Slim Devices Squeezebox User manual

squeezebox
network music player
Owner’s Manual

Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the SqueezeBox network music player.
This Owner’s Manual includes setup and basic operating instructions for your new
player. Since we’re continually adding new software features, some of the more
advanced capabilities of the SqueezeBox player are not covered here. You can find
additional information about the latest SqueezeBox features, as well as detailed
documentation for developers at our web site http://www.slimdevices.com/.
The SqueezeBox software is the result of the efforts of software developers
worldwide working together in an open forum. We are grateful to everyone in the
SqueezeBox community who helped create SqueezeBox:
We hope you enjoy our product. If you like it, please tell a friend about SqueezeBox!
Table of contents
Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................2
Table of contents ...................................................................................................................................2
Getting Started.......................................................................................................................................3
Install the SqueezeBox server software ..................................................................................................3
Windows............................................................................................................................................3
Mac OS X ..........................................................................................................................................3
Linux, Solaris, BSD............................................................................................................................4
Set up the SqueezeBox player ............................................................................................................4
Network Address Settings .......................................................................................................... 5
Select Your Squeezebox Server ...................................................................................................6
Testing your network setup...............................................................................................................6
Using your SqueezeBox player..............................................................................................................7
Using the Slim Devices remote control with the SqueezeBox player................................................7
SqueezeBox Home.............................................................................................................................7
Browsing music with the SqueezeBox player ....................................................................................8
Adding items to the current playlist................................................................................................ 10
Viewing and editing the playlist................................................................................................11
Viewing additional information about a track................................................................................. 11
Searching.......................................................................................................................................... 11
Using the SqueezeBox remote control................................................................................................. 14
Setting up the remote....................................................................................................................... 14
Buttons ............................................................................................................................................ 14
Troubleshooting guide......................................................................................................................... 17
Page 2

Getting Started
If you already have an Ethernet network and a computer to use as a server, setting up
the SqueezeBox player and software takes just a few minutes—all you need is this
Getting Started guide.
Install the SqueezeBox server software
Download the latest version of the SqueezeBox server software from the Slim
Devices website at http://www.slimdevices.com.The software includes installation
instructions for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Unix.
Windows
Once you have downloaded the installer, open it and follow the on screen directions.
You will be prompted for a folder where you’d like to install the software, the folder
that contains your MP3 files and a folder where you’d like hold your saved playlists.
On Windows NT/2000/XP you will have the option to install a Windows service
that will automatically start up your SqueezeBox server software every time your
computer restarts.
Note: Microsoft Windows Media Player does not “rip” compact disks into the MP3
format by default. If you try to rip your CDs using Windows Media Player you
cannot use them with the SqueezeBox server software.
Mac OS X
Download the disk image (.dmg) file, then double-click it to launch Apple Disk Copy.
Disk Copy analyzes the package and mounts it on your Desktop as a volume. The
volume will open automatically, and you can then then double-click the SqueezeBox
Server Installer to complete the installation.
Start the SqueezeBox server software by choosing System Preferences from the Apple
menu. The SqueezeBox server application appears as an “Other” system preference
panel. Click to select it, then click Start Server to start the server. If you wish, you
can use the Automatically Start pop-up list to have the SqueezeBox server software
launch automatically for you. You can also click Web Access to launch the
SqueezeBox web interface, with which you can administer the SqueezeBox player
from the computer running the SqueezeBox server software.
Page 3

Note: The SqueezeBox server software continues running even after you quit System
Preferences. To stop the server, you must click Stop Server from the SqueezeBox
server software preference panel.
Linux, Solaris, BSD
Users of Red Hat Linux or other compatible distributions can install the RPM file
available for download from the web site using the “rpm” tool. Other Unix
platforms can download the SqueezeBox server software Perl scripts available as
gzipped tar-format or zip file format. Instructions for starting the Perl server are
included with the scripts.
Set up the SqueezeBox player
1. Connect the SqueezeBox player’s RCA (red and white) outputs to the
corresponding RCA inputs on your amplifier, receiver, powered speakers, or
other audio equipment you wish to use with your SqueezeBox player.
The SqueezeBox player outputs are standard, line level, RCA audio output
jacks.
2. If you will be using an Ethernet network connection with your SqueezeBox,
connect the SqueezeBox Ethernet port to your Ethernet hub or switch using
an Ethernet patch cable.
Note: You may need to use an Ethernet crossover cable to connect the SqueezeBox
player directly to the Ethernet jack in your computer.
3. Insert two AAA batteries in the Slim Devices remote control.
4. Connect the SqueezeBox player power supply. You can leave the SqueezeBox
player plugged in at all times. When not in use it enters standby mode, powers
down the display, and draws only a few milliamps.
Caution: The SqueezeBox player is supplied with a 5 volt, 1600ma switching power
supply. You must use only this power supply. Connecting a different power supply
may damage the player. Such damage is not covered under the SqueezeBox
warranty.
5. Once the SqueezeBox player has power, use the remote control to enter its
network (IP address) information.
Page 4

If your network supports DHCP (automatic IP address management, a
common feature of most network routers for consumer use), the player can
automatically configure itself—or you can enter static IP addresses manually.
Either way, follow these steps:
When you plug in your player, this message is displayed:
Welcome to SqueezeBox
Free Your Music 1.0
The player then displays:
Welcome to SqueezeBox
(To begin setup, press the right arrow.)
Using the remote control, press the gray right arrow button to display:
Press UP/DOWN to change, RIGHT to go on
Setup networking ->
Press the gray right arrow button to select this option.
Network Address Settings
When you begin entering your network settings, you’ll see a screen like this:
Press UP/DOWN to change, RIGHT to go on
Obtain IP address automatically (DHCP)->
If your network includes a Cable/DSL, that device will usually act as a DHCP server,
so setup is easy. Press the gray right arrow button to select this option. Your
SqueezeBox will attempt to obtain an address from a DHCP server and will display
this address. Skip down to Select Your Squeezebox Server.
Optional: If you want to specify a static or fixed address for your SqueezeBox, press
the down arrow button until you see the following screen:
Press UP/DOWN to change, RIGHT to go on
Specify a static IP address ->
Press the right arrow button to use this option. You will then be prompted to enter
the static IP address, subnet mask for this network and default gateway or router
Page 5

address. Use the number keys on the remote to enter the values for your network
and press the right arrow to move on.
Select Your Squeezebox Server
If your SqueezeBox Server software has been installed and is running on the same
network as you’ve connected to your SqueezeBox, you should see a screen like this:
Select your Squeezebox server:
servername (192.168.1.22) ->
Where “servername” will be replaced by the name of the computer running the
Squeezebox server software and the number in parentheses will be the IP address of
the computer. If you have more than one computer running the SqueezeBox server
software, you’ll be able to use the up and down arrow buttons to scroll through
them. When you’ve found the server you want to connect to, press the right arrow
button. You’re done! Skip down to the section entitled Using your SqueezeBox
player below.
If the Squeezebox can’t find the server because it’s on a remote network or isn’t
running you may see this screen:
Couldn’t find server automatically.
Press RIGHT to enter IP address ->
If you haven’t started your server on your local network, do so now. Then press the
left arrow button to try again. If you nee to specify a server on a remote network,
press the RIGHT arrow button and enter the IP address of the Squeezebox server
you’d like to connect to using the number buttons on your remote. Then press
RIGHT to attempt to connect to that server.
Testing your network setup
If you would like to test your SqueezeBox player network setup, and you know how
to “ping” a network device, you can ping the SqueezeBox player from the computer
you are going to use as the SqueezeBox server. From a command prompt, type: ping
[the IP address of your SqueezeBox player]
If the IP addresses within your network are set correctly, the player responds to the
pings and displays a message indicating the address of the computer pinging the
player.
Page 6

Using your SqueezeBox player
Playing music through the SqueezeBox player is easy. You can either use the Slim
Devices remote control to play MP3 selections, or you can use the web interface
controls on the computer you are using as the SqueezeBox server.
Using the Slim Devices remote control with the SqueezeBox
player
The SqueezeBox player uses a system of menus that are navigated using the gray
LEFT, RIGHT, UP, and DOWN buttons on the Slim Devices remote control.
There are four ways to locate songs in your music library:
•Browse by genre, artist, and album names.
•Search for songs, artists, or albums
•Browse through the playlists that you have saved using the web interface
•Browse music exactly as it is organized on your server computer’s hard disk
(Music Library)
When you see something displayed on your SqueezeBox display, just press the PLAY
button to put it on your current playlist and hear it.
SqueezeBox Home
The SqueezeBox player main menu is the starting point for browsing music,
searching, and editing the current playlist. You can get back to SqueezeBox Home by
pressing the gray LEFT button on the remote control.
Here is an example of the SqueezeBox Home menu (what you see on your
SqueezeBox player may vary):
SqueezeBox Home
Browse Albums ->
The top line of the display shows your current location. The bottom line shows the
item currently selected. In the example above, you could press the gray RIGHT
button to browse the albums available for playing.
Repeatedly pressing the gray UP or DOWN buttons cycles through the other
available choices:
•Now Playing
Page 7

•Browse Genres
•Browse Albums
•Browse Artists
•Browse Music Library (except Mac OS X when using iTunes)
•Saved Playlists (including iTunes playlists on Mac OS X)
•Search Artists
•Search Albums
•Search Songs
•Settings
Browsing music with the SqueezeBox player
You can browse your music collection directly from the SqueezeBox player by using
the Slim Devices remote control. In this section we’ll use browsing Genres as an
example—but browsing Albums, Artists and folders works the same way.
From the SqueezeBox player Home menu, press the gray UP or DOWN button on
the remote control until you see:
SqueezeBox Home
Browse Genres ->
Press the gray RIGHT button to enter the Genre list. The SqueezeBox player
displays a list of genres for the songs in your library:
Browse Genres (6 of 10)
Punk ->
The above example shows:
•The SqueezeBox player is browsing the grenes.
•There are ten items in this library.
•The item currently selected is “Punk.”
Notice the arrow in the bottom right corner of the SqueezeBox display—it indicates
that you can use the gray RIGHT button on the remote control, and therefore this is
a directory that you can enter.
Pressing the gray DOWN button scrolls to the next item in the folder:
Page 8

Music Folder (7 of 10)
Rock ->
If you want to open this folder (“Rock”) press the gray RIGHT button on the remote
control:
Rock (16 of 33)
Led Zeppelin ->
In the Rock genre there are 33 artists listed. At this point, you can either:
•Press the gray RIGHT button to choose “Led Zeppelin.”
•Press the gray UP or DOWN buttons to scroll through the artists.
•Press the PLAY button to play all the Rock music by Led Zepplin.
Note: If you want to scroll quickly, you can hold down the button.
Rock/Led Zeppelin (1 of 6)
Early Days & Latter Days ->
In this example, the SqueezeBox player is displaying a selection that is two folders
deep, so it displays “Rock/Led Zeppelin”. You can press the gray UP or DOWN
buttons on the remote control to scroll through the Led Zeppelin albums:
Rock/Led Zeppelin (2 of 6)
Houses Of The Holy ->
Press the gray RIGHT button to select the Led Zeppelin album, Houses of the Holy.
Led Zeppelin/Houses Of The Holy (6 of 8)
06 D'yer Mak'er
In this example, the SqueezeBox player automatically goes to track 6 on the album.
The SqueezeBox player remembers the selection you were viewing to the last time
you browsed into this album, and opens the album on that selection.
Notice that instead of an arrow in the lower-right corner of the SqueezeBox player
display (indicating that there are more choices available if you press the gray RIGHT
button), there is a music note symbol (indicating that an album track is displayed).
On the remote control, press the gray UP button a few times to choose track 3:
Led Zeppelin/Houses Of The Holy (6 of 8)
03 Over The Hills And Far
Page 9

Now press the light blue PLAY button. The track plays. Even as a track is playing,
you can browse in other folders.
Adding items to the current playlist
The SqueezeBox player maintains a current playlist at all times. You can add
individual tracks, entire albums, even large folders of music files to the playlist.
There are two ways to add an item to the playlist:
•On the remote control, you can press the light blue PLAY button. This
clears out the current queue and plays only the selected item(s)
•You can press the gray ADD button to append the selected item(s) to the
current playlist.
Example: To create a playlist of all the songs by Sublime
•Start at the SqueezeBox Home menu.
•Scroll down to “Artists.”
•Press the gray RIGHT button on the remote control.
Artists (1 of 622)
Abba ->
Press the gray DOWN button until you get to “Sublime”:
Artists (611 of 622)
Sublime ->
Press the gray RIGHT button on the remote control to browse albums and tracks by
Sublime, or
Press the light blue PLAY button to create a playlist of all the Sublime tracks.
To append all of the Sublime tracks to the current queue, press the gray ADD
button. The SqueezeBox player briefly displays:
Adding to the end of playlist:
Sublime
The SqueezeBox player returns to browsing mode, and you can add more items to
the playlist.
Page 10

Viewing and editing the playlist
To access the current playlist, press the gray NOW PLAYING button at any time.
Now playing (8 of 125) 01:37
21 Rivers Of Babylon
This example shows that there are 125 items currently in the playlist, and the one
playing at the moment is the eighth one, Rivers of Babylon. Pressing the gray UP and
DOWN buttons scrolls through the items in the list, while pressing the gray ADD
button removes an item. Press and hold the ADD button to remove the song from
the current playlist and move it to the saved playlist called Zapped Songs. This is
useful if want to remember a certain song for later.
To exit the playlist view, press the gray LEFT button.
Viewing additional information about a track
From either the playlist view or the browser, you can view additional information
about an item by pressing the gray RIGHT button when the item is selected.
In the Summer Time
Title: In the Summer Time
Press the gray UP or DOWN buttons to view additional information about the
track:
In the Summer Time
Artist: Mungo Jerry
In the Summer Time
Bitrate: 128kbps CBR
Keep pressing the remote control gray UP or DOWN buttons repeatedly until you
see the artist name again, indicating that you have seen all available information for
that track.
Searching
The SqueezeBox player provides an advanced search mechanism to help you locate
songs in large collections. You can search by song title, artist, or album.
•Press the gray SEARCH button.
•Press the gray UP or DOWN buttons to select:
Page 11

oSearch for albums
oSearch for artists
oSearch for songs
•Press the gray RIGHT button to make your selection.
The SqueezeBox player displays your choice—in this example, Search for songs:
Search for songs
A->
You can enter the text (or numbers) you are looking for in either of two ways:
Method 1: Use the gray LEFT, RIGHT, UP, and DOWN buttons to enter letters
or numbers.
•Press the gray UP or DOWN buttons until the character you want is
displayed.
•Press the gray RIGHT button once to advance one space to the right.
•Fix errors by pressing the gray LEFT button.
•After you’ve entered all of the text you want to use for the search, press the
gray RIGHT button twice to execute the search.
Method 2: For each character position, press the black number buttons one, two,
or three times until the desired letter or number appears. Use this method:
•Press the black number buttons (2 – 9) one, two, or three times for letters
and numbers
•Press the 0 (zero) button for a space
•Press the 1 button repeatedly for punctuation.
•Press the gray LEFT button to erase (the cursor position adjusts for you).
Press and hold to erase more than one character.
•Press the gray RIGHT button when you are finished entering text and wish
to execute the search
The cursor automatically advances to the right three seconds after you press a button.
If the button you want next is different from the last button you pressed, you can
proceed as quickly as you wish. If you need to press the same button consecutively,
wait for the cursor to advance before pressing the button again or press the RIGHT
arrow button to move on.
Page 12

Note: You don’t necessarily need to enter the entire album name, artist name, or
song title to successfully search successfully. For example, this search:
Search for song titles containing:
ZUT->
can yield what you are looking for:
Song titles matching “ZUT” (1 of 23)
01 Zut Alors!
From here, you can browse and select songs just as if you were in a directory.
Page 13

Using the SqueezeBox remote control
Setting up the remote
The Slim Devices remote control requires two AAA
battery cells—alkaline cells are recommended. Keep
batteries fresh. Weak batteries cause the vast majority
of problems with poor remote control performance.
You can peel off the protective plastic sheet that
surrounds the buttons on the remote.
Buttons
POWER - Press POWER to put the SqueezeBox into
standby mode. This will dim the display, stop the
music and show a clock display. Press POWER again
to wake up.
VOLUME - Use the blue volume controls to adjust
the volume of the audio the SqueezeBox player is
producing.
NOW PLAYING - Press the gray NOW PLAYING
button to view the current song playing in the
playlist. Use the gray UP and DOWN buttons to
scroll through the current playlist. Press NOW
PLAYING again to switch between display of
minutes and seconds into the current song, minutes
and seconds remaining in a song, a bar graph of
progress through the song, or a combination of time
and progress.
REW - Press the light blue REW button to
immediately start playing the current song again.
Press REW again immediately to skip to the previous
song. Press and hold the REW button to scan
backwards through the current song.
PAUSE - Press the light blue PAUSE button to pause
the currently playing song. Press PAUSE again or
Page 14

PLAY to continue. Press and hold the PAUSE button to stop playback and reset to
the beginning of the song.
FWD - Press the light blue FWD button to skip to the next song. Press and hold the
FWD button to scan forward through the current song.
PLAY - Press the light blue PLAY button to play the currently displayed item:
•A genre, artist or album—the SqueezeBox player plays all the songs for the
displayed genre, artist or album.
•A song—the SqueezeBox player plays that song.
•A playlist file—the SqueezeBox player plays all of the songs within that
playlist.
•A directory—the SqueezeBox player plays all songs in that directory,
repeating the first song after the last one has played.
ADD - Press the gray ADD button to add the currently displayed item to the current
playlist (the list of songs to play):
•If the currently displayed item is an artist, album or genre, add all the songs
for that item.
•If the currently displayed item is a song, add that song only.
•If the currently displayed item is a playlist file, play all songs within that
playlist.
•If the currently displayed item is a directory, add all songs within that
directory recursively
•If you are browsing in the current playlist, pressing the ADD button will
remove the song from the playlist. Press and hold the ADD button to
remove the song from current playlist and add it to the end of the playlist
named Zapped Songs in the Saved Playlists area.
UP, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT - Use the gray UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT
buttons to navigate within the music library. UP displays the previous item in a
directory, DOWN the next item. Press LEFT to go up one level in the directory
structure. Press RIGHT when displaying a directory or playlist file to view the items
in that directory or playlist. Press RIGHT when viewing a song to display additional
information about that song.
0-9 – When searching, you can use the number buttons to enter letters (similar to
entering text with a cell phone.) For example, press the 2 button once for “A,” twice
for “B,” three times for “C,” and four times for “2.” In addition, 0 can be used for
Page 15

spaces, and pressing 1 repeatedly displays punctuation symbols. In sorted lists (like
lists of artists, albums or genres) you press the number buttons to jump to the first
item that starts with the corresponding letter. In unsorted lists (like playlists), press
the number buttons to jump proportionally through the list. Finally, use the number
buttons to enter text for search.
SEARCH - Press the gray SEARCH button to search for Albums, Artists, or Songs.
Once the SqueezeBox player is in Search Music mode, press the gray RIGHT button
to begin entering your search text.
SHUFFLE - Press the gray SHUFFLE button to shuffle the order of the songs in the
current playlist. Press SHUFFLE again to return the items to the order in which they
were added to the current playlist.
REPEAT – Press the REPEAT button to switch between repeat settings: Repeat Off
(stop playing at the end of the current playlist), Repeat Current Song and Repeat All
Songs.
SLEEP - Press the gray SLEEP button to activate the SqueezeBox player sleep
function. You can add 15 minute increments to the sleep function, up to a total of 90
minutes by pressing the SLEEP button repeatedly. If you wish to cancel the Sleep
function, press the SLEEP button again repeatedly until the player says, “Sleep
cancelled.” At the end of the sleep time, the player will turn itself off.
NOW PLAYING - Press the gray NOW PLAYING button to display the currently
playing song.
SIZE - Press the gray SIZE button to toggle between displaying standard and double-
sized characters on the SqueezeBox player display.
BRIGHTNESS - Press the gray BRIGHTNESS button to cycle through the
SqueezeBox player display brightness levels. You can do this both while the player is
powered on and off.
Page 16

Troubleshooting guide
How do I use multiple folders or disks with my Music Library?
You can create links or shortcuts to other folders and place them in your specified
Music Library Folder. The contents of the linked folders will then be part of your
Music Library.
The volume is too high or too low.
SqueezeBox is capable of slightly higher volume levels than most consumer audio
gear and may cause “clipping” with some receivers. If you notice clipping, make sure
you aren’t connected to the PHONO input on your stereo, which is intended for
devices with a different impedance. You also may wish to reduce the SqueezeBox’s
volume level. If the volume is too low even at the maximum setting or if it varies
between tracks, try using your encoder’s “normalize” setting to ensure that all your
tracks use the full range.
The player doesn’t get past “Looking for DHCP server...”.
Check all your network connections, and make sure that the DHCP server is
running. Try a different Ethernet cable, even if the hub indicates a good link. If you
have a Linksys brand DHCP router or gateway, make sure you are using the latest
firmware for those devices. Also, try using static IP addresses instead of DHCP.
The player doesn’t get past “Looking for SqueezeBox server...”.
Ensure that the SqueezeBox server software is running, and that you can access it
using a web browser.
How do I get back to the player’s IP address configuration menu?
To return to the initial setup menu, reset the player by removing and then
reinserting the power cable.
I’m seeing messages in the SqueezeBox server’s console or debug window, but
the server seems to be running fine.
Any such messages may be safely ignored–they’re for troubleshooting in case you
have problems later.
Page 17

The web interface won’t come up, even though the SqueezeBox player is
working.
Try using the following URL: http://127.0.0.1:9000/. (Be sure to type the “http://”
part, as some versions of Internet Explorer require it when accessing a URL by IP
address.)
The web interface is working, but the player isn’t able to communicate with the
server.
Make sure that your Ethernet hub or switch supports 10Mbps connections—most do.
Also try a different cable.
The SqueezeBox server and the player can’t find each other.
Make sure your network settings are entered correctly. If you have any firewall
software installed, configure it to allow access to your player.
Where can I find more information?
Check out the Help area at the bottom of your SqueezeBox server home page or visit
the support area of our web site at http://www.slimdevices.com/su_faq.html.
Whom may I contact for help?
Page 18

REGULATORY STATEMENTS
FCC STATEMENT
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference,
and (2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference
that may cause undesired operation.
FCC ID: RDL5392X
1. This device also complies with the radio frequency radiation exposure
requirements specified in the Federal Communications Commission Rules
and Regulations located in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 47, Part
1.1307(b); Part 2.1091; Part 2 entitled Frequency Allocations and Radio
Treaty Matters; General Rules and Regulations; and Part 15 entitled
Radio Frequency Devices, 22 July 2003 Edition.
Page 19

FCC NOTICE
INFORMATION FOR THE USER
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when
the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment
generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a
residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user
will be required to correct the interference at the expense of the user.
at his own expense.
The user may find the following publication prepared by the Federal
Communications Commission helpful:
"How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems" (Stock
Number 004-000-00345-4).
Available exclusively from the Superintendent of Documents, Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402 (telephone 202-512-1800).
FCC WARNING
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for
compliance to Part 15 of the FCC Rules could void the user's authority to
operate the equipment.
CAUTION
Network connections may consist of non-shielded CAT 5 cable.
WARNING
Use only the Slim Devices, Inc. specified wall adapter for this product.
This Slim Devices, Inc. wall adapter enhances the system performance
and increases the product safety features.
Page 20
Other manuals for Squeezebox
3
Table of contents
Other Slim Devices Media Player manuals