Transcoding HLS streams

[simoncn]

As previously discussed, you need to add /$!transcode.L16 to the URL.

[FakePlasticDunk]

(05-04-2023 19:30)simoncn Wrote:  As previously discussed, you need to add /$!transcode.L16 to the URL.

Bingo! Sorry, I'd erroneously got the idea that that was a workaround for the rescan/restart issue. All good! Thank you both, an unexpected and welcome turn of events.

[amsub]

I like my NP30 and am in no rush to replace it so it's good that we have MinimStreamer to deal with the potential obsolescence arising from changes made by the BBC and others.

[simoncn]

(06-04-2023 00:23)FakePlasticDunk Wrote:  Bingo! Sorry, I'd erroneously got the idea that that was a workaround for the rescan/restart issue. All good! Thank you both, an unexpected and welcome turn of events.

Glad to hear this is working. Now that we know about the "magical" properties of streamSize when used together with L16, I would be interested to know whether the following works:

1) streamSize set to a very large number

2) *:L16 in stream.transcode

3) The playlist
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,[RP] Radio Paradise
http://stream.radioparadise.com/flac

4) Selecting RP from within the MinimServer browse tree (like a music track) instead of selecting it using your custom radio preset

[FakePlasticDunk]

I had the same thought last night and tried it - the NP30 immediately sends 'byte-range request could not be satisfied'. It comes up in the playlist as '[RP] Radio Paradise', not RP though, I don't know if that's significant.

[FakePlasticDunk]

(06-04-2023 08:27)amsub Wrote:  I like my NP30 and am in no rush to replace it so it's good that we have MinimStreamer to deal with the potential obsolescence arising from changes made by the BBC and others.

I concur.

[simoncn]

The entry should show [RP] Radio Paradise. It seems that L16 is supported only for radio presets.

[FakePlasticDunk]

Looks to be so. Is there a simple explanation as to why that /$!transcode.L16 is needed on the end of the flac URL but not on the end of the aac URL, or am I better off not knowing?

[simoncn]

There is special treatment for stream types that are valid as input types for network stream transcoding (aac and mp3).

If a network stream is detected "on the fly" to be one of these types and there is a setting in stream.transcode that matches the stream type (for example, aac:L16), MinimStreamer enables transcoding dynamically.

The Radio Paradise stream has an unrecognised type (Ogg/FLAC) so it doesn't qualify for dynamically enabled transcoding. It does qualify as a match for the * in the stream.transcode *:L16 setting. The *:L16 setting adds /$!transcode.L16 to the URL when selecting the stream from a playlist. You are not selecting the stream from a playlist, so you need to add the /$!transcode.L16 yourself.

[FakePlasticDunk]

Thanks Simon, that makes enough sense for me. Hopefully that pretty much wraps up the NP30 saga for now. Big thanks again to you and @amsub for getting us to this point.