TIP: remote control your iTunes library

Seize control!

If you’re an iPhone newcomer, you may not be aware that there is a free Apple-produced app on the App Store that really should be baked in to the iPhone OS. Called simply ‘Remote‘, it’s a fantastic app that turns your iPhone into a remote control for iTunes on your Mac or PC. Even if you have downloaded it already, you may not be aware of all the ways you can use this app to turn your home computer into a music powerhouse. Read on for our definitive guide.

Pairing your iPhone

Getting up and running couldn’t be simpler. Download the app, and with iTunes running on your computer, start it. Your iPhone will find your computer’s iTunes library. Select it, and Remote will generate a 4-digit pin code for you. In iTunes, you will now see the remote control appear as a ‘device’ in the left-hand sidebar around where your iPhone would normally appear when connected via USB. Click it, and you will be asked to enter the 4-digit pin code from your iPhone. Once entered, the two devices are paired. You only need ever do this once.

Remote detected

Completing Pairing in iTunes

You will now be able to control your iTunes library on your iPhone using an interface that looks almost identical to the iPod app you already know and love. Album art, lyrics, playlists, genius – everything is accessible via your iPhone.

If your Mac or PC is located somewhere ‘sociable’ like your lounge or kitchen and has a decent pair of speakers attached, this turns your computer into a great stereo with quite possibly the best remote control a stereo ever had! But… if your computer is locked away in a study or bedroom, how can you make the most of it?

Airport Express

The answer here lies with another purchase – an Apple Airport Express. Priced at $228 and available via the New Zealand online Apple Store, the Airport Express is a discrete wireless access point that is about the size of an AC adaptor and plugs directly into a wall socket. It has many purposes and possibilities, but in the context of this article it can be used as a wireless iTunes ‘receiver’.

The idea is that you plug the Airport Express into a power point near your stereo or home theatre amp and connect it to your appliance via the built in optical digital or 3.5mm audio output. Then, using the Airport Express Utility on your Mac or PC, you pair the Airport Express with your iTunes library. This is childsplay to setup, and once done you will be able to set the Airport Express as the ‘speakers’ through iTunes on your computer or via the Remote app on your iPhone.

The sum total is that from anywhere within the footprint of your home wireless network, you’ll be able to use your iPhone to control your iTunes library on your computer, which in turn wirelessly streams the music to your stereo. The best part is that because the Airport Express is portable and uses standard audio connections, you can easily move it to wherever you are – even the garden!

Streaming to Airport Express

If your budget allows, you can buy more than one Airport Express and from within iTunes or Remote you can then set your music to stream to one, some or all of your devices simultaneously. This can work out to be a very cost effective way of achieving the elusive ‘piped music’ dream in your house without expensive wiring and with the best remote control ever!

Joining a library as a guest

Finally, when guests come over for one of your classy dinner parties, between snacking on cheerios and cheese & pineapple sticks they can use their iPhones (or iPod touch) to connect to your iTunes library as a guest, and browse your music library and request particular tracks to be played. This will queue their selections up in ‘iTunes DJ’ mode, and will even continue to play music in a similar vein to keep the ambience consistent.

Your guests can request and vote on songs

As I said, I’m not sure why this app isn’t built into the iPhone firmware as standard, but it is an essential download that can be easily overlooked by newcomers due to the massive range within the App Store.

There are other third party apps available that will allow you to do things like stream your iTunes library to your iPhone over the internet, but that’s a whole other story. How are you using your iPhone to start your parties? Let us know about your setup in the comments and don’t be shy about posting links to videos or photos.