I can stream radio content to one renderer but not the other…

[simoncn]

(12-03-2016 12:21)rich28 Wrote:  Ok, as yet I haven’t physically removed my IQAudio Dac+ from the raspberry but I have done a bit of testing. Firstly, I’ve installed a new Moode Audio image onto the SD card and only configured the software to act as a UPnP renderer (i.e. I haven’t configured it to recognise the DAC). The result: playback of local content (mp3s flacs etc) and radio streams that are NOT transcoded by Minimstreamer are heard via the raspberry’s headphone jack but not from any of the outputs on the DAC. However, no sound is heard from radio streams which are transcoded by Minimstreamer.

I’ve also gone through this test with PeteManchester’s OpenHome Media Player running on the Pi and the outcome is the same. In addition to this, I’ve just installed OpenHome’s Ohplayer on a PC running windows and the playback of radio streams that require transcoding by Minimstreamer is not an issue with this.

Starting to think this issue could be a shortcoming of my Raspberry Pi – I only have a version 2 pi…

It is definitely not a limitation of the Raspberry Pi.

What stream.transcode settings are you using and what radio streams are you trying to play? If you could attach the exact .m3u radio playlist that you are using, that would be helpful.

[rich28]

(12-03-2016 12:21)rich28 Wrote:  

(10-03-2016 20:24)simoncn Wrote:  

(10-03-2016 17:20)rich28 Wrote:  Sorry not to mention earlier but I’ve installed Moode Audio (a prebuilt image) on my raspberry, which features UPnP renderering capabilities via upmpdcli – see: http://www.lesbonscomptes.com/upmpdcli/.

Thanks! I've read the release notes for this. It seems to require a compatible I2S or USB DAC and I don't have anything in the compatibility list. Would it work (at low quality) with the built-in audio output of the Pi?

Ok, as yet I haven’t physically removed my IQAudio Dac+ from the raspberry but I have done a bit of testing. Firstly, I’ve installed a new Moode Audio image onto the SD card and only configured the software to act as a UPnP renderer (i.e. I haven’t configured it to recognise the DAC). The result: playback of local content (mp3s flacs etc) and radio streams that are NOT transcoded by Minimstreamer are heard via the raspberry’s headphone jack but not from any of the outputs on the DAC. However, no sound is heard from radio streams which are transcoded by Minimstreamer.

I’ve also gone through this test with PeteManchester’s OpenHome Media Player running on the Pi and the outcome is the same. In addition to this, I’ve just installed OpenHome’s Ohplayer on a PC running windows and the playback of radio streams that require transcoding by Minimstreamer is not an issue with this.

Starting to think this issue could be a shortcoming of my Raspberry Pi – I only have a version 2 pi…

Now removed the DAC from the raspberry. No change - streams that require transcoding still don't work. Having said that, for 'stream.transcode' I've been using the setting "*:wav". I've just read a thread (http://forum1613.minimserver.com/showthr....transcode) where it is suggested that this should be set to "*:mp3;320k" or "*:wav16;44". Bingo! Both these settings work for me. I can listen to both native and transcoded streams Maybe a coincide but I'm using BubbleUPnN as is the person who wrote that post...

[simoncn]

(12-03-2016 16:45)rich28 Wrote:  Now removed the DAC from the raspberry. No change - streams that require transcoding still don't work. Having said that, for 'stream.transcode' I've been using the setting "*:wav". I've just read a thread (http://forum1613.minimserver.com/showthr....transcode) where it is suggested that this should be set to "*:mp3;320k" or "*:wav16;44". Bingo! Both these settings work for me. I can listen to both native and transcoded streams Maybe a coincide but I'm using BubbleUPnN as is the person who wrote that post...

What radio streams are you trying to play? If you could attach the exact .m3u radio playlist that you are using, that would be helpful.

[rich28]

(12-03-2016 17:26)simoncn Wrote:  

(12-03-2016 16:45)rich28 Wrote:  Now removed the DAC from the raspberry. No change - streams that require transcoding still don't work. Having said that, for 'stream.transcode' I've been using the setting "*:wav". I've just read a thread (http://forum1613.minimserver.com/showthr....transcode) where it is suggested that this should be set to "*:mp3;320k" or "*:wav16;44". Bingo! Both these settings work for me. I can listen to both native and transcoded streams Maybe a coincidence but I'm using BubbleUPnN as is the person who wrote that post...

What radio streams are you trying to play? If you could attach the exact .m3u radio playlist that you are using, that would be helpful.

As far as I understand most of the radio content I listen to on the web doesn’t require any transcoding. For instance, I occasionally listen to stuff pumped out by Linn or the Audiophile Stream Network both of whom provide native (320kbs mp3) streams, and sometimes listen to Absolute Radio, which doesn’t need any transcoding and is c. 1mb quality FLAC. In my case such native streams work OK and by way of example, my m3u file for Audiophile Icecast only comprises the following:

Code:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1, Audiophile Icecast
http://50.7.173.162:8027/stream

However, I also really enjoy listening to the BBC and this is probably the principal reason why I hugely appreciate Minimstreamer's ability to transcode HLS streams. (My BBC Radio playlist m3u file mirrors the sample file posted on this site).

[simoncn]

(14-03-2016 14:31)rich28 Wrote:  However, I also really enjoy listening to the BBC and this is probably the principal reason why I hugely appreciate Minimstreamer's ability to transcode HLS streams. (My BBC Radio playlist m3u file mirrors the sample file posted on this site).

It sounds like you are only having problems with the BBC HLS streams. These streams are broadcast at an unusual sample rate (48 kHz) and it seems that your renderer might not be able to play a stream with a 48 kHz sample rate. Further evidence for this explanation is that you were able to play the BBC streams by transcoding them to wav16;44 (i.e., a sample rate of 44.1 kHz).

[chrisjlm]

Quote: Now removed the DAC from the raspberry. No change - streams that require transcoding still don't work. Having said that, for 'stream.transcode' I've been using the setting "*:wav". I've just read a thread (http://forum1613.minimserver.com/showthr....transcode) where it is suggested that this should be set to "*:mp3;320k" or "*:wav16;44". Bingo! Both these settings work for me. I can listen to both native and transcoded streamsSmile Maybe a coincide but I'm using BubbleUPnN as is the person who wrote that post...

Hi Rich, Could you confirm that these transcoding settings work through the PI audio output jack and not through the IQ Audio DAC?

I have tried those settings with the DAC in place but it is still not working.

Thanks

[rich28]

(14-03-2016 23:28)chrisjlm Wrote:  

Quote: Now removed the DAC from the raspberry. No change - streams that require transcoding still don't work. Having said that, for 'stream.transcode' I've been using the setting "*:wav". I've just read a thread (http://forum1613.minimserver.com/showthr....transcode) where it is suggested that this should be set to "*:mp3;320k" or "*:wav16;44". Bingo! Both these settings work for me. I can listen to both native and transcoded streamsSmile Maybe a coincide but I'm using BubbleUPnN as is the person who wrote that post...

Hi Rich, Could you confirm that these transcoding settings work through the PI audio output jack and not through the IQ Audio DAC?

I have tried those settings with the DAC in place but it is still not working.

Thanks

I'm mainly only using minimstreamer to transcode BBC HLS content. Prior to changing 'stream.transcode' to "*:wav16;44" I couldn't get either the Pi's audio output jack or the IQ Audio DAC to produce any sound for that particular stream. That is to say the issue I had appears to have related solely to the aspect of transcoding BBC HLS streams.

You mention earlier that you've installed Moode Audio on your pi - I strongly recommend that you persevere with this. Using Moode Audio its pretty straightforward to get the device to act as an UPnP renderer and to correctly setup various DACs, including IQ Audio's. (Incidentally, if you're only using Minimserver you won't need to setup any MPD sources in Moode Audio). If having done this the pi still isn't producing any sound I suggest you refer to IQ Audio's user guide which includes a section on using ALSA to establish if the DAC is working as it should, and if needs be contact IQ Audio - in my experience they provide very good support. One further thing to point out. I don't know how you've connected your pi to a network. A poor wireless connection may be a major issue that can affect high quality audio streams big time. A hardwired, ethernet setup is the way to go.. Good luck in resolving your issues

[rich28]

(14-03-2016 17:45)simoncn Wrote:  

(14-03-2016 14:31)rich28 Wrote:  However, I also really enjoy listening to the BBC and this is probably the principal reason why I hugely appreciate Minimstreamer's ability to transcode HLS streams. (My BBC Radio playlist m3u file mirrors the sample file posted on this site).

It sounds like you are only having problems with the BBC HLS streams. These streams are broadcast at an unusual sample rate (48 kHz) and it seems that your renderer might not be able to play a stream with a 48 kHz sample rate. Further evidence for this explanation is that you were able to play the BBC streams by transcoding them to wav16;44 (i.e., a sample rate of 44.1 kHz).

I've got to say I'm a bit perplexed. I've successfully setup Moode Audio and PeteManchester's Media Player for my Pi to act as a renderer and on both occasions I couldn't get the BBC HLS streams to work @ 48khz. I know now that there's acceptable workaround to this issue, but note that someone else with a Sonore Rendu experienced the same problem (http://forum1613.minimserver.com/showthr...ranscode). If I get it right, like the Pi the Rendu uses Linux - I'm guessing big time, but could some aspect of this OS potentially be the cause of the issue?

[simoncn]

(15-03-2016 12:26)rich28 Wrote:  I've got to say I'm a bit perplexed. I've successfully setup Moode Audio and PeteManchester's Media Player for my Pi to act as a renderer and on both occasions I couldn't get the BBC HLS streams to work @ 48khz. I know now that there's acceptable workaround to this issue, but note that someone else with a Sonore Rendu experienced the same problem (http://forum1613.minimserver.com/showthr...ranscode). If I get it right, like the Pi the Rendu uses Linux - I'm guessing big time, but could some aspect of this OS potentially be the cause of the issue?

I am able to play 48 kHz streams using a Linux-based renderer, so Linux defnitely isn't the issue.

[rich28]

(15-03-2016 19:17)simoncn Wrote:  

(15-03-2016 12:26)rich28 Wrote:  I've got to say I'm a bit perplexed. I've successfully setup Moode Audio and PeteManchester's Media Player for my Pi to act as a renderer and on both occasions I couldn't get the BBC HLS streams to work @ 48khz. I know now that there's acceptable workaround to this issue, but note that someone else with a Sonore Rendu experienced the same problem (http://forum1613.minimserver.com/showthr...ranscode). If I get it right, like the Pi the Rendu uses Linux - I'm guessing big time, but could some aspect of this OS potentially be the cause of the issue?

I am able to play 48 kHz streams using a Linux-based renderer, so Linux defnitely isn't the issue.

OK I made daft suggestion that the Linux OS could be the cause. But given from the offset my Libratone wireless speaker has been able to playback BBC HLS content with stream.transcode being set to “*:wav” whilst this only works on my pi renderer if "*:wav16;44" is assigned to this setting I simply don’t know what’s triggering this issue. Having said that, a workaround has been identified and in the greater scheme of things this is a very minor thing. I continue to be very impressed with both Minimserver and Minimstreamer – a donation is on the way to you Simon.