HQ Player

[Miska]

4 hours ago, craighartley said:

4.0.0 working nicely for me at the moment, in tandem with Roon. You can also use the Client on a remote PC to change the Mode/Filter/Modulator/Max sampling rate settings while Roon/HQP are playing, then pause the music in Roon, and the new settings will take effect when you press Play. It would obviously be better if you could do this inside Roon, but still. Halfway house would be if you could put Client on an iPad.

 

I will look into building Client for iOS and Android. Although more needed for iOS since for Android there are other alternatives as well.

 

[AnotherSpin]

4 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

I'm just curious is there a reason to stick to non-current version on macOS? But generally I try to support current and current - 1, but not older.

 

 

My mac mini would not be updated to Mojave... Apple drops support for several years old hardware.

[Miska]

3 hours ago, Hammer said:

Hi, trying to get HQPlayer 4 Desktop to run under Windows Server 2016...Roon does not seem to be able to connect to it.  I also have HQPlayer 3 Desktop on that same machine and that still works.  Interesting when I first started up HQPlayer 4 Desktop, Windows did not ask me for Firewall settings.  Thinking that is the issue, I manually added the exception for HQPlayer4Desktop.exe.  Unfortunately, Roon is still unable to see it.  Any thoughts?

 

Please check that you have IPv6 enabled for your network interface. It is enabled by default.

 

3 hours ago, Hammer said:

Additionally, I am noticing that CUDA offload is showing up as disabled when I play a song manually via the HQPlayer v4 GUI (eg., not via Roon) even though when I run v3, CUDA offload is enabled.  I've checked my setting and CUDA is enabled under settings.

 

If this happens, it is likely due to too old Nvidia drivers. I always use latest CUDA version which in turn requires pretty much latest drivers of the time.

 

[Miska]

4 hours ago, firedog said:

Is it possible to download and install just the client on your remote PC if you have HQP desktop running on your server? 

 

Yes, for all cases you have option to only install Client. And the Client doesn't need a license key to be installed, license key is only needed at the server side. In Windows installer you can select which components you want to install. In macOS DMG package there are separate apps for client and server, so you can install just client. On Linux there's a separate client-only installation package available through "Other downloads" button.

 

[dc-audiogeek]

I'm having issues with clicking/popping noises when using HQPlayer 4.0 on my Mac mini, whether I'm running MacOS or Windows 10. I am experiencing the clicks when upsampling to DSD or PCM, even at the lowest settings.

 

[EDIT: Never mind...it was my equipment chain.]

 

[Miska]

55 minutes ago, shadowlight said:

Does the input portion allow support for Chromecast Audio, similar to embedded

 

Yes, functionally it is pretty much the same. There are some OS specific peculiarities, so on Linux it works exactly the same as on Embedded. On other OS there may be some differences. But for most cases you'd have 44.1k output from Chromecast and there shouldn't be a problem running such static sampling rate on any of the platforms.

 

55 minutes ago, shadowlight said:

As code for server and client is now split, will the server portion run as a windows service at startup

 

No, it is still a desktop application. But it is more streamlined.

 

55 minutes ago, shadowlight said:

As desktop and embedded code is starting to be similar level, my current assumption is that the biggest advantage that embedded has is the ability to support upnp/dlna setup.  Am I missing some other difference between the two code base?

 

Main difference is that Desktop still has GUI that can be used for configuration and drag-and-drop and other similar use cases. While Embedded has web interface and UPnP support. Inside the two have most things common, so only the outer shell is notably different. That outer shell is roughly about one third of the code.

 

Quote

Has your stance on adding UPNP/DLNA support to Windows code changed with the new release?  I know previously you had said that some of the underlying code needed was not available under Windows and MacOS.

 

No, it has not changed. UPnP support is built around Rygel and web interface around libsoup. Building these for for something like Windows is PITA. libsoup would be relatively easy to replace with libmicrohttpd used by Desktop 4 though.

 

[Miska]

10 minutes ago, dc-audiogeek said:

I'm having issues with clicking/popping noises when using HQPlayer 4.0 on my Mac mini, whether I'm running MacOS or Windows 10. I am experiencing the clicks when upsampling to DSD or PCM, even at the lowest settings.

 

For DSD output, kernel version of the NAA or what ever device interfaces to the DAC matters. There was a fix to this problem quite some time back. Other than that, start/stop/trackchange click/pop is usually "feature" of the DAC. DAC is supposed to mute it's outputs during starting and stopping of the playback.

 

[Hammer]

45 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

Please check that you have IPv6 enabled for your network interface. It is enabled by default.

 

 

If this happens, it is likely due to too old Nvidia drivers. I always use latest CUDA version which in turn requires pretty much latest drivers of the time.

 

 

Hi, yes, checked ipv6 and it is enabled.  Roon is still not seeing HQPlayer 4 Desktop...could it be that I have multiple NiC’s on this machine?  However, it’s setup so that only one had the IP stack; the others are for vm’s only.  And as I mentioned, HQPlayer v3 works...

 

On the other hand, installed latest nvidia drivers and CUDA is now enabled.

[Le Concombre Masqué]

1 hour ago, Miska said:

 

 

 

My personal favorite at the moment and one I've used the most for testing is RME ADI-2 Pro. It allows PCM ADC up to 768/32 in addition to DSD256. Performing convolution for DSD256 is very heavy, so it may be more beneficial to run it at 768/32 PCM instead. If you'd also like to use digital inputs you need to switch it into "multichannel mode" and then maximum ADC rate is 192/32 without changing device settings every time. But that should be pretty good for vinyl as well.

 

ADI-2 also works up to 768k PCM and DSD256 on macOS too (both ADC and DAC). And on Linux I've implemented quite a bunch of extra driver features for it to allow automatic follow of sampling rate changes on digital inputs.

 

Thank you Miska ; googling I came across a shoutout proposed by M Fremer : cheap (# 340 $) HRT Livestream got as many good opinions as much more expensive ADC. Any experience with it? Plus : the HRT does not offer any level adjustment, would it be an issue with HQP?

[Miska]

5 minutes ago, Le Concombre Masqué said:

Thank you Miska ; googling I came across a shoutout proposed by M Fremer : cheap (# 340 $) HRT Livestream got as many good opinions as much more expensive ADC. Any experience with it? Plus : the HRT does not offer any level adjustment, would it be an issue with HQP?

 

I don't have any experience with any of the HRT products. Lack of level adjustment is not a problem as long as the input doesn't clip. ADI-2 doesn't have such either, but it has reference level setting which is practically three level input sensitivity setting.

 

There are many many pro-audio and prosumer ADC interfaces that likely work. At one point I also eyed a TEAC one too. It largely depends on what you want. At the moment I have two RME ADI-2 Pro's and one Prism Lyra.

 

[Miska]

16 minutes ago, Miska said:

At one point I also eyed a TEAC one too.

 

Ahh, sorry, it was under TASCAM brand of course:

https://tascam.com/us/product/uh-7000/top

 

[LoryWiv]

Hi Jussi. I upgraded to HQPlayer 4, running on a single local machine, Win10 PC. ON HQPlayer 3 my workflow was to drag files or folders from Windows explorer into main HQP playlist, then click on the small square icon to launch the component with full size cover screen art etc...How shall I replicate this functionality in HQP 4? Specifically, I can still launch desktop (server), drag files in for playback then launch client which replicates the full size art display (and now filter / modulator) selection. However, from that point on it get's murky:

 

1. Do I select localhost or Desktop-DMIELBV at upper left of client?

2. If I select local host I can generate the playlist in client and even initiate playback from client, but per screenshot the track counter , embedded art etc... remain non-engaged. It appears that the information from desktop is not updating in client during playback.

3. I tried creating a library for initiating playback via client, still erratic behaviour and I do prefer simple drag and drop as I move files frequently from multiple locations, centralized library directory not optimal for my use case.

 

An obvious answer would be for me to reinstall HQP3  but I do want to support the new release and benefit from from future shaper / filter releases etc..I am somewhere above novice but not at the level of many on this forum, so your simplest suggestions as to how to replicate prior "single machine" functionality using HQP4's client - server architecture will be much appreciated. 

 

Thanks!

[Miska]

31 minutes ago, LoryWiv said:

Hi Jussi. I upgraded to HQPlayer 4, running on a single local machine, Win10 PC. ON HQPlayer 3 my workflow was to drag files or folders from Windows explorer into main HQP playlist, then click on the small square icon to launch the component with full size cover screen art etc...How shall I replicate this functionality in HQP 4? Specifically, I can still launch desktop (server), drag files in for playback then launch client which replicates the full size art display (and now filter / modulator) selection.

 

For this case you don't need the Client at all, just the main "server" application.

 

32 minutes ago, LoryWiv said:

1. Do I select localhost or Desktop-DMIELBV at upper left of client?

 

Either one is fine, "localhost" is always there and it is likely faster as it doesn't go through full network stack. The other one is auto-discovered one through network.

 

34 minutes ago, LoryWiv said:

2. If I select local host I can generate the playlist in client and even initiate playback from client, but per screenshot the track counter , embedded art etc... remain non-engaged. It appears that the information from desktop is not updating in client during playback.

 

If the content is in HQPlayer library (scanned by Desktop 4), then all information should be shown, including cover art. I'm not sure what was the exact series of actions that led up to this point. But looks like position, etc is not being updated.

 

37 minutes ago, LoryWiv said:

I tried creating a library for initiating playback via client, still erratic behaviour and I do prefer simple drag and drop as I move files frequently from multiple locations, centralized library directory not optimal for my use case.

 

This is specifically one of the cases that is supposed to work without the Client. And one of the reasons for this redesign. Because many people use HQPlayer through some other way than it's built-in library and GUI. So I split out most things related to it's library playback to a separate client application that can also run on some other device.

 

My thinking was to have "bare minimum" in the player application itself and everything else outside.

 

The client uses exact same control API as Roon, HQPDcontrol and other control applications. And source code of the Client control interface implementation is available for download as well (with full source for hqp-control2 command line utility). Only additional interface used is HTTP-based interface to fetch cover images (which is tied to the control API).

 

[Hammer]

1 hour ago, Hammer said:

 

Hi, yes, checked ipv6 and it is enabled.  Roon is still not seeing HQPlayer 4 Desktop...could it be that I have multiple NiC’s on this machine?  However, it’s setup so that only one had the IP stack; the others are for vm’s only.  And as I mentioned, HQPlayer v3 works...

 

On the other hand, installed latest nvidia drivers and CUDA is now enabled.

 

Hi, not sure if this will help troubleshoot, but 1) HQPlayer 4 Desktop will play to a NAA so networking seems to be okay and 2) I cannot start HQPlayer 4 Client on this machine.  Nothing happens when I double click on it.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[craighartley]

2 hours ago, Miska said:

 

Both DAC8 DSD and also Holo Spring/Cyan work fine with both 5th and 7th order. Especially Holo Audio DACs are totally fine with 7th order modulators just like DSC1/DSC2 designs. Analog FIR type DACs work perfectly fine with 7th order modulators (TI/BB chips included, like iFi).

 

Thank you. Why ’especially’ with Holo Springs? More so thanDAC8 DSD?

[Miska]

1 minute ago, Hammer said:

Hi, not sure if this will help troubleshoot, but 1) HQPlayer 4 Desktop will plan to a NAA so networking seems to be okay and 2) I cannot start HQPlayer 4 Client on this machine.  Nothing happens when I double click on it.

 

It needs OpenGL, but if you have CUDA functional within the same environment, then you should also have OpenGL functional... That is only thing I can think of why it wouldn't work...

 

[Miska]

15 minutes ago, craighartley said:

Thank you. Why ’especially’ with Holo Springs? More so thanDAC8 DSD?

 

Holo has somewhat steeper analog filter. Very likely the new T+A DAC/preamp goes into same category. But the difference is not so huge so no worries with DAC8 DSD either. Output is very clean if you keep "clean" DAC8 DSD analog filter selected and run it at DSD512. And at DSD512 it is also pretty clean even with "wide" analog filter. If you use DSD256 to DAC8 DSD, together with 7th order modulator, I would recommend "clean" analog filter although you are still good with either.

 

[LoryWiv]

53 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

For this case you don't need the Client at all, just the main "server" application.

Understood, but is there then any way to have  full size art displayed and ready access to filter / shaper etc...without launching client?

[lucretius]

@Miska Is there any chance of building an interface in HQPlayer Desktop to allow input from a virtual cable (with a dialog box for selecting the input device)?  I'd like to be able to route sound to HQPlayer from other players via a virtual cable.  Thanks.

[LoryWiv]

1 hour ago, Miska said:

 

If the content is in HQPlayer library (scanned by Desktop 4), then all information should be shown, including cover art. I'm not sure what was the exact series of actions that led up to this point. But looks like position, etc is not being updated.

Exactly, as I didn't scan the files into library but instead dragged them into Desktop player, they don't seem to be readable by client. Is there any workaround for this or do I have to use library?

[LoryWiv]

4 minutes ago, LoryWiv said:

Exactly, as I didn't scan the files into library but instead dragged them into Desktop player, they don't seem to be readable by client. Is there any workaround for this or do I have to use library?

Related observation that may help troubleshoot / improve: Even using tracks from library, the client's "time" counter does not run but does update if I re-select "localhost", then time counter stops running again....suggests the communication between server and client only occurs at the instant localhost is selected but then is not sustained.

 

[Miska]

40 minutes ago, lucretius said:

@Miska Is there any chance of building an interface in HQPlayer Desktop to allow input from a virtual cable (with a dialog box for selecting the input device)?  I'd like to be able to route sound to HQPlayer from other players via a virtual cable.  Thanks.

 

It should already work, although not tested by me (yet). On macOS I would find it more likely to work, on Windows it seems to require some additional things from my side, since WASAPI Exclusive mode doesn't seem to work with such.

 

[Miska]

9 minutes ago, LoryWiv said:

Related observation that may help troubleshoot / improve: Even using tracks from library, the client's "time" counter does not run but does update if I re-select "localhost", then time counter stops running again....suggests the communication between server and client only occurs at the instant localhost is selected but then is not sustained.

 

Client is not assuming someone else operating the server through some other means, so it doesn't get automatically updated if some other instance is controlling the server. This is a little bit like Roon which immediately drops the control if it notices someone else touching HQPlayer. Point is to try avoiding multiple control points from fighting over control.

 

[firedog]

3 hours ago, Miska said:

 

Yes, for all cases you have option to only install Client. And the Client doesn't need a license key to be installed, license key is only needed at the server side. In Windows installer you can select which components you want to install. In macOS DMG package there are separate apps for client and server, so you can install just client. On Linux there's a separate client-only installation package available through "Other downloads" button.

 

 

So I installed v4 on my server and client on my control PC. HQP server is playing back a selection. When I open the client, I just get a blank screen. No connection to HQP server and nothing displayed. I've tried putting in IP address on my network of the server, and also the hostname of the server. Still no connection between client and server. 
Any ideas?

[Hammer]

1 hour ago, Miska said:

 

It needs OpenGL, but if you have CUDA functional within the same environment, then you should also have OpenGL functional... That is only thing I can think of why it wouldn't work...

 

Ah, maybe client is not working because I am RDP’ing into the Server.  

 

Any idea why Roon does not see HQPlayer 4 but sees HQPlayer 3 on same machine?  iPv6 is enabled.  Anything else I can try?

 

 

1 hour ago, Miska said: