CasaTunes Setup

CasaSetup is the browser based Administrator tool used to configure your CasaTunes music server. In addition to CasaSetup, you can also use the CasaTunes Apps for iOS and Android to configure your music server, although some functionality is only available in CasaSetup.

Contents

TerminologyStarting CasaTunes Setup (CasaSetup)CasaSetup HeaderCasaSetup FooterController SettingsSource SettingsRoom SettingsRoom Group SettingsAirPlay SettingsMy Music SettingsMusic Services Settings Music Searches SettingsProject Info SettingsRestoreFactory ResetWiFi SettingsChange Time Zone SettingsUpdate CasaTunesSwitch To CasaTunes

Terminology

Before we begin configuring CasaTunes, it’s important to understand certain terms that will be used in this document.

Zones - A zone corresponds with one speaker pair.

Rooms - A room refers to the location of the zone(s). If you have a large room, you may have more than one zone in it. In most cases, the terms can be used interchangeably because there will only be one zone per room.

Room Groups - A room group allows you to manage a group of rooms, as if it were just another room. When you power on a room group, CasaTunes powers all rooms in the room group. Similarly, when you change the source for a room group, CasaTunes changes the source for all rooms in the room group. Finally, when you change the master volume for a room group,CasaTunes adjusts the volume level for all rooms in the room group, by an equal amount. Room groups are useful for implementing scenes.

Sources - There are four types of sources in CasaTunes: CasaTunes Media Players, tuners, SONOS, and Unsupported Sources. You can switch any source to any zone, or group of zones.

Each CasaTunes Media Player has a queue. When you select music to play, you add the music you want to play to the media players queue. When you add music to the queue, you can opt to replace the music in the queue, add music to the queue, or add music and play the newly added music.

If you are playing an album on a source named Player 1 and you want to listen to the same music in another zone, you can select that zone and then also select Player 1. If you want to play something different in another zone, you’d have to select another source, such as Player 2.

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Using the CasaTunes Apps, select the Group Rooms menu option to share the music playing in the current room with other rooms, and it will automatically perform the steps above for you. To move the music from one room to another using the Group Rooms menu option, simply select the room you want to move the music to, and unselect the original room.

Tuner support in CasaTunes is limited to supporting legacy Onkyo, Russound and Nuvo tuners.

A recent addition to CasaTunes is SONOS integration. By connecting a SONOS Connect or SONOS Port source to your matrix amplifier, CasaTunes can control your SONOS device and play your SONOS music throughout your (CasaTunes) wired rooms. In addition, CasaTunes can control grouping all your SONOS speakers and CasaTunes wired rooms, making it easy to expand your existing CasaTunes system by simply adding one or more networked SONOS speakers. For more information on how to integrate  SONOS with CasaTunes, please refer to the following Tech Note.

You can connect any type of source equipment that is compatible with your matrix amplifier, including a vinyl player, Google Chromecast Audio device, Amazon Echo link, etc.. In CasaTunes, these source devices are called unsupported sources. CasaTunes provides limited control for these devices. You can switch any room(s) to use these devices, power the room on/off, and control the room volume, however, to select music, control playback and get feedback for these devices you must use the App provided by the manufacturer of these devices.

Music - CasaTunes can play music stored on your music server and/or other devices on your home network, can stream music from a variety of Internet radio and premium music services, including Calm Radio, Deezer, Groove music, Pandora, SHOUTcast, Spotify, Tidal and TuneIn, and can play music that is streamed from one or more iOS devices, using Apple Airplay.

Starting CasaSetup

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To start CasaSetup, open a browser and type:

Do not download the CasaTunes software on to the customer's remote computer. Access CasaTunes Setup using the browser (using the addresses above) or using the CasaTunes Apps for Android and iOS

Your browser should now display a page similar to this:

CasaSetup Header

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The CasaSetup header includes several links, including:

You can use CasaSetup in one of two modes, basic and advanced. You can switch between these two modes, by clicking on Basic Settings or Advanced Settings option in the CasaSetup header. If this is the first time you are using CasaSetup, we recommend you use CasaSetup in Basic mode. Once you are familiar with CasaSetup, and configuring your music server, you can switch to Advanced mode, however, for most installations, this should not be necessary.

Click on the Stop CasaTunes link to stop or restart CasaTunes. It may take a minute or two for CasaTunes to stop. Once, it stops you will be prompted to Start CasaTunes again.

Click on the Save link to save any changes you made to the current page. CasaSetup automatically saves your contents when you switch between pages, however, if you have made changes to a page, you must click on the Save link, before you close the page in the browser.

Click on the Help link for more information about the current page.

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The CasaSetup footer contains the CasaTunes logo, and if a newer version of CasaTunes is available, a link to take you to the  Update CasaTunes page.

Under the CasaSetup footer on the right hand side, CasaSetup shows:

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You will need to provide the MAC address to CasaTunes Support if they need to remotely login to your music server. It is recommended you register your MAC with CasaTunes Support, so CasaTunes Support will have your MAC Address readily available if you call in for assistance. To register your MAC, please visit https://www.casatunes.com/support/register

Controller Settings

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The controller page is used to select the hardware controller type you are using. Select the correct controller type depending on what you’re using. For example, if configuring a CasaTunes CT-6X6MA, you would setup the settings (in basic mode) to:

Source Settings

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The sources page allows you to configure your sources. You can keep the default source names, or you can rename them, for example, you might want to assign each family member their own source, and name them: David's Player, Jodi's Player, etc.

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CasaTunes automatically configures the first Sources as CasaTunes Media Player sources, and configures the CasaTunes Player Settings automatically. The number of sources depends on the CasaTunes Music Server model you are using (and the matrix amplifier you are using)

Room Settings

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The rooms page allows you to configure your rooms. You should rename these to match the rooms in your home.

Room Group Settings

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If you want to add a room group, follow these steps to record a room group. Recording a room group is the easiest way to create a room group. You should only add room groups after you have finished configuring your rooms.

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When you change the master volume for a room group, CasaTunes maintains the differences in volume for each room in the room group. Using the CasaTunes Apps, you can adjust the volume for a specific room in a room group, however, when you turn the room group off and then back on, it defaults back to the original volume settings for the room group.

Alternatively, you can create a room group manually:

AirPlay Settings

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CasaTunes allows you to receive AirPlay streams from one or more iOS devices, as well as stream music to one or more AirPlay speakers or devices.

Enabling AirPlay transmission adds a 2-second delay between songs. This is due to the buffering requirements specified in the AirPlay protocol, and is normal. We recommend turning transmission off, unless your setup requires an AirPlay speaker or device.
CasaTunes does not currently support streaming to the new AppleTV 4 devices

My Music Settings

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Here's a thought!
We recommend using the CasaTunes App for Android and iOS to configure My Music settings. The Apps simplify browsing your network to locate your music on Macs, PCs and other storage devices, and configuring the Location setting for you (see below).

Use My Music (also referred to as QuickSync), to play your own music collections. QuickSync can discover, catalog and play music residing on Macs, PCs and other storage devices on your home network. You can optionally copy your music to your music server. Learn more about QuickSync.

After you click on Save Settings, QuickSync will begin the process of discovering and cataloging your music, and optionally copying your music. This can take a while, depending on the number of songs, and whether you selected to copy your music. Note that, you can select and listen to music before this process is fully completed. Once completed, you can view the information about your collection, including the number of songs, albums, artists, genres, playlists, the size of your collection in bytes, and how long it would take to play every song in your collection.

To remove a music collection, simply click on the X next to the collection name. Removing a collection, deletes the catalog for the collection, and if you enabled copying your music to the music server, will delete this music from the music server. It does not affect the original music.

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QuickSync is optimized to catalog with your iTunes libraries on PCs and Macs. QuickSync tracks changes to your iTunes libraries and automatically re-indexes your libraries whenever it detects they have changed. Non-iTunes libraries are re-indexed daily, and you can manually synchronize your library when browsing your music collections using the CasaTunes Apps.
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Starting with MacOS Catalina, Apple has replaced iTunes App with the Music App. The new Music App no longer maintains the database file containing the list of the all the songs and playlists in your music library. Consequently, CasaTunes can no longer discover your Apple Music playlists, although it is still able to index all the songs and cover art in your Apple Music. To overcome this limitation, we recommend you either use the built-in CasaTunes playlists capability to create your own CasaTunes playlists consisting of your Apple Music tracks, or use AirPlay to stream your Apple Music playlists.

Music Services Settings

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We recommend using the CasaTunes App for Android and iOS to configure your Music Services settings.

CasaTunes supports various music services:

Most music services allow you to configure multiple accounts. This allows each family member to use their own accounts when listening to music.

For music services that support multiple accounts, click on the Add <music service> Account to add an additional music service instance. You can provide an account name for each account to make it clear in the Apps which account you are using. To delete a music service account, simply click on the X, next to the account name.

When configuring your music service accounts you may encounter a button prompting you to Verify your credentials, Authorize CasaTunes to use your account, or both. When setting up an account for the first time, you should always verify your credentials, to make sure that CasaTunes has the proper credentials to access your account, and authorize your account, if required. When authorizing an account, you will be redirected to a browser page and prompted to allow CasaTunes access to your account. Before authorizing CasaTunes, make sure you are logged into the correct music service account, and if not, logout and then log in to the proper account. Once, the authorization process is complete, you will need to switch back to CasaSetup in the browser.

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When using CasaSetup in Advanced Mode, you can assign an account exclusively to a source, for example, David's player. Once configured, this account is only available on David's player.

Spotify Connect

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A better way to listen to music at home.

Use your phone, tablet or computer as a remote control for Spotify. Go to spotify.com/connect to learn how.

Spotify Connect is automatically enabled in CasaTunes. Each CasaTunes room and room group is enabled as a Spotify Connect speaker.

To disable (or enable) Spotify Connect for a room (or room group):

  • Open CasaSetup
  • Select the Rooms (or Room Groups) page
  • Select which room (or room group) you want to enable or disable Spotify Connect
  • Click on the Advanced Settings button
  • Check or uncheck the Publish room as Spotify Connect Speaker option
  • Select Save to save your changes

To listen to your Spotify music in a room or room group, simply open the Spotify App, select your music,  select the Spotify Connect Devices Available option, and pick your room or room group from the available list.

The Spotify Software is subject to third party licenses found here: https://www.spotify.com/connect/third-party-licenses.

Browsing Spotify in CasaTunes Apps

In addition to using the Spotify Apps, you can also use the CasaTunes Apps, along with any 3rd party CasaTunes supported home automation and control systems, to browse, search and select your Spotify music.

This requires a Spotify premium account

To add this capability, you must add a Spotify Browser service for each Spotify account using CasaSetup > Music Services (or the iOS App).  When adding a Spotify Browser account you must authenticate the account with Spotify for use by CasaTunes.

Once configured, your Spotify Browser accounts will appear in your list of music available so you can browse, search and select your Spotify music just as if they were any other music service.

Update CasaTunes

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You can configure CasaTunes to automatically download a new CasaTunes update when available, or you can manually perform updates. If you select to manually update CasaTunes, CasaSetup displays a message in the footer when a new version is available. You can also check the downloads page on the CasaTunes website for the latest release.

To automatically install updates, select the Automatically install CasaTunes updates checkbox and enter the time you want to check for, and install updates. Click Save to save your settings.

To manually install an update click on Install Update.

CasaTunes will not perform an update if any rooms are powered on, so it is recommend you select a time when it is unlikely the system is being used. In addition, CasaTunes checks whether the system must be restarted prior to an update, and if so, will restart your system for you automatically. If the system is in use, or the system had to be restarted, then the update is postponed until the following day.

CasaTunes only automatically installs major updates, not minor releases. You can manually install minor releases.
Occasionally, when performing a manual update, your browser might display an error. If this happens, close the CasaSetup page, and re-open CasaSetup in a new page.

WiFi Settings

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This option is available if your music server supports WiFi (for example, the CasaTunes CT-2).

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You must be connected to a wired network before you can setup your WiFi network connection.

The Available Networks drop down displays all the WiFi networks available. Select the Wifi network to use, and if prompted enter your username and/or passcode. Once you are connected to your WiFi network you can safely unplug your wired network connection.

Before disconnecting from your WiFi network make sure you plug your network cable back into your music server.

Change Time Zone

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You must properly configure your time zone for CasaTunes to function correctly. You should verify the time is also correct, and contact CasaTunes support, if the time of day is not correct.

Restore (Advanced Mode only)

CasaTunes automatically backs up your latest configuration settings to the cloud before you make changes to your configuration and before performing a CasaTunes upgrade.

If you need to restore your configuration:

Factory Reset (Advanced Mode only)

If you want to reset your music server to the factory settings:

Project Information (Advanced Mode only)

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The Project Information page is used for multiple purposes:

Click on the Enable CasaTunes startup, shutdown and other email notifications checkbox to receive emails each time CasaTunes starts up or shutdowns. Selecting this option allows you to pro-actively manage your customers site. CasaTunes will automatically notify you when an unexpected error occurs that causes CasaTunes to stop. CasaTunes will automatically attempt to recover from these failures (up to 10x). CasaTunes will notify you whether it was able to successfully recover, or not.

Even if CasaTunes is able to automatically recover, you should contact CasaTunes Support, and they can examine the logs for more information on the cause of the interruption, and make sure the issue is addressed.

Music Searches Settings

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CasaTunes supports aggregated searches, which means CasaTunes can search for music across multiple music services. You can limit your searches to include only those music services you want to search. Querying multiple music services usually takes longer, so typically you should limit the music services to search.

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In the CasaTunes Apps, if you are in the Now Playing view and perform a search, CasaTunes only searches the current music service that is playing, and as part of the search results, provides the option to perform the search across all configured music services.

When browsing your music, and you perform a search in the Home folder (where all your music services are displayed), CasaTunes automatically searches all configured music services. Once you begin to browse a music service, and you perform a search, CasaTunes will only search the music service you are browsing.

Tracking Music Settings (Advanced Mode only)

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Last.fm is a service which allows customers to track the music they listen to (called scrobbling) and allows them to analyze and get music recommendations based on what they listen to. Last.fm is a great way to discover new music based on what you listen to.

Before you can enable scrobbling in CasaTunes, you need to visit the last.fm site and create a last.fm account. To enable scrobbling in CasaSetup, check the Enable last.fm scrobbling checkbox, enter your last.fm credentials, verify the account, select the music services you want to scrobble, and click Save.

Once configured, CasaTunes updates last.fm each time you play a track from one of the music services you selected to scrobble. To analyze the music you listen to, and to discover new music recommendations, visit the last.fm site.

Third Party Control (Advanced Mode only)

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CasaTunes provides various programming APIs, developers and integrators can use, to control their CasaTunes music servers. These include:

You can use this page to configure the Serial or IP API settings to use. Please contact Tech Support for more information. The Serial API documentation is available from the CasaTunes website in the Tech Notes section.

You should only enable Enable third party control of CasaTunes if you are developing a custom solution and you want to use the Serial API using RS-232 or IP. You should not enable this option is you are using one of CasaTunes'  home automation and system control drivers for Control4, HDL, RTI, URC, etc. We recommend you use the REST APIs for controlling CasaTunes.

Switch To CasaTunes

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Selecting this option will open the CasaTunes web browser. You can use the browser as an alternative to using the CasaTunes Apps for Android and iOS. This is a useful administrator tool, but should not be used by customers. 

The CasaTunes browser does not include all the functionality, or ease of use, provided by the CasaTunes Apps. There are no plans to continue to develop or enhance the CasaTunes browser app.