The control app thread
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01-08-2019, 21:39
Post: #11
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RE: The control app thread
I installed this and it is playing to my Linn DS without showing adverts. I have a BubbleUPnP license installed. Could this be why I am not seeing adverts?
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02-08-2019, 11:34
Post: #12
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RE: The control app thread
I'm using Denon renderers.
Android control points: HEOS app for Denon/Marantz is rock solid, does multiroom audio and handles different control points for the same renderer well. On the downside, it's slow in handling album art, the main GENRE index is always empty and other indices provided by minimserver are not displayed in the main screen. You can still use them, however, by going through the artist index first. So it's a problem of a fixed UI, rather than not understanding minimserver's data. Sort order of the [Folder view] is fixed by title and ignores the server order. BubbleUPNP: Works well, very configurable, sometimes confusingly so. Can be a bit quirky, especially when using multiple control points (which officially is not supported by the UPNP/DLNA protocol, so no blame there), or when switching input device. Supports the information files (booklet.pdf) served by minimserver. HifiCast: Works well, nice user interface. Fastest control point in loading and caching cover art. Easily configurable by long-pressing the screen title. Supports the information files (booklet.pdf) served by minimserver. Both BubbleUPNP and HifiCast are good apps and worth trying out. My favourite is HifiCast, for ease of use, speed and looks. Linux control points: UPplay works good enough me. Does not support the information files (booklet.pdf) served by minimserver. |
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02-08-2019, 12:53
Post: #13
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RE: The control app thread
(01-08-2019 21:39)simoncn Wrote: I installed this and it is playing to my Linn DS without showing adverts. I have a BubbleUPnP license installed. Could this be why I am not seeing adverts?I found an email link for Bubblesoft on the web and he replied.... "All prices unlock the app identically (choose the price you want according to how you value the app), notably: - ads are removed - the Playlist tab is not limited to max 16 tracks anymore" So the ads only apply to the free version. If you already paid you would not see the ads. |
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02-08-2019, 16:27
Post: #14
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RE: The control app thread
In 2014 when I chose a renderer (ethernet-to-SPDIF converter) to start streaming music I looked at several boxes and their associated control apps. Most of these apps were custom to the hardware (Naim, Cyrus, Krell, Audionet) and did not work at all, or at best with limitations, for other hardware. At that time I thought Audionet worked the best with my choice of renderer (Sonore Rendu) however all these apps have probably now changed or are defunct so my 2014 survey is no longer relevant. In 2015 I 'discovered' the BubbleUPnP control app. Initially I dismissed it as it required an Android device and our home computing environment was (and is) entirely Mac based, however giving the strong recommendations BubblUPnP received (including for use with MinimServer from Simon) I bought an Android tablet solely for use as a control device for playing music. A very important element in my criteria for choosing a control app has always been an ability to play music gaplessly (e.g. for live concert recordings and operas). Many renderer / control app combinations fail this requirement. I've used BubbleUPnP to control music from MinimServer since 2015 (first with Sonore Rendu and then with the PS Audio Bridge II in their DirectStream DAC) and it has been excellent; no dropouts or extraneous noise with the network. As Simon states above it is fast; it certainly met all my needs.
Unfortunately this state of affairs will not continue as PS Audio are soon to release their own music streaming system, hardware and software. This is going to be ‘closed’ in that it will not support UPnP. The streamer, including the associated Bridge III renderer, will be bundled with their ‘Octave’ software. Given the track record of PS Audio I am sure that they will continue to support the Bridge II renderer however this prospect caused me to look for a potential replacement for my Bridge II, that is not part part of a ‘closed’ system. Looking for this, and improved sound quality to take advantage of more recent advances in technology, I alighted on the dCS Network Bridge. To cut a long story short I bought one after 2 weeks evaluation. The hardware is brilliant - a definite improvement in sound quality - and the dCS hardware / control app supports UPnP: dCS specifically recommend MinimServer for UPnP music serving. Their Mosaic control app supports gapless playback but has some limitations in terms of browsing the music library, when compared with BubbleUPnP. The playback engine within the dCS hardware is not however compatible with UPnP for gapless playback, so I will continue to use the BubbleUPnP app until the browsing limitations are removed, and live with gaps in my music in the meantime. Judging by the responsiveness of dCS on their community website I’m confident they will quickly enhance the Mosaic app to a state comparable with BubbleUPnP. System: ALAC iTunes library on Synology DS412+ (running MinimServer) > Airport Extreme bridge > Optical isolation > dCS Network Bridge (controlled by Galaxy Tab S2 tablet running BubbleUPnP&Mosaic) > PS Audio DirectStream DAC > Primare A60 > Harbeth SHL5plus 40th Anniversary model |
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02-08-2019, 19:03
Post: #15
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RE: The control app thread
For the dCS Mosaic app, what are the limitations in terms of browsing the music library, when compared with BubbleUPnP?
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02-08-2019, 21:29
Post: #16
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RE: The control app thread
(02-08-2019 19:03)simoncn Wrote: For the dCS Mosaic app, what are the limitations in terms of browsing the music library, when compared with BubbleUPnP? I have only been using Mosaic for a couple of weeks so I cannot claim to have explored all potential limitations relative to the BubbleUPnP app. So far I am aware of 2 issues: (1) Listing of albums for browsing, search etc has 'Album' on line 1 and 'Composer' on line 2, rather than 'Artist' which I regard as very important. When I raised this on the dCs community website I was told that this is a known bug and will be fixed in the next version of the Mosaic control app, which will be released in the near future. (2) There is no scroll bar for browsing. It is possible to scan albums or artist names by dragging the listings upwards or, with much less accuracy, swiping upwards. Raising this in the dCS community I was told they are considering how to tackle provision of this feature; there are several possibilities. System: ALAC iTunes library on Synology DS412+ (running MinimServer) > Airport Extreme bridge > Optical isolation > dCS Network Bridge (controlled by Galaxy Tab S2 tablet running BubbleUPnP&Mosaic) > PS Audio DirectStream DAC > Primare A60 > Harbeth SHL5plus 40th Anniversary model |
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05-08-2019, 14:03
Post: #17
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RE: The control app thread
I am on the same journey as David but with a dCS Bartok and reluctant to give up BubbleuPnP. Unfortunately, I have struggled with Mosaic for various reasons - not least is difficulty maintaining a consistent connection with Minimserver. I suspect that dCS departures from uPnP/DLNA standards is the root cause. My QNAP HS453DX works perfectly with ROON but this is not a control option for me as its handling of metadata in its own database layer is a huge problem.. Mosaic is a new product so hopefully will improve - my wishlist includes a grid layout of covers, track rather album artist names in play queue, album and track times, track numbers and a scroll bar.
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08-08-2019, 16:56
Post: #18
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RE: The control app thread
For iOS, I have tried C5+ and 8player lite & pro. Both worked but had difficulty with gapless when I tried them. The best all round for me has been MconnectHD which the Melco player is a customised version. Songbook HD was a waste of time, kept locking up.
Melco N1ZH/2 (updated to EX) MinimServer2, Chord M Scaler, DAVE, SPM1200MKII, Wilson Benesch Vectors |
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10-08-2019, 12:38
Post: #19
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RE: The control app thread
(01-08-2019 11:49)simoncn Wrote: Hi-Fi Cast (Android only) is good and I would use myself if it were to add support for OpenHome. From that response I learned that OpenHome is a thing. And from the OpenHome website, it appears a major advantage that OpenHome has over UPnP is that it supports synchronized multi-room playback out of the box. That's interesting. Right now I'm running MinimServer + Hi-Fi Cast + Volumio on a Raspberry Pi. If I wanted to add audio to a second room, it sounds like in theory I could transition to OpenHome by:
Is that right? I can't find tons written about this so I don't know if that's just a theoretical possibility or something people do all the time. |
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10-08-2019, 14:10
Post: #20
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RE: The control app thread
Multiroom synchronization requires Songcast support (see this page). As far as I know, the free OpenHome Player does not include an implementation of Songcast.
My interest in OpenHome is the ability for the renderer to hold the playlist (playing queue) rather than having this done by the control point. All implementations of OpenHome include this support. |
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