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Control Airplay/Airtunes in iTunes 10.1 with Applescript

My previously published Applescript to control iTunes Airplay/Airtunes speakers was broken recently when Apple released iTunes version 10.1. Apple made a few minor tweaks to the speaker control elements, which is to be expected since one of the key features in the 10.1 release is related to Airplay support.

I have re-created the script, which behaves almost identically to previous versions. This one contains a little bit more error checking for dealing with various iTunes states. I’ve also included more code comments than previous versions, which should help people modify it to their own needs.

Control Airplay/Airtunes feature of iTunes 10.0 with Applescript

I’ve been using iTunes with several Airport express units utilizing Apple’s Airplay (previously called Airtunes) scattered throughout my house as a basic but very powerful “Whole House Audio” system for several months now. In addition to my computer speakers in the home office, I have an Airport Express connected via standard audio, or optical audio cable to a stereo or dedicate speaker system in each of our primary living spaces (e.g. Kitchen, Living Room, Basement, Master Bedroom). This setup has worked very well for distributing high quality music throughout the house and can easily be controlled via the iTunes console on the computer hosting the music, or with the excellent and free Apple Remote application for iOS devices (such as my iPhone).