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Apple Lossless Wirelessly

I've been experimenting with serving music stored on my iMac G4 in the study to iTunes running on a laptop (experimenting with a Dell, but eventually will get an iBook to handle this function) in the living room to an Airport Express that is cabled to my living room stereo system. I've been moving the music from iMac to laptop to Airport Express over my 802.11b wireless network.

So far, I've found that my 802.11b network can't adequately handle sending song files in Apple Lossless format from my iMac to iTunes on my laptop. There are breaks in the playback, especially when there is other traffic over the wireless connection. If the AL song files are on the laptop, there is no problem.

Since convenience is a big reason for this setup, I'd like to stick with a laptop as the control center and stay wireless if possible. I figure my two alternatives are: (1) upgrading my wireless network to 802.11g, and (2) buying Apple Remote Desktop so I can run iTunes on my iMac, where the song files are, while controlling it from the laptop.

Any comments on these options (and am I right about being able to use ARD this way)? Thanks!
jayboard
dmoffitt's avatar
dmoffitt
66 posts
 
Dimitri, where are you getting that AirTunes is 'b' ? According to apple...

"AirPort Express uses the 802.11g wireless standard. Accessing the wireless network requires an AirPort or AirPort Extreme enabled computer or Wi-Fi-certified 802.11b or 802.11g computer. Achieving data rates of 54 Mbps requires that all users have an AirPort Extreme or Wi-Fi-certified 802.11g enabled computer and connect to an AirPort Express Base Station. If a user of a Wi-Fi-certified 802.11b product joins the network, that user will get up to 11 Mbps and AirPort Extreme and Wi-Fi-certified 802.11g users will get less than 54 Mbps. Actual speed will vary based on range, connection rate, site conditions, size of network, and other factors."

- so based on that, I'd suggest he upgrades his network in general to 'g' - better range, speed, etc... my roommate has a 'b' PCI card on his Dell and it certainly gave a small performance hit to our network :(
edesilva
768 posts
 
With respect to changing channels on your base stn, you might want to consider that the channel designations are 5 MHz apart, and the bandwidth of the transmission is more like 25 MHz. So, the standard US channels for WiFi in the 2 GHz band are 1, 6, and 11. If you go to 5, you are still going to pick up some problems from users on ch 1.

You might also look into 802.11a. 11g still runs in the very heavily congested 2 GHz band, and there are a total of 3 channels available. There are something like 37 in the 5 GHz band where 11a operates, and not as many other devices (e.g., bluetooth, microwaves). The wall penetration may not be as good, however.
davidfrench401f
1 posts
 
I've been grappling with interference on my 802.11b/g network; it's been a problem for a while, but Airtunes exposes problems in a very obvious manner. After fiddling with all sorts of parameters, I've found for best results I've switched off 802.11b and only use 802.11g. Airtunes seems to be running fairly faultlessly now.

I live fairly near a major microwave transmitter, and I wonder if that explains my problems with 802.11b.

I'd be interested to know how devices decide whether to use B or G. If mine had stuck with G, I don't think I'd have had a problem.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Anyone use an AirPort Express with a PC?

If so, how did you get it to work?
jayboard OP
301 posts
 
Have used with Mac and PC. You could try this roundabout way. Use Airport Admin Utility to do the setup, if Airport Express Assistant is not doing the job for you. Connect the Airport Express by ethernet cable to your DSL or cable modem or router (don't have to connect to stereo at this point). Configure the AE to be a base station, i.e., to "Create a wireless network," not "join existing network." After that, disconnect the AE, connect it with stereo, and go wireless. Start up Airport Admin Utility again. Your PC should recognize the AE; this time configure AE to "join an existing network".

Does this help?
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