Google Play Music Now streams Directly to Sonos Speakers

[DaveN]

Am I missing something or this 'tech reviewer' is clueless. How is this different than Airplay is with the exception that first you must install a program and then set it up? (i.e. still more of a hassle).

http://blogs.wsj.com/personal-technology/2014/04/10/google-play-music-now-streams-directly-to-sonos-speakers/

 

[Gigster]

You are definitely missing something. Once you cast Google Play, the Sonos speaker becomes the server for the music meaning your phone or tablet only works as a remote. Thus it is not draining your battery like Air Play does by having your iPhone or iPad play the music and then serve it to a speaker.

 

[DaveN]

Gigster, what happens if I shut off my phone and the song Sonos is playing ends? There are no more songs?

By the way, I use Air Play quite frequently and haven't found it to have a noticeable impact on battery life.

 

[Gigster]

It depends - if you are playing from a playlist, it will go onto the next song right away and continue until that playlist has finished. I have heard though that, if your phone leaves your wifi network for more than 2 hours then Sonos will cut the stream as it believes that no one is home listening to it. So it should save your data cap etc if you forget to turn it off.

 

[DaveN]

How can it go through a playlist if you are not there? If it does, it must not respect the rights of the artists who created the material as Sonos would basically be saying "tell me what songs you have and I'll play them from another source." As for playing material from Pandora, etc. I don't see the benefit there as my Denon receiver has a Pandora app and plays their material directly. It also directly plays various internet radio stations, SiriusXM, and songs I have stored on my media server.

One of the reasons I am picky about rights is that I was a software developer and the amount of piracy of my $25 app was shocking. I have no doubt that music theft is even greater as there is a general mentality that music should be free for whatever reason. Try using that line on your local plumber or doctor.

 

[Gigster]

Sorry Dave, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by respecting rights holders and piracy?

Pandora, Spotify, Deezer, Rdio and now Google Play have integrated their services to work on Sonos.

If you are using Google Play All Access, you are still paying for the subscription and the artists are getting paid per stream. Streaming it through Sonos is no different. Same with Pandora and the others. Sonos has worked with these companies to make it easier to use their services. I can open the Sonos App and access all my Pandora radio stations and stream it from any of my Sonos speakers. Pandora is still going to pay the artist for the songs you have streamed. I can also access all my Spotify playlists or search and play any songs available on Spotify through Sonos. I am still paying for my subscription.

If I put on a playlist and then leave the house then no one is actually listening but the artist is still getting paid. You said that your Denon receiver has Pandora built in. If you stream a station from your Denon amp and then leave your house, how is that any different?

Google Play has just made things even easier by allowing the listener to just use the Google Play app instead of using the Sonos app if they want to. This is great if you have been out for a run and listening to a playlist with headphones - you can just press the cast button to Sonos to keep listening to that song and playlist when you walk in the door. Sonos is just trying to make it easier than ever to access and play music. Sonos is also working on this integration with lots of the other services already mentioned.

 

[Gigster]

OK my apologies, I think I realise where I may have confused you. When I said that Sonos becomes the server I did not mean that Sonos has it's own database of music on some servers somewhere.

What I meant was when you cast from Google Play to Sonos - The Google Play App becomes just the remote control and your Sonos speaker will then access Google Play's servers directly. That's why if you choose to play a playlist from your phone and then turn off your phone , that Sonos continues to stream that playlist.

Basically, Sonos is accessing your playlist directly from the Google Play server and with your Google Play app you have instructed it to play the entire playlist.

 

[matrix07]

You are definitely missing something. Once you cast Google Play, the Sonos speaker becomes the server for the music meaning your phone or tablet only works as a remote. Thus it is not draining your battery like Air Play does by having your iPhone or iPad play the music and then serve it to a speaker.

Draining battery? For audio only? Have you ever use AirPlay?

 

[Gigster]

Draining battery? For audio only? Have you ever use AirPlay?

And using a music streaming app such as Google Play Music or Spotify won't drain your battery? Your phone still has to transcode. I don't know about you but I don't get multiple days of use from a single charge. If I can use the phone as just a remote I don't drain nearly as much battery.

Also why would you want to airplay video to a music speaker? Your argument makes no sense.

 

[DaveN]

What I meant was when you cast from Google Play to Sonos - The Google Play App becomes just the remote control and your Sonos speaker will then access Google Play's servers directly. That's why if you choose to play a playlist from your phone and then turn off your phone , that Sonos continues to stream that playlist.

Basically, Sonos is accessing your playlist directly from the Google Play server and with your Google Play app you have instructed it to play the entire playlist.

Ok. That makes more sense and isn't clear from the way the WSJ article presented the story. Basically your music is streaming from Google Play to your phone and can the stream can be passed off to your Sonos device. That isn't the world I live in. I have an eclectic collection of music and old radio shows I ripped from my CDs and store them in iTunes. Sure a lot of the more popular music is available on iTunes and probably Google Play but there is a lot that isn't. I guess that I'm old school in that the music/audio files I listen to are stored on my iPhone or iPad (or on my media server) and I stream it from my iDevice to the stereo at will or can just have the stereo play the tracks directly from the media server. I do have a few DRM songs I purchased on iTunes which are on my phone but not on my media server but that is ok.

Sonos is pushing this as a media server when it really appears to be just a Google Play remote control. As in most such products (including Apple's I'll admit), the hype doesn't live up the reality.

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Also why would you want to airplay video to a music speaker? Your argument makes no sense.

FYI, Airplay plays video to Apple TV and audio to Apple TV or receivers and speakers. I think the commenter is talking about streaming audio tracks to his stereo.

 

[Gigster]

I am much the same way with my music collection. I have my music sitting on a NAS which my Sonos devices can access. But on the other hand I am also a fan of services such as Spotify and Pandora. I love my Pandora radio stations and I have many Spotify playlists for when I go to the gym. I love that I can access all of my different music sources using the Sonos app and play it in any room of my house.

Sonos is a bit like Apple where they get hardcore fanatics that love their products. I guess I fit that bill (love Apple too!). Sonos has to be the best tech purchase I have ever made (this includes my iPhone 5s, iPad Air and Macbook ). It has changed the way I listen to music and I listen to it more than ever thanks to Sonos because it makes accessing it so much easier!

Some people are a bit different to me and seem to be exclusively using a single app/service such as Spotify, Rdio or Google Play Music. They use this app in the car and at the gym etc therefore it is probably a pain for them to have to switch to the Sonos app to continue listening when at home. Sonos is now working to allow everybody to use their favourite app and still stream it through Sonos. Think of it like the Apple TV which has integrated with Netflix and Hulu Plus etc. Instead of having to use the Apple TV interface, imagine also being able to use the Netflix app on your iPhone or iPad and then casting it to Apple TV. Lots of different options for searching and selecting content.

I'm not sure where you are getting the idea that Sonos is promoting a media server. They have made a great music system which they have partnered with all of the major players to access their content. Now, they have just made their product even easier to use.

 

[matrix07]

And using a music streaming app such as Google Play Music or Spotify won't drain your battery? Your phone still has to transcode. I don't know about you but I don't get multiple days of use from a single charge. If I can use the phone as just a remote I don't drain nearly as much battery.

Also why would you want to airplay video to a music speaker? Your argument makes no sense.

Nope. You said "Once you cast Google Play, the Sonos speaker becomes the server for the music meaning your phone or tablet only works as a remote. Thus it is not draining your battery like Air Play does by having your iPhone or iPad play the music and then serve it to a speaker."

This is simply not my case. Not noticeably anyway.

 

[Gigster]

Nope. You said "Once you cast Google Play, the Sonos speaker becomes the server for the music meaning your phone or tablet only works as a remote. Thus it is not draining your battery like Air Play does by having your iPhone or iPad play the music and then serve it to a speaker."

This is simply not my case. Not noticeably anyway.

Haha love the way you justify your argument by ignoring the second part of that sentence. Good try in taking what I said out of context. Thanks for the laugh! Besides you are only kidding yourself if you don't think using a streaming music app will drain your battery.

 

[matrix07]

Haha love the way you justify your argument by ignoring the second part of that sentence. Good try in taking what I said out of context. Thanks for the laugh! Besides you are only kidding yourself if you don't think using a streaming music app will drain your battery.

"justify"? Who are you? A child.

I simply stated that I didn't notice any battery draining using AirPlay for music. Maybe you're confused it with Mirroring. Anyway, I'm out. Not worth my time.

 

[bozzykid]

Haha love the way you justify your argument by ignoring the second part of that sentence. Good try in taking what I said out of context. Thanks for the laugh! Besides you are only kidding yourself if you don't think using a streaming music app will drain your battery.

I think you might be slightly confused. In this situation, the Sonos speaker is streaming the music directly from the Google Play Music (what a dumb name) servers. There is a connection from your phone to the Sonos server. But it is only for controlling the music. You aren't streaming any data from your phone. So, it certainly uses battery but much less than streaming from your phone (like with AirPlay).

 

[marzer]

I think you might be slightly confused. In this situation, the Sonos speaker is streaming the music directly from the Google Play Music (what a dumb name) servers. There is a connection from your phone to the Sonos server. But it is only for controlling the music. You aren't streaming any data from your phone. So, it certainly uses battery but much less than streaming from your phone (like with AirPlay).

No gigster already clearly explained that earlier in the thread. In the post you referenced he was talking about Airplay-ing from a portable device causing additional drain on its battery.

OK my apologies, I think I realise where I may have confused you. When I said that Sonos becomes the server I did not mean that Sonos has it's own database of music on some servers somewhere.

What I meant was when you cast from Google Play to Sonos - The Google Play App becomes just the remote control and your Sonos speaker will then access Google Play's servers directly. That's why if you choose to play a playlist from your phone and then turn off your phone , that Sonos continues to stream that playlist.

Basically, Sonos is accessing your playlist directly from the Google Play server and with your Google Play app you have instructed it to play the entire playlist.

 

[Uofmtiger]

Personally, I don't mind charging my iOS devices on occasion. Not sure why that is such a big deal, to be honest. It takes very little charge to send out an audio signal, anyway. Video requires more juice, but that isn't an option with Sonos anyway.

I think this is a step in the right direction for Sonos. Having to fit all audio apps into one user interface is not necessarily the best option for all of their users. For example, if I use Mog's radio slider in Mog's iPhone app and I can't use it on Sonos, I would prefer the option to use Mog's app (as on example) so I could have access to their entire service that I am paying for.