While you could supercede a lot of desktop apps withonline equivalentswhen using a Chromebook — and evenrun Linux apps — you ca n’t exactly transfer your local medium library wholesale from Windows or macOS to your sparse and light laptop computer . Here are some of the smartest ways to take your medium depository library anywhere .
Of course we ’re not privy to exactly how you ’ve got your local library set up at the consequence , or your program of choice , but you should find enough alternative in the lean below to work out some kind of solution . Some swear on keep another laptop or desktop around to function media to your Chromebook , but you may also change everything to the cloud if you ’re getting rid of your original computer .
The only media filing cabinet you ca n’t transfer at all to Chrome OS are iTunes movies and TV shows . There ’s no means to get at them over the web , there ’s no Android app that can play them , and there ’s no iTunes for Linux . It ’s one intellect not to corrupt all of your digital media through iTunes in the first place !
Photo: Alex Cranz (Gizmodo)
Basic media streaming
On a very basic level , you may hand over a few dollars a calendar month to Google , Microsoft , Amazon , Dropbox , or another service , upload all your video and audio content to the cloud , and then pullulate it through the web interface of your chosen serve . How much you ’ll have to pay depends on how much digital poppycock you ’ve got .
All the apps we ’ve just mentioned ( and several more besides ) will be only too happy to pullulate audio recording and TV through a Chrome OS web tab , as long as they ’re saved in a pop data format , and unencumbered by any kind of DRM protection ( so iTunes television is out , as we ’ve already mention ) . iCloud will act audio tracks over the vane , but not video .
It ’s a quick and rocky locating , and of course of action , you do n’t get anything fancy like documentation for playlists or the choice to undulate mechanically on to the next episode of a show when the current one has finish . Netflix it is n’t , but if you ’ve only set out a few file that need transferring , it does the job .
Spotify
If you ’re primarily interested in moving your music library across , Spotify can help , as long as you ’re willing to cough up for the monthly subscription fee . To point the desktop client towards your local media files , head to preferences ( via your incarnation icon ) , then clack Add a origin under Local single file . If you ’re a heavy iTunes user , for good example , you may steer Spotify to your iTunes booklet .
Should you need to move across specific play list as well as tracks , we ’d recommendSoundiiz : It can do iTunes to Spotify , and work with a bunch of other cyclosis and local divine service as well . What you ca n’t transfer , however , are any smart playlists — this is a feature that pelt euphony services have forsake , regrettably .
With the transference done and your local file imported , you could evoke up the Spotify app forAndroidor thewebon Chrome o and pop out listening . Of course with a Spotify insurance premium explanation you might not need to add your local Indian file at all , but if there are gap in the Spotify catalogue ( and there ’s always a few ) , you could fill them — though observe that only Spotify for Android can swarm local files you ’ve tote up , not Spotify on the World Wide Web .
Google Play Music
If you want to get your local music files on your Chromebook , and you do n’t want to pay any money , and you need to get free of your original laptop or screen background , Google playact Music is perfect : It allow you upload 50,000 MP3 tracks to the swarm for no charge , and then stream them to wherever you like .
The best means to do this is to unfold upGoogle Play Musicon the web on your Windows or macOS calculator , then click the menu push button ( top left-hand ) and nibble options then Add your medicine . Just place the app to the folders where your music is stored , and it gets transferred wholesale to the swarm . If you involve to preserve playlists too , chequer out the aforementionedSoundiiz .
can up Google work Musicin your browseron Chrome OS , or debase upthe Android appon your Chromebook , and all your music is quick to go . It run so well that it ’s a shame Google Play Music is getting rolled into YouTube Music — though Googlehas promisedto eventually migrate this feature ( as well as other Google Play Music characteristic ) over to the newfangled help , so let ’s hope it ’s true to its word .
Plex
Plexis doubtless the most comprehensive option here , covering both euphony and video , as well as photograph and more if require . You do need to keep your original reckoner around to serve well up media to your Chromebook ( and switch on whenever you postulate your file ) , but you do n’t have to pay anything if you ’re just access Plex through a connection web browser app , no matter where you are in the world .
ThePlex server clientis the tonality , sitting on your Windows or macOS automobile , scanning and organizing your media library , and serving up the files whenever your Chromebook demand them . It includes all form of cool features — such as an motorcar - play mode that mix you right on to the next installment of a show when you ’ve finish the one you ’re presently watching .
From Chrome OS , only stretch up Plexon the web , and all your video recording and music are proper there for you to enjoy . As long as you ’ve got a relatively authentic net connection at both end of the link , it ’s almost like being sat in front of the computer where all your local media is stored .
Other options
Thanks to the magic of Chrome Remote Desktop , you could access a Windows or macOS computer remotely from your Chromebook , but free-base on our experience it ’s not really suitable for medium cyclosis — video is completely out of the question and audio performance is patchy at well .
Thanks to the increasing amounts of local storage on Chromebooks ( thePixel Slatecomes with up to 256 GB ) , you could imitate over all your audio and video files over and access them topically as normal . It ’s not all that elegant a resolution — Chrome OS only has a basic file manager , and its apps are designed to work with the cloud — but it ’d work well for those times when you ’re without wireless local area web accession .
For the good results , you would involve a Chromebook stand Android apps ( most now do ) , and a suitable Android medium thespian ( VLCandMX Playerare good bets , as always ) . However , if you do n’t call for anything extra like playlists or shuffled playback , Chrome OS will wager most local audio and TV files in a tablet if you just double - get across on them .
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