Has anybody had any experience of using iTunes on a tablet running Windows 8.1?
As far as I can gather, this is the full version of windows, so it should run. I'm just wondering how well it will work on a touch screen device?
Also, I assume that it will be able to access an iTunes library stored on a NAS just as a PC can?
Windows 8
As long as it is running full Windows 8.1 (and not Windows RT, as used on Microsoft's Surface & Surface 2 tablets, etc.), and the tablet has sufficient disc space to install iTunes and enough memory to run it, then you should be OK. Apple's official minimum requirements:
are probably a little optimistic, especially with respect to RAM - I've rarely seen a usable iTunes installation running with less that 2GB and 4GB (or more) is preferable.
Access a library stored on NAS should be fine - though iTunes in general works better when you map the NAS to a drive letter rather than accessing folders via a network path.
As long as it is running full Windows 8.1 (and not Windows RT, as used on Microsoft's Surface & Surface 2 tablets, etc.), and the tablet has sufficient disc space to install iTunes and enough memory to run it, then you should be OK. Apple's official minimum requirements:
are probably a little optimistic, especially with respect to RAM - I've rarely seen a usable iTunes installation running with less that 2GB and 4GB (or more) is preferable.
Access a library stored on NAS should be fine - though iTunes in general works better when you map the NAS to a drive letter rather than accessing folders via a network path.
Thanks. Have ordered one for delivery tomorrow and iTunes will be one of the first things I install.
You're welcome 🙂. Report back your findings when you install!
My tablet arrived yesterday and I've got iTunes on it. Seems to work fine, but for some reason the Airplay icon is missing. The tablet can see my Airplay receiver and it seems everything else is shared correctly. Any idea why this would be?
I don't use Airplay myself so this is something of a guess ... did you install QuickTime as well as iTunes? I know that there are cases where users have found that Bluetooth speakers don't work if QuickTime is not installed or is not up to date - maybe Airplay also uses components within QT.
Thanks. I've installed Quicktime, but still no joy. Are there any options I need to enable to get it to work? I can't see anything obvious.
Two other possibilities to look at:
If neither of these addresses the issue then someone with more experience/knowledge of Airplay may be able to help ...
Changing from Direct Sound to Windows Audio Session solved it, but its being very temperamental. It disappeared completely last night and nothing I could do would get it back (rebooting router, tablet etc). This morning, the tablet wouldn't even connect to my Wi-Fi at first, so I think something is amiss with either the tablet or my router.
I have it iTunes on the tablet up to point to the iTunes library file on my PC, where my music is also stored. (eventually I plan to put it all on a NAS). When it is working, the tablet plays the music fine, but setting it to Airplay to my Hi Fi, it stops & starts every few seconds. I'm wondering if my router is the bottleneck here, as its streaming the music in both directions? It's s a 100.0Mbps connection, do I need a faster router or is the problem somewhere else?
I don't have Airplay so can't offer any more specific suggestions. You might want to post your question to the Apple TV sectionof this site as well, since that addressed Airplay-specific issues.
Ok, I don't quite know what I did (strangely, it may have just been powering on a home plug that's connected to my router but otherwise not in use), but I have now got Airplay working using my old router. However, every few seconds it cuts out for about a second then starts again. It does this with local files as well as those on the network. The tablet plays files perfectly through its own speakers and my laptop & PC work fine with Airplay.
Could it be that the tablet is just not up to the job? Is there a minimum spec for Airplay, I can't find anything online? It's a Linx 10 Tablet:
Intel Atom Z3735F 1.33Ghz
2GB RAM
Window 8.1 32bit
Hopefully this isn't the case and there's something in iTunes / Network / Router settings that can resolve this?
That's definitely at the low end of the specs for iTunes ... I have a Windows 8.1 notebook that has:
which it just about usable for iTunes as long as I'm not trying to run anything else significant at the same time - for example, playback will stutter or be interrupted if I'm running more than one browser window or other disc intensive processes like loading/saving a large MS Office document. That is with a moderately large iTunes library - another factor that can affect performance. Another factor in my case is whether I'm using the library on a local external drive, or connecting to one on my "master" system using Home Sharing. Performance is actually better in the latter case - I suspect that there's more extensive buffering over Home Sharing than there is using a slow-ish (USB 2.0) external drive.
Although I'm not using Airplay I do use this system - in either of its possible configurations - with Bluetooth audio (either portable speakers when I'm on the road, or a Bluetooth adapter hooked into my hi-fi system when I'm at home). This doesn't seem to be a problem, though obviously the Bluetooth link is dedicated device-to-device whereas Airplay is potentially competing for bandwidth on your wi-fi network.
You might want to check how your tablet functions with nothing but iTunes running, and maybe also try and reduce the number of background processes that start up with Windows.
It sound like the engines cannee take it!
I haven't got much else running at all. It's brand new, the only other programmes I've installed are Firefox, Chrome, VLC Media Player and AVG security. Task manager shows memory usage of 50% and CPU of 4% while iTunes is playing via Airplay. Out of this iTunes is only using 55MB RAM and no more than 2.4% CPU, so it doesn't sound like its stretching the system, but I have little understanding of these things.
I've tried streaming via DLNA and it seems to work ok, but I noticed similar problems playing video (SD & HD).
Will be a shame if this doesn't work. It's a nice little tablet in all other respects. I still wonder if theres a problem on the Network as I now noticed internet pages are incredibly slow to load while Airplay is running.
Without knowing many technical details about Airplay, it does sound like your problems are more network-related than stretching the capacity of the tablet. I assume that you didn't have a "Eureka!" moment as a result of posting your question over on the Apple TV pages ... maybe someone here with direct experience of configuring and fine tuning Airplay may be able to offer more detailed advice and guidance.
Thanks. I'll have another look at this tomorrow and bring it up on the Apple TV forum.
iTunes on Window 8.1 Tablet
