How to try Wiim Home app before buying Wiim hardware?

[jhdedrick]

I'm considering a big change: Current rig, which has worked pretty well for 2 decades, is Slimserver on always-on Windows machine rendering from an iTunes library to a couple of Squeezeboxes.
Considering moving to a system built around Wiim, which would probably mean a one-time export of my music library, playlists, etc. to Wiim home.

I''d really like to get a feel for Wiim home's UX before I commit, but it seems to require finding the Wiim streamer as a first step. Is there any workaround for this?

Thanks!
-J

 

[Mr Ee]

I'm considering a big change: Current rig, which has worked pretty well for 2 decades, is Slimserver on always-on Windows machine rendering from an iTunes library to a couple of Squeezeboxes.
Considering moving to a system built around Wiim, which would probably mean a one-time export of my music library, playlists, etc. to Wiim home.

I''d really like to get a feel for Wiim home's UX before I commit, but it seems to require finding the Wiim streamer as a first step. Is there any workaround for this?

Thanks!
-J

Welcome.

If it's mostly to play your own files then I'd suggest something other than the wiim app, such as installing minimserver on the pc and using bubbleupnp (android only) or installing LMS on the pc.

Note that the wiim windows app is really just a beta, with very limited functionality, in case you were thinking of using the pc for control.

 

[castalla]

No.

Remote file library handling is still one of Wiim's weakest features. There's no samba/cifs file sharing, so accessing files on a remote windows device will be tortuous. AFAIK You'd need to run a dlna file server on your Windows machine. Maybe you already do that with your LMS setup?

Why not buy from an outfit with a good returns policy?

Whether you'd like the UX is down to personal preferences. I find it usable and comprehensive, but neither aesthetically pleasing nor unpleasant!

 

[jhdedrick]

Thanks for the replies - I didn't explain myself well. I do understand that I need a server (I'm looking at Asset UPnP) to serve the music to the Wiim streamer. I was intending to use Wiim Home on my mobile devices as a controller, not on the Windows-based server machine. Since the controller is what you use every day, I'd just like to try it out, but while I can install it on my mobile, it won't do anything until it finds a Wiim streamer, so I can't connect it to Asset, see how it handles playlists, etc.

 

[simbun]

The app requires a connection to a WiiM device and I don't think there's a way around that.
In terms of playlists, they can be created, and you can add songs to existing playlists (that have been created in WiiM) but you can't even reorder the tracks within one. Playlist management is poor, as is the app for UPnP in general.
As others have stated, you'll be better off with a third party control point, using the WiiM app just for configuring devices.

I would say the app is quite similar to mconnect on Android, with worse playlist management.

 

[harkpabst]

I''d really like to get a feel for Wiim home's UX before I commit, but it seems to require finding the Wiim streamer as a first step.

I think I got you right immediately. Some brands (like Lyngdorf) offer a demo mode for their apps, so you can click through the GUI using a virtual device.

You could file a feature request for that.