Official TIDAL HIFI Streaming Issues Thread

[Geoff1954]

I've spent all day trying to make Tidal work and am utterly frustrated. Any help or ideas would be welcome. My music server is an old Powerbook G4. It cannot use Chrome Version 39, specified by Tidal for HiFi streaming. OS is 10.5.8 and can't be upgraded.

 

My workaround is: Install Chrome on my iMac. Install Airfoil on my iMac and the legacy version of Airfoil on my Powerbook. So far so good. I tested it with Rdio, playing from my iMac to my Powerbook and into my stereo system connected to the Powerbook. Everything worked and sound was as good as I can get from Rdio.

 

BUT...when I try to play Tidal over the Chrome browser, streaming to the Powerbook the very same way, I got one song to play and then...repeated Tidal error messages that say: "HiFi streaming unfortunately failed. Click here to reload and try again." I've done so, over and over with no success.

 

Any suggestions or thoughts? Many thanks!

[Geoff1954]

6 minutes ago, Cebolla said:

 

Not sure about the logic of what you are saying is here. TIDAL's online servers only supply MQA masters streams undecoded, at a resolution of either 24/44.1kHz or 24/48kHz - so the PSA hardware won't be streaming (decoded) MQA at 24/192kHz from TIDAL. It's down to the receiving software or hardware player's processing power (which shouldn't need much) to decode the MQA streams, with the MQA core (aka 'first unfold') being at a resolution of either 24/176.4kHz for the 24/44.1kHz streams, or 24/192kHz for the 24/48kHz streams.

Actually that is true in some cases but not others. If one is on an iMac -- as I am -- the Tidal software does offer the decoded MQA file. In other words it performs the first unfold. A DAC that is qualified as a "renderer" of MQA -- such as PS Audio's product -- CAN perform the second unfold. But while I do not have such a DAC, I do get the benefit of the first unfold as long as I play the Master file from my iMac. (Mobile Mac devices can't do that.)

This is confirmed by my own experience of a few months as well as by a recent detailed conversation by phone with a knowledgable MQA rep.

[Geoff1954]

Cebolla, you wrote, "All you are doing in the first part is confirming exactly what I just said..."

Always glad when I can confirm something said by someone who always knew he was right to begin with. Have a nice day.

 

[Geoff1954]

On the "MY Albums" page you should see three faint little dots in the top right hand corner. Click on them and you get choices about how to show the collection.

[Geoff1954]

Criminal? I don't like it either. But just change it back. (This is not the first time a Tidal update has done this.)

[Geoff1954]

So change it back. Or end your Tidal membership. But save charges of "criminality" for issues that merit it.
Have a good day.