SubSatellite
Multi-room Subsonic
A small satellite receiver for Subsonic, allowing you to have a single server and multiple players - all controlled from AVSub. Supports FLAC, MP3, OGG & WAV
What is SubSatellite?
SubSatellite is an open source SubSonic satellite receiver. Using SubSatellite you can play music from a single Subsonic server in multiple locations, all controlled by AVSub. It's a bit like Sonos multi-room.
SubSatellite is an experiment. It works on any device that can run Java (Windows/Mac/Linux etc). The idea is you can run it on a small footprint device like a Raspberry Pi, connected to your amp/speaker/sound-system. Version 0.1 supports full playback functionality and directly support a number of formats including FLAC and MP3.
Support for SubSatellite is incorporated into the Jukebox functionality of AVSub version 9.1. By enabling SubSatellite from the Jukebox settings, jukebox mode becomes SubSatellite mode. In this mode, music is played on the configured SubSatellite receiver.
If SubSatellite proves popular, I will add further integration to configure SubSatellite named 'zones' so you can define multiple SubSatellite receivers and switch between them quickly - true multi-room audio from a single Subsonic server.
How to Setup SubSatellite
The first version of SubSatellite is distributed as a single Java JAR file. For most environments this simply requires the Java JRE (for Mac you'll need the JDK). SubSatellite requires Java version 1.8.
To run SubSatellite, open a command prompt or terminal/shell and navigate to where you've saved the SubSatellite JAR file. Use the following command to start SubSatellite:
java -jar subsatellite-0.1.jar
SubSatellite runs on port 4141 (see GitHub site for details on changing).
SubSatellite configuration is performed from within AVSub configuration.
How to Configure SubSatellite
SubSatellite requires AVSub's Jukebox mode upgrade.
SubSatellite is configured within AVSub in two sections. One section tells AVSub where it can find SubSatellite and the other tells SubSatellite where it can find SubSonic
Jukebox Settings
SubSatellite Mode determines whether AVSub uses Jukebox mode or SubSatellite mode.
SubSatellite Host Address is the address of SubSatellite. This setting tells AVSub where it can find SubSatellite.
SubSatellite Settings
These settings are sent to SubSatellite and tell SubSatellite about your SubSonic server.
SubSonic Host Address is the address that SubSatellite will use to connect to SubSonic.
SubSonic username is the username that SubSatellite will use to connect to SubSonic.
SubSonic password is the password that SubSatellite will use to connect to SubSonic.
Tips
Create a user in SubSonic specifically for SubSatellite. Use this user in the SubSatellite settings in AVSub.
Disable FLAC/WAV transcoding for the SubSatellite user to enable true lossless audio support.
The Future for SubSatellite
SubSatellite is an experiement. If it proves popular, then I will create easier to install versions (a bit like SubSonic). I'll also create APK versions for loading onto Android devices such as the Fire TV (and Stick).
The project is also open-source. Aside fron AVSub, other SubSonic clients are free to implement support for it and contribute to its development.
If you're using SubSatellite, I'd love to hear about your experience - you can contact me at about@avsubapp.co.uk