Operation Manual

Similar add-ons are available under the Music and Video menus, and operate in the same way. Using these add-ons, you can
view picture content and stream audio content from sites such as Flickr, Picasa, The Big Picture, Grooveshark, Sky.fm and
SoundCloud.
Streaming Local Network Media
The Xbmc software supports the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) media streaming standard, allowing it to connect to a range of
devices on your home network. UPnP support is included in most modern mobile phones, games consoles and network-
attached storage (NAS) devices for sharing and streaming videos, music and pictures. Many laptops and desktops also come
with support for UPnP or the closely linked Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) standard—check your documentation to
find out how to enable this feature on your own devices.
Xbmc isn’t just limited to UPnP connections, however—the software can also connect to network servers running the Network
File System (NFS) standard common to Unix-based systems, the Server Message Block (SMB) standard common to Windows
servers and the Zeroconf standard common to OS X devices. No matter what network-attached device you use to store your
media content, it’s likely that Xbmc will support at least one way of connecting to it.
To configure Xbmc to connect to a server on your home network, choose the media type—Video, Music or Pictures—and click
the Add Source option. In the window that appears, choose Browse to retrieve a list of source types (see Figure 7-5). These
source types include local drives connected to the Raspberry Pi, which are highlighted with a blue icon as well as network
devices, which are highlighted with a red icon. Choose the type of server you’re trying to connect to from the list, and then click
on the server that appears.
If the server you select has multiple folders available—such as folders for different genres, artists, albums or file types—select the
folder you want Xbmc to connect to and click the OK button. This will return you to the Add Source screen (see Figure 7-6)
with the required information filled in. If additional details are required—such as a user name and password for a protected
server—you’ll need to fill these in before clicking OK.
Figure 7-5: Choosing a network source in Xbmc