HQ Player

[Account Closed]

Desktop 4.20 working fine on Ubuntu 22.1 with i5 8400/Asus Z370i.

[Miska]

3 hours ago, Jud said:

Any thought as to what I may have gotten rid of that was needed? (I did try a purge and reinstall, but same results.)

 

You can try to launch Client on terminal with "hqplayer4client" and you should at least get some error printed out. But "sudo apt install -f" should be enough though.

 

3 hours ago, Jud said:

I downloaded the 4.20 Ubuntu desktop build; initially tried to install with dpkg -i but got errors; did apt -f install, which installed a bunch of qt6 stuff along with HQPlayer; then did apt autoremove to get rid of all the stuff apt says wasn't needed any more.

 

Yeah, the generic build now also uses Qt 6.x like the AVX2 build before. So these are now aligned with each other regarding dependencies.

 

[Miska]

3 hours ago, Zauurx said:

I am surprised by the explosion of the number of threads. We go from about 250/260 to more than 720 !! (and handles explose too !!)

 

There are now 128 pipelines instead of 32 earlier. This was requested feature, so you get 4x the amount of threads, that is expected. The ones that don't have work to do just sleep. So the memory footprint got increased a little, but if you don't use more than 32 pipelines, there's no change in CPU time consumption.

 

3 hours ago, Zauurx said:

Back to version 4.19.3 for now (no objective reason to upgrade to 4.20).

 

1 hour ago, Schafheide said:

Although I cannot see or hear any improvements!

 

I guess you guys don't use Qobuz, built-in library, input features, or the pipeline matrix?

 

Now you can also play FLACs with more than 24-bit (up to 32-bit), or higher sampling rate than 384k. But I guess this feature takes some time to become more relevant.

 

[Jud]

17 minutes ago, Miska said:

You can try to launch Client on terminal with "hqplayer4client" and you should at least get some error printed out.

 

Quote

Qt WebEngine resources not found at /share/qt6/resources. Trying parent directory...
Qt WebEngine resources not found at /share/qt6. Trying application directory...
Qt WebEngine resources not found at /usr/bin. Trying fallback directory... The application MAY NOT work.
Path override failed for key base::DIR_QT_LIBRARY_DATA and path '[home directory].HQPlayerClient'
Installed Qt WebEngine locales directory not found at location /share/qt6/translations/qtwebengine_locales. Trying application directory...
Qt WebEngine locales directory not found at location /usr/bin/qtwebengine_locales. Trying fallback directory... Translations MAY NOT not be correct.
Path override failed for key ui::DIR_LOCALES and path '[home directory].HQPlayerClient'
[1114/164109.159762:ERROR:resource_bundle.cc(911)] Failed to load [home directory].HQPlayerClient/qtwebengine_resources_100p.pak
Some features may not be available.
[1114/164109.159989:ERROR:resource_bundle.cc(911)] Failed to load [home directory].HQPlayerClient/qtwebengine_resources_200p.pak
Some features may not be available.
[1114/164109.159996:ERROR:resource_bundle.cc(911)] Failed to load [home directory].HQPlayerClient/qtwebengine_resources.pak
Some features may not be available.
[1114/164109.160007:WARNING:resource_bundle_qt.cpp(119)] locale_file_path.empty() for locale 
QQmlEngine::setContextForObject(): Object already has a QQmlContext
[3110:3110:1114/164109.272781:ERROR:extension_system_qt.cpp(121)] Failed to parse extension manifest.
Segmentation fault (core dumped)

 

I've substituted [home directory] for the actual name of my home directory above.

 

Does that provide an idea of where I've screwed up?

[Miska]

3 hours ago, tcode said:

4.20 version don't work on Windows 10. 

 

Which way it doesn't work?

 

Here's 4.20.0 on Windows 10:

[Miska]

8 minutes ago, Jud said:

I've substituted [home directory] for the actual name of my home directory above.

 

Does that provide an idea of where I've screwed up?

 

Ahh, yes, this is known packaging bug of Qt6 in Ubuntu. Do "sudo ln -s /usr/share /share" and then it should start just fine.

 

I had just forgotten about this, so I didn't immediately remember it. (on Ubuntu, there are symlinks of usr/bin, usr/lib, etc at root, but no symlink of usr/share)

 

[Jud]

49 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

Ahh, yes, this is known packaging bug of Qt6 in Ubuntu. Do "sudo ln -s /usr/share /share" and then it should start just fine.

 

I had just forgotten about this, so I didn't immediately remember it. (on Ubuntu, there are symlinks of usr/bin, usr/lib, etc at root, but no symlink of usr/share)

 

 

Just to close the loop, yes, that was it.  Thanks!

[Spacecase]

11 hours ago, roman69 said:

It was neglected for me, I tried IIR on PCM only shortly, about 4 years ago.

Spacecase what sharpener do you have set?

By default, I have SINC L - NS 5 - 352.8/384 set for PCM 

Noise shaper? Typically always LNS15 at 1.5mHz

 

when i use hqplayer i typically use DSD with poly-sinc-xtr-short-lp-2s and AMSDM7 512+fs at DSD512 (this config is essentially the max that my cpu can handle). 
 

i find IIR to be my favorite PCM filter, the rest i think sound better in DSD, however IIR does have some seem bloom that gets to me a little bit sometimes. 
 

I also really like the sound of NOS on my Spring. I really wouldnt mind a shorter version of poly-ext-short either 😉 im not sure if that would just be the regular poly-sinc filters, but i dont seem to like those as much. 

[Kalpesh]

On 11/9/2022 at 12:26 AM, Miska said:

 

4.7.2 is very old version. Lot of things have changed since.

 

Only latest one and the one before are available for download. For you it won't make a difference which of these two you would use.

 

But which version is the one that behaves differently on Mojave?

 

If you look here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacOS#Release_history

 

You can see which versions are still maintained by Apple. Currently Big Sur, Monterey and Ventura. This is also the set that is supported on both Intel and Apple silicon, and that's why my support is limited to this range.

 

Could you make an exception for Client , eventually with a separate download ? I guess I'm not the only one running Client on an older machine (Catalina limited) and I was disappointed not to be able to use the new functionalities with qobuz . OTOH Desktop 4.20 on my Monterey Mac M1 seems to run just fine

[Chodi]

I tried loading 4.20 again today. No luck. It opens then it is frozen. Then it closes by itself. My windows 11 is up to date and my Nvidia 3060TI drivers are up to date. The Windows error reports ucrtbase.dll error? I have no idea what that is I thought it had something to do with C++ but not sure. I have updated all the optional updates so I do not know the reason for this. Any advice? I do not use any online service or library function. I ave more than a thousand audio files on serveral hard drives that I load from. I reinstalled the previous version and it work fine no problem. Iamm using a Ryzen 5800X based system. My ucrtbase.dll version is 10 (followed by lots of numbers).Help please

[dericchan1]

10 hours ago, Miska said:

 

TI's DAC chip modulators traditionally can sound pretty soft. So it is not surprising.

 

Maybe worth trying for example poly-sinc-short-mp as a filter instead? And you can also try ASDM5ECv2 modulator instead.

 

EC modulators are like a magnifying glass with a lot of detail. It is normal for me to use different filters for different source material, mostly based on genre. But sometimes due to differences in the recording.

 

@Miska 

hi Miska, it turns out using dsd512x44.1 with AMSDM7 512+fs yield the best results (no more over brightness) 

 

I have never used dsd512 before since my pc can not do any of the EC modulators at dsd512.

 

I wonder if there is any technical reasons this reduces the brightness? 
 

cheers

 

Deric

[LoryWiv]

7 hours ago, Miska said:

 

I guess you guys don't use Qobuz, built-in library, input features, or the pipeline matrix?

 

Now you can also play FLACs with more than 24-bit (up to 32-bit), or higher sampling rate than 384k. But I guess this feature takes some time to become more relevant.

 

Just installed HQ Player Desktop 4.20 and works flawlessly on my Windows 11 rig. Cores do appear to be distributed more evenly. Although I am not sophisticated enough to determine if that is advantageous or not the overall cpu usage, temps and RAM use seem comparable. The ability to add or delete favorites in QoBuz is a HUGE win! This feature and your overall commitment to ongoing improvements are very much appreciated @Miska

[Chodi]

1 hour ago, LoryWiv said:

Just installed HQ Player Desktop 4.20 and works flawlessly on my Windows 11 rig. Cores do appear to be distributed more evenly. Although I am not sophisticated enough to determine if that is advantageous or not the overall cpu usage, temps and RAM use seem comparable. The ability to add or delete favorites in QoBuz is a HUGE win! This feature and your overall commitment to ongoing improvements are very much appreciated @Miska

I'm curious, after you installed 4.20 and loaded the program did it automatically go to QuBuz or did you have to select that? From my location there is no QuBuz (actually never heard of it here). Just wondering if it is looking for that on the internet connection and if it does not find it then it closes? Just a guess. I have tried several times to install and load 4.20 on Windows 11 and no go. If it is looking for a specific internet connection that certainly would explain it.

[Zauurx]

10 hours ago, Miska said:

There are now 128 pipelines instead of 32 earlier. This was requested feature, so you get 4x the amount of threads, that is expected. The ones that don't have work to do just sleep. So the memory footprint got increased a little, but if you don't use more than 32 pipelines, there's no change in CPU time consumption.

 

I guess you guys don't use Qobuz, built-in library, input features, or the pipeline matrix?

Now you can also play FLACs with more than 24-bit (up to 32-bit), or higher sampling rate than 384k. But I guess this feature takes some time to become more relevant.

 

 

Yes Miska, that's the price to pay for having new options.
Personally, I use Qobuz but with Roon upstream and I also use Matrix/pipelines but only 4 (room corrections by homefidelity.com).

128, it's still exceptional 🙃
Roon Appliance keeps to a hundred threads and indeed tripling HQPlayer's threads is not necessarily harmful but "small is beautiful".
It might be possible to see an intermediate choice on the number of pipelines that can be activated in the settings (none, 16/32/128) to minimize the memory footprint.
And why not a "minimal" version (or "legacy" like Roon) where you can choose to activate the interface and the file management or just the renderer (with Roon as interface).
I must admit that on my audio server, HQP desktop is launched in "minimized" mode without any visible window.

In any case, Miska, thanks again for the reactivity and the integration of the requests but it is true that it is always difficult to please everyone. 😉

[Miska]

7 hours ago, Kalpesh said:

Could you make an exception for Client , eventually with a separate download ? I guess I'm not the only one running Client on an older machine (Catalina limited) and I was disappointed not to be able to use the new functionalities with qobuz . OTOH Desktop 4.20 on my Monterey Mac M1 seems to run just fine

 

How would that be possible? I cannot support OS versions that are not supported by Apple or the toolkits anymore. And all the Qobuz functionality is in the Client.

 

[Miska]

7 hours ago, Chodi said:

I tried loading 4.20 again today. No luck. It opens then it is frozen. Then it closes by itself. My windows 11 is up to date and my Nvidia 3060TI drivers are up to date. The Windows error reports ucrtbase.dll error? I have no idea what that is I thought it had something to do with C++ but not sure. I have updated all the optional updates so I do not know the reason for this. Any advice? I do not use any online service or library function. I ave more than a thousand audio files on serveral hard drives that I load from. I reinstalled the previous version and it work fine no problem. Iamm using a Ryzen 5800X based system. My ucrtbase.dll version is 10 (followed by lots of numbers).Help please

 

ucrtbase.dll is Windows component, part of their "Universal C runtime". I have stock Windows 11 on number of machines and things work fine on my testing.

 

You can try downloading and installing latest Visual C++ runtime, but I don't know if it helps. From here: https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe

 

Maybe some other application has replaced or installed the ucrtbase.dll in question into Windows system folder. Some applications do that, but it's extremely bad idea to install anything there. HQPlayer doesn't install anything in the Windows system folders it is all contained under the specific Program Files folder.

 

[Miska]

2 hours ago, Zauurx said:

Personally, I use Qobuz but with Roon upstream and I also use Matrix/pipelines but only 4 (room corrections by homefidelity.com).

128, it's still exceptional 🙃
Roon Appliance keeps to a hundred threads and indeed tripling HQPlayer's threads is not necessarily harmful but "small is beautiful".

 

Then ditching Roon and using Client for Qobuz would be smaller and more streamlined... ;)

 

2 hours ago, Zauurx said:

It might be possible to see an intermediate choice on the number of pipelines that can be activated in the settings (none, 16/32/128) to minimize the memory footprint.

 

HQPlayer is objectively developed, I don't want to create configuration options that only alter a number seen in Task Manager without any actually useful function. Especially when it actually increases complexity of the code running and thus has slight negative performance impact.

 

Even the extra memory footprint is mostly virtual and never committed. If you remember how modern paged OS memory management works. So practical impact is at most couple of megabytes, mostly in some kilobytes range.

 

2 hours ago, Zauurx said:

And why not a "minimal" version (or "legacy" like Roon) where you can choose to activate the interface and the file management or just the renderer (with Roon as interface).

 

Desktop server is already such. Roon can never run very sleek, because it needs the huge .NET runtime and fancy graphics.

 

Here's HQPlayer Desktop 4.20.0 playing to DSD128 output on Intel Atom-grade CPU:

 

Not so huge on RAM in my opinion. Opera browser I'm using to write this running in the background takes much much more RAM. This laptop has 8 GB of RAM.

 

2 hours ago, Zauurx said:

I must admit that on my audio server, HQP desktop is launched in "minimized" mode without any visible window.

 

HQPlayer Desktop is a desktop application, as the name says. If you want a server one without visible GUI, HQPlayer Embedded is the solution.

 

[tcode]

13 hours ago, Miska said:

 

Which way it doesn't work?

 

Here's 4.20.0 on Windows 10:

It starts, 5 sec mouse pointer is in hourglass then app just closes. I've tried deinstall, reboot, install no luck. Then I just installed 4.13 version which works. 

 

[Miska]

1 minute ago, tcode said:

It starts, 5 sec mouse pointer is in hourglass then app just closes. I've tried deinstall, reboot, install no luck. Then I just installed 4.13 version which works. 

 

4.13 is pretty old. What kind of CPU do you have?

 

[tcode]

Just now, Miska said:

 

4.13 is pretty old. What kind of CPU do you have?

 

Sorry, 4.19.3

 

I9 11th gen

[Miska]

4 minutes ago, tcode said:

Sorry, 4.19.3

 

I9 11th gen

 

Should be fine. I assume this is stock Windows 10 without any modifications or "optimizers"?

 

I have tested this release on two machines with Windows 10 Pro. One with i9-9900KS + GTX1080 and another one with i9-12900K + RX6800XT.

 

And on two machines with Windows 11. One with Ryzen 9 5900HS + RTX3060 and another one with i9-10900K + RTX2080Ti.

 

That is all Windows machines I have. So a bit of mystery what could be going wrong.

 

[tcode]

6 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

Should be fine. I assume this is stock Windows 10 without any modifications or "optimizers"?

 

I have tested this release on two machines with Windows 10 Pro. One with i9-9900KS + GTX1080 and another one with i9-12900K + RX6800XT.

 

And on two machines with Windows 11. One with Ryzen 9 5900HS + RTX3060 and another one with i9-10900K + RTX2080Ti.

 

That is all Windows machines I have. So a bit of mystery what could be going wrong.

 

It is "optimized" indeed with this powershell script: irm christitus.com/win | iex

 

However, everything works just fine, also every version of HQ Player till this latest 4.20. I'll try to revert changes done by that PS script.

 

[Mark Labbett]

in windows 10 advanced settings is it best to set priority to programs or background services?

[Miska]

4 minutes ago, Mark Labbett said:

in windows 10 advanced settings is it best to set priority to programs or background services?

 

It shouldn't make a big difference in this case. But if your HQPlayer Desktop runs in background and you would like to remove Windows automatic priority boost of the foreground application, you can set it to background.

 

[Chodi]

2 hours ago, Miska said:

 

ucrtbase.dll is Windows component, part of their "Universal C runtime". I have stock Windows 11 on number of machines and things work fine on my testing.

 

You can try downloading and installing latest Visual C++ runtime, but I don't know if it helps. From here: https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe

 

Maybe some other application has replaced or installed the ucrtbase.dll in question into Windows system folder. Some applications do that, but it's extremely bad idea to install anything there. HQPlayer doesn't install anything in the Windows system folders it is all contained under the specific Program Files folder.

 

I reinstalled Visual C++ runtime and then did a repair on it. I did check in the Windows folder and the ucrtbase.dll is there. Reloaded 4.20 and same problem. It loads then freezes then closes by itself. My computer is functioning fine and all updates are installed. I reinstalled the previous version HQP and it works without any problem. So I will just stick with 4.19.3 until you get more feedback or go to a newer version. I am not about to reinstall Windows 11 I have too much on my computer for that. I use Acronis for backups. A total reinstall would be a nightmare.