Using AirTunes and AirPort Express to Broadcast Your Music

If you have an Airport-capable Mac and an AirPort Express base station, you can broadcast your iTunes music to other locations. This is done via the iTunes feature called AirTunes.

Setting Up an AirTunes Network

To set up an AirTunes network, perform the following steps:

1.	Configure the Mac whose music you want to broadcast to use AirPort. To learn how to configure a Mac to use Airport, p. 388.
2.	Locate and configure the AirPort Express base station. You need to locate a base station close enough to the broadcast receiver to be able to connect them.
3.	Connect the AirPort Express base station to the device you will use to listen to the music being broadcast. For example, you can connect the output on the base station to a set of powered speakers, to the input on a stereo system, and so on.
4.	Configure the device on which you will listen to the music. For example, turn on the powered speakers or configure a receiver to work with the AirPort Express' input.

Configuring iTunes to Play Music via AirTunes

On the Mac that you are using to broadcast music, perform the following steps:

1.	Open the Audio pane of the iTunes Preferences window.
2.	Check the "Look for remote speakers connected with AirTunes" check box.
3.	Check the "Disable iTunes volume control for remote speakers" check box. If you don't check this, volume changes you make in iTunes will change the volume of music being played via AirTunes. You usually don't want this to be the case.
4.	Close the Preferences window. When you return to the iTunes window, you will see the Choose Speakers pop-up menu located to the left of the Equalizer button.
5.	Open the Choose Speakers pop-up menu and choose the AirPort Express base station to which you want to broadcast music.

Playing Music Over AirTunes

To broadcast music, select a playlist and play it. The music will be broadcasted to the base station you selected. You can then use the audio device connected to the base station to listen to the music.

If you want to make changes to the music being played, such as changing the playlist or moving to the next song, you will need to come back to the computer and make changes from within iTunes. AirTunes acts just like a radio stationyou can control the volume from the audio device on which you are listening to it, but you can't change the music being played. You have to go to the source to do that.

When you want to listen to music on your Mac again, select Computer Speakers on the Choose Speakers pop-up menu.

NOTE

You can also use iTunes to listen to audio books and other content from Audible.com. This service offers many audio books you can load into iTunes and listen to or transfer to an iPod to take with you.