ffmpeg + sox transcoding and gapless playback

[krutsch]

(25-07-2016 17:54)krutsch Wrote:  

(29-04-2016 21:50)simoncn Wrote:  Depending on how the renderer implements gapless transitions between tracks, it is possible that transcoding could cause an issue because of a slightly longer delay between MinimServer receiving the stream request and sending the start of the streamed data.

Are you using flac:wav24 (transcoding using MinimStreamer only) or are you using some other transcoding setting that does transcoding using ffmpeg and libsoxr? If it is the latter, try the former to see if that helps.

You could also try converting the album to wav24 using an offline converter such as dBpoweramp. Do you still get the problem?


If the problem is related to a slightly longer delay, the only solution will be a change to the renderer to handle this correctly.

So, I spent some time testing this out; whether I use ffmpeg or MinmStreamer's internal transcoding for FLAC, I still hear the slightest 'tick' between tracks.

I've since moved my library off of the NAS share onto a Thunderbolt drive directly connected to the Mac Mini running MinimServer, so the storage is as optimized as I can make it (it's fast).

There isn't any delay ... it's just that little tick, which is annoying with Volumio. So, for now I will go back to just native FLAC.

EDIT: also, I tested this with and without BubbleUPnPServer in the mix - same result with two different renderers (Volumio with upmpdci and Bryston BDP-1 with gmediarender-resurrect).

I spent some time looking into this, again. I manually converted some FLAC tracks to WAV using XLD in my Mac. Played this through Minim and their isn't even the slightest tick/pop when transitioning between gapless tracks.

The same tracks as FLAC, converted on-the-fly to WAV with Minim exhibit the behavior I describe above. This seems to be the case regardless of whether I use the Minim converter or FFMPeg (i.e. flac:wav24. It also doesn't matter whether I specify wav24 or just wav.

Again, there is no delay, just a slight tick sound at the point of track transition. This occurs across a variety of gapless tracks.

I also tested this on two different renderers: Volumio 1.55 running on a Cubox-i4Pro and a Bryston BDP-1 in DLNA mode (runs gmediarender). Same behavior on both renderers.

Is it possible that something is being dropped off the end of the converted audio stream? It almost sounds like a sample is missing at the end of the previous/next track, causing the slight tick.