Author Topic: UPnP/ DLNA device support  (Read 302032 times)

Jimod

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Having nstalled MusicBee in W10 from the MS Appstore I find no reference to the app and its folders in the Program Files folders so how/where do I install this plugin?
Jim

phred

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Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

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The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

Jimod

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Thanks for the prompt response Phred.
From the link your solution clearly works but, and forgive my ignorance,  which file am I editing?

phred

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Thanks for the prompt response Phred.
From the link your solution clearly works but, and forgive my ignorance,  which file am I editing?
You're not editing any file. You're trying to add the plugin, correct? After clicking the 'add plugin' button simply point to the ZIP file that contains the plugin and that should do it. Just like in the thread I referenced. Since I don't use the store version of MB, I really can't tell you more than that.
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

Legion

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I use this plugin to stream to my DENON audio receiver.
Everything's working just fine, except that sometimes MusicBee simply does NOT scrooble sometimes tracks to last.fm. Also the "played"-counter does not count one up. If I change the output to my PC-speaker it works.

Did anyone face the same problems like me and has some insight what's going wrong here?

And yes, I know that this plugin is not actively supported anymore. Hoping for help anyways! :)


ziabo

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Gents, I installed the plugin and assigned my Chromecast Ultra as DLNA Renderer. Now I can Output to Chromecast(Yamaha Receiver) from Music Bee.

I have few questions though:

1. What is the quality of casting? When I cast Flac 192kHz 24-bit, do i get the quality implied by the format?
2. Chromecast does not support Apple Loseless. However, I am still able to cast m4a to my receiver through Chromecast. How come? In this case, does MusicBee reformats the file on the fly?
3. Is there way to setup "Output to>" button on the Toolbar? Currently I am using right click, which is not convenient.

Thank you!
 

musicmahn

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The UPnP/DLNA plugin has a known history of spiking CPU usage. Just having it installed and not being used will cause CPU usage to hit 100%. The solution is to disable it and/or remove it.

Some followups for the tech illiterate :)

-Does this make the plugin not worth using?
-Is there any alternative that would achieve the same results?
-So you are saying that simply disabling the plugin when not in use is a valid solution?



General for all peeps - Are you currently using this plugin regularly and with success??
I'm just wondering whether I should be putting stock and hope in this direction or not.
Thx!

phred

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The plugin works fine for some folks, somewhat sketchy for others, or not at all for still others. CPU usage has the potential to spike you system even if disabled and not it use. If you find that happening the only way to resolve it is to completely uninstall and not use it. Again, this happens for some people and not for others.

I say try it. If it works, you're all set. If it doesn't you uninstall it. Don't look for any fixes or updates as the plugin is no longer supported.
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

musicmahn

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Thanks much for the reply!
Is there any other solid streaming solution that you can recommend?
I'm trying to figure out how MB ties in with Subsonic.  Would I be able to use MB to stream direct from NAS to device?

phred

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I'm trying to figure out how MB ties in with Subsonic.  Would I be able to use MB to stream direct from NAS to device?
There's a SubSonic plugin that worked for me for a while and then it didn't. I see there's a recent update, but I haven't tried it yet. I found it much easier to use SubSonic directly. I set up MB to export playlists and point SubSonic to the exported playlists. All my music files are on a NAS and I point SubSonic to that. I can be anywhere in the world and log on to my SubSonic server and listen to my music. I also have the SubSonic app on my Android phone and can also access my music that way.
Download the latest MusicBee v3.5 or 3.6 patch from here.
Unzip into your MusicBee directory and overwrite existing files.

----------
The FAQ
The Wiki
Posting screenshots is here
Searching the forum with Google is  here

musicmahn

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Coming from CDs only a year ago I'm not sure I understand playlists in the way you mention.  I think of a playlist as a mixtape lol.  Grab some tracks and throw them in a certain order "this is my halloween playlist".  
Are you using MB to control your playback on the fly?  Or just to manage your library?

I have plex that gives me that "anywhere in the world" luxury but the interface and ability to customize is lacking.  Looking around this was the best UI I could find but having it control playback of the NAS and stream to my chromecast has been a challenge thus far.  I have the plugin that spawned this thread but am not knowledgeable enough to know if it's taxing my CPU in a bad way.  I just don't want to end up damaging my hardware and efficiency if that's what this plugin means.

Anyway I need to just understand more about how MB and Subsonic can communicate.  Off to google land :)

frankz

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I have plex that gives me that "anywhere in the world" luxury but the interface and ability to customize is lacking.  Looking around this was the best UI I could find but having it control playback of the NAS and stream to my chromecast has been a challenge thus far.  I have the plugin that spawned this thread but am not knowledgeable enough to know if it's taxing my CPU in a bad way.  I just don't want to end up damaging my hardware and efficiency if that's what this plugin means.
You'll know it's over taxing your CPU when your computer slows down and becomes unresponsive, the fan can't keep up with the heat, and it shuts down for self-protection. That happened to me with the plugin while I was out walking.  It never shut down while I was sitting here, but it did go out of control without being in use a couple of times.

The problem isn't with the plug-in per se.  The plug-in, I'm sure, is fine and written to spec. The problem is with all the other DLNA aware devices on your network that are not written to spec in an attempt to "improve" or expand DLNA.  They make weird requests to the server or use it in unpredictable ways, sometimes even when you're not streaming anything. There are probably as many variations in the implementation of DLNA as there are devices that try to use it, and because it seems that no two devices handled things in the same way, it became impossible for Steven to account for all the different things that can happen while programming the plug-in.  So he moved on to other things, left the plug-in out there for people that would find it useful, and put the plug-in code out publicly for anyone else to take a shot at if they wanted. So far, there have been no takers.  That's the way I understand it, anyway.

So if all of your DLNA aware receivers and TVs and apps play well with the plug-in, you'll be able to use it without difficulty.  If you have a DLNA device that tries to do something that puts the plug-in into a loop that causes it to overtax your system, you will use it with great difficulty or disable it. There's no way to know which scenario will apply until you try to use it.

musicmahn

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Hmmm.....well there is but one device I'm trying to connect to - a chromecast audio connected to my receiver.  So in the way you explain perhaps this is good.  I'm sure I have other DLNA equipped devices though - is it fathomable that they could cause trouble?  Even though I'm making no attempt on either end in having them communicate?

Reading up on the Subsonic link and wondering if that could work.
Wondering why an app is even needed there though.  Can't you just map a network drive and have MB read from there? 
Outputting the audio is my dilemma and I know that subsonic speaks nicely to chromecast.  So perhaps I could have subsonic running - using purely MB as the interface and running it's own library - playback gets sent to the subsonic which sends to the chromecast?  dang i feel old :(


phred - if you have the minute I would love to hear what you mean by playlists and exporting them.  i've never cared about the word "playlist" until i gave up CDs.  now people talk about it and I scratch my head and feel embarassed


frankz

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Hmmm.....well there is but one device I'm trying to connect to - a chromecast audio connected to my receiver.  So in the way you explain perhaps this is good.  I'm sure I have other DLNA equipped devices though - is it fathomable that they could cause trouble?  Even though I'm making no attempt on either end in having them communicate?
Yes.  Whether or not you make attempts, DLNA devices regularly scan to find other DLNA devices on the network.