Android client app for musicserver op laptop

This section is dedicated to applications and configurations for the Google Android OS.

Moderators: MattKingUSA, khz

User avatar
dirkjanl
Established Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:55 pm
Location: Borger, The Netherlands

Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by dirkjanl »

What I'm looking for:
I have installed AP-Linux on a laptop (Arch based). MPD is playing there and the music from that laptop goes through the Cantata Music Player to a DAC and to the amplifier and the boxes. Great sound.
As a remote control to control Cantata on the laptop, I use the M.A.L.P. app. on my smartphone.
However, I also want to listen to the music stored on the laptop (85 GB hi res music) on a smartphone in a music player.
Can someone advise me which music player on the smartphone can communicate with MPD on the laptop and how to arrange that?

Greetings,
Laptop Clevo N240BU 14", HD Graphics 620, Intel i7-7500U, RAM 16GB, Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
Vaste PC Intel i7-6700, Nvidea Geoforce GT730 4 gb, 16 GB RAM, Asus B250M moederbord. Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
User avatar
milo
Established Member
Posts: 1242
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:55 am
Location: Southern Utah, USA
Has thanked: 275 times
Been thanked: 218 times
Contact:

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by milo »

VLC for Android can browse local networks and streaming services. Not sure if it will connect to MPD, but you could set up a Samba share on the laptop and access it from your phone over a local network. I have done that with audio and video on my home network with VLC.
User avatar
dirkjanl
Established Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:55 pm
Location: Borger, The Netherlands

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by dirkjanl »

Thanks, In the past I' ve tried to work with Samba. Did not work out for me. Yesterday I've installed NFS (Network File System) on the laptop. I will figure out how to to connect with it from VLC on the smartphone. I'll let you know.

Greetings,
Laptop Clevo N240BU 14", HD Graphics 620, Intel i7-7500U, RAM 16GB, Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
Vaste PC Intel i7-6700, Nvidea Geoforce GT730 4 gb, 16 GB RAM, Asus B250M moederbord. Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
User avatar
Linuxmusician01
Established Member
Posts: 1524
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:38 pm
Location: Holland
Has thanked: 756 times
Been thanked: 135 times

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

dirkjanl wrote:Thanks, In the past I' ve tried to work with Samba. Did not work out for me. Yesterday I've installed NFS (Network File System) on the laptop. I will figure out how to to connect with it from VLC on the smartphone. I'll let you know.

Greetings,
Samba and Linux? Easy. Use the right mouse button on a folder in your Linux file browser (Nemo, Nautilus, Caja, etc.), select "Properties" and click on the tab "Share".

I don't think Android/VLC wil support NFS, I'd like to hear if it does though. Strangely enough Kodi media center on my Xbox One does not support Windows shares (i.e. Samba), only NFS! So Xobox's Kodi is probably Linux based.
User avatar
milo
Established Member
Posts: 1242
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:55 am
Location: Southern Utah, USA
Has thanked: 275 times
Been thanked: 218 times
Contact:

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by milo »

I had trouble with Samba the first time I tried to set it up, but I figured it out the second time and it's been fairly easy ever since. Must have followed a better tutorial, or one for my own distro, or something like that. I think Samba works bettter than NFS on the whole, so don't be afraid to try it again. Maybe start with a fresh smb.conf file.
User avatar
Linuxmusician01
Established Member
Posts: 1524
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:38 pm
Location: Holland
Has thanked: 756 times
Been thanked: 135 times

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

milo wrote:I had trouble with Samba the first time I tried to set it up, but I figured it out the second time and it's been fairly easy ever since. Must have followed a better tutorial, or one for my own distro, or something like that. I think Samba works bettter than NFS on the whole, so don't be afraid to try it again. Maybe start with a fresh smb.conf file.
Nope. You don't have to edit a config file. Install a package like nemo-share for your favourite file browser (eg. Nemo) and simply use the right-mouse-button. :)
User avatar
dirkjanl
Established Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:55 pm
Location: Borger, The Netherlands

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by dirkjanl »

Okay, I will give it a try again.

The Music folder is on an other harddisk. (/mnt/56dc92ae-bad5-430b-8f65-14a5e1b34a5b/Music)
Via NEMO I went to that folder, right-click the mouse and set the folder to SHARE. How can I use a Music app to access that folder on my smartphone?
Do I have to provide the address to that folder somewhere? How do I do that?

Greetings,
Laptop Clevo N240BU 14", HD Graphics 620, Intel i7-7500U, RAM 16GB, Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
Vaste PC Intel i7-6700, Nvidea Geoforce GT730 4 gb, 16 GB RAM, Asus B250M moederbord. Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
User avatar
milo
Established Member
Posts: 1242
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:55 am
Location: Southern Utah, USA
Has thanked: 275 times
Been thanked: 218 times
Contact:

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by milo »

Look in VLC for Android, in the top-left menu. (Sometimes you have to swipe down to see the menu bars.) Select "Local Network" and see if your Samba share is visible.
User avatar
dirkjanl
Established Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:55 pm
Location: Borger, The Netherlands

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by dirkjanl »

Thanks, but nope.
I realize, last time I tried Samba I made some changes in the config file. I will check that with my other computer.

Greetings,
Laptop Clevo N240BU 14", HD Graphics 620, Intel i7-7500U, RAM 16GB, Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
Vaste PC Intel i7-6700, Nvidea Geoforce GT730 4 gb, 16 GB RAM, Asus B250M moederbord. Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
User avatar
Linuxmusician01
Established Member
Posts: 1524
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:38 pm
Location: Holland
Has thanked: 756 times
Been thanked: 135 times

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

dirkjanl wrote:Thanks, but nope.
I realize, last time I tried Samba I made some changes in the config file. I will check that with my other computer.

Greetings,
That's right. There are 2 ways of sharing via Samba now-a-days: via a file manager like Nemo and via editing /etc/samba/smb.conf. Wanna do it via the config file? Try to add something like this in said config file (see for example this link):

Code: Select all

# Adrian's share
[MyShare]
  comment = YOUR COMMENTS
  path = /your-share-folder
  read only = no
  guest ok = yes
Here's how I succeeded to play a Samba shared MP3 w/ my Andoid phone and VLC. (see for example this link):
  1. I installed a file browser on Android that can mount Samba shares (I used good 'ol Ghost Commander w/ a Samba "plugin" but you can use X-Plore too).
  2. I chose to connect to a Windows Share (i.e. Samba share). You have to put in the IP address of your Linux machine that has the MP3 files on it and type in passwd + username
  3. Browse to MP3 file and tapped on said MP3 file.
  4. I had to choose with which application to open the MP3. Make sure you've already got VLC open (else: stops playback after 3 sec). Then choose VLC when dialog windows opens. The MP3 file starts playing.
  5. Now in VLC there's no way to fast forward or backward. No way to stop playing the MP3 other than stopping VLC. You can not see which MP3 is playing in VLC, etc. Therefore I find VLC useless for this sort of stuff.
Good luck! :)
User avatar
dirkjanl
Established Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:55 pm
Location: Borger, The Netherlands

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by dirkjanl »

Okay, sounds interesting. I will look after it this weekend.
Thanks, I will give a reaction after my try.
And I will check if it will play my FLAC files.

Greetings,
Laptop Clevo N240BU 14", HD Graphics 620, Intel i7-7500U, RAM 16GB, Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
Vaste PC Intel i7-6700, Nvidea Geoforce GT730 4 gb, 16 GB RAM, Asus B250M moederbord. Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
User avatar
dirkjanl
Established Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:55 pm
Location: Borger, The Netherlands

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by dirkjanl »

Hello

I've changed the config file as Linuxmusicia01 wrote, with my settings. In the config file the workgroup = WORKGROUP
I've installed X Plore on the phone and tried to connect to my PC with the shared music folder. When I tested the connection it said: "Unknown host": 192.168.178.1
Using Username and Password made no difference: "Unknown host".
I will check it this week again.

Greetings
Laptop Clevo N240BU 14", HD Graphics 620, Intel i7-7500U, RAM 16GB, Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
Vaste PC Intel i7-6700, Nvidea Geoforce GT730 4 gb, 16 GB RAM, Asus B250M moederbord. Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
User avatar
Linuxmusician01
Established Member
Posts: 1524
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:38 pm
Location: Holland
Has thanked: 756 times
Been thanked: 135 times

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by Linuxmusician01 »

dirkjanl wrote:Hello

I've changed the config file as Linuxmusicia01 wrote, with my settings. In the config file the workgroup = WORKGROUP
I've installed X Plore on the phone and tried to connect to my PC with the shared music folder. When I tested the connection it said: "Unknown host": 192.168.178.1
Using Username and Password made no difference: "Unknown host".
I will check it this week again.

Greetings
You sure that IP address is correct? Maybe you need to restart the Samba on the Linux computer (or the computer itself).
User avatar
milo
Established Member
Posts: 1242
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2017 2:55 am
Location: Southern Utah, USA
Has thanked: 275 times
Been thanked: 218 times
Contact:

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by milo »

Also, you might see if you can connect to the share from another computer, just to be sure it isn't an Android thing holding you back. I have had a few occasions where I couldn't connect to a Samba share with an Android device but I could connect with a Linux device.
User avatar
dirkjanl
Established Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2018 4:55 pm
Location: Borger, The Netherlands

Re: Android client app for musicserver op laptop

Post by dirkjanl »

Linuxmusician01 wrote: You sure that IP address is correct? Maybe you need to restart the Samba on the Linux computer (or the computer itself).
You are so right! it is 192.168.178.19.

But, Unknown host.
I set http://192.168.178.19
and without the http
And I can not reach for the shared folder from my other linux laptop.
This week I will go over everything from the beginning.

Greetings!
Laptop Clevo N240BU 14", HD Graphics 620, Intel i7-7500U, RAM 16GB, Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
Vaste PC Intel i7-6700, Nvidea Geoforce GT730 4 gb, 16 GB RAM, Asus B250M moederbord. Linux Mint 18.3 Cinnamon-64 bit
Post Reply