Asset UPnP dBpoweramp

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IDM
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#1 Asset UPnP dBpoweramp

Post by IDM »

Hi All,

I downloaded the raspberry pi version of dBpoweramps asset UPnP and after a bit of a battle (Raspbian wheezy didn't initially like my ntfs hard drive) I managed to the software to work.

Using my windows 8 PC I can see "Asset UPnP:raspberrpi" on my network and when I right click on this and check the properties it says that the IP address is 192.168.1.107 which is correct.

There is also a tree of files underneath and if I click on "albums" then "all albums" I can select and play music on my PC from the NAS.

The next step is to get the Asset software to communicate with Volumio. Looking at the Volumio web gui I can add a NAS drive and it asks the following questions:

1. Source name - which I can apparently make anything up
2. Choose between SMB/CIFS or NFS (I think the answer is SMB/CIFS)
3. IP address - I know this 192.168.1.107
4 Remote directory ( Specify the directory name on the NAS where to scan music files (case sensitive) - I haven't a clue what this should be.

Currently when I set the IP and use SMB/CIFS and don't specify the remote directory I get the message "Mount:Connection refused"

Does anybody with better computing skills than me know how to do this?

I have tried posting on both Volumio and dBpoweramp forums but no luck yet!

Cheers
Ian

Cheers
Ian
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Ray P
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#2

Post by Ray P »

The last version of Volumio I installed had UPnP functionality too. If you've got something like a smartphone you could use it as a UPnP controller; that way Asset and Volumio don't have to be explicitly linked in the way you describe. I use BubbleUPnP as my controller (available from Playstore but there are others). It's a mucher neater/richer solution.

Ray
IDM
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#3

Post by IDM »

Thanks Ray,

I will investigate your solution, can you explain what the UPnP controller does. Sorry I am a total noob at this!

About 30 mins ago I was poking round the Volumio gui and in settings found that there was an option to switch on UPnP indexing. When I switched it on and tried to connect to the NAS it says that it is updating. Indeed its been doing so for about 30 mins. I don't suppose you know how long this is likely to take? The database is currently tiny only about 20 albums to test if everything works.

Cheers
Ian
IDM
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#4

Post by IDM »

Blimey Ray,

That was easy! I downloaded an App called Kinsky by Linn and it auto detected both Volumio and the Dbpoweramp UPnP server, and it appears to work! Though the Linn App doesn't seem very intuitive. I will keep randomly pressing buttons and eventually look for the guidance notes

So I am using 2 raspberry Pi's one to control the 2 TB HDD and the other with Volumio feeds my TDA1541A DAC.

Cheers
Ian
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Ray P
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#5

Post by Ray P »

Hello Ian. I don't know what Volumio is doing with the setting you dscovered; I never used it and, as I said, with UPnP Volumio doesn't need to explicitly know about the contents of the library.

Here's my simplistic logical working mode of a UPnP environmentl:

The server is where the data is held, in my case my library of FLAC files. Typically the server will run some software (i.e. AssetUPnP) that indexes the music library but doesn't actually 'play' anything. The server's role is to serve data, upon request, to clients, where it will be processed.

The client, in our case normally referred to as renderers, accept data from the server and process it. There's a lot more to it but simplistically they 'play' the music file. This will be your box with Volumio on it.

The third element is a controller. This obtains and displays, nicely formatted, metadata about the music library contents (obtained from the server) and about the available renderers. It enables an item to be selected from the library and directs it to the chosen renderer.

Of course, when it comes to physically implementing the model the different elements might be combined into the same hardware (your RPi could be both the library server and a renderer for example). My own preference is to keep them discrete, allowing better optimisation of each component.

The good thing about UPnP is that it takes care of all the comms implicitly; if each element conforms to the protocols it just works.

Let me know if I can help further.

Ray
IDM
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#6

Post by IDM »

On playing further with the Linn Kinsky App, its not too brilliant it keeps loosing Volumio for some reason and only plays the first track of an album then stops. Google indicates that others have found the same thing, it doesn't recognise that Volumio (or other non-Linn) players have finished a track to start the next. Being an I Phone user I couldn't find the App you use Ray so also tried "8 player lite" which does appear to play whole albums, though I didn't have enough time to fully investigate.

Cheers
Ian
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Ray P
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#7

Post by Ray P »

Ian, give PlugPlayer a go. I used to use it and it worked well. I think it is well regarded.

http://www.plugplayer.com/

Ray
IDM
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#8

Post by IDM »

Thanks Ray, I will try that.

Apparently the Kinsky App issue can be fixed by running BubbleUPnP server on the same Pi that is running the Asset UpnP software. However, this is not straightforward as I have to configure it to boot at switch on, which is currently beyond me! So I will try Plug player a go.

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Ian
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Ray P
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#9

Post by Ray P »

So how was PlugPlayer Ian?

Ray
IDM
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#10

Post by IDM »

Plugplayer works and doesn't stop after the first track on an album. However, it does stop at the end of a track if my I-phone goes to sleep and locks itself. I have had a fix suggested for this. The fix being to run Bubble UPnP server in parallel on the same pi that is running Asset server. I had a quick go last night, I got the software installed and could log into it but it was coming up with a Java error. I haven't had time to look into this yet.

More later

Cheers
Ian
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Ray P
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#11

Post by Ray P »

IDM wrote:Plugplayer works and doesn't stop after the first track on an album. However, it does stop at the end of a track if my I-phone goes to sleep and locks itself. I have had a fix suggested for this. The fix being to run Bubble UPnP server in parallel on the same pi that is running Asset server. I had a quick go last night, I got the software installed and could log into it but it was coming up with a Java error. I haven't had time to look into this yet.

More later

Cheers
Ian
Are you sure it isn't just a setting somewhere?

Just did a quick look on the PlugPlayer forum and found this;

The OS will shutoff wifi when the iPad locks, or kill the app when it is running in the background without playing audio locally. If you are using an external UPnP renderer, you can use the "wifi when locked" advanced setting to force the app to stay active with wifi on.

Ray
IDM
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#12

Post by IDM »

Hi Ray,

Your suggestions worked and a lot simpler than the software I was trying to implement!

Thanks
Ian
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Ray P
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#13

Post by Ray P »

IDM wrote:Hi Ray,

Your suggestions worked and a lot simpler than the software I was trying to implement!

Thanks
Ian
Good news Ian.

So where are you now; I think you've now got a fully functioning UPnP based solution?
IDM
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#14

Post by IDM »

Hi Ray,

Yes that correct.

To recap:

I have a Raspberry Pi (flashed with Raspbian Wheezy) programmed with the Asset UPnP server software from DB poweramp. This Pi is in the hall and is connected to a 2TB NTFS drive and to our Wireless internet router via an ethernet cable.

I have a second Pi with a Edimax wireless dongle in the living room which is running Volumio and is connected via I2S to a home brew TDA1541A DAC with a valve output stage.

I can browse the music library on the 2TB drive using Plugplayer on my I phone and Volumio plays through the hifi. What's even better is that the version of Volumio I use supports AirPlay so I can stream any radio station from my phone through the hifi as well.

Other than the issues of how to control the UPnP server (which you solved) there was only a couple of other difficult parts.

1. My version of Raspbian Wheezy despite being a fresh download did not seem to support NTFS formated drives. I had to run:

sudo apt-get install ntfs-config
sudo apt-get install ntfs-3g

Then the drive was mountable.

2. There was one possibly two file name mistakes in the dBPoweramp instructions. If you read through the code they are fairly easy to spot (I cannot off the top of my head remember what they were).

I am currently tidying up the project and getting it into a case in order to reduce the risk of electrocuting the dog from the HT part of the valve output stage.

Cheers
Ian
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Ray P
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#15

Post by Ray P »

Excellent, a success story then.
IDM wrote:What's even better is that the version of Volumio I use supports AirPlay so I can stream any radio station from my phone through the hifi as well.
Did you know that Asset UPnP allows you to connect internet radio stations? As I recall, if you set them up in Asset you'll be able to select them through PlugPlayer just like you would a CD rip. If you do it that way your phone battery will probably stay charged for longer!

Ray
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