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Problem..
09-07-2016, 08:39
Post: #31
RE: Problem..
(09-07-2016 00:09)DavidHB Wrote:  @robt

Simon is the expert here, but I do recall from a number of previous threads that virtually all renderers have a size limit (typically, I think, the relating to the size in pixels rather than the file size); as Simon explained, this is not a server limitation. It is at least conceivable that this is creating the issue at the control point. Whether the origin of this issue is in the renderer or the control point (or both) is unclear. It is also unclear whether you have checked the pixel size of the artwork in your problem files.

If your Synology media server is for some reason sending album art at a smaller size than MinimServer, it is plausible that this is within the renderer's (or control point's) limitations, whereas the art sent by MinimServer is not. What is certainly true is that oversize album art is often at the root of problems between server and renderer, so it may be worth eliminating this as a possible cause.

You might try checking the pixel size of the album art in a sample set of 'problem' files compared with a control set of 'good' files. As Minimserver will be using the embedded art, you really need to copy this from the files (I'd use MP3Tag for this) and paste it into into a basic image editor (in my case it would be Irfanview) to check the size. If the artwork size is the issue, you can use the image editor to resample to a suitable smaller size, paste the new image back into the tag editor and save the file; in MP3Tag it's easy to make this change to a whole album in one go.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your continuing investigations.

David

Thanks for that. I will continue but the prospect of changing the cover art on over 600 albums is quite daunting! Thats why I'm hoping for an easy fix if we can pin it down. I'm grateful that Simon is helping with this, I doubt Roberts will be very interested!

Streaming from a Synology 1511+ to a Cyrus Stream XP2 QX, 2x Roberts 93i, A Revo Superconnect, a Mede8er 600 3D and a few Squeezeboxes thrown in!
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09-07-2016, 09:45
Post: #32
RE: Problem..
(09-07-2016 08:39)robt Wrote:  Thanks for that. I will continue but the prospect of changing the cover art on over 600 albums is quite daunting! Thats why I'm hoping for an easy fix if we can pin it down. I'm grateful that Simon is helping with this, I doubt Roberts will be very interested!

As David said, you only need to experiment with a sample set of 'problem' files and a control set of 'good'' files. I would suggest 2 or 3 files in each of these sets. This should be manageable.

I have done as much as I can at the MinimServer end. In order for me to do any more, I would need you to establish (by repeatable experiments) what is different between 'good' files and 'bad' files.

It might be a good idea for you to set up a test library of 2 or 3 albums for these experiments. This would eliminate the possibility of a control point resource issue caused by the total size of the library.
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09-07-2016, 17:33
Post: #33
RE: Problem..
(09-07-2016 08:39)robt Wrote:  
(09-07-2016 00:09)DavidHB Wrote:  @robt

Simon is the expert here, but I do recall from a number of previous threads that virtually all renderers have a size limit (typically, I think, the relating to the size in pixels rather than the file size); as Simon explained, this is not a server limitation. It is at least conceivable that this is creating the issue at the control point. Whether the origin of this issue is in the renderer or the control point (or both) is unclear. It is also unclear whether you have checked the pixel size of the artwork in your problem files.

If your Synology media server is for some reason sending album art at a smaller size than MinimServer, it is plausible that this is within the renderer's (or control point's) limitations, whereas the art sent by MinimServer is not. What is certainly true is that oversize album art is often at the root of problems between server and renderer, so it may be worth eliminating this as a possible cause.

You might try checking the pixel size of the album art in a sample set of 'problem' files compared with a control set of 'good' files. As Minimserver will be using the embedded art, you really need to copy this from the files (I'd use MP3Tag for this) and paste it into into a basic image editor (in my case it would be Irfanview) to check the size. If the artwork size is the issue, you can use the image editor to resample to a suitable smaller size, paste the new image back into the tag editor and save the file; in MP3Tag it's easy to make this change to a whole album in one go.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your continuing investigations.

David

Thanks for that. I will continue but the prospect of changing the cover art on over 600 albums is quite daunting! Thats why I'm hoping for an easy fix if we can pin it down. I'm grateful that Simon is helping with this, I doubt Roberts will be very interested!
I use Format Factory to downsize album art, this program is very easy to use.

Peter.
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09-07-2016, 19:31
Post: #34
RE: Problem..
(09-07-2016 08:39)robt Wrote:  ... the prospect of changing the cover art on over 600 albums is quite daunting! Thats why I'm hoping for an easy fix if we can pin it down ... I doubt Roberts will be very interested!

If, and it's still if, album art size is the issue, the only way to fix it will be album by album - or get another renderer (if there is one) that will handle the artwork. That's why Simon and I are recommending that you do the tests. If artwork size isn't the issue, we have to look elsewhere. But there's no point in not doing the tests - there is no magic bullet.

David
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10-07-2016, 10:33
Post: #35
RE: Problem..
Thanks for all the suggestions. I shall create a test library and get on it!
Simon, do you have any objection if i start a thread to try and identify other users that have Frontier Silicon based (preferably Venice 6.5) streamers and see if other units have similar issues?

Cheers

Rob

Streaming from a Synology 1511+ to a Cyrus Stream XP2 QX, 2x Roberts 93i, A Revo Superconnect, a Mede8er 600 3D and a few Squeezeboxes thrown in!
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10-07-2016, 21:39
Post: #36
RE: Problem..
(10-07-2016 10:33)robt Wrote:  Thanks for all the suggestions. I shall create a test library and get on it!
Simon, do you have any objection if i start a thread to try and identify other users that have Frontier Silicon based (preferably Venice 6.5) streamers and see if other units have similar issues?

Cheers

Rob

No objection. Smile
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17-07-2016, 17:59
Post: #37
Smile RE: Problem..
To all that have read this thread, its now come to an end and the issue is resolved. To cut a long story short, after a lot of testing it was apparent that the two renderers although apparently identical and with the same firmware were giving different results.

A factory reset of both has meant they are now playing nicely with Minimserver and no recent crashes at all.

Good news indeed. Both renderers had recently had an OTA firmware upgrade and one obviously hadn't been applied correctly. Always consider a factory reset early in the proceedings!

Keep on enjoying Minimserver...

Streaming from a Synology 1511+ to a Cyrus Stream XP2 QX, 2x Roberts 93i, A Revo Superconnect, a Mede8er 600 3D and a few Squeezeboxes thrown in!
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