Transcode advice

[DavidHB]

(18-02-2017 19:52)Donuk Wrote:  Thanks for that Simon. I think I understand now.
So control software, like Lumin, Kinsky, Kazoo will tell my streamer, i.e. write on its playlist, not only where a file is on a NAS, but what sort of file it thinks it is. And transcoding has to con it so that the file is treated properly. Cunning....

Lumin is different, because it, essentially, re-indexes the library for its own purposes; when you access the Lumin tabs, you get the Lumin library, not the MimimServer index, which is only available via the 'Folders' tab (so 'folders' in Lumin does not mean the same thing as in, for example, Kazoo). As I understand Simon's advice, changing the stream.transcode property changes the URL offered by MinimServer, so Lumin has to upload and index it all over again. A far from ideal design concept, IMO. Other control points cache some information (especially album art), but they use MinimServer's indexing for browsing, searching and selection.

The point about transcoded files is not that the control point has to think it is something other than what it actually is. From the perspective of both the control point and the renderer, the transcoded file is the real thing. When Bubble tells me that my DSM is playing a WAV file (rather than the FLAC that is actually stored in the library), that is exactly what it is doing. No need for any trickery at all. But, I agree, it's still very clever.

David