Spotify and PS3

This blog will show you how to use Spotify on and through the Sony Playstation PS3.

Wouldn't it be cool to play songs through Spotify on the sound system in the living room utilizing the PS3 as a mediacenter? Imagine having the Spotify application, including playlists, radio channels etc, on that big flatscreen livingroom TV, while you control Spotify wirelessly from the couch using Sixaxis /Dualshock 3, the PS3 keypad or a bluetooth keyboard. Cool and practical.

Through a series of posts this blog will guide you through the steps needed to accomplish the above.

Labels: DS3, DSbridge, Dualshock, Linux, media server, Poker, PS3, Sixaxis, Sony Playstation 3, Spotify, wireless

Stream Spotify to PS3 

The instructions below have been successfully tested on Win XP 32-bit and Win 7 64-bit. They include a fix for the Flash-DSBridge conflict. The PS3 and your computer needs to be connected to the same network. You run Spotify on your computer and use ps3mediaserver and DSBridge to send the Spotify audiostream to the PS3.

In a later post, it will be shown how you can control Spotify wirelessly from the PS3 and your living room TV using the Dualshock3 or a bluetooth keyboard.



1. Install Spotify (www.spotify.com) in case you already haven't


2. DSbridge

a) Download dsbridge-20090727-bin.zip (http://code.google.com/p/dsbridge/downloads/list) to a temporary folder, for example "C:\tmp"

b) Unzip "dsbridge-20090727-bin.zip" in "C:\tmp"

c) From "C:\tmp\bin" copy the two files "dsbridge.ini" and "dsound.dll"
to the Spotify folder (something like "C:\Program Files (x86)\Spotify")


3. lame_enc.dll

a) Download (http://lame.buanzo.com.ar/libmp3lame-win-3.98.2.zip) to (for example) "C:\tmp"

b) Unzip "libmp3lame-win-3.98.2.zip"

c) Copy the file "lame_enc.dll" to the Spotify folder (something like "C:\Program Files (x86)\Spotify")


4. Test that Spotify works with DSBridge

a) Start Spotify and play a song. You should now see, in the notification tray (Win XP) or in Show hidden icons (Win 7), a new round icon, blue or green in color:






b) If you see the round blue or green icon, things are OK, so proceed to step 5 below. Otherwise, goto step 4 c)

c) If you don't see the round blue or green icon, there is a problem with Flash player (for more info, see https://forum.reciva.com/read.php?3,63319). The cure is to uninstall your current Flash and install an older version of Flash.

d) Download and run the uninstaller (it is not enough to uninstall from the control panel, because Flash locks the registry): http://download.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/current/uninstall_flash_player.exe

e) Download to (for example) "C:\tmp" previous versions of Flash from http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/installers/archive/fp10_archive.zip.

f) Unzip "fp10_archive.zip".

g) Goto "C:\tmp\fp10_archive\10r45_2"

h) Run to install, the following 2 files: "flashplayer10r45_2_winax.exe", "flashplayer10r45_2_win.exe". Now you have installed the latest version 10,0,45,2 of Flash that works with Spotify/DSBridge.

i) Redo step 4 a) to verify that DSBridge works


5. ps3mediaserver

a) Download and install ps3mediaserver (http://code.google.com/p/ps3mediaserver/downloads/detail?name=pms-setup-windows-1.10.51.exe&can=2&q=)


6. Configure ps3mediaserver for streaming Spotify to the ps3

a) Make sure ps3mediaserver is not running.

b) In the ps3mediaserver folder (something like "C:\Program Files (x86)\PS3 Media Server"), open the file "WEB.conf" in Notepad or a similar text editor. Under #shoutcasts, insert the following line of text
"audiostream.Web,Radios=Spotify,http://localhost:8124"

The result should look something this (part of the WEB.conf):

#shoutcasts
audiostream.Web,Radios=Spotify,http://localhost:8124
audiostream.Web,Radios=JET FM (French Radio),http://www.jetfm.asso.fr/site/stream/jetfm-haut_debit.m3u,http://www.jetfm.asso.fr/site/dist/images/site/logo_h1.png

c) Save the file "WEB.conf". Now, all is set for streaming Spotify to the PS3.


7. Stream Spotify to PS3

a) Start the PS3
b) Start Spotify and play a song or, preferably, queue several songs.
c) Start ps3mediaserver
d) On the PS3, goto the Music category, there you should see one entry "PS3 Media Server [your computer name]"
e) Select (by pressing the X button), "PS3 Media Server [your computer name]", then select "Web", then "Radios", and finally select "Spotify [something]".

In a few seconds, the stream from Spotify should start playing on the sound device connected to your PS3! Done.


Not working?

Find the ip-address of your computer with ps3mediaserver on it:

a) In step 6 b), try replacing "localhost" in "audiostream.Web,Radios=Spotify,http://localhost:8124" by the IP address of the computer running ps3mediaserver. To find the IP Address of your computer:

b) Open a "Command prompt window". In the command prompt window, type "ipconfig" and press enter to run ipconfig. Find the "IPv4 Address" (Win 7) or "IP Address" (Win XP) under "Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection", for example on Win 7:
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : .
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : feXX::d3XX:XX00:2
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.189
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0


In the example above, the IP Address ("IPv4 Address") is 192.168.0.189. (Your IP Address has probably something else than 189 at end.) Write down or memorize your specific ip-address.

In step 6 b) then replace "localhost" by "192.168.0.189". That is, in the file WEB.conf under #shoutcasts, insert the following line of text
"audiostream.Web,Radios=Spotify,http://192.168.0.189:8124".

Make sure you use your own ip-address, probably not 192.168.0.189, and do not forget the ":8124" at the end. Save WEB.conf.


Tips!
In ps3mediaserver, under the Navigation/Share settings tab, you select what folders on your computer to share. The default is everything on your computer. It is probably a good idea to restrict this share to folders such as music and pictures.

Spotify embraces Facebook Open Graph

Spotify have joined the Facebook Open Graph gang adding a heap of extra features and making sharing the music you like to listen to easier and altogether more sociable/shareable.

More on that later but for now watch this to see how it will work...

Nice engaging ad possibilities from Spotify

Those nice chaps over at Spotify sent me a nice beta / mock-up this morning to show off what they can do with their lightbox ad format.

In essence you can scroll around the ad format (in this case highlighting an individual character), and you get a nice spotlight that hints at more interactivity to come....

And from there deliver content directly from the ad format....

 

Fun. And all without leaving Spotify.  

Like all the best executions I've seen recently on Spotify, this ad would be triggered by a user clicking on a standard display format, in itself promoted by applying the principles of good radio creative to the ad.

Spotify might run in the background all day, but I only tend to interact with the interface itself if I am either choosing what to listen to, or my curiosity is aroused by a good "radio" ad.

I quite liked this recent example promoting a forthcoming new series of Grey's Anatomy on Living.... 

The idea was "get him out the house" (so you could indulge yourself watching the show), but the creative execution was nice- it featured a publican encouraging boys to come down the pub and leave the ladies to it.

Top tracks of 2009 from Spotify

Those nice people at Spotify have kindly put together a playlist based on the most streamed tracks of 2009 across the 6 countries they are currently operating in. (Currently Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France and Spain, although there might be a glimmer of hope for the US according to TechCrunch today).

Defer the what to listen to today decision by getting it here....

Mashing is flattering

It's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

In the digital space someone wanting to play with your concept is generally considered to be a good sign of engagement and resonance with an idea.  The tweaked version is often referred to as a mash-up.

I've mentioned several times how great I think the Spotify / Fiat 500C partnership was, but today it's hats off to Peugeot.  They clearly recognise smart thinking when they see it.  Whether Fiat will feel flattered or not by a concept that so clearly ressembles their own I know not....

...but as with all good mash-ups it's a variant on the original: The Peugeot Drivesexy Spotify playlist adds a chart / voting element that goes beyond the Fiat 500C (original) campaigns notion of song nomination.

There are 20 tunes in the "Drivesexy Tunes Most Popular Today" playlist which is a little different from the 2.5k in the Fiat 500C Playlist but there's every reason to believe that it is a daily play list (I'll be checking tomorrow) unless the inclusion of "She's like the wind" from the Dirty Dancing sound track is entirely co-incidental and unrelated to Patrick Swayze's death yesterday.(Update: It does refresh, new tracks today 17th Sept, including the one I submitted)

In my humble opinion though they might be missing a trick: Fiat did a great job of combining involvement with the opportunity to build a relationship. Peugeot let you submit a track without any sign up (I had to try of course), only requiring you to submit details if you were bothered about winning an iPod (which I wasn't, I've got 2 already). Arguably no sign-up = less barrier to entry, but also less ongoing value to the brand as it's a wasted opportunity to build a relationship, in a world where relationships with consumers are becoming more and more desirable and valuable than ever before.  Fiat flagged their presence on Twitter and have been using it to talk to me on an ongoing basis.  Bravo! No Fiat pun intended. Honest.;-)

Ongoing happiness thanks to Fiat 500C

Yup, as predicted in my original post about the Fiat 500c Happiness playlist on Spotify, 2 months later I'm still regularly listening to it, albeit I've also recently added some other "shortcuts" from Sharemyplaylists.com. I'm also looking increasingly fondly at the Fiat 500's I see around and about and whilst changing my Mini is on the cards, trading it for an even smaller boot really isn't practical so it's just going to have to be unrequited love, for now at least.

They ended up with 2498 submissions to their playlist (double click it and then double click within Spotify, & get in touch if you are in a Spotify market and would like an invite) which is not bad for a week long campaign. Then, having got people to engage with them, thumbs up for having twigged the importance of follow up in relationships. They emailed me just a few weeks later about their BIG SMILE event. Sadly I was away and couldn't make it, but they've been smart enough to put photos up on their website:

Then yesterday, I got a tweet announcing the voting is open for the Fiat 500C Top 50 feelgood tracks. More ongoing reasons for me to engage with the brand (I duly voted of course).

Shortcuts within shortcuts. Makes a huge amount of sense given Spotify's recent release of the iPhone and Android app. I'm looking forward to adding the Fiat 500C top 50 happy tracks playlist soon.

Bitesize is good on mobile. Especially given the purported short-ness of battery life for iPhone 3GS.

I'm looking forward to my next Fiat 500C smile-instigator.

Spotify App Review.

After waiting for what seemed forever for the spotify app, i luckily was one of the first people to use it. After receiving an email from a source i was up and testing it at 5am. Obsessed? Yes. But only slightly.

Its extremely good! Very smooth interface, has only crashed twice since i have been using it.

Now to use Spotify on the iPhone you have to have a premium subscription at the cost of £9.99 per month. Now in my opinion thats a small price to pay for unlimited music, however it has sparked anger with Spotify fans who believe that there should be a free advertisement supported version.

On the App store, Spotify currently has a 2 star rating. This you cannot believe due the fact disgruntled downloaders have tried to use it with a free account and failed, so therefore rating it poorly.

To put it simply, its a great app and maybe the itunes killer we all hoped for. The offline function is incredible and the songs download (in a wifi connection) very quickly and their high quality.

Don't let this app pass you buy. Download and bask in its glory now!

Spotify App for iPhone now available

At last! Premium Spotify subscribers can get Spotify on their iPhone or Android-powered mobiles

Making a song and a dance this week...

Hurrah! Apple approved the Spotify iPhone app. To be available soon (date tbc) for Spotify Premium users but you'll be able to cache music / playlists to listen to when you are not online/connected. Scratch the new iPod from the Amazon wish list then.

Spotify have also started to create a PAYG retail model for Spotify Premium in Sweden so it's bound to be in a newsagent near you before too long.

On the subject of PAYG, T-Mobile announced the launch of the 1st PAYG Android phone, (to be called the Pulse) with release date set for October. A princely £180 of the Queen's finest pounds to you. Dear Father Christmas.....

YouTube and the PRS kissed and made up (although there was purportedly a cash lump sum involved too) so all your favourite music videos will be back online again soon.

YouTube also LovesFilm (or thinks it might): YouTube are trialling a full length film rental subscription service amongst 10, 000 Google employees after securing deals with a number of major studios.

Whilst we're on the subject of movies, here's a nice film showing the evolution of visual effects in film over time. Once you've worked in animation you can't but help like these things!



Web based catch-up tv services will no longer be confined to viewing on your laptop after Sony announced that you'll be able to connect your Sony Bravia TV, Blu-ray player or Home Cinema to your broadband, and did a deal with Channel 5 for their Bravia Internet Video Service, so you won't have to ever miss Neighbours or have to watch it hunched over a laptop.

But conversely the need to be connected but not weighed down by a huge laptop has seen Netbooks take 22% of worldwide portable computer sales in Q2 this year.

And finally.... There are now 104 Twitter-ers who have more than a million followers. Amazon celebrated recruiting their millionth follower by giving away a free mp3. E-Crm - it's all about value exchange.

Still Waiting.

Its been days since the Spotify app was approved for the iPhone, yet were still to see it released into the app store; much the anger of Spotify fans.

What started of as a very clever lets keep people waiting so the hype builds itself marketing ploy, it may be turning into the opposite as Spotify fans turn there backs.

Rumours are curculating that the Spotify app may be released at the Apple "It's not rock and roll, but we like it" music event. Although its doubtful as iTunes 9 is also ready to be released.

We keep holding on, but as spotify users cancel their premium subscriptions and start to turn their backs and look elsewhere for their music kicks. Spotify need to rethink what game their actually playing with its much loved consumers.

Spotify for the iPhone.

This morning the news broke that apple has given the green light to the Spotify App for the iPhone.

Many people had doubts apple would allow it due to the obvious competition it poses against itunes.

The App should be uploaded to the App store within the next couple of days. The App will be free of charge to download. However to stream music users will have to upgrade to spotifys premium package for £9.99 per month. A small figure compared to what the average person spends on itunes a month.

Spotify on the iPhone will work pretty much the same as the one users are used to on the pc's.

One of the most attractive features of Spotify for the iPhone is the ability to listen to playlists even where a network connection is unavailable. For instance on the Underground.

An update will be posted here when the app in released.

But for now, get your spotify for iPhone goodness via this video:

Let the people create the content and let the brand reap the benefit

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Spotify. I'm also a fan of many things Italian. So happiness is when I see the two put together in a way that brightens my day and in all probability will brighten many many days to come too.

Bravo Fiat! They're running a multi-media campaign for their Fiat 500C (c for cabriolet), which has ticked lots of boxes for me in the world of smart use of the digital space. Ok, the summer may not be living up to it's name, but we all like the idea of wind in our hair and soft top cars. Apparently the UK has the greatest penetration of cabriolet cars in Europe. Yet arguably one of the most variable climates.

So what have they done? Created a campaign that harnesses the power of music to make us feel good, with a platform that facilitates participation via the creation of playlists / songs on demand & then got the consumer involved in an easy-to-engage fashion to create content that the brand derives benefit from. Brilliant.



So far, in the 5 days the campaign has been running, 1926 tracks have been submitted, and there've been numerous people commenting via Twitter. The smart thing about this campaign is that not only do I get to feel involved because my track has been included in the playlist with minimal effort involved in contributing, (so I feel part of the 500c Spotify community), but because in a time pressured, information overloaded world I now have a ready made playlist to listen to full of tracks that make people smile. Better still is the fact that I now have an easy default option of something jolly to listen to when I can't be bothered to make an active decision. I regularly default back to playlists I've been sent as long ago as February when I first started using Spotify.

So for Fiat, they stand a pretty good chance of remaining on my radar for months to come, and bringing a smile to my face time after time. Good for them. And they didn't even have to create the content, just facilitate its creation, which for me is a good illustration of a brand that has understood the social media space. It's part of that letting go of control thing that brands are having a hard time grasping. You don't always have to be in control to reap the benefit.

So cheer up your Friday, listen to what the people say make them smile (You'll need to have downloaded the Spotify app first, then doublc click on link /500c playlist icon that appears on LHS of the Spotify window). It's eclectic but that's part of the fun. Open the sun roof this weekend, crank up the stereo, and pretend you are nipping around Rome in a soft top Fiat 500c. It doesn't take much imagination for that combination to conjure up a smile.