Media Servers on CarFi

Did you know that our CarFi router includes a free media server? Probably not, since we haven't released a manual or instructions for it yet, but it's there now. If you're feeling adventurous and want to start using it before we finish the documentation I thought I'd give you an overview of it along with quick instructions.

We try real hard to be vendor neutral here at Autonet, so we've made our media server support three different streaming protocols. With these three protocols I think we've got most every media device covered. They are:

• DAAP - This is what Apple uses, so if you use iTunes, you'll see the Autonet device automatically show up under your shared devices.
• UPNP - This is what Microsoft uses, so on a xBox or a Windows PC, you'll see the Autonet device show up as a Media Server.
• DLNA - This is what Sony uses and seems to be emerging as the standard. I've seen it supported on TV's and a bunch of Android devices lately as well as the Sony PS3 and PSP.

We have these disabled by default, but just log into the admin pages and go to the "Media Server" section to enable them. Feel free to enable all of them, but I typically just like to enable the ones I'm using. I hate to make the router work harder then it has to. :-)

Now, the next most obvious question is "What media?". We've included some music files on the CarFi to get you started. Some of my favorite bands and some friends/employees of Autonet have graciously contributed some awesome music to start with. (I'll write something later about the artists that are on the CarFi). And just in case you don't have the same musical tastes as me, you have the ability to add your own media with our media manager. Just go to the same configuration page where you enabled the media servers with and set a password for the media manager. You can then go to http://www.autonetrouter.com/media to upload new media and manage what's already on there. (We're working on a sync application that will automatically sync your home media with your car. Stay tuned for that.)

The CarFi comes with one GigaByte of extra storage for you to add your own media and it's easy to add even more. If you check out our webstore you'll see that we now offer Compact Flash cards and USB memory sticks so that you can add as much storage as you want. I keep more then 100GB's of music in my car, so I have a virtually unlimited selection of music.

Right now the media servers are really focused on serving up music, but the DLNA and UPNP media servers also support video, so give that a try. We didn't include any sample video's in this release, but put your own on there and give it a work out. My friend keeps his collection of Disney DVD's in his CarFi, so his kids can always watch whatever movie they are obsessed with at any one time. No fumbling (or forgetting) DVD's.

There's a bunch of other new features coming soon to your CarFi. I'm really excited that we have a platform that is capable of so many features without having to require extra fees or new hardware to perform. It really is a complete communications platform and just a router. So there's your sneak preview on some new features you CarFi users have and didn't even know. We've got to work on the some proper documentation for them still, but they all work great! It sure is a lot more fun to develop these applications then it is to document them :-)

Posted at 02:25PM Jul 19, 2010 by dmoeller in Doug Moeller  |