating a standard can be the basis of understanding the technology and extending its capabilities that is open to anyone rather than locked up in some corporate lawyer's file cabinet.
The docs directory on github is essentially empty. If they can't even provide a formal specification they are no better than reverse engineered versions of airplay. What a fucking joke.
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DLNA interoperability can be surprisingly poor and using DLNA means using bandwidth-inefficient MPEG2 video and crummy stereo audio, which is kind of a let down if you have decent source files to work with.
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There's already a competing open standard.
It's what I use with my android devices (via BubbleUPNP), XBMC and my Squeezebox.
Misleading titles? Inflammatory blurbs? Keep in mind that Slashdot is a tabloid.
True, FTP and NFS are open alternatives to Server Message Block to an extent. But what's the open alternative to Super Mario Bros. and Super Monkey Ball?
It is quite funny how some people, such as the guy you're responding to, honestly seem to believe if they just wish something hard enough it'll become the truth. There also seems to be a Wikiality component involved.
#DeleteChrome
HDMI is proprietary too, but I'd have a hard time arguing that a competing open standard would improve the current landscape.
The HDMI Founders are Hitachi, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic/National/Quasar), Philips, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomson, RCA and Toshiba.[15] Digital Content Protection, LLC provides HDCP (which was developed by Intel) for HDMI.[16] HDMI has the support of motion picture producers Fox, Universal, Warner Bros. and Disney, along with system operators DirecTV, EchoStar (Dish Network) and CableLabs unlike AirPlay (previously called AirTunes when it was for audio only is a proprietary protocol stack/suite developed by Apple Inc.
Did you spot the chasm of difference between the two.
The docs directory on github is essentially empty. If they can't even provide a formal specification they are no better than reverse engineered versions of airplay. What a fucking joke.
Unfortunately I and I suspect most here are in the camp of understanding *code*(especially if its well designed) over a *formal specification*, and had a working implementation. The whole point of Airplay is to replace it, because its a proprietary protocol stack/suite developed by the most litigious company on the planet.
I'll agree that I haven't found much of a use case, for myself, for wifi speakers.
But my bluetooth speaker gets enough use that I bought a higher amp charger for it so it would have less downtime. I love that thing.
For the Linux fans out there, I've written up some instructions on how to turn your Raspberry Pi into a MagicPlay device.
... My RaspberryPI has AirPlay support ... audio AND video ...
Great that its a BSD licensed alternative, but being that non of my devices will ever support this protocol, but they all support AirPlay, this is going to have a hard time gaining traction until it does what AirPlay does. Until then its just another silly protocol to do what we already can do, and do it better than this.
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Odd, I've never had much trouble streaming 5.1 DD and DTS over DLNA. Or h.264.
Oh good! An AirPlay competitor! I wonder what video codec they used... Lemme just look through the code and...
Oh. It seems it doesn't support video at all. Not really an AirPlay competitor then...
The rest of it!
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
the site is remarkably content-free. In particular, is this just a nice implementation of SAP/RTP, and if not, why? Even AirPlay is just RTP with an obnoxious (and broken) encryption on the payload.
It's basically Sonos... from 8 years ago, except open source and without the hardware. Apple Airplay is great for video, but the Airplay Extreme audio players are a kludgy joke compared to Sonos. You want something that just works today get a Sonos. Yeah, Sonos is not cheap, but I feel that the price premium was paid in full and then some with all the updates and feature enhancements. I'm using hardware that's 5 years old now and it's still rock solid with all the features and services a new unit would have.
I will give kudos to Logitech Squeezebox. They don't make them anymore and they weren't as fancy as Sonos, but they were a solid product they killed before it's time.
"Ever since Apple launched AirTunes in 2004 (later renamed AirPlay) they have remained unchallenged in the Wi-Fi music streaming market. With various manufacturers releasing AirPlay-only Wi-Fi speakers, Android and other non-Apple device users have been left out in the cold.
Not true. AirPlay (as well as AirPrint) is an open standard. I've a couple of Android applications which transmit to my AppleTV without a problem. It's really the unwillingness of the hardware developers and/or Google to make use of that standard, being the only reason they can't make use of AirPlay.
And it's crap. 8.3 format filenames in 2013? Get out of here.
Even if they get this technically perfect, it can never work, because it will never be supported by Apple.
I can already use AirPlay mirror to transmit not only my iPad/iPhone or Mac screen, but through additional software I can also mirror my Windows or Linux Desktop and even an Android tablet or phone. Oh, and the receiver doesn't have to be an AppleTV. A Mac or PC can receive streams as well. You can even hack a Pi or XBMC to receive AirPlay, too. The only major missing device categories today are Windows RT and Blackberry 10... and if they know what's good for 'em, they'll open up API's to make this possible. Apple's AirPlay is already the lingua franca of wireless A/V, even more so than technologies like WiDi.
AirPlay today is already *everything* MagicPlay wants to be, with the exception that MagicPlay has virtually no chance of ever working on an iPad.
The only way this changes is if Apple decides to go legal on the third party tools making this possible... tools which currently have their blessing... a move which would make no sense, as the core technology is too easy to duplicate (as proven by this very story). Moreover, the move would make some new enemies in tech circles and especially in education (historically an Apple stronghold), because at that point there will be no hope for places like conference centers/auditoriums/classrooms to easily have a single generic point of contact for wireless display.
I will grant that if Apple does go for the legal option, MagicPlay could be well-positioned as a single alternative supported by all the competitors: Android, Windows (regular and extra-crispy metro), linux, etc
Like most people, I'm mostly interested in the capability to stream audio to all kinds of devices. And people have already pointed out some key differences with DLNA that explain why there is reason to be happy with something like MagicPlay.
But Airplay offers streaming of audio, as well as video, photo's and screen mirroring. I haven't looked into the source yet, but going by the description, it looks like MagicPlay doesn't offer any of that and sofar nobody is planning to add it. Has anyone looked at the source and are they able to refute this?
Calling MagicPlay "open source AirPlay" seems a bit of a stretch then. That's like calling AbiWord "open source Office". Of course the marketing department won't like it, but MagicPlay seems more like "open source RAOP" (Remote Audio Output Protocol, see the Unofficial AirPlay Protocol Specification ) with the added stuff required to nicely hook up sinks to sources.
Not until Netcraft confirms it.
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