Unable to stream 192kHz on DSM 5

[simoncn]

(10-07-2014 08:58)rweten Wrote:  The switch is fine. I've reinstalled Minimstreamer and checked with a different switch. The problem repeats with both switches and any port on the switch!

However I've noticed one particular oddity about the network connection. On the switch, only one of the status LEDs on the port comes on. It's the left one and it comes on a slow-blinking green. There is no light on the right-hand side, which for all the other connections is flickering green. [EDIT: Have now got hold of Netgear and they tell me that this means the link is operating at 100 Mbits; all the others are operating at 1 Gbit. I understand KDS only operates at 100 Mbits anyway. So it looks as though there's nothing obviously wrong here.]

On the Klimax, the left hand connection is solid green and the right one is flickering orange. So the Klimax appears to think there's a data transfer happening.

It looks as though the connection might be operating at a seriously degraded link speed based on what I'm now experiencing:

- I've now got the same drop-out problem streaming other kinds of files including ordinary 16 bit CD files.

- I am finding that the error is repeatable - i.e. the drop-outs occur in the same place each time I play the file.

- However, I've never had this problem before installing Minimstreamer, even when streaming 24/192 FLAC files.

Richard

Could it possibly be a fault with the Ethernet port on the NAS?

You could install MinimServer/MinimStreamer on a PC or Mac and set this up with a test library containing a single 24/192 file. If you are able to stream this file to the Klimax with transcoding, the NAS is the likely suspect.

Edit: Another possibility is a faulty cable. It is worth eliminating this by swapping cables before you do any further investigation.

[beckphotonik]

Is your switch a Netgear ProSafe model, can you tweak the port configuration from a Windows PC? if you can, then make sure the ports for the NAS and the streamer are set for high priority and restrict the data rate of the streamer port to 100Mbit ( or thereabouts). It seems like you need to force flow control between the NAS and streamer for 24/192 (and probably DSD64).
I needed to do this on my latest system but the "culprit" was the streamer not DSM5.

[rweten]

Could it possibly be a fault with the Ethernet port on the NAS?

You could install MinimServer/MinimStreamer on a PC or Mac and set this up with a test library containing a single 24/192 file. If you are able to stream this file to the Klimax with transcoding, the NAS is the likely suspect.

Edit: Another possibility is a faulty cable. It is worth eliminating this by swapping cables before you do any further investigation.
[/quote]

Looks unlikely to be a fault with the Ethernet port on the NAS. I've tested that by copying files back and forth to my PC and it transfers gigabytes of data in a few seconds, suggesting it's running at full rate.

I've now done the test you suggested, running Minimstreamer on my PC, and the files play properly.

I'm now going to move on and test the cable (which is a bit of a pig to replace as it's now running under floors and carpets etc. I'll also test beckphotonik's suggestion about controlling the port configuration, but my first port of call will be the cable.

Thanks for all your help,
R

[simoncn]

(11-07-2014 09:11)rweten Wrote:  I'm now going to move on and test the cable (which is a bit of a pig to replace as it's now running under floors and carpets etc. I'll also test beckphotonik's suggestion about controlling the port configuration, but my first port of call will be the cable.

Is this the cable from the switch to the Klimax or the switch to the NAS? The former would have been tested when you streamed a file from your PC to the Klimax. The latter would have been tested when you copied data from the NAS to your PC.

[rweten]

(11-07-2014 10:21)simoncn Wrote:  

(11-07-2014 09:11)rweten Wrote:  I'm now going to move on and test the cable (which is a bit of a pig to replace as it's now running under floors and carpets etc. I'll also test beckphotonik's suggestion about controlling the port configuration, but my first port of call will be the cable.

Is this the cable from the switch to the Klimax or the switch to the NAS? The former would have been tested when you streamed a file from your PC to the Klimax. The latter would have been tested when you copied data from the NAS to your PC.

I was thinking about the cable to the Klimax, but it had also occurred to me that if it works from my PC then the cable should be OK. It looks more likely to be NAS related based on what we've seen so far.

So the only other option I'm looking at out now is the possibility of the port configuration.....I'll try that tomorrow.

[simoncn]

(11-07-2014 20:16)rweten Wrote:  I was thinking about the cable to the Klimax, but it had also occurred to me that if it works from my PC then the cable should be OK. It looks more likely to be NAS related based on what we've seen so far.

So the only other option I'm looking at out now is the possibility of the port configuration.....I'll try that tomorrow.

Did you try my earlier suggestion of doing an offline conversion to WAV24 and streaming the converted file from your NAS? This would eliminate the possibility of something related to MinimStreamer transcoding.

[rweten]

(11-07-2014 20:35)simoncn Wrote:  

(11-07-2014 20:16)rweten Wrote:  I was thinking about the cable to the Klimax, but it had also occurred to me that if it works from my PC then the cable should be OK. It looks more likely to be NAS related based on what we've seen so far.

So the only other option I'm looking at out now is the possibility of the port configuration.....I'll try that tomorrow.

Did you try my earlier suggestion of doing an offline conversion to WAV24 and streaming the converted file from your NAS? This would eliminate the possibility of something related to MinimStreamer transcoding.

I hadn't done that, but I have now. The converted WAV files play perfectly; the FLAC transcoded files have the problem still. So perhaps it looks as though the problem may be more in the transcoding?

The drop-outs always occur in the same places on the same tracks, so there is some consistency there.

Also, since posting before, I have upgraded the Klimax firmware to latest version, but that has made no difference, unfortunately.

R

[simoncn]

(12-07-2014 10:15)rweten Wrote:  I hadn't done that, but I have now. The converted WAV files play perfectly; the FLAC transcoded files have the problem still. So perhaps it looks as though the problem may be more in the transcoding?

The drop-outs always occur in the same places on the same tracks, so there is some consistency there.

Also, since posting before, I have upgraded the Klimax firmware to latest version, but that has made no difference, unfortunately.

R

This suggests that the NAS is consuming 100% CPU when transcoding 24/192 files. Another possibility is that the NAS is running out of RAM. What is the exact model of NAS? How did you check the CPU consumption?

Another thought: the FLAC compression level can affect CPU consumption when transcoding. Did you rip the 24/192 file yourself? If so, what level of FLAC compression did you use?

[rweten]

[
This suggests that the NAS is consuming 100% CPU when transcoding 24/192 files. Another possibility is that the NAS is running out of RAM. What is the exact model of NAS? How did you check the CPU consumption?

Another thought: the FLAC compression level can affect CPU consumption when transcoding. Did you rip the 24/192 file yourself? If so, what level of FLAC compression did you use?
[/quote]

This is a bit embarrassing but I've just realised that my previous quick check of CPU usage looked at my Duo, not the NV+. I don't have a monitor app for the NV+ so can't see what the CPU and memory are doing. Do you know of a suitable add-on for the ARM processor model (NV+ v2)? Alternatively is there anything in the logs that will give a clue on CPU and memory?

Regarding the box, it is a ReadyNAS NV+ v2. It has 256Mb of RAM.

I had a look at the logs (happy to send them to you, if helpful) and it does show that there isn't a lot of memory free - about 20Mb by the looks of things.

The files I'm testing with are a sample Studio Master file from Linn (actually a 24/88 file) so received already packed. It is 42% compressed.

The other is a file I ripped myself with dBpoweramp. The compression is set to Level 5 (their standard) and the files show as 30% compressed.

R

[simoncn]

(13-07-2014 14:22)rweten Wrote:  This is a bit embarrassing but I've just realised that my previous quick check of CPU usage looked at my Duo, not the NV+. I don't have a monitor app for the NV+ so can't see what the CPU and memory are doing. Do you know of a suitable add-on for the ARM processor model (NV+ v2)? Alternatively is there anything in the logs that will give a clue on CPU and memory?

Regarding the box, it is a ReadyNAS NV+ v2. It has 256Mb of RAM.

I presume the NV+ v2 is running the same RAIDiator 5.3.x firmware as my Duo v2. This doesn't seem to have a built-in resource monitor that shows CPU usage in real time. You would need to install the 'Enable Root SSH Access' add-on, login to the NAS using SSH, and run the 'top' command.

Quote:I had a look at the logs (happy to send them to you, if helpful) and it does show that there isn't a lot of memory free - about 20Mb by the looks of things.

This is much more likely to be a CPU issue than a memory issue.

Quote:The files I'm testing with are a sample Studio Master file from Linn (actually a 24/88 file) so received already packed. It is 42% compressed.

The other is a file I ripped myself with dBpoweramp. The compression is set to Level 5 (their standard) and the files show as 30% compressed.

R

I looked on the Linn Records site and I found sample downloads for a 24/192 stereo file and a 24/88 5.1 file. Are you using the 24/88 5.1 file? This might explain the CPU resource issue because transcoding a 5.1 file uses three times as much CPU resource as a stereo file.

If you can post a download link or pointer to the Linn test file you are using, I will try transcoding this file on my Duo v2.