KinskyDesktop Manual

Table Of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Installation
  3. System Requirements
  4. Operation
    1. Navigation
    2. Controlling Rooms
    3. Supported Sources
      1. Playlist
      2. Radio
      3. UpnpAv
      4. External
    4. Automatic Room Selection
    5. Volume Control
    6. Playback Control
    7. Kinsky Media Provider Plugins
      1. Installing, re-installing, and upgrading a plugin
      2. Uninstalling a plugin
      3. Default Media Provider Plugins
        1. Plugins
        2. Local Playlists
        3. Library
    8. Media renderer playlist management
      1. Building a playlist
        1. Direct Play
        2. Media Provider Plugins
      2. Deleting the playlist
      3. Deleting a track
      4. Saving the playlist
    9. Putting a room into standby
  5. Troubleshooting

Introduction

This manual assumes that you have intermediate computer and internet skills.

The  UPnP forum defined an Audio Visual specification,  UPnP AV, which defined the interaction between UPnP control points and UPnP devices. The UPnP AV architecture was designed to be independent of device type, content format and transfer protocol.

The Kinsky software suite is a range of UPnP control point implementations as defined in the UPnP AV specification. The UPnP page gives an overview of how a control point fits into the overall UPnP AV architecture.

A Kinsky control point coordinates the operation between Media Servers, Silver Disk Players and Media Renderers, in response to user interaction.

Installation

Before you start the installation procedure please ensure you have closed any running instances of KinskyDesktop.

To install KinskyDesktop double-click on the KinskyDesktop<version>.exe, downloadable from the download page. Follow the on screen installation instructions to complete the installation. Upon a successful installation, you can access KinskyDesktop by tapping Start->Programs->Linn->KinskyDesktop.

Note: It is recommended that you uninstall any previous versions of KinskyDesktop before commencing with the installation of a new version.

Uninstalling

To uninstall KinskyDesktop from your computer, open the control panel, Start->Control Panel, and double-click 'Add or Remove Programs' (Windows XP) or 'Programs and Features' (Windows Vista), select 'KinskyDesktop <version>' and click Uninstall.

System Requirements

Operating Systems

Windows XP/Vista with Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0

Linux with Mono v2.6.

Mac OS X with Mono v2.6.

Minimum System Requirements

System RAM: 512MB

Video Card: 800x600

Wireless: 802.11b

Recommended System Requirements

System RAM: 1GB

Video Card: 1024x768

Wireless: 802.11g

Operation

KinskyDesktop contains four main areas, Now playing, Playlist, Plugin browser, and Control

The Now playing area at the top of KinskyDesktop provides information about the now playing track, e.g. track title, album, artist, etc.

The Playlist area on the right side of KinskyDesktop provides information about the currently selected source. For example for a Playlist source this area provides the ability to select, add, remove, and re-order tracks.

The Plugin browser area on the left side of KinskyDesktop provides management and access to the installed Kinsky plugins.

The Control area at the bottom of KinskyDesktop provides the controls to skip track, resume/pause a track, seek within a track and, (if the room has a preamp), control the volume.

Controlling Rooms

A typical modern home contains multiple HI-FIs, each of which are typically located in different rooms. The room selection box provides a way for a user to move between the different rooms, allowing the user to see what is currently playing in the selected room, as well as allowing the user to control the music playing in the selected room.

The source selection box provides a way for a user to change the current music source in the selected room. The number and types of sources available in each room depends on the HI-FI components installed in the room.

When moving between rooms the music will continue to play.

When a room is selected all preamps and sources in the room are brought out of standby.

Supported Sources

Playlist

The Playlist source allows a user to create a list of tracks that are played through in sequential order. A play indicator shows the currently playing track, which moves sequentially through the playlist as the is played. When adding tracks (or a selection of tracks) to the playlist, you can choose to Play Now (inserts the track(s) at the end of the playlist and starts immediate playback of the added track(s)), Play Next (inserts the track(s) after the currently playing track) or Play Later (inserts the track(s) at the end of the playlist).

The Playlist source allows for gapless playback of tracks.

The Playlist source can hold a maximum of 1000 tracks.

Radio

The Radio source allows a user to listen to internet radio stations, as well as podcasts and 'play again' shows. The Radio source allows a user to preset their favourite stations for quick access. A play indicator show the currently playing preset.

The Radio source can hold a maximum of 100 presets.

UpnpAv

The UpnpAv source allows a user to create a list of tracks that are played through in sequential order. A play indicator shows the currently playing track, which moves sequentially through the playlist as the is played. When adding tracks (or a selection of tracks) to the playlist, you can choose to Play Now (inserts the track(s) at the end of the playlist and starts immediate playback of the added track(s)), Play Next (inserts the track(s) after the currently playing track) or Play Later (inserts the track(s) at the end of the playlist).

The UpnpAv source provides support for standard UPnP Media Renderers. If a Playlist source is available in a room it should be used in preference to the UpnpAv source as it offers the following benefits,

  1. Gapless playback of tracks.
  2. Retains the created playlist between KinskyDesktop sessions.
  3. Allows predicable playback in the presence of multiple control points.

External

The External source allows a user to play external sources such as CD/DVD player, games console or portable music player.

An External sources display an icon idicating the type of external source they represent. The types of external sources are,

  1. Aux
  2. SPDIF
  3. TOS
  4. Analogue

Automatic Room Selection

KinskyDesktop can be configured to automatically select a room at start up.

The start up room can be configured in the 'Startup Room' page in the user options dialog.

The default behaviour is for the first room discovered to be selected.

Volume Control

If volume of the currently selected room can be controlled by KinskyDesktop, then the volume control will be enabled and display the current volume.

The volume control has two active areas, the outer ring and the inner circle (where the current volume is displayed). The volume control glows differently depending on which area is currently active.

To mute or un-mute the volume click in the inner circle. The volume control dims when the volume has been muted.

KinskyDesktop supports two different interaction models for volume control, rotary control and a push button control. By default the push button model is used. The option to switch between the two interaction models can be found in the user options dialog under the 'General Options' page, 'Use rotary controls for volume and seeking'.

Playback Control

If the currently selected source is able to be controlled by KinskyDesktop, then the transport controls will become enabled.

The transport control reflects the controls that are appropriate for the currently selected source, e.g. for the Playlist source the transport controls are skip backwards, play/pause, and skip forwards.

Kinsky Media Provider Plugins

KinskyDesktop offers a mechanism for offering its users new ways of finding content for their media players. This additional functionality comes in the form of Media Provider Plugins (MPP). A MPP offers a way for KinskyDesktop to explore media content and for a user to select and playback this content on their media player.

KinskyDesktop comes with three MPPs by default (Plugins, Local Playlists and Library), however users can install other MPPs that offering content they are interested in.

Plugins are distributed in packages. A plugin package is a zip archive with a kpz file extension.

Installing, re-installing and upgrading a plugin

To install, re-install or upgrade a plugin drag and drop the plugin's package into the plugin browser's homepage. If you are re-installing or upgrading an existing plugin you will be asked to restart the application to complete the installation.

The easiest way to install a plugin is to drag the download link from your web browser into the plugin browser's homepage. If you have previously downloaded the plugin, you can simply drag the kpz file into the plugin browser's homepage.

Uninstalling a plugin

To uninstall a plugin drag and drop the plugin's icon, (from the plugin browser's homepage), into the waste bin.

You cannot uninstall the default plugins that ship with KinskyDesktop.

Default Media Provider Plugins

Plugins

The Plugins MPP provides an easy way for users to browse (and install) a list of plugins provided by Linn.

Local Playlists

The Local Playlists MPP provides a way to browse, manage and insert DPL playlists into a media renderer's playlist.

To delete playlists or tracks, (within a playlist), drag and drop them onto the waste bin. To insert a playlist into a media renderer's playlist, drag and drop the playlist's icon onto the media renderer's playlist.

Library

The Library MPP provides a way to browse the UPnP media servers on your home network. A UPnP media server indexes your digital music collection and provides a mechanism for control points to browse your music collection.

Media renderer playlist management

Building a playlist

Direct Play

Direct play allows instant access to your media directly from your computer or the web. Just drag 'n' drop the media you want to listen to into your media renderer's playlist and sit back and listen.

Note: Using this feature requires that KinskyDesktop remain open and accessible from your media renderer whilst you are listening to the media.

Media Provider Plugins

To browse a media server, first select the Library plugin from the plugin browser's homepage, then the media server you wish to browse for music.

To insert containers/tracks into a media renderer's playlist, drag and drop onto the media renderer's playlist.

To move back up a level either click the 'Up Level' button or select the desired level on the 'Breadcrumb'.

Deleting the playlist

To clear the current playlist click on the waste bin.

Deleting a track

To delete a track, or a selection of tracks, drag and drop the track(s) onto the waste bin.

Saving the playlist

To save the entire playlist click on the 'Save' button and enter the name you wish to give the playlist. It is also possible to save a selection of tracks from the playlist by dragging the a selection of tracks to the 'Save' button.

Putting a room into standby

To put a room into standby, first select the room and then tap the standby button. When the room selection box shows 'No room selected' the room has been put into standby.

Troubleshooting

I have a Microsoft mouse and when I interact with KinskyDesktop it appears to 'freeze' for long periods

This is an issue with the IntelliPoint drivers supplied with newer Microsoft mice and the .NET framework.

To fix the problem you need to un-assign the 'Instant Viewer' action from whatever mouse button it is assigned to (typically the middle mouse button).