Sound quality comparison

[krutsch]

(31-08-2014 09:27)simoncn Wrote:  You can get this with 0.4.2 by using this transcoding combination:

flac:wav24/-

The dash at the end represents the original untranscoded FLAC stream. In BubbleUPnP, you will see the wav24 stream as #1 and the FLAC stream as #2.

So, I did this (cool!) and using BubbleUPnP Server (OpenHome) and the BubbleUPnP client as the control point and renderer (i.e. local renderer), with configured access via the Internet, I actually see three (3) streams:

Stream #1 WAV, 24 bits, ...

Stream #2 FLAC, 16 bits, ...

Stream #3 LPCM, 16 bits, ...

When I connect directly to a local instance of MinimServer (i.e. NOT through BubbleUPnP Server), I only see the first two (2) (i.e. NOT the LPCM version).

So, I then enabled the BubbleUPnP Server option to transcode all high-res audio to 44.1/16 or 48/16 FLAC. Then, the same tracks come across as

Stream #1 FLAC, 16 bits, ...

Stream #2 WAV, 24 bits, ...

Stream #3 FLAC, 16 bits, ...

Stream #4 LPCM, 16 bits, ...

Which is nice, because then when I am in the house, I use my streamers to access the wav24 version (by basically not connecting through the OpenHome server) and on the road, my remotely accessed streams are transcoded to FLAC 16.

It would be nice, however, if I could still use the Bubble OpenHome server in-house, because of the playlist management features.

[EDIT]: I made a mistake; the OpenHome function is still accessible without transcoding. I forgot that these functions are separate and I can still access the OpenHome version of the renderer (e.g. Denon (OpenHome)) without going through the BubbleUPnP server that enables remote access and transcoding. So, this is pretty close to what I want, minus the minor nitpick described below:

And, it would be nice if BubbleUPnP server *didn't* transcode the wav24 version back into FLAC, but it appears to do just that (stream #1 references the wav24 version in the URL). That is, look at the available streams and if one matches the transcoding parameters checked in the server config, just use it, rather than transcoding stream #1 by default.

It sounds like to make this really work, the control point needs to be configurable, such that it prefers one codec over another. Then, MinimStreamer can send both a wav24 version and the original FLAC/MP3/AAC version in a secondary stream, and the proxy server or control point picks the one that is both compatible and desired.

Are you in communication with the BubbleUPnP author? Because putting these two servers more closely together would top everything out there today, feature-wise. I'm sure you are aware of that, though...

Anyway, nice work!