Transcoding questions

[bgladdy]

I have a couple questions regarding transcoding were I to purchase the full license.

Can Minimserver be set to transcode or not to transcode based on IP? For example, could it be set to never transcode for two static IPs on my LAN but DO transcode requests from other IPs?

Is transcoding processor intensive? Can a Synology transcode DSD down to 176.4 on the fly or without much delay?

Thank you.

[simoncn]

MinimServer/MinimStreamer does not support selective transcoding based on renderer IP address. This is because the UPnP protocol requires MinimServer to provide audio information for each audio item to the control point before the control point has seldected a renderer for playing the audio item.

Most Synology models should be able to transcode DSD to 176.4 PCM on the fly, with the exception of some older models that use an ARMv5 processor (see this section). You can confirm that this works on your model by activating a free 30-day MinimServer trial license before deciding whether to purchase a full license.

[bgladdy]

(06-09-2024 10:54)simoncn Wrote:  MinimServer/MinimStreamer does not support selective transcoding based on renderer IP address. This is because the UPnP protocol requires MinimServer to provide audio information for each audio item to the control point before the control point has seldected a renderer for playing the audio item.

Most Synology models should be able to transcode DSD to 176.4 PCM on the fly, with the exception of some older models that use an ARMv5 processor (see this section). You can confirm that this works on your model by activating a free 30-day MinimServer trial license before deciding whether to purchase a full license.

Got it, thank you. So, another question on the theme:

The instructions say that transcoding decisions are made based on file type and DSD must be changed to dopwav? Could it be set to transcode DSD128 dsf file to dopwav but deliver a DSD64 dsf file unchanged?

[Charles7]

Would it be a workaround to create various Minimserver profiles that have different stream.options and stream.transcode values? Clumsy, but change the active profile when selecting one or another IP.

[simbun]

(06-09-2024 20:27)Charles7 Wrote:  Would it be a workaround to create various Minimserver profiles that have different stream.options and stream.transcode values? Clumsy, but change the active profile when selecting one or another IP.

If your Synology has an Intel processor (needed for Docker) you could investigate BubbleUPnP Server for per renderer transcoding.

I think this may require the use of an OpenHome compatible control point e.g. BubbleUPnP, Lumin.

[bgladdy]

(06-09-2024 20:37)simbun Wrote:  

(06-09-2024 20:27)Charles7 Wrote:  Would it be a workaround to create various Minimserver profiles that have different stream.options and stream.transcode values? Clumsy, but change the active profile when selecting one or another IP.

If your Synology has an Intel processor (needed for Docker) you could investigate BubbleUPnP Server for per renderer transcoding.

I think this may require the use of an OpenHome compatible control point e.g. BubbleUPnP, Lumin.

Interesting, I really like the sound quality of Minimserver. Have you compared?

[simbun]

(06-09-2024 22:45)bgladdy Wrote:  Interesting, I really like the sound quality of Minimserver. Have you compared?

BubbleUPnP Server doesn't replace MinimServer, it adds compatibility and functionality to both UPnP servers and renderers, in addition to Chromecast devices.

In the context of this topic you'd configure BubbleUPnP Server to create a proxy of your chosen renderer(s), and set their individual transcoding settings appropriately. Back in your control point you'd now see two instances of each renderer (the original and the proxied), and if you play to the proxied instance the transcoding settings would be applied.

In addition to transcoding, the proxied renderers benefit from the OpenHome UPnP extension.

[simoncn]

(06-09-2024 19:11)bgladdy Wrote:  The instructions say that transcoding decisions are made based on file type and DSD must be changed to dopwav? Could it be set to transcode DSD128 dsf file to dopwav but deliver a DSD64 dsf file unchanged?

DSF files can be transcoded to dopwav, wav, wav16, wav24, wav32, L16 or L24. I will update the MinimStreamer user guide page to make this clearer. Also, you can specify different transcoding settings (including no transcoding) for different sample rates. For example, to transcode DSD128 dsf files to wav and leave other files unchanged you can set stream.transcode to this:

dsf(128):wav

[bgladdy]

(06-09-2024 23:18)simbun Wrote:  BubbleUPnP Server doesn't replace MinimServer, it adds compatibility and functionality to both UPnP servers and renderers, in addition to Chromecast devices.

In the context of this topic you'd configure BubbleUPnP Server to create a proxy of your chosen renderer(s), and set their individual transcoding settings appropriately. Back in your control point you'd now see two instances of each renderer (the original and the proxied), and if you play to the proxied instance the transcoding settings would be applied.

In addition to transcoding, the proxied renderers benefit from the OpenHome UPnP extension.

Thank you for taking the time to post. I'd heard of Bubble but not the server. This looked like it would do exactly as needed. I spent some time trying to implement and unfortunately found, as has been my experience with all things high end streaming digital audio, there was a learning curve. My Synology has been updated to latest version and BubbleUPnP Server doesn't support that. Running in Docker is a workaround but was extremely slow transferring data, become unstable and crashed Minimserver for possibly the first time ever. Uninstalled Minimserver and reinstalled to run in Docker as well and all seems to work.

I didn't quite understand that you will not get transcoding without using an OpenHome control point. I'm on iPad so tried Lumin and Linn but found them so inferior to Jplay or Auralic apps that I think I must give up on BubbleUPnP Server.

Now that Simon has clarified the possible transcode settings I think the best solution for me is to pay him for his hard work and run two instances of Minimserver in Docker, one with no transcoding and a second set to transcode for my needs in another location. I'll just have to select the correct instance depending on my location but I think that is an acceptable inconvenience.

This was a good suggestion and although ultimately a wasted many hours, it was a learning experience that helped me to find the right route for my needs.

[bgladdy]

(07-09-2024 11:58)simoncn Wrote:  DSF files can be transcoded to dopwav, wav, wav16, wav24, wav32, L16 or L24. I will update the MinimStreamer user guide page to make this clearer. Also, you can specify different transcoding settings (including no transcoding) for different sample rates. For example, to transcode DSD128 dsf files to wav and leave other files unchanged you can set stream.transcode to this:

dsf(128):wav

Thank you, that gives much more clarity on transcoding possibilities for DSD.

Based on the user guide section "Running MinimServer 2 in a Docker container on a Synology NAS" could you confirm that after purchasing a full user license I could run two instances of Minimserver in Docker on the Synology, one to transcode and the other not to transcode? Then just select which instance to use from my control app?

Thanks.