Exstreamer Store & Play Streaming
The Store&Play application is designed to support audio distribution via IP networks when a fast or reliable network is not guaranteed all the time at all the player locations. The application is especially useful in cases where network bandwidth is limited, or even when there is no network access at all.
The Store&Play application runs on a new generation of hardware and is backwards compatible with Barix’s FTP_MP3 firmware in the sense that Store&Play devices are configured and operate in the same way as Barix’s Exstreamers with the FTP_MP3 firmware loaded on them. Store&Play takes advantage of the new hardware platform and components to offer faster operations and a significant performance improvement.
Since the introduction of the Store&Play “Streaming” versions (v1.54-S, v1.55-S and newer versions even without the “S” appendix like v1.62) the playback of HTTP and RTP streams is supported via “Stream Playlists”. In combination with the traditional Store and Forward (FTP_MP3) playlists playback mode, the streaming option makes Store&Play a flexible solution to play either a live stream of audio or pre-downloaded content depending on the network conditions at the location at the time of playback.
The audio playback is controlled via Playlists based on M3U format with a special BARIX configuration line defining the Playlist activation with specific Times and Dates and other playback settings such as Volume, Repeat Counter and Shuffle mode. The application can use either the FTP or HTTP protocols to automatically download the configuration file and Playlists with their corresponding MP3 audio files, and stores them on an external USB stick attached to the device or into an internal microSD card. Store&Play devices then play the downloaded music according to the configuration, schedule and playlist priority, reporting track plays and status to a BariMon server.
The application can also be used as a standalone player, without any network connection at all: in this case the configuration and all media files must present in the local storage drive (USB or microSD). In this mode, a preloaded USB stick can be sent to the player location and simply inserted into the device for playback to start.