Setting up Logitech Media Server

We will first start by downloading and installing Logitech Media Server, which is the server backend that manages the media library and controls the players based on the commands from devices that can control the server (known as controllers). Examples of controllers include the web interface and smartphone applications.

The players are devices that actually output audio (also known as Squeezebox clients), our Pi, for example. It is possible to have several controllers and players running from the same server.

To get started, go to http://www.mysqueezebox.com/download, and download the correct version for your OS. In most of the cases, the download is an executable or a package file that can be installed in the same way as any other piece of software.

Once Logitech Media Server is installed, open a web browser on the same PC and navigate to localhost:9000; you should see the Logitech Media Server web interface, as shown in the following screenshot. This allows you to browse the media library and stream media to players connected to that server.

In order to make your media available in Logitech Media Server, you may need to change the search path and perform a library rescan; this can be done by clicking on the Settings link in the bottom-right corner of the Basic Settings page:

Next, select Browse on the folder that has Music ticked; this will open a directory tree that will allow you to browse the directory your music is stored in. Once you do this, click on Close, and under Rescan Media Library, click on Rescan. This will look in the configured directories for media files and add them to the library, which may take a few minutes depending on the size of your media collection; the progress of this process can be viewed in the Information tab. Click on Apply in the bottom-right corner of the screen to return to the library view.

Once back to the library view, you may have to refresh the page in order to display your new media; this can be done by clicking on the Logitech Media Server text in the top-left corner of the page.

Since this is all Logitech Media Server can without a player, we will now set up the Pi as a Squeezebox client.