Sound quality comparison

[simoncn]

(31-08-2014 20:38)krutsch Wrote:  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, ...

Straam #3 is added by BubbleUPnP Server. I don't know whether there is a configuration option to control this.

Quote: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).

It is simple to do this by using the setting:

flac:wav24/-/L16

Quote: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.

Which part of this wouldn't you be able to achieve by using MinimStreamer transcoding alone? You wouldn't have stream #3, but this is a duplicate of stream #1 and therefore redundant.

Quote: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.

Can't you achieve exactly that by using MinimStreamer transcoding instead of BubbleUPnP Server transcoding?

Quote: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.

The control point should do this already. The streams are ordered and the control point should pick the first one that matches the renderer capabilities. What is the scenario where this doesn't do what you want?

Quote: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...

I would like to eventually extend the capabilities of MinimServer to do some of what BubbleUPnP Server is currently doing, rather than working to integrate these together in some way.

Quote:Anyway, nice work!

Thanks very much!