Airfoil 3 = Audio Control Throughout The House
By mr. Obsession in Applications
Well, it took Rogue Amoeba more than a year to develop and after many replies of “It’ll be released when it’s released” in their now-dead forums, RA released a major upgrade to their Airfoil application today.
At the top of the “Wow” list is the app no longer requiring Airport Express units to play audio on different Macs! Instead, they use a free app called “Airfoil Speakers” that runs on any Mac you want to route sound to and shows up in Airfoil the same way an AEX would.
An opaque black box pops up on the computer(s) receiving audio with a volume slider.
This is HUGE…as it allows an exponentially-lower cost than a Creston-type home audio control system with similar media-hub style control.
Another massive leap forward is their “Perfect Synchronization” which is just that – no audio-lag that plagued previous versions of Airfoil (and Airtunes inside iTunes). Somthing so simple kicks an app like this from “99% there” to a full 100%.
The $10 upgrade fee is easily justified when considering the ability to stream to a new Mac whenever you’d like without kicking down $99 for a new AEX.
Pick it up on Rogue Amoeba’s site.
Don’t forget the Video playback in Airfoil. Also HUGE. Playing video on the main screen, and streaming the audio to all the Airport (or just other computers) around the house too. I *love* it.
Peter Baker | Feb 12, 2008 | Reply
the main issue is that it is not controllable by the iphone . .
what i do is use airport express and apple tv’s as airtuens zones,
all streaming music from an imac . .
the iphone can remotely control which zones are on and whats playing. you can even add internet radio to the airtunes setup by creating playlists in itunes with internet radio stations . .
motech | Oct 12, 2008 | Reply
motech,
I use the iPhone as my remote too… but with VNC and Airfoil. It overcomes Remote app’s biggest drawback – that it only works with iTunes. VNC + Airfoil allows Sirius etc. to be sent throughout the house in addition to my iTunes library.
mr. O | Oct 12, 2008 | Reply
The main drawback to me is that, unlike iTunes through AirTunes where I can stop the streaming to my stereo system when I want to watch TV instead, that with Airfoil I gotta go to the Mac and stop Airfoils from streaming to my AirportExpress. Not a big nuisance, but it would be nice if Airfoil was fully controllable from my iPod.
Dana Botkin | Oct 4, 2009 | Reply