FLAC Files with the "≫" Character in File Name Won't Play

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon. Thanks for the post, and thanks again for your efforts to help diagnose and address this problem. I take it from your latest post that you are not optimistic that Melco would issue a new firmware update that fixes the problem that it created in one of its relatively recent firmware updates. If that is the case, then I suppose I will hold my breath and push the Melco character replacement button, hoping for the best. And yes, everything on the Melco is backed up on one external drive or another. Thanks.

[simoncn]

As Melco has already acknowledged this problem and provided a way to fix it, why would they issue a new firmware update?

If I were Melco, I would expect people to push the button I have provided and come back to me if that doesn't fix the issue.

I have not discussed this issue with Melco. The above opinion is entirely my own.

[GreenMtnGringo]

(26-01-2021 18:05)simoncn Wrote:  As Melco has already acknowledged this problem and provided a way to fix it, why would they issue a new firmware update?

If I were Melco, I would expect people to push the button I have provided and come back to me if that doesn't fix the issue.

I have not discussed this issue with Melco. The above opinion is entirely my own.

Hi Simon. I understand and respect your opinion. With the utmost respect, I see things differently. As of July 2019, the then-current Melco firmware (v3.91) had no problem with music files containing a '»' character of either variety (Apple and Microsoft). But Melco FW v3.92 -- the current version for my N1Z Mk. I, which was introduced on May 13, 2020 -- cannot even display music files containing at least one variety of the '»' character (I gather it is the Microsoft variety that is the issue).

So, in FW v3.91, Melco introduced a character-replacement feature to fix a problem that, at least as far as the '»' character is concerned, had not yet reared its head.

Then, in FW v3.92, music files with one kind of '»' in the file name suddenly ceased to be visible and playable.

All I was hoping for was that Melco could do something to go back to the '»' status quo as it existed on June 6, 2019 when FW v3.91 was released.

You have gone above and beyond the call of duty to try to help me with this Melco (non-MinimServer) issue, and for that I am grateful. If I 'push the button' and it does not help, I will try to reach out to Melco directly. Thanks again.

[simoncn]

Your previous post didn't say that you were using firmware 3.91 when everything was working in terms of being able to see and play these files. This changes the picture in my opinion.

As you now cannot see the files from Mac Finder, this is not an issue with MinimServer 2. It is an issue with the Melco firmware. Again, this was not clear to me from your earlier posts before today.

I understand why you are unhappy about this and I would understand if you wanted to discuss your specific situation with Melco before pushing the button.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon, and thanks for the response. I just put the overall timeline together by going to the Melco downloads page here:

https://www.melco-audio.com/downloads/

It says Melco FW v3.91 was released on June 6, 2019, and that FW v3.92 was released on May 13, 2020.

As detailed in Post #15, above, everything was working fine on July 1, 2019, which was almost a month after FW v3.91 was released. Knowing myself, I would have installed FW v3.91 within 48 hours or so of when it was released.

This is how I deduced that the "≫" character issue was introduced in FW v3.92.

Thanks for your patience, wisdom and understanding.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon. I am in touch with Melco technical support. At their suggestion, I ran the 'incompatible PC character' replacement tool this morning. The sky did not fall, but it did not fix the issue. I have alerted Melco tech support and am awaiting their reply.

[simoncn]

Thanks for the update.

If you do a MinimServer rescan, are you still getting the same log messages that you listed in this post (including '»' charcters in the filenames)?

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon, and thanks for the post. Sorry about the delay in responding -- I did not receive an email notification of a new post, so I am just seeing post #47 now.

Those log messages disappeared prior to running the Melco PC character replacement tool and they are still gone after doing so. However, the music files with "≫" in the file name remain invisible and unplayable.

Melco technical support suggests I roll back the Melco firmware from v3.92 to v3.91. I was advised that, "once you've confirmed that 3.91 makes the files visible on the shared folder and that the files are also available under Twonky then you'll need to apply the 3.91 MinimServer update too and confirm that they're also available under that."

Do you agree that a rollback to FW v3.91 is in order? And if so, is there a chance doing so could interfere with my use of MinimServer 2?

Thanks very much.

[simoncn]

Please try another test before you roll back the firmware to 3.91.

1) In the MinimServer log window, set the logging level to Debug
2) Do a MinimServer rescan
3) In the MinimServer log, check whether the files with '»' have produced messages like this:

18:29:33.407 main: visitFile file=H:\musicfiles\HMU807293\01- Villancico- Canten Dos Jilguerillos , Francisco Escalada.flac
18:29:33.408 main: reading audio file 01- Villancico- Canten Dos Jilguerillos , Francisco Escalada.flac

If you don't see these messages for the '»' files, the situation is quite serious and is unlikely to be solved by a firmware downgrade.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon, and thanks for the suggested test. I just ran it and . . . no luck.

The only music files with "visitFile" in the log message are very recent additions to the Melco's "share" folder (none of which have "≫" in the file name).

No music files generated the phrase, "reading audio file" in the log.

Did running the Melco PC-character removal tool make things even worse than they were already?

Thanks.