[Technology] Playing local music collection via Alexa.

[boik]

A friend has Alexa, a large collection of CDs and live recordings and a really good hifi. However he'd like the convenience for parties and stuff of just asking Alexa to play stuff but still sounding decent.

I know he uses iTunes on Windows (Boooooooo!!). And from the quick investigations I have done, the 2 options seem to be setting up a Plex server, which I could do for him, but the Alexa skill seems pretty limited. Or uploading his music to one of the cloud services, from where Alexa would be happy with it.

2 issues with the cloud option. It must be free as he is impoverished, and it absolutely must NOT remove any music from his PC.

Anyone got any experiences of this and any recommendations?

 

[Happy Exile]

Might make myself sound stupid here, but I think you can get a Bluetooth receiver for a hifi, then if he's got Spotify on a phone (or some mp3's from his CD collection on a phone or similar) he can Bluetooth them and play them through his hifi that way?

 

[studio150]

Might make myself sound stupid here, but I think you can get a Bluetooth receiver for a hifi, then if he's got Spotify on a phone (or some mp3's from his CD collection on a phone or similar) he can Bluetooth them and play them through his hifi that way?

You can indeed do this, as I have the bluetooth option. I expect the issue may be the impoverished part.

 

[boik]

You can indeed do this, as I have the bluetooth option. I expect the issue may be the impoverished part.

Indeed that will be a problem, as will the live recordings he also has. Spotify will know diddly squat about those. [MENTION=4019]Triggaaar[/MENTION] has come up with a potential free solution and something that I have some experience with, so I will try that out next time I'm at his place. (that's my friends place, not Triggaaars !!!).

 

[Fungus]

Indeed that will be a problem, as will the live recordings he also has. Spotify will know diddly squat about those. [MENTION=4019]Triggaaar[/MENTION] has come up with a potential free solution and something that I have some experience with, so I will try that out next time I'm at his place. (that's my friends place, not Triggaaars !!!).

Is Trig's potential free solution something that can be shared publicly? I'm in a similar position to your friend.

 

[boik]

Is Trig's potential free solution something that can be shared publicly? I'm in a similar position to your friend.

Cant see why not. It uses the old Slim Devices server software (LMS) to stream to either a genuine Squeezbox or an Echo connected to your HiFi, and there is an Amazon skill to frontend it all.

https://mediaserver.smartskills.tech/

I wont be trying it straight away, but might try it here on a VirtualBox Win10 machine before I get a chance to go to my mates place.