Synchronized Pandora on all computers

My son added me to Pandora and I love it but want Synchronized Pandora on all computers in the home.  I searched and searched the web but found nothing until…

It is so simple.  Each computer you want to play synched sound needs an ethernet link.  Wi-Fi won’t do.  The computer needs to run Pulseaudio.

I started by making a music server by setting up a computer with Pianobar.  It is a simple install and once installed, has a command line interface to play Pandora

I loaded Patiobar an NPM node application that links to Pianobar and publishes a web page for controlling the application.  I removed the speakers from the server because that audio precedes the sync process and is  thus out of sync.  Then comes the “magic”  on each computer and the server I loaded paprefs a GUI app to control Pulseaudio.

Here are the four tabs of the application.  On the clients it is set-up as shown.  On the server tab 3 the server does not have the Enable Multicast Receiver enabled but instead has the sender enabled.  That is all there is to it.  The clients automatically find the music server output.  They are all synched for one rich sounding home full of music.

Now a caveat, a client can lose sync if the network cable is disconnected and reinserted.  If this happens all one needs to do is bring up paprefs and uncheck then recheck the enable receiver checkbox.

So here is the Patiobar interface on a HomeAssistant Lovelace dashboard with volume controls for each room

 

I will post separately on how to set up Raspberry Pi (or any ALSA) volume controls in python and MQTT.

 

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Doug Wyman

The first computer I used was an 1962 IBM 1401 and the project was statistical information at JSPC Okinawa (NSA). Then as a civilian I engaged in Telecommunications and Video consulting thru 1974. I was asked to join the WSP Electronic Services Telecommunications and Computer engineering section and stayed till 2000. Then I was asket to work on the WSDOT CVISN project and did till till 2005 then back into retirement. Then WSCTC asked me to act as a consultant to CVISN and I did till 2011. I retired for the third time am learning Debian, Python, PHP and others for the first time. Superannuated but still learning

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