Helium Streamer for ios Version 2.0 User Manual

Transcription

1 Helium Streamer for ios Version 2.0 User Manual

2 Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

3 Contents Overview... 5 Features... 5 Set-Up... 7 Requirements... 7 Helium Music Manager Options... 7 Helium Streamer Settings... 7 How to Use Helium Streamer... 8 Usage Overview... 8 Now Playing Tab... 9 Controls... 9 Track Detail... 9 Lyrics Sub-Tracks Actions Play Queue Tab Edit (Play Queue) Suggested Tracks Common Views & Commands View Artist View Album View Tracks Choose Command Paging Control Browse Local Tab iphone / ipod Touch / ipad Artists Albums Genres Rating Years Favourite Artists Favourite Albums Favourite Tracks Playlists V Imploded Software AB Page 3

4 Smart Playlists Synchronize with Helium Options Search Tab Search Options Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

5 Overview Helium Streamer enables you to playback your personal music collection on an iphone / ipad / ipod Touch device. It streams and downloads music from Helium Music Manager. It works with all versions of Helium Music Manager - Free, Premium and Network. This application is ideal if you want to listen to your Helium Music Manager's music collection away from your PC. It uses the Wi-Fi connection to receive streamed music from Helium Music Manager from anywhere in and around your home and 3G if you are out and about. Music is cached on the device and is therefore available when offline from Helium Music Manager. Helium Streamer enables the playback of Playlists, Searches, Suggested Tracks and User Favourites. Details of the currently playing track are shown; as is information about the playing track's artist. Helium Streamer interacts with Helium Music Manager's in-built Web Service to stream and download music to the device. Features Easily stream and download music from Helium Music Manager Operate in Connected (to Helium Music Manager) or Local mode (play previously downloaded music so there is no need to be constantly connected during replaying) Full support for Helium Music Manager s multi-user capability (Network Edition only) Play or Pause your music Select Next or Previous track Set rating and favourite status for the playing track Album artwork and details shown for the playing track Lyrics shown for the playing track Sub-tracks shown for the playing track Built in play queue handling which allows reordering, replaying and more Search Helium Music Manager's library for albums, artists, titles, genre, recording years, release years and publishers - play, enqueue or download found tracks Browse Playlists / Smart Playlists and play them Browse Playlist / Smart Playlist contents and play, enqueue or download individual tracks Browse Suggested Tracks and play, enqueue or download them Browse Favourite Album, Artist and Tracks and play, enqueue or download them View selected track's album and play, enqueue or download track's album or individual album tracks View selected track's artist and play, enqueue or download artist's albums or individual album tracks Scrobble played music to Last.fm V Imploded Software AB Page 5

6 One-click synchronization with Helium Music Manager (for backup of music files) One-click download of music from Helium Music Manager (using a pre-defined synchronization list) Support for ios 4 - enables background music playing while other Apps are active and displays higher quality text, graphics and images on Retina displays Translations: English, Swedish and German User manual available as a PDF Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

7 Set-Up Requirements This App requires Helium Music Manager version 8.0 or greater. (It will work with all editions of Helium Music Manager - Free, Premium and Network). Wi-Fi connection to the PC running Helium Music Manager. Runs on iphone OS 3.1 or greater (including ios 4). It is designed as a client iphone/ipod Touch Application and will also run on the ipad. Helium Music Manager Options 1. Open Options from Tools > Options menu. 2. Scroll to the bottom in the left list and select Helium Web Service (available under the Advanced header). 3. Setup the Port to use (default is 8080). 4. Click Start to start the server. Helium Streamer Settings Before using Helium Streamer you must configure its settings: 1. Open Settings on the iphone/ipad/ipod Touch device. 2. Select Helium Streamer or Streamer (depends on ios version). These settings configure the basic operation of Helium Streamer and how it communicates with Helium Music Manager on the PC. 1. Set Disable Auto-Lock to "ON" if you want to prevent the screen saver from activating. 2. Enter the Address of the Windows PC running Helium Music Manager 8.0+ (e.g ) 3. Enter the Port number (as defined in Helium Music Manager - Options, see above). 4. If required, adjust Lost Timeout. This value specifies how soon a warning should be shown after Helium Streamer for ios loses connection to the Helium Music Manager server (default is 3 seconds). This allows for occasional lost connections to the server whilst streaming and playing back music. 5. Helium Streamer can play all music file types supported by Helium Music Manager. MP3 music files are played natively; all other file types will be transcoded. You can set the Transcoding Quality to one of 96kBps, 128kBps [default], 160kBps, 192kBps, 256kBps or 320kBps. V Imploded Software AB Page 7

8 How to Use Helium Streamer Helium Streamer for ios - V2.0 Usage Overview There are two modes that Helium Streamer can be run in: Connected - Helium Streamer runs connected to Helium Music Manager and music is streamed and downloaded to the device. Local Helium Streamer acts as any standard music player. It can play back music that has been previously played or downloaded and cached while in connected mode - this is useful if you want to listen to music while your PC is off or you are out-of-range of the PC. To switch modes see Browse > Options. Start Helium Streamer and it will connect to Helium Music Manager: No connection is required if operating in Local mode. If the address of the Windows PC running Helium Music Manager has not been set in Settings, an error message will be shown. If Helium Streamer cannot make a connection to Helium Music Manager, then a Retry / Offline / Cancel message will be shown. If this happens: 1. Select Local if you want to use Helium Streamer in Local mode. 2. Check that Helium Music Manager is running and that there are no network problems (e.g. check Wi-Fi is enabled). 3. Check that Helium Music Manager s Options (on the Windows PC) and Helium Streamer s Settings on the iphone / ipad / ipod Touch are correctly defined (see Setup section above). On initial entry, Helium Streamer will display the Now Playing view. If you are running ios 4 then Helium Streamer can display the last view that was active. If you are running in Connected mode then the Browse view tab is shown: otherwise when operating in Local mode, the Local view tab is shown: You can tab between the different views which are described in more detail in the following sections. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

9 Now Playing Tab This tab is where you view and control the music being played. The music to be played is determined by the contents and order of the Play Queue. Controls The player has the following standard controls: Previous Track Play/Pause Next Track Volume slider Position slider. The elapsed time and time remaining for the track are shown either side of the position slider. When a track starts playing it will be streamed to the device and buffered - while this is happening the position slider (coloured yellow) will only allow the position to be advanced to what has been buffered so far. The percentage of the track buffered so far is shown to the right of the position slider. When this reaches 100%, the position slider becomes fully operative (coloured green) and the display reverts to the time remaining at this point the streamed music file has been download and has been cached on the device. The Position Slider is disabled if the Memory Management optimization has been set ON in Options. Track Detail When a track is playing the following information is shown (if present): Album Cover Picture Artist Track Title Album Name Genre Release Year Rating Favourite If the view is rotated to landscape, the following additional information is shown (if present): Publisher Tapping the album cover will hide the track's information (in portrait orientation only); tapping the album cover again will reveal the track's information. V Imploded Software AB Page 9

10 Lyrics If lyrics are present in the playing track, an " i " icon is shown, positioned in the bottom right of the album cover (in portrait orientation only). Tapping this icon will reveal the track's lyrics which can then be scrolled; tapping the icon again will hide the track's lyrics. Sub-Tracks If sub-tracks are present in the playing track an " i " icon is shown, positioned in the bottom left of the album cover (in portrait orientation only). Tapping this icon will reveal the sub-tracks. The list of tracks can be scrolled up and down. You can tap a sub-track's play icon to start playing from the selected sub-track onwards. If the selected sub-track has not yet been buffered to the device, a warning message is displayed briefly over the track's artist name - wait for the sub-track buffering to complete to be able to play the sub-track. Tap the Close button to exit the view. Actions To the right of the Next Track player control is the Action icon. Tapping this icon will take you to the Actions View: where you can set the track's rating (by dragging the star rating) and specify whether the track is a favourite - set ON or OFF. You can set the track's rating (by dragging the star rating) and specify whether the track is a favourite - set ON or OFF. Tap Save to set the rating / favourite or Cancel to exit the view. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

11 Play Queue Tab This tab lists the current contents of the device s play queue. The number of tracks in the play queue is shown at the top of the list. The list of tracks can be scrolled up and down. The Play Queue is used by the Now Playing tab to determine the music to play and in what order. A playing track is highlighted in pink and a selected (tapped) track is highlighted in blue. For each track in the list, the following information and control is shown: Artist Name Track Number & Name Album Name Duration Rating Favourite Cached - if a small iphone icon is present, it indicates that the track has been downloaded and is cached on the device and is available in Local mode. Play - tapping a track's play icon will start the selected track playing and at the end of the track, the player will continue playing the following tracks in the play queue. You can delete a track from the play queue by swiping a track left or right and then confirming the action by tapping the revealed Delete button. Beneath the list of tracks is the following set of action icons that can be tapped: On the left hand side (in Connected mode only and only enabled if a track is selected): View Album (See Common Views & Commands) View Artist (See Common Views & Commands) Suggested Tracks (only enabled if a track is shown in the Now Playing tab see below) On the right hand side: Edit (see Edit (Play Queue)) V Imploded Software AB Page 11

12 Edit (Play Queue) Tapping the Edit button icon enables you to edit the play queue and reveals the following set of action icons beneath the list of tracks: Dice - Shuffle the tracks in the Play Queue by tapping the dice icon. The currently playing track (if any) is moved to first in the Play Queue with the remainder shuffled. Select Tracks Tap to Select All, Select None or Cancel Trash Can Tap Yes to clear either: 1) Tracks previously selected by tapping the left hand circle icon of those tracks you want to remove from the Play Queue (the icon will now be ticked) 2) The entire Play Queue if no tracks have been previously selected. Tap No to leave the Play Queue as is. Re-order tracks in the Play Queue by dragging a track's right hand ordering icon up and down. Tap the Done button icon to end editing the Play Queue. Suggested Tracks Tapping the Suggested Tracks icon will display a list of tracks suggested by Helium Music Manager based on the current tack shown in the Now Playing tab. Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (See Common Views & Commands). Tap Done to return to the Play Queue. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

13 Common Views & Commands Helium Streamer has a number of common views and commands which can be invoked from several different views in the App: View Artist View Album View Tracks Choose Command Paging Control View Artist The first section of the view shows the artist summary: Artist Picture Artist Name Country Number of Tracks (by the Artist) Rating (Artist average rating) Favourite + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (see Choose Command). The next section of the view shows the list of albums associated with the artist. The albums are grouped by generic type: Albums Singles Appearances Each album listed shows: Album Cover Picture Artist Name Album Name Release Year Rating (Album average rating) Favourite + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (see Choose Command). Tapping and selecting the album will display the album details in the Album View V Imploded Software AB Page 13

14 View Album The first section of the view shows the album summary: Album Cover Picture Album Name Artist Name Release Year Rating (Album average rating) Favourite + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (see Choose Command). The next section of the view shows the list of tracks in the album. If the album is a multi-cd album then the tracks are grouped by CD in separate sections. The number of tracks in the CD is shown followed by the tracks. Each track shows: Artist Name Track Title Duration Rating Favourite Cached - if a small iphone icon is present, it indicates that the track has been downloaded and is cached on the device and is available in Local mode. + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (see Choose Command). Beneath the list of tracks is the following set of action icons that can be tapped: On the left hand side (in Connected mode only and only enabled if a track is selected): View Artist (See Common Views & Commands) View Sub-Tracks (only enabled if the selected track contains sub-tracks): Tap this icon to list the Sub-Tracks for the selected Track. The following Sub-Track details are shown: Artist Name Sub-Track Title Track Title Duration Rating On the right hand side: Edit (see Edit (View Album)). Click Close to exit the view. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

15 Edit (View Album) Tapping the Edit button icon enables you to edit the album s tracks and reveals the following set of action icons beneath the list of tracks: + (only enabled if one or more tracks are selected) - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (see Choose Command). Select Tracks Tap to Select All, Select None or Cancel. Tracks can also be selected by tapping the left hand circle icon of those tracks you want to include in your selection (the icon will now be ticked). Tap Done to exit Edit mode. V Imploded Software AB Page 15

16 View Tracks A list of tracks is shown together with the total number of tracks in the view. This list can be paged (see paging control). A playing track is highlighted in pink and a selected (tapped) track is highlighted in blue. For each track in the list, the following information is shown: Artist Name Track Name Album Name Release Year Rating Favourite Cached - if a small iphone icon is present, it indicates that the track has been downloaded and is cached on the device and is available in Local mode). + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (see Choose Command). Beneath the list of tracks is the following set of action icons: On the left hand side (in Connected mode only): View Album (only enabled if a track is selected) View Artist (only enabled if a track is selected) On the right hand side: Edit - see below. Tap Browse Local to return. Edit (View Tracks) Tapping the Edit button icon enables you to edit the album s tracks and reveals the following set of action icons beneath the list of tracks: + (only enabled if one or more tracks are selected) - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (see Choose Command). Select Tracks Tap to Select All, Select None or Cancel. Tracks can also be selected by tapping the left hand circle icon of those tracks you want to include in your selection (the icon will now be ticked). Tap Done to exit Edit mode. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

17 Choose Command This dialogue can be invoked from several different views in the App. Commands may or may not be available depending on the context in which the command dialogue is invoked. The available commands are: Play Commands The play command will stream and download any required tracks to the device if they are not already cached. o Play Artist All tracks belonging to the artist will be played. o Play Album All tracks in the selected album will be played. o Play Genre All tracks in the selected genre will be played o Play Playlist All tracks in the selected playlist will be played. o Play Smart Playlist All tracks in the selected smart playlist will be played. o Play Track(s) All selected tracks will be played. Enqueue Commands o Enqueue Next The selected tracks (e.g. from Artist, Album etc) will be added to the Play Queue after the currently active track in the Play Queue. o Enqueue Last The selected tracks (e.g. from Artist, Album etc) will be added to the end of the Play Queue. Download Commands o Download Artist All tracks belonging to the artist will be downloaded and cached. o Download Album All tracks in the selected album will be downloaded and cached. o Download Genre All tracks in the selected genre will be downloaded and cached. o Download Playlist All tracks in the selected playlist will be downloaded and cached. o Download Smart Playlist All tracks in the selected smart playlist will be downloaded and cached. o Download Track(s) - All selected tracks will be played will be downloaded and cached. Tap Cancel to exit the dialogue V Imploded Software AB Page 17

18 Paging Control This control is used to split the listed entries into multiple pages. This is done to ease navigation and enhance performance of the App. The Paging controls are only shown if more than one page is present. If a list has paging control then the top of the list will have three action icons: Left Arrow - Tap to go back one page Right Arrow -Tap to go forward one page Page Selection -Tap this icon to display a list of pages in a scroll wheel. Select the required page and tap Done to show that page. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

19 Browse Local Tab The Browse view (Connected mode) enables you to browse the contents of Helium Music Manager s library. The Local view replaces the Browse View when operating in Local mode and enables you to browse the local device only. A list of different of browsing options can be selected. Also, included in this view is Options which is used to switch between Connected and Local mode (amongst other things) and this is described later. iphone / ipod Touch / ipad This view lists the music tracks that have been downloaded and cached on the device. The tracks are either grouped by Artist or Album (depending on the option set see later). At the top of the view the number of tracks in the Local device view is shown. The list can be scrolled as normal or quickly by using the right hand scroll bar that is revealed if you tap and hold over the index letters on the right hand side. Each track shows: Album Cover Picture Artist Name Track Title Duration Rating Favourite + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (See Common Views & Commands). Beneath the list of tracks is the following set of action icons that can be tapped: On the left hand side (in Connected mode only): View Album (only enabled if a track is selected) View Artist (only enabled if a track is selected) Backup This will backup the list of locally cached songs to a newly created Helium Music Manager Playlist which is named Helium Streamer Backup YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS On the right hand side: Edit (see Edit (iphone / ipod Touch / ipad) below). Click Browse Local to exit the view. V Imploded Software AB Page 19

20 Edit (iphone / ipod Touch / ipad) Tapping the Edit button icon enables you to edit the device s tracks and reveals the following set of action icons beneath the list of tracks: + (only enabled if one or more tracks are selected) - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (See Common Views & Commands). Select Tracks Tap to Select All, Select None or Cancel. Clear Image Cache Tap to clear all cached images. Fresh copies of the images will be downloaded when they are required to be displayed e.g. displaying albums, track lists etc. Trash Can Tap Yes to clear from the cache either: Tracks previously selected by tapping the left hand circle icon of those tracks you want to remove (the icon will now be ticked) All tracks in the cache if no tracks have been previously selected. Note: Associated cached images files will also be cleared Tap No to leave the play queue as is. Tap Done to exit Edit mode. Artists This view lists either the artists in Helium Music Manager (in Connected mode) or in the device cache (in Local mode). In Connected mode a list of the artist s first letter is shown. Select an entry to proceed to the Artist List view or Browse to return. A list of artists is shown (as previously selected by the artist s first letter in Connected mode). This list can be paged (see paging control). For each artist in the list, the following information is shown: Artist Picture Country Artist Name Number of Tracks (by the Artist) Artist Rating Favourite + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (See Common Views & Commands). Tapping an artist s entry will show the View Artist view (See Common Views & Commands). Tap Artists Local to return. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

21 Albums This view lists either the albums in Helium Music Manager (in Connected mode) or in the device cache (in Local mode). In Connected mode a list of the album s first letter is shown. There are two special entries in the - Lists albums with names starting with special characters > etc Lists albums with names starting with a number. Select an entry to proceed to the Album List view or Browse to return. A list of Albums is shown (as previously selected by the album s first letter in Connected mode). This list can be paged (see paging control ). For each album in the list, the following information is shown: Album Picture Artist Name Album Name Release Year Album Rating Favourite + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (See Common Views & Commands). Tapping an album s entry will show the View Album view (See Common Views & Commands). Tap Albums Local to return. Genres This view lists either the genres in Helium Music Manager (in Connected mode) or in the device cache (in Local mode). In Connected mode a list of the genre s first letter is shown. Select an entry to proceed to the Genres List view or Browse to return. A list of genres is shown (as previously selected by the genre s first letter in Connected mode). This list can be paged (see paging control). For each genre in the list, the following information is shown: Genre Name Number of Tracks (in the Genre) + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (See Common Views & Commands). Tapping an artist s entry will show the View Tracks view (See Common Views & Commands). Tap Genres Local to return. V Imploded Software AB Page 21

22 Rating This view lists either the ratings in Helium Music Manager (in Connected mode) or in the device cache (in Local mode). A list of the ratings is shown from 5-stars to 0.5 stars. Select an entry to proceed to list tracks with the selected rating in the View Tracks view (See Common Views & Commands) or Browse Local to return. Years This view (only available in Connected mode) lists the Release Years in Helium Music Manager. A list of the release years is shown. Select an entry to proceed to list tracks with the selected release year in the View Tracks view (See Common Views & Commands) or Browse Local to return. Favourite Artists This view (only available in Connected mode) lists the Favourite Artists in Helium Music Manager. A list of favourite artists is shown. This list can be paged (see paging control below). For each artist in the list, the following information is shown: Artist Picture Country Artist Name Number of Tracks (by the Artist) Artist Rating Favourite + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue(see Common Views & Commands). Tapping an artist s entry will show the View Artist view (See Common Views & Commands). Tap Browse Local to return. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

23 Favourite Albums This view (only available in Connected mode) lists the Favourite Albums in Helium Music Manager. A list of Albums is shown (as previously selected by the album s first letter in Connected mode). This list can be paged (see paging control below). For each album in the list, the following information is shown: Album Picture Artist Name Album Name Release Year Album Rating Favourite + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (See Common Views & Commands). Tapping an album s entry will show the View Album view (See Common Views & Commands). Tap Browse Local to return. Favourite Tracks This view (only available in Connected mode) lists the Favourite Tracks in Helium Music Manager. It uses the View Tracks view (See Common Views & Commands). Tap Browse Local to return. V Imploded Software AB Page 23

24 Playlists This view (only available in Connected mode) lists the Playlists in Helium Music Manager. A list of Playlists is shown. For each playlist in the list, the following information is shown: Playlist Name Playlist Rating + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (See Common Views & Commands). Tapping a Playlist s entry will show the View Tracks view (See Common Views & Commands). Tap Browse Local to return. Smart Playlists This view (only available in Connected mode) lists the Smart Playlists in Helium Music Manager. A list of Smart Playlists is shown. For each Smart Playlist in the list, the following information is shown: Smart Playlist Name + - Tapping + will show the Choose Command dialogue (See Common Views & Commands). Tapping a playlist s entry will show the View Tracks view (See Common Views & Commands). Tap Browse Local to return. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0

25 Synchronize with Helium Helium Streamer for ios - V2.0 Helium Music Manager 8 provides support for version 2.0+ of Helium Streamer for ios by way of specific commands to make synchronizing music to your iphone / ipod Touch / ipad easier. Under the Helium Music Manager Tools menu, there is a new tool Helium Streamer for ios Synchronization... This works in a similar way to Synchronize Device in that you define a list of music that you wish to synchronize to the iphone / ipod Touch / ipad device. It differs from Synchronize Device in that once you have defined the list of music to synchronize; you start the actual synchronization from the device itself rather than Helium Music Manager. You do this by tapping Synchronize with Helium. A dialogue is displayed: tap to Synchronize or Cancel If you select Synchronize the tracks specified in the Helium Streamer for ios Synchronization tool will be downloaded to the device. Options These options configure how Helium Streamer operates and contains options that you may wish to alter whilst Helium Streamer is running (this is as opposed to Helium Streamer s settings which are normally just set once, following installation). The options are: Set Use Last.fm to ON if you want to scrobble the music played by Helium Streamer to Last.fm. You must have previously enabled last.fm scrobbling in Helium Music Manager (Options > Player > Last.fm & Twitter). Set Album Grouping to ON if you want the tracks in the iphone / ipad / ipod Touch Browse view to be grouped by Album otherwise they will be grouped by Artist. Set Local mode to ON if you want to only browse tracks downloaded and cached on the device (see Usage Overview). Set Shake to shuffle to ON if you want to be able to shake the device to shuffle the play queue (See Edit Play Queue Dice). Helium Streamer's memory management can be Optimized. Set this option "ON" to reduce memory usage - this particularly useful if you are running other Apps and are using Helium Streamer to play background music. If the Optimized setting is "ON", the position slider is disabled. V Imploded Software AB Page 25

26 Search Tab This tab enables Helium Music Manager's library to be searched for tracks. Tap the search field to enter a search value and then tap Search to invoke Helium Music Manager's library search. A list of tracks matching the search criteria is returned. The list of tracks can be scrolled up and down. Tapping a track's play icon will enqueue and play the track. Tapping a track's enqueue icon will enqueue the track at the end of the Play Queue. At the bottom of the list of tracks is a set of action icons: See View Album and View Artist (the icons are enabled when a track is selected that is in Helium Music Manager's library) and also see Search Options below. Search Options Search options can be set by tapping the Options button. Search Type can be set to: All fields Album Artist Title Genre Recording Year Release Year Publisher Searches can be restricted by setting the Exact Matches option. Save the Search Options by tapping the Save button or Cancel to leave the Search Options at their previous values. Once saved, these options are remembered for subsequent uses of the App. Page Imploded Software AB V2.0