So what exactly is an iTunes Server and what are the benefits?

[88keys]

So I have a friend who has a very large music collection at over 1TB at this moment in iTunes that is also backed up over a network...

His NAS runs NAS4free and I was curious about the iTunes server function. I've looked online and I have neither been able to get a clear answer as to what it exactly is nor the benefits of this service.

 

[Michael]

It is not the same as Home Sharing so it does not work for video and such to an Apple TV.

I ended up putting my files on a NAS but ran iTunes on another PC.

Michael

 

[Kaido]

So I have a friend who has a very large music collection at over 1TB at this moment in iTunes that is also backed up over a network...

His NAS runs NAS4free and I was curious about the iTunes server function. I've looked online and I have neither been able to get a clear answer as to what it exactly is nor the benefits of this service.

1. Are his songs DRM-protected, or does he have 100% DRM-free songs?

2. I believe the NAS4free iTunes Server was based on Firefly, which I don't think has been in active development for years: (I remember it kept breaking when new versions of iTunes was released)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_Media_Server

3. Plex is a pretty good music server:

https://plex.tv

 

[88keys]

I honestly have no idea whether his files are DR protected. I know the majority are ripped from his COS amd DVD audio collection. He's been working on it since at least 2006, so I'd assume that some files are Dem protected.

 

[manly]

It's an old protocol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Access_Protocol