Article: Geek Speak: How To Build A BeagleBone Black MPD Music Server

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just updated the instructions with the newest image BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-7.4-2014-03-27.img

[Webdrifter]

Great Tutorial.

 

I would love to see the same done with Udoo pairing it with some of the best free Audiophile player software like XMBC, Mediaportal, Volumio or RuneAudio.

(Also an article comparing free audiophile player software would be much appreciated)

[Oystein]

For people who want to add radiostations to MPD see my topic in "Networking, Networked Audio, and Streaming":

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f22-networking-networked-audio-and-streaming/playing-pls-streams-begalbone-black-mpd-20321/

[BobSherman]

For an easy way to get your BBB up and running.

 

Download:

https://rcn-ee.net/deb/flasher/raring/BBB-eMMC-flasher-ubuntu-13.04-2013-10-08.img.xz

 

Unzip with 7-zip and burn the image to a flash card with Win32DiskImager. For Mac follow the directions in the article.

 

Put the card in the BBB hold down the boot button and apply power. When the lights start flashing you can release the button. When the lights are solid you are done flashing the image. Unplug the power and remove the card.

 

This Ubuntu version will allow the BBB to boot from a flash card first.

 

All you have to do now is download Rune Audio or Volumio for your BBB. Burn the image to a flash card.

 

Plug in the card and apply power and your BBB will boot from the card.

 

Follow the Rune Audio or Volumio directions for set up.

 

You can also easily try different software by just swapping cards.

 

Have Fun

Bob

[mp29k]

Do you recommend against using volumio or rune? Is there any known sound quality penalty for the convenience and easier setup?

[Richard Dale]

Do you recommend against using volumio or rune? Is there any known sound quality penalty for the convenience and easier setup?

 

I tried Volumio on one of my BeagleBones and it had trouble reading the metadata from my Apple Lossless files, and was taking forever to build a database for my 2000 CDs or so of tracks. I have the same problem with the default build of MPD on Debian too.

 

I'm using Voyage MuBox instead and that reads the tracks in my library just fine. It seems to use a lot more CPU than the version of Debian that I tuned myself and use in my main system (about 30% with Apple Lossless vs 7-8%). But it is certainly sounding very good and using a higher percentage isn't necessarily a problem, although I wonder why it is occuring. I changed the default frequency scaling from 'ondemand' to 'performance'. The only problem I have it that it seems to lose the device I'm using overnight (HRT Music Streamer II+) and I have to reboot before I can start listening.

 

Voyage MuBox was very easy to install and get running. You can download it from here:

 

Supported Boards | Voyage MuBox

[mp29k]

I am running into a bit of an issue when I get to the step where etc/fstab file is edited.

 

Here is my setup:

- My music is on a PC in my itunes folder

- I have shared the itunes folder as a shared folder over the network (and I can see the shared folder when running Advanced IP Scanner

- I DO NOT have a login and password for this folder, so I don't know what to put in x and y in the line entered into fstab: the usernam=x, password=y

I tried taking out the username and password part altogether, leaving username=admin, and entering a NULL value in password= , but in all cases, when I save and exit the file, and run command "mount -a", I get the following error:

 

"[mntent]: line 8 in /etc/fstab is bad"

 

any ideas? I do not have a NAS, and I don't intend to purchase one initially, so am trying to get it to reference my shared music folder within windows itself.

 

-Kevin

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Kevin - Can you try the username and password you use to login to the Windows PC in that file? If there isn't a username and password please set one on Windows.

[mp29k]

Hi Kevin - Can you try the username and password you use to login to the Windows PC in that file? If there isn't a username and password please set one on Windows.

 

I am trying that now... I went to rune for a bit, but couldn't get any sound out, but I was able to find the network share using a user account and pass I created specifically for the BBB.

 

Question, is there default support for mp4 (alac) in this server? Or do I have to download additional packages within linux?

 

-K

[mp29k]

so I was able to get the fstab issue resolved, but no files load to the database when I update it. From MPoD, I can see the device connected, but, no files will load or show. Most of my files are MPEG-4 (ALAC), but I have some MPEG-3, and even those don't show up. Don't know what to do next. I tried Runeaudio again, and in there I can see the files, (only the MP3s), but they will not play. When I press the play button, the song doesn't start.

 

Is there anyway I can putty into the BBB and determine if it is even seeing my DAC? I know the database load has nothing to do with this, but if I can see the files in Rune, and they just won't play, I wonder if it is a hardware compatibility issue. My DAC is a NAD d'3020 integrated DAC/AMP.

[The Computer Audiophile]

In the main article I cover how to SSH into the BBB.

[mp29k]

so I have a very weird issue now. I had it playing, perfectly, and I unhooked everything, put the new, beautiful BBB server into the logitech case, rebooted it, and now nothing. No database recognized, and no sound.

[mp29k]

so I figured out this most recent issue as well, it appears as though I have to mount -a everytime I restart the BBB. Is there anyway to configure it so that when I restart, the mount happens automatically?

 

Would like to be able to unplug this little wonder box, plug it back in, without using putty to ssh in everytime and set up NCMPC, control U. It seems like the MPoD app should be able to update database, but the nas doesn't mount automatically.

 

The sound this puts out is phenomenal, I am very, very happy! Thanks so much for your hard work on this. I am very pleased I didn't spend hard earned on a 2 box setup and the audiophile optimizer.

[mp29k]

so I figured out this most recent issue as well, it appears as though I have to mount -a everytime I restart the BBB. Is there anyway to configure it so that when I restart, the mount happens automatically?

 

Would like to be able to unplug this little wonder box, plug it back in, without using putty to ssh in everytime and set up NCMPC, control U. It seems like the MPoD app should be able to update database, but the nas doesn't mount automatically.

 

The sound this puts out is phenomenal, I am very, very happy! Thanks so much for your hard work on this. I am very pleased I didn't spend hard earned on a 2 box setup and the audiophile optimizer.

 

Is this a known issue? It is repeatable, when I restart the bbb server, mpod will see the device, but unless I putty in, and do the following commands, no music:

 

mount -a

ncmpc

<cntrl> + U

 

another thing I noticed, when I added the text related to something along the lines of "CPU=PERFORMANCE", the file I was editing was empty, is this normal?

 

i really love the server, but would like to solve the issue of requiring a remount after every reboot. Did I miss a step?

 

final observation, when I use the "update database" button in MPoD, it doesn't do anything, refresh local cache works as expected.

[Richard Dale]

Is this a known issue? It is repeatable, when I restart the bbb server, mpod will see the device, but unless I putty in, and do the following commands, no music:

 

mount -a

ncmpc

<cntrl> + U

 

another thing I noticed, when I added the text related to something along the lines of "CPU=PERFORMANCE", the file I was editing was empty, is this normal?

 

i really love the server, but would like to solve the issue of requiring a remount after every reboot. Did I miss a step?

 

final observation, when I use the "update database" button in MPoD, it doesn't do anything, refresh local cache works as expected.

 

Which version of Linux are you running on the BeagleBone? When I first tried the BeagleBone with Angstrom Linux I had this problem, along with some difficulty in getting the NTP time server working properly. I switched to Debian Linux and it all worked just fine. I believe that the latest BeagleBones come pre-installed with Debian now, rather than Angstrom.

[koushik]

Hi,

 

I am facing an issue. I am using MPDroid on my Android mobile to control the MPD.

Whenever I "Add and Play" a file I get a click/pop sound from DAC. This doesn't occur when the MPD is playing a playlist but if I manually change(fwd/ffwd/rewd)/Pause-Play/Stop any track there is the sound from my speaker.

 

My chain is -

Windows 7 shared machine on network,

Beaglebone Black --> XMOS based USB-to-SPDIF converter --> DAC

 

Any idea how to fix this problem?

 

Thanks in advance.

-Koushik.

[mp29k]

Which version of Linux are you running on the BeagleBone? When I first tried the BeagleBone with Angstrom Linux I had this problem, along with some difficulty in getting the NTP time server working properly. I switched to Debian Linux and it all worked just fine. I believe that the latest BeagleBones come pre-installed with Debian now, rather than Angstrom.

I am using the latest Debian Wheezy image that is linked in the instructions.

[mp29k]

Has anyone been able to get the album art working on this by fetching from discogs or amazon as MPD allows? I have no option in the client (MPOD on my iphone) to tell it to go to discogs or amazon, but I believe this is supposed to be an option. It is possible that the BBB isn't on the internet?

[tg3]

I can't get the BBB to boot off the MicroSD card. The card builds without error. When I apply power to the BBB while pressing the (very tiny) boot switch, no user light ever turns on. How long should that take? If I press the switch immediately after applying power, the BBB boots into Linux. The BBB shows up on my LAN scan, and I can ssh into the board. I also completed the 'apt-get update' steps, so the board seems to be ok. I've made multiple attempts, and reinitialized and rebuilt the card a second time. Mac OS X latest. Terminal session log follows. Any help appreciated.

 

sh-3.2# diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *121.3 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 121.0 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Boot OS X 134.2 MB disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk1

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk1s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 999.3 GB disk1s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk1s3

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD *1.1 TB disk2

/dev/disk4

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: FDisk_partition_scheme *4.0 GB disk4

1: DOS_FAT_32 NO NAME 4.0 GB disk4s1

 

sh-3.2# dd if=/Users/gillespy/Desktop/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-7.4-2014-03-27-2gb.img.xz of=/dev/disk4 bs=1m

166+1 records in

166+1 records out

174068108 bytes transferred in 111.563806 secs (1560256 bytes/sec)

[mp29k]

I couldn't boot off the SD Card either, I could only get it to work loading the Linux image on the internal storage.

[Richard Dale]

I can't get the BBB to boot off the MicroSD card. The card builds without error. When I apply power to the BBB while pressing the (very tiny) boot switch, no user light ever turns on. How long should that take? If I press the switch immediately after applying power, the BBB boots into Linux. The BBB shows up on my LAN scan, and I can ssh into the board. I also completed the 'apt-get update' steps, so the board seems to be ok. I've made multiple attempts, and reinitialized and rebuilt the card a second time. Mac OS X latest. Terminal session log follows. Any help appreciated.

 

sh-3.2# diskutil list

/dev/disk0

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *121.3 GB disk0

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 121.0 GB disk0s2

3: Apple_Boot Boot OS X 134.2 MB disk0s3

/dev/disk1

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: GUID_partition_scheme *1.0 TB disk1

1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk1s1

2: Apple_CoreStorage 999.3 GB disk1s2

3: Apple_Boot Recovery HD 650.0 MB disk1s3

/dev/disk2

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD *1.1 TB disk2

/dev/disk4

#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER

0: FDisk_partition_scheme *4.0 GB disk4

1: DOS_FAT_32 NO NAME 4.0 GB disk4s1

 

sh-3.2# dd if=/Users/gillespy/Desktop/BBB-eMMC-flasher-debian-7.4-2014-03-27-2gb.img.xz of=/dev/disk4 bs=1m

166+1 records in

166+1 records out

174068108 bytes transferred in 111.563806 secs (1560256 bytes/sec)

You need to unpack the .xz image before using dd to copy it to the SD card.

[tg3]

You need to unpack the .xz image before using dd to copy it to the SD card.

<slaps head>

Excuse me while I go stand in the corner for a bit...

[tg3]

Card built successfully (thanks, Richard), and loaded onto the BBB. When I ssh into the BBB, I get this error message.

sh-3.2# ssh [email protected]

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

@ WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED! @

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

IT IS POSSIBLE THAT SOMEONE IS DOING SOMETHING NASTY!

Someone could be eavesdropping on you right now (man-in-the-middle attack)!

It is also possible that a host key has just been changed.

The fingerprint for the RSA key sent by the remote host is

f0:34:53:d8:30:35:f7:4d:05:a6:a8:8f:60:96:0a:d5.

Please contact your system administrator.

Add correct host key in /var/root/.ssh/known_hosts to get rid of this message.

Offending RSA key in /var/root/.ssh/known_hosts:1

RSA host key for 192.168.1.102 has changed and you have requested strict checking.

Host key verification failed.

sh-3.2#

 

Is this for real?? I was able to successfully ssh into the BBB previously.

[The Computer Audiophile]

This is normal. You need to delete your ssh known hosts file on your computer before you can connect again to the BBB. Just do it once and you'll be good.

[tg3]

This is normal. You need to delete your ssh known hosts file on your computer before you can connect again to the BBB. Just do it once and you'll be good.

Even easier, just delete the offending entry:

 

ssh-keygen -R 192.168.1.102