Upgrade my Vortexbox software with???

[Bell Ringer]

Hi all,

I have a pc with Vortexbox LMS installed but haven’t been able to upgrade to the latest version so I would like to strip the Vortexbox software and start again with new software. 

I can’t even work out what hardware the PC has so that will give you an idea of my skills. I’ve tried to open the command line but when I reboot the login option seems to be automatic so I don’t get the option to sign in to Vortexbox/Fedora.

 

Anyway, can anyone recommend a tech I can send my PC to strip the VB software and install alternatives? I’ll need CD, DVD &  Bluray ripping software, possibly vinyl drops, library management, and streaming from Tidal, Spotify, and internet radio. I have a Plex subscription so happy to use that for DVD and Bluray burns but I don’t really like the music interface so open to Moode or Roon or other alternatives. I’ve tried Kodi in the past and hated it, too buggy and couldn’t get my library loaded.

 

I don’t think I have the patience to do this myself, I have set up some Pi’s before but I didn’t enjoy it, although I learnt a lot.

My library is backed up on a USB drive.

 

So any suggestions for software and a tech to install for me? Any SNA CA gurus happy to do it for a fee?

 

Thanks.

[a.dent]

Have a look at Daphile. Used it for a while before moving to Roon on Ubuntu. It's relatively painless to install. Only tricky bits are setting up Tidal and Spotify. 

https://www.daphile.com

[Bell Ringer]

Thanks @a.dent the LMS app for Spotify was a real pain too and one of the reasons I’m looking for fuss free and dumping VB/LMS. Daphile was one I was looking at. I could load it on a Pi and see if I like it but I suspect a Roon subscription might be easier in the long run for compatibility with Spotify/Tidal.

[krebetman]

38 minutes ago, Bell Ringer said:

... Daphile ... I could load it on a Pi and see if I like it...

No go - daphile is for PCs only.  Also it runs LMS, however I wonder how long ago you tried the Spotify plugin for LMS?  Current state of the art is "Spotty" for LMS, which I am perfectly happy with.

[Bell Ringer]

Thanks @krebetmanSpotty won’t load on VB 2.3 and I can’t upgrade to 2.4. That’s one of the reasons I want to dump VB/LMS. Got sIck of faffing with it last year.

[a.dent]

Daphile is based on LMS integrated as a standalone Linux OS.

You can boot from a USB drive to try it and install it if you want to.

 

Spotty has worked OK for me.

 

I've used ROCK OS to run Roon but it could be fussy about the type of PC you try to install it on.

 

Maybe just use a Linux distro so you can use whichever software you want. (Roon, HQ Player, Kodi, Plex, JRiver etc).

Snakeoil OS is a great locally supported product. Please have a look. https://www.snakeoil-os.net

 

 

[frednork]

Snakeoil supports roon, hqplayer, mpd, minimserver, lms, and others, has amazing support, will be better than a linux distro and has an easy dash to do stuff so you dont have to learn linux. Small donation unlocks even more features, works well with roon, 

setup is not difficult , boot with a usb stick , you can run it off the usb iso or install on the local drive, sounds like you have enough skills to manage this. All at no cost

[Bell Ringer]

Thanks @a.dentand @frednorkas I was cooking dinner I thought I should just install a Linux distro and run compatible software. I had completely forgotten about snakeoil. I looked at it a year or so ago. I'll revisit it for sure.

I did get into VB with SSH but I could not get anywhere with updates. 

 

I have 2 hard drives in the PC, do I need to remove them when I load up snakeoil? 

Thanks again for your help. 

[frednork]

2 minutes ago, Bell Ringer said:

 

I have 2 hard drives in the PC, do I need to remove them when I load up snakeoil? 

Thanks again for your help. 

if you run snkaeoil iso it wont affect your hard drives. obviouslty if you choose to install, it will wipe the disk you install on. Maybe disconect any drives you dont want overwritten while you get your head around it

[Bell Ringer]

Thanks again @frednork @a.dent. I’ll try from USB before overriding the local drive. 

[Bell Ringer]

Well, I had a spare Pi hanging around so I loaded Snakeoil and got all of my old LMS plugins working. I think I’ll just load up a Linux distro on my old vortexbox and do all my burning etc on that.

 

Thanks @a.dent and @frednork, and @krebetman. Music playing now and no issues with Spotty  either.

 

I did have an issue with writing the ISO , for some reason SD Card formatter looked OK but nothing would work on the Pi or the USB stick. I changed to etcher and after an upgrade it worked.

 

Just need to link my library and I’ll be set.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[a.dent]

11 hours ago, Bell Ringer said:

Well, I had a spare Pi hanging around so I loaded Snakeoil and got all of my old LMS plugins working. I think I’ll just load up a Linux distro on my old vortexbox and do all my burning etc on that.

 

Thanks @a.dent and @frednork, and @krebetman. Music playing now and no issues with Spotty  either.

 

I did have an issue with writing the ISO , for some reason SD Card formatter looked OK but nothing would work on the Pi or the USB stick. I changed to etcher and after an upgrade it worked.

 

Just need to link my library and I’ll be set.

 

Thanks again for your help.

Good news @Bell Ringer

Yes I've found Etcher to be the best for writing ISOs.

Now you just have to decide which Linux Distro to use. So many to choose from.

[Bell Ringer]

@a.dentprobably just Mint or Ubuntu. I saved an old imac with Mint, it's still going but I hardly use it. Could never get the wireless working properly, but that was a long time ago. 

[a.dent]

I'm using Ubuntu ATM but it is very bloated if you're just using it for music.

Did you check out Snakeoil OS? 

I tried Snakeoil OS on my NUC server but it wouldn't work unfortunately.

Maybe give it a try on your PC anyway.

[Bell Ringer]

Happy with Snakeoil on the Pi with LMS and Orange Squeeze on the phone as a remote. 

I'll use the PC for ripping and storage.