Control an Onkyo, Denon, Marantz or Yamaha receiver from your computer

How RustMusic talks to the receiver

Each brand has its own network protocol. RustMusic’s remote speaks your receiver’s directly, on the local network, without going through the Internet:

• Discovery: RustMusic queries the network from every network adapter on the computer, listens for receivers’ announcements, and queries each address on the local network to find those that don’t answer announcements.
• Control: a connection stays open with the chosen receiver. Power, volume, input or listening mode commands travel over it as short messages.
• Status updates: whatever you change with the original remote or on the front panel shows up in RustMusic straight away.
• Capabilities: on connection, RustMusic reads the receiver’s profile (inputs, volume range, bass and treble, zone 2) and adapts the remote to that model.

Enable the remote and choose your receiver

1. 1

   Connect the receiver to the network

   Over Ethernet or Wi-Fi, on the same local network as the computer. The receiver must be on or in network standby to reply.

2. 2

   Enable the remote

   In Settings → Remote, turn on “Enable the remote”. The search for receivers starts immediately.

3. 3

   Choose your receiver

   Under “Controlled amplifier”, the receivers found are listed with their brand, model and IP address. Click Control. The Search button runs the search again; Stop controlling closes the connection.

4. 4

   Pull out the remote

   A tab appears on the right edge of the window: one click slides the panel out, another tucks it away. Its indicator light shows whether the receiver is on, in standby or unreachable.

The remote at a glance

At the top, a display styled like a receiver’s front panel shows the input, listening mode and volume, or MUTING when muted. Clicking the listening mode opens the Sound tab. Below it, set the volume with the − and + buttons (they repeat when held), the slider or Mute. The mouse wheel over the display also changes the volume.

The power button switches the receiver on with one click. To put it in standby, hold the button for just under a second, until it fills with red: a stray click won’t switch the receiver off. With the panel focused, the keyboard’s up and down arrows change the volume and the M key mutes.

Everything adapts to the controlled receiver: its inputs, its volume range (in half steps if the receiver works that way), its bass and treble range, its zone 2. Whatever you change on the receiver itself shows up in RustMusic immediately.

The Navigation tab and mini mode

On the NET (or USB) input, the Navigation tab shows the receiver’s screen as its own app does: services with their logos (Spotify, Deezer, TuneIn, DLNA, AirPlay…), then folders and tracks. One click opens a line. During playback, the screen shows the cover, the time and the play/pause, previous, next, shuffle and repeat keys. The tab opens by itself when the receiver switches to NET.

On Denon, Marantz and Yamaha, the network input also shows the list and what’s playing; on Yamaha, with the cover. A long list scrolls within its box and follows the cursor.

On other inputs, the direction controls, Back, Home and Menu drive the receiver’s on-screen menu on the TV. Two layouts to choose from: the Wheel, iPod-style (press the ring for a direction, run your finger around it or use the mouse wheel to scroll, Select in the center), or Keys in a row, more compact. The Switch to NET button jumps to the network input.

Mini mode shrinks the remote to the display, power, input (previous or next source) and volume. Clicking the display brings back the full remote. The choice is remembered between launches.

Combined with UPnP/DLNA or AirPlay playback

The remote controls the receiver; it doesn’t send it any music. To play your library on the receiver, RustMusic 0.3.0 also offers network playback, in beta and off by default, under Settings → Network & DLNA. The two work together:

• “Play on a network player” (UPnP/DLNA): the receiver appears in the output menu, under Network players. The file is sent as is and the receiver decodes it, in hi-res if it can. A format it reports it can’t play, often DSD, is flagged.
• “Play on an AirPlay device (v1)”: RustMusic decodes and sends the sound in CD quality (16-bit / 44.1 kHz, ALAC). RustMusic’s volume acts on the sound it sends, never on the receiver’s: the remote is what sets the receiver’s volume.
• During playback, use the remote to switch the receiver on, pick its network input if needed, and adjust its volume and listening mode.

The two settings are independent: you can use the remote without network playback, and vice versa. For AirPlay, only AirPlay 1 devices without a password are offered; DSD is not supported.

Requirements and troubleshooting

• Supported brands: Onkyo, Pioneer, Integra, Denon, Marantz and Yamaha (MusicCast), with a network connection.
• Denon and Marantz only accept one control connection at a time: if another app is already controlling the receiver, close it.
• The computer and receiver must be on the same local network, not on the Wi-Fi “guest” network, which often isolates devices. Discovery goes out from every network adapter on the computer, even with a VPN or virtual adapter active.
• No receiver found? Check that it is on or in network standby. Depending on the model, a setting in the receiver’s menu (often called Network Standby) keeps it reachable in standby, which also lets you switch it on from RustMusic.
• If the receiver becomes unreachable, the remote shows Reconnecting… and RustMusic retries every 5 seconds. It finds the receiver again by itself after a dropout, even if the receiver’s network address has changed (a new lease from the router).
• The remote is part of the RustMusic desktop app, on Windows, macOS and Linux. It is not a phone app.