When I like to share my iTunes library, I have to options to do so.
- Home sharing via my Apple ID
- Network sharing.
What is the difference between these to? Are there any advantages or disadvantages or missing features comparing these two methods?
Difference between ‘Home sharing’ and ‘Network sharing’
home-sharingitunes
Related Solutions
On the computer
- Open iTunes
- Turn on Home Sharing in the Advanced menu
- Keep iTunes running
On the iDevice
- Open Preferences
- Open Music Preferences
- Enter same AppleID for Home Sharing as in iTunes (note, you may have to re-enter the account if it appears already to be there. This both verifies the stored password is correct and re-registers the iOS device with your account's Home Sharing)
To Use
- Start the Music app in the iPad
- Tap on 'More' at the bottom right
- Tap on 'Shared' to see a list of shares music libraries
It can be done, using the following steps:
In iTunes, go to Preferences > Sharing Preferences. There is an option there called 'Home sharing computers and devices update play counts'. Turn that on.
After you've listened to some music, open the last.fm Scrobbler application on your computer, and it should prompt you to scrobble what you've just listened to.
Works for me - I'm using iTunes 11 on a Mac.
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Best Answer
While both options offer the possibility of streaming the content of up to five iTunes libraries through a home network, it's only through Home Sharing when you are able to actually import the content into your own iTunes Library.
Even more, when you use a computer on your Home Sharing network to download an item from the iTunes Store, you can have the item download automatically to other computers on your Home Sharing network.
Other big difference is that Home Sharing lets you stream content from your iTunes library into your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation), whilst Network sharing don't.