transcoding BBC has streams

[Peregrino]

(18-12-2015 19:58)simoncn Wrote:  

(18-12-2015 19:42)Peregrino Wrote:  I'm very grateful for your suggestion but I haven't investigated VLC yet, and a Google search leaves me confused about exactly where it fits in. Sorry, this is probably very basic but I'm a novice at networked audio.

VLC is a media player. It is very good at playing network streams and local files in many different formats. It is simple to install and use. I haven't had much success with its UPnP capabilities and I wouldn't recommend using it as a UPnP control point or renderer (the next version is reputed to be a big improvement).

I suggest you try changing the stream.converter setting to /mnt/ext/opt/medialibrary/bin/ffmpeg. This is a fairly recent version that is bundled with the QNAP firmware and is known to work well.

I install VLC on the QNAP?

[Peregrino]

(18-12-2015 20:25)Peregrino Wrote:  

(18-12-2015 19:58)simoncn Wrote:  

(18-12-2015 19:42)Peregrino Wrote:  I'm very grateful for your suggestion but I haven't investigated VLC yet, and a Google search leaves me confused about exactly where it fits in. Sorry, this is probably very basic but I'm a novice at networked audio.

VLC is a media player. It is very good at playing network streams and local files in many different formats. It is simple to install and use. I haven't had much success with its UPnP capabilities and I wouldn't recommend using it as a UPnP control point or renderer (the next version is reputed to be a big improvement).

I suggest you try changing the stream.converter setting to /mnt/ext/opt/medialibrary/bin/ffmpeg. This is a fairly recent version that is bundled with the QNAP firmware and is known to work well.

I install VLC on the QNAP?

When I try set stream.converter to /mnt/ext/opt/medialibrary/bin/ffmpeg I get a red text message saying convOut=-af aresample=resampler=soxr:precision=28 is incorrect for that converter. Does that mean it doesn't have libsoxr?

The ffmpeg I was using was the latest from http://johnvansickle.com/ffmpeg/, and I didn't get the message with that.

If I remove the convert text and us /mnt/ext/opt/medialibrary/bin/ffmpeg, I have exactly the same non-playing when I transcode the BBC stream.

[simoncn]

(18-12-2015 20:25)Peregrino Wrote:  I install VLC on the QNAP?

I have VLC installed on Windows. There is also a Mac version. This is only for testing, so it doesn't matter where it is installed.

(18-12-2015 22:07)Peregrino Wrote:  When I try set stream.converter to /mnt/ext/opt/medialibrary/bin/ffmpeg I get a red text message saying convOut=-af aresample=resampler=soxr:precision=28 is incorrect for that converter. Does that mean it doesn't have libsoxr?

The ffmpeg I was using was the latest from http://johnvansickle.com/ffmpeg/, and I didn't get the message with that.

If I remove the convert text and us /mnt/ext/opt/medialibrary/bin/ffmpeg, I have exactly the same non-playing when I transcode the BBC stream.

OK, this shows clearly that the ffmpeg version you are using isn't causing the problem.

[Peregrino]

(18-12-2015 22:59)simoncn Wrote:  

(18-12-2015 20:25)Peregrino Wrote:  I install VLC on the QNAP?

I have VLC installed on Windows. There is also a Mac version. This is only for testing, so it doesn't matter where it is installed.

(18-12-2015 22:07)Peregrino Wrote:  When I try set stream.converter to /mnt/ext/opt/medialibrary/bin/ffmpeg I get a red text message saying convOut=-af aresample=resampler=soxr:precision=28 is incorrect for that converter. Does that mean it doesn't have libsoxr?

The ffmpeg I was using was the latest from http://johnvansickle.com/ffmpeg/, and I didn't get the message with that.

If I remove the convert text and us /mnt/ext/opt/medialibrary/bin/ffmpeg, I have exactly the same non-playing when I transcode the BBC stream.

OK, this shows clearly that the ffmpeg version you are using isn't causing the problem.

OK, I'm getting the hang of VLC now. Streaming http://10.0.1.2:9790/minimstreamer/*/R3 with VLC to my Mac - and through that to the same DAC I was using with the Renderer - changes the situation. Now I can do aac:wav and it works converting to all output rates up to and including 24/352. So its something with how the Renderer reacts to the wav stream that is the problem?

[simoncn]

(19-12-2015 00:19)Peregrino Wrote:  OK, I'm getting the hang of VLC now. Streaming http://10.0.1.2:9790/minimstreamer/*/R3 with VLC to my Mac - and through that to the same DAC I was using with the Renderer - changes the situation. Now I can do aac:wav and it works converting to all output rates up to and including 24/352. So its something with how the Renderer reacts to the wav stream that is the problem?

Yes, this confirms it is a renderer issue.

There is one more thing you can try, although you might have tried it already. In stream.transcode, change aac:wav to *:wav without changing anything else, then restart MinimServer. This will add a .wav extension to the end of the stream URL, which might be necessary for this renderer.

If this doesn't work, the step would be to contact the renderer manufacturer and ask them what is causing the problem.

[Peregrino]

(19-12-2015 10:37)simoncn Wrote:  

(19-12-2015 00:19)Peregrino Wrote:  OK, I'm getting the hang of VLC now. Streaming http://10.0.1.2:9790/minimstreamer/*/R3 with VLC to my Mac - and through that to the same DAC I was using with the Renderer - changes the situation. Now I can do aac:wav and it works converting to all output rates up to and including 24/352. So its something with how the Renderer reacts to the wav stream that is the problem?

Yes, this confirms it is a renderer issue.

There is one more thing you can try, although you might have tried it already. In stream.transcode, change aac:wav to *:wav without changing anything else, then restart MinimServer. This will add a .wav extension to the end of the stream URL, which might be necessary for this renderer.

If this doesn't work, the step would be to contact the renderer manufacturer and ask them what is causing the problem.

I'd tried *.wav, and now I've tried it with all the other permutations we've been through. No go. Thanks very much for your time: I'll contact the renderer manufacturer.

[simoncn]

I looked at your log again and I noticed something quite strange. The renderer sends the HTTP GET request at 12:23:14 and MinimStreamer doesn't respond until 12:23:31. This long delay might be causing the problem.

The long delay is caused by loadMediaPlaylist (at 12:23:14.765) taking 16 seconds to complete. This request from MinimStreamer to the BBC server should take less than a second. Do you always get such a long delay at this point in the debug log when you try to play this stream?

[Peregrino]

(19-12-2015 12:02)Peregrino Wrote:  

(19-12-2015 10:37)simoncn Wrote:  

(19-12-2015 00:19)Peregrino Wrote:  OK, I'm getting the hang of VLC now. Streaming http://10.0.1.2:9790/minimstreamer/*/R3 with VLC to my Mac - and through that to the same DAC I was using with the Renderer - changes the situation. Now I can do aac:wav and it works converting to all output rates up to and including 24/352. So its something with how the Renderer reacts to the wav stream that is the problem?

Yes, this confirms it is a renderer issue.

There is one more thing you can try, although you might have tried it already. In stream.transcode, change aac:wav to *:wav without changing anything else, then restart MinimServer. This will add a .wav extension to the end of the stream URL, which might be necessary for this renderer.

If this doesn't work, the step would be to contact the renderer manufacturer and ask them what is causing the problem.

I'd tried *.wav, and now I've tried it with all the other permutations we've been through. No go. Thanks very much for your time: I'll contact the renderer manufacturer.

(19-12-2015 15:05)simoncn Wrote:  I looked at your log again and I noticed something quite strange. The renderer sends the HTTP GET request at 12:23:14 and MinimStreamer doesn't respond until 12:23:31. This long delay might be causing the problem.

The long delay is caused by loadMediaPlaylist (at 12:23:14.765) taking 16 seconds to complete. This request from MinimStreamer to the BBC server should take less than a second. Do you always get such a long delay at this point in the debug log when you try to play this stream?

Here is the log showing me:

1. Selecting and successfully playing a BBC stream (without transcoding).

2. Adding aac:wav to stream.transcode.

3. Rescanning/starting MinimServer.

4. Attempting (and failing) to play the same stream.

5. Deleting aac:wav from stream.transcode.

6. Rescanning/starting MinimServer.

7. Selecting and successfully playing the same stream again (without transcoding).

There is always a fairly long delay when I first select one of these streams. If that stream plays and I then select another stream, the second stream starts to play without real delay.

[simoncn]

(19-12-2015 21:12)Peregrino Wrote:  Here is the log showing me:

1. Selecting and successfully playing a BBC stream (without transcoding).

2. Adding aac:wav to stream.transcode.

3. Rescanning/starting MinimServer.

4. Attempting (and failing) to play the same stream.

5. Deleting aac:wav from stream.transcode.

6. Rescanning/starting MinimServer.

7. Selecting and successfully playing the same stream again (without transcoding).

There is always a fairly long delay when I first select one of these streams. If that stream plays and I then select another stream, the second stream starts to play without real delay.

This log only shows steps 6 and 7. This is because the volume of log data has caused the log buffer to overflow.

From the log (step 7), I see that you have a 16-second delay even in the case where streaming is successful (not transcoding), so this delay doesn't seem to be directly related to the problem you are having. However, this delay should not be happening and it would be good to understand what is causing it. Are you located in the UK? Do you have any firewall or antivirus software running that might be interfering with network communication?

I don't have any more ideas about what could be causing the problem. I hope the renderer manufacturer will be able to help identify the cause.

[Peregrino]

(19-12-2015 22:01)simoncn Wrote:  

(19-12-2015 21:12)Peregrino Wrote:  Here is the log showing me:

1. Selecting and successfully playing a BBC stream (without transcoding).

2. Adding aac:wav to stream.transcode.

3. Rescanning/starting MinimServer.

4. Attempting (and failing) to play the same stream.

5. Deleting aac:wav from stream.transcode.

6. Rescanning/starting MinimServer.

7. Selecting and successfully playing the same stream again (without transcoding).

There is always a fairly long delay when I first select one of these streams. If that stream plays and I then select another stream, the second stream starts to play without real delay.

This log only shows steps 6 and 7. This is because the volume of log data has caused the log buffer to overflow.

From the log (step 7), I see that you have a 16-second delay even in the case where streaming is successful (not transcoding), so this delay doesn't seem to be directly related to the problem you are having. However, this delay should not be happening and it would be good to understand what is causing it. Are you located in the UK? Do you have any firewall or antivirus software running that might be interfering with network communication?

I don't have any more ideas about what could be causing the problem. I hope the renderer manufacturer will be able to help identify the cause.

Thanks again. Yes I'm in the UK. There shouldn't be anything interfering with communication on that network, but I'll have a look and check. I've written to exaSound about the problem.