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by geekuillaume 1534 days ago
There are some projects like Snapcast[1] or SoundSync[2] (disclaimer: I'm the creator of Soundsync) to let multiple devices communicate together on the same network. The transmission-side isn't that complex: you choose an audio codec, transmit chunks of data and add a synchronization layer (to keep multiple outputs in sync and to correctly delay video playback to match the soundtrack). The bigger problem is building an ecosystem big enough to make it attractive. Bluetooth sucks but is everywhere.

[1] https://github.com/badaix/snapcast [2] https://github.com/geekuillaume/soundsync

5 comments

I hadn't seen SoundSync before. It looks neat.

Like a lot of other people doing (or trying to do) Whole Home Audio, I'm using the Home Assistant open source platform as the central automation controller. You may want to look at creating a Home Assistant integration for SoundSync as it will expose it to the massive HA community (https://developers.home-assistant.io/docs/development_index/).

Multi output audio is one thing, but for me, something similar to spotify connect (having one master player, either elected or dedicated, and the others are remote controls for it, is more important).

I'm boycotting spotify, so I'm looking for something for soundcloud, deezer, or youtube music.

Tbh, skip deezer, as they actively refuse to create something similar to spotify connect. IMO this is the USP of sonos.. it acts as spotify connect for all services

That looks really neat, I'm not this far in my home automation system dreams (yet), but as I get closer to settling on how I will communicate back and forth to each room, I may need to take a closer look here.
Ooh, SoundSync sounds awesome (no pun intended).
What’s the latency like on Soundsync compared to Snapcast?