HQ Player

[zorntel]

One other interesting note...on processor speed related to DSD256/512 and CUDA. I can run polysinc (not *2) at DSD256 on my 2.2ghz 8-core mac pro only when I have CUDA enabled (GTX 780). The same file won't go (stutters a lot) on my 2.6ghz 16-core linux machine that doesn't have CUDA (installing a GTX970 tomorrow).

 

So thank you, Jussi, for implementing CUDA! Gives us another way to breath new life into older processors.

 

Also on the processor front. Is there any hope of developing a "server" version of HQplayer that would make use of more processing cores (not CUDA cores)? I'm not a serious programmer...but it seems like offloading part of the job to the GPU is helping...would be nice to see heavy loads take advantage of more cores when one has them. I realize this probably isn't on the top of the priority list as many people have 4-core machines...also not sure whether it is technically possible given the types of processing you need to do for 2-channel conversion.

[Miska]

Sorry...another Linux newbie question. I'm assuming that I shouldn't update to a new kernal that you don't already have a header or image file for...correct? And is the 3.13.0 reference in the files above suggest that these are for the 3.13.0b3? How important is all of this to match exactly? I'm a mac user and this is a lot to keep track of...but I guess that's the fun!

 

Yes, there's some delay before I get new kernel built when Canonical releases a new kernel for Ubuntu.

 

That 3.13 is just the kernel version Ubuntu is using in 14.04 LTS, but it is not related to HQPlayer version. So the libasound2/linux packages are independent, just that they are needed for running HQPlayer.

 

In about two months there is supposed to be new 16.04 LTS release, so at that point you don't anymore need those custom package versions from me. You can do upgrade from 14.04 to 16.04 when it is available. I recommend waiting for me check that everything works fine also on the new version though.

[Miska]

There is now 3.13.0beta5 with setting for keeping the sample rate family even if filter can do other ratios too.

 

I also changed the OS X process throttling settings, now it should be even less likely to stutter when HQPlayer is running alone. There are still some interoperability problems with Roon that I'm trying to solve with them.

 

I did some fine tunings for the DSD7 modulator too...

[zorntel]

Yes, there's some delay before I get new kernel built when Canonical releases a new kernel for Ubuntu.

 

That 3.13 is just the kernel version Ubuntu is using in 14.04 LTS, but it is not related to HQPlayer version. So the libasound2/linux packages are independent, just that they are needed for running HQPlayer.

 

In about two months there is supposed to be new 16.04 LTS release, so at that point you don't anymore need those custom package versions from me. You can do upgrade from 14.04 to 16.04 when it is available. I recommend waiting for me check that everything works fine also on the new version though.

 

 

Thanks again. One related question. If I'm using your NAA builds to interface to the Dacs...do I even need these files installed on the HQplayer machine doing the processing? Not sure how the drivers work when there is a NAA in between the processing computer and the DAC.

[Miska]

Thanks again. One related question. If I'm using your NAA builds to interface to the Dacs...do I even need these files installed on the HQplayer machine doing the processing? Not sure how the drivers work when there is a NAA in between the processing computer and the DAC.

 

In that case you don't necessarily need those things installed. ALSA backend will fail in that case, I have not tested if things still work properly enough. But if you succeed switching to Network Audio backend HQPlayer doesn't talk to ALSA anymore and things should be fine.

[Miska]

Also on the processor front. Is there any hope of developing a "server" version of HQplayer that would make use of more processing cores (not CUDA cores)? I'm not a serious programmer...but it seems like offloading part of the job to the GPU is helping...would be nice to see heavy loads take advantage of more cores when one has them. I realize this probably isn't on the top of the priority list as many people have 4-core machines...also not sure whether it is technically possible given the types of processing you need to do for 2-channel conversion.

 

I could use more cores for the same cases where CUDA helps, not everything can be parallelized further, but some. Checking number of cores is a bit tricky because usually HyperThreading cores are counted as cores by the OS too, while not being really useful for most of HQPlayer's computations. But at least for the case where reported number of cores is >= 16 I could switch over to more parallel version (8 or 16 real cores).

[craighartley]

I could use more cores for the same cases where CUDA helps, not everything can be parallelized further, but some. Checking number of cores is a bit tricky because usually HyperThreading cores are counted as cores by the OS too, while not being really useful for most of HQPlayer's computations. But at least for the case where reported number of cores is >= 16 I could switch over to more parallel version (8 or 16 real cores).

Miska,

Can you please do this to benefit 6-core machines too (like the 6-core Mac Pro I chose recently - with your help; especially as it can't make use of CUDA)?

[craighartley]

Thank you very much. Particularly for the family setting.

 

(As you will have predicted, the new beta doesn't solve my Roon-HQPlayer DSD256 stutter.)

 

There is now 3.13.0beta5 with setting for keeping the sample rate family even if filter can do other ratios too.

 

I also changed the OS X process throttling settings, now it should be even less likely to stutter when HQPlayer is running alone. There are still some interoperability problems with Roon that I'm trying to solve with them.

 

I did some fine tunings for the DSD7 modulator too...

[aps]

With Acourate you can create filters for 192k even if your measurement is 96k or similar and ask it the extend the filter flat above the measurement bandwidth. Then leave the HF Expand option disabled in HQPlayer.

 

My plan is to let the main speakers run full range (with Simple Filter) and just have low-pass on the various subwoofers to fill in the bass (as opposed to doing full speaker measurements). What, then, is the best practise re. frequency of the filters? I'm assuming that it is to generate filters at the maximum supported rate of the DAC that is being used (in my case 384kHz for e18)? Is this correct?

 

Also pay attention to the filter gain, so that if there are boost peaks in the response, those frequencies don't cause overload in HQPlayer. You can use the gain compensation option in HQPlayer to compensate for this as necessary. So in the end, pay attention to the Limited counter in HQPlayer main window to make sure it stays 0 at all times.

 

Thanks. I'm not sure that I fully understand the situation as my filters were just calculated as LR4 low-/high-pass using Acourate and so don't have any real peaks (as would be the case if I was to have calculated these from measurements.) That said, the "limit" no. on the main page was going to 10 when the crackles occurred and reducing the convolution gain by -6dB has removed the problem. The same is true even when running poly-sinc-short-mp / NS5 / 384kHz.

[ted_b]

Aps, that is what I suspected when I posted earlier. Those crackles were clipping evidence. If you look at the logs during limiting, it will tell you how loud the clipping occurs. Just reduce the convolver by that amount to ensure no clipping (i.e 6db may be too much).

[Iain]

I purchased this title recently, but when I imported into playlist it came out this way:

I've tried to sort it by drag and drop each line to put them in order, but that doesn't work. I've tried to modify the metadata with the Foobar2000 metadata editor, but there doesn't seem to be an obvious solution for this.

 

What am I missing here?

[ted_b]

Is this an SACD rip (Channel doesn't sell this as multichannel, and our NativeDSD files have track numbers in the file names)? You have brought them into HQP has sets of folders (all with the same name). If that's what you want, then sort by path (since they are named for each concerto), otherwise bring them in as tracks (there are 36 of them). Each has a track number, which will sort normally.

[Miska]

I purchased this title recently, but when I imported into playlist it came out this way:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]23983[/ATTACH]

I've tried to sort it by drag and drop each line to put them in order, but that doesn't work. I've tried to modify the metadata with the Foobar2000 metadata editor, but there doesn't seem to be an obvious solution for this.

 

What am I missing here?

 

Does it have third level? You can make non-destructive metadata editing in HQPlayer's Library-dialog by double-clicking the cells. It works like a spreadsheet. Since it seems to be multiple albums, you can name each album differently, for example by changing the automatic trailing number to be zero-prefixed, then it is sorted correctly in the view. For the automatic numbering I didn't consider that there would be ten or more versions of the same album from the same artist...

[Iain]

Does it have third level? You can make non-destructive metadata editing in HQPlayer's Library-dialog by double-clicking the cells. It works like a spreadsheet. Since it seems to be multiple albums, you can name each album differently, for example by changing the automatic trailing number to be zero-prefixed, then it is sorted correctly in the view. For the automatic numbering I didn't consider that there would be ten or more versions of the same album from the same artist...

 

This was purchased direct from NativeDSD.com, but I have put each concerto in it's own separate directory:

 

I did this successfully with Floriligium's Brandenburg Concertos and was trying to replicate that procedure here. I also tried double clicking each track as you suggested, but there was no obvious solution there, as well.

[ted_b]

This was purchased direct from NativeDSD.com, but I have put each concerto in it's own separate directory:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]23985[/ATTACH]

I did this successfully with Floriligium's Brandenburg Concertos and was trying to replicate that procedure here. I also tried double clicking each track as you suggested, but there was no obvious solution there, as well.

 

But the album name (top folder name) is what you have sorted on, and it sees 12 albums. Just sort on the path (since that is your qualifier). Why did you nest like this; we try to make the file names, etc friendly to players, and I insist each filename has a track number as it's lead.

[Samuel T Cogley]

Hi Miska

 

I haven't done it in a while, but today I attempted to stream D-DUR using the same file that I used with HQPlayer a few months back:

 

$ cat d-dur.m3u
http://radio.cesnet.cz:8000/cro-d-dur.flac
$

 

When I click the "folder" icon and select the file, nothing appears in the playlist. This is the way I used to do it. I also attempted to drag-and-drop the file, to no avail.

 

Is this just broken for me?

 

Thanks in advance

 

EDIT: Information from the log file:

 

& 2016/02/03 09:44:31 Set transport (240): /Users/[REDACTED]/d-dur.m3u
# 2016/02/03 09:44:31 clPlaylist::AddURI("http://radio.cesnet.cz:8000/cro-d-dur.flac"): clStreamReaderHTTP::GetHead(): Bad
# 2016/02/03 09:44:31 clMainWindow::setTransport(): clHQPlayerEngine::SetTransport(): failed

 

That URL works perfectly with VLC

[Iain]

But the album name (top folder name) is what you have sorted on, and it sees 12 albums. Just sort on the path (since that is your qualifier). Why did you nest like this; we try to make the file names, etc friendly to players, and I insist each filename has a track number as it's lead.

I found the problem. It's the subdirectory naming. Here's the Brandenburg Concertos naming sequence:

 

I did this back in October for the Bach, and it's this error that caused the problem. I need a procedure list for this, I suppose.

 

BTW, I'm doing this because I don't want to listen to all tracks at one listening session. If I just want to listen to the third concerto, that's what I'll get; nothing more or nothing less.

[Iain]

Does it have third level? You can make non-destructive metadata editing in HQPlayer's Library-dialog by double-clicking the cells. It works like a spreadsheet. Since it seems to be multiple albums, you can name each album differently, for example by changing the automatic trailing number to be zero-prefixed, then it is sorted correctly in the view. For the automatic numbering I didn't consider that there would be ten or more versions of the same album from the same artist...

 

I renamed the Vivaldi subdirectories to mach the Bach subdirectories and this is the result:

 

Not sure what's going on here, as the Bach worked fine in October. At least it's better than it was because I can now clearly identify the Vivaldi concerto to select. Wish they were in proper sequence, though.

[bogi]

There is now 3.13.0beta5 with setting for keeping the sample rate family even if filter can do other ratios too.

 

I also changed the OS X process throttling settings, now it should be even less likely to stutter when HQPlayer is running alone. There are still some interoperability problems with Roon that I'm trying to solve with them.

 

I did some fine tunings for the DSD7 modulator too...

 

Miska, thanks for the new beta.

 

I found the new checkbox in Settings

[x] Auto rate family

but I couldn't find out how does it function.

I have 2 tracks in playlist

1. 44.1k PCM

2. 96k PCM

and poly-sinc-mp, ASDM7, SDM(DSD)

 

When I set bitrate in the main window to Auto and switch between those tracks, the output SDM bitrate doesn't change. It remains on 6.1, if the last track (before setting 'Auto') played at 6.1 output rate. I am switching between those 2 tracks and still 6.1.

 

Similarly, if the last played at 5.6 rate, switching between those 2 tracks doesn't change SDM bitrate, it stays on 5.6.

 

When I set 6.1 in main window combo box instead of 'Auto', SDM bitrate stays on 6.1.

When I set 5.6 in main window combo box, SDM bitrate stays on 5.6.

 

All experiments with [x] Auto rate family enabled and limit 6.1 in the Settings dialog.

 

Maybe I didn't find out how to use Auto rate family, or maybe it doesn't function with DoP ... I don't know.

 

My DAC doesn't show DSD bitartes, it shows only DSD128 (or DSD64). But I can find out the bitrate in the Thesycon (XMOS) Control Panel. It reflects the changed bitrate immediately. Because of my DAC can only DoP, Control Panel shows 352800 for 5.6 and 384000 for 6.1.

[Miska]

I found the new checkbox in Settings

[x] Auto rate family

but I couldn't find out how does it function.

I have 2 tracks in playlist

1. 44.1k PCM

2. 96k PCM

and poly-sinc-mp, ASDM7, SDM(DSD)

 

When I set bitrate in the main window to Auto and switch between those tracks, the output SDM bitrate doesn't change. It remains on 6.1, if the last track (before setting 'Auto') played at 6.1 output rate. I am switching between those 2 tracks and still 6.1.

 

It is only used when you have set the output rate to "Auto" in main window. So when the Auto rate select is picking up rates it ignores the ones that are not multiples of the source rate whe "Auto rate family" is enabled.

[Miska]

I renamed the Vivaldi subdirectories to mach the Bach subdirectories and this is the result:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]23987[/ATTACH]

Not sure what's going on here, as the Bach worked fine in October. At least it's better than it was because I can now clearly identify the Vivaldi concerto to select. Wish they were in proper sequence, though.

 

What is under each of those albums? How does it look like if you open up the albums with the ">" in the upper library view?

 

In the HQPlayer Library dialog you can just change what is in the "Album" cell for each of those. You get proper sorting if you instead of 1, 2, 3, ..., 10, 11 use numbering with 0-prefix like, 01, 02, 03, ..., 10, 11, 12

[bogi]

It is only used when you have set the output rate to "Auto" in main window. So when the Auto rate select is picking up rates it ignores the ones that are not multiples of the source rate whe "Auto rate family" is enabled.

 

Thanks, now I know how it was intended to function (it was also my guess).

 

But as I already reported in my previous post, it didn't function for me:

 

When I set bitrate in the main window to Auto and switch between those tracks, the output SDM bitrate doesn't change.

...

All experiments with [x] Auto rate family enabled and limit 6.1 in the Settings dialog.

 

The case is PCM to SDM (DoP).

[Miska]

I haven't done it in a while, but today I attempted to stream D-DUR using the same file that I used with HQPlayer a few months back:

 

Seems to be broken now, because the server there doesn't support HTTP HEAD-request. Probably 405 would be more proper response.

 

I need to check how to fall back to GET in case HEAD doesn't work (400 or 405 response)...

 

Thanks for reporting this!

 

 

EDIT: fixed for the next release!

[Samuel T Cogley]

Seems to be broken now, because the server there doesn't support HTTP HEAD-request. Probably 405 would be more proper response.

 

I need to check how to fall back to GET in case HEAD doesn't work (400 or 405 response)...

 

Thanks for reporting this!

 

 

EDIT: fixed for the next release!

 

 

Thanks!

[clipper]

There is now 3.13.0beta5 with setting for keeping the sample rate family even if filter can do other ratios too.

 

Thank you for this!!!

 

It's great not to have to manually switch between 5,644,800 and 6,144,000 (in my particular case).

 

Love this feature...