Supersonic

[Luca72c]

9 minutes ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Yes it does. I tested today from a Mac to an Antipodes Linux server running HQPEmbedded. It also works towards HQPlayer4Desktop between machines on different platforms on your lan. You just have to remember to activate the network button, and, of course, make sure the Supersonic settings are correct.

 

👍

I'll test it as soon as i can, unfortunately i can't right now

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

No rush. And, of course, I’ll be happy to help you.

[Luca72c]

Here i am, test started.

So far, no luck: i couldn't manage to get a stream to HQPlayer, both in local or lan-connected PCs and both in playing local filec or UPNP streams. I only get sound by local Kodi audio device just as supersonic addons was not active.

At supersonic addon install i got no errors. In Kodi log, everytime i start playback i have the following errors:

2020-11-29 02:50:02.623 T:8748   ERROR: EXCEPTION Thrown (PythonToCppException) : -->Python callback/script returned the following error<--
                                             - NOTE: IGNORING THIS CAN LEAD TO MEMORY LEAKS!
                                            Error Type: <type 'exceptions.WindowsError'>
                                            Error Contents: [Error 2] Impossibile trovare il file specificato
                                            Traceback (most recent call last):
                                              File "C:\Users\Luca.000\AppData\Roaming\Kodi\addons\plugin.audio.supersonic\resources\lib\supersonic\service\monitor.py", line 5745, in onNotification
                                                theStat = t.hqpStatus()
                                              File "C:\Users\Luca.000\AppData\Roaming\Kodi\addons\plugin.audio.supersonic\resources\lib\supersonic\service\monitor.py", line 5269, in hqpStatus
                                                p = subprocess.Popen(statCommand, startupinfo=startupinfo, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE).stderr.read()
                                              File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Kodi\system\python\Lib\subprocess.py", line 390, in __init__
                                                errread, errwrite)
                                              File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Kodi\system\python\Lib\subprocess.py", line 640, in _execute_child
                                                startupinfo)
                                            WindowsError: [Error 2] Impossibile trovare il file specificato
                                            -->End of Python script error report<--
2020-11-29 02:50:02.624 T:8748   ERROR: EXCEPTION Thrown (PythonToCppException) : -->Python callback/script returned the following error<--
                                             - NOTE: IGNORING THIS CAN LEAD TO MEMORY LEAKS!
                                            Error Type: <type 'exceptions.WindowsError'>
                                            Error Contents: [Error 2] Impossibile trovare il file specificato
                                            Traceback (most recent call last):
                                              File "C:\Users\Luca.000\AppData\Roaming\Kodi\addons\plugin.audio.supersonic\resources\lib\supersonic\service\monitor.py", line 5827, in onNotification
                                                p = subprocess.Popen([pathToHQPControl, client, setDisplay, value],startupinfo=startupinfo)
                                              File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Kodi\system\python\Lib\subprocess.py", line 390, in __init__
                                                errread, errwrite)
                                              File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Kodi\system\python\Lib\subprocess.py", line 640, in _execute_child
                                                startupinfo)
                                            WindowsError: [Error 2] Impossibile trovare il file specificato
                                            -->End of Python script error report<--

 

 

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

Can you send me screen shots of all your Supersonic settings in Kodi and also of HQPlayer’s main interface window? Thanks

[Luca72c]

1 hour ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Can you send me screen shots of all your Supersonic settings in Kodi and also of HQPlayer’s main interface window? Thanks

 

Sure i can

N.B.: 192.168.0.100 is the server i have Kodi and HQPlayer on. I have a second lan-connected PC that only has HQPlayer on, at IP address 192.168.0.105. When trying to use that i simply change address in "Client" field. Both are Windows 10 PCs

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

Thanks. The error message in the log is telling me Supersonic cannot communicate with HQPlayer. Can you try changing 192.168.0.100 to localhost

 

When hqp and supersonic are running on the same machine my code may be expecting localhost.

 

Can you also navigate to hqplayer4desktop app by clicking on “Path to HQPlayer” ?

 

I know it’s there already; but sometimes it seems necessary to re-apply the setting.

 

Sometimes I’ve also had to deactiate Supersonic with the “Activate” control off. Then quite Kodi. Start Kodi again, then set the control to activate, quit and restart Kodi again.

 

It’s annoying; but sometimes necessary to play with settings in this way the first time after installing Supersonic, to get everything to work.

 

Good luck!

[Luca72c]

1 hour ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Thanks. The error message in the log is telling me Supersonic cannot communicate with HQPlayer. Can you try changing 192.168.0.100 to localhost

When hqp and supersonic are running on the same machine my code may be expecting localhost.

Can you also navigate to hqplayer4desktop app by clicking on “Path to HQPlayer” ?

I know it’s there already; but sometimes it seems necessary to re-apply the setting.

Sometimes I’ve also had to deactiate Supersonic with the “Activate” control off. Then quite Kodi. Start Kodi again, then set the control to activate, quit and restart Kodi again.

It’s annoying; but sometimes necessary to play with settings in this way the first time after installing Supersonic, to get everything to work.

Good luck!

 

Ok, tried your fixes. Localhost and path adjusting weren't enough to get it work.

Turning off and on the addon, instead, worked!

Now i can playback local audio files via HQPlayer (but no audio from videos, in that case HQPlayer seems to receive nothing) and Qobuz files via Bubble UPNP on my tablet. So far, i only tested HQPlayer on localhost: when i start playback through Kodi renderer in any way, supersonic catches the stream (even by Bubble UPNP) and HQPlayer automatically launches.

So it works and that's a first big success! Thank you very much for your help!

But it doesn't work perfectly. Generally, it's not so stable: sometimes i have to play, HQPlayer doesn't receive the stream, so i have to stop and try again, then it works. Not a so big problem anyway...

More, when playback starts (both locally or via UPNP), there is a delay of approx. 15/20 seconds before HQPlayer starts playing the stream - but that's not a problem too. The annoying thing is that a few seconds after HQPlayer starts playing, the playback gets in pause and i have to exit pause both in source player AND in HQPlayer. That happens both if i play from local library (in Kodi) and if play a stream in Bubble UPNP. So it seems Kodi is to blame for that... This is strange as with supersonic inactive, playing to local audio device without HQPlayer, that doesn't happen, so the problem must be in the in the relationship/connection between Kodi/Supersonic and HQPlayer

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

Good; some progress then. I think we should concentrate on UPnP first.

 

Do you have any possibility to test with mcconnect on IOS? This is the only UPnP solution I’ve tested with.

 

Video files are not supported by Supersonic. Music only!

 

If in localhost mode, you don’t need HQPlayer’s network button activated.

 

There will be a 15-20 second delay. This is normal, please be patient.

 

When you say playback is paused, do you mean HQPlayer is placed in paused mode? Please check its interface.

 

Thanks

 

Geoff

[Luca72c]

2 hours ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Good; some progress then. I think we should concentrate on UPnP first.

Do you have any possibility to test with mcconnect on IOS? This is the only UPnP solution I’ve tested with.

 

Sorry i don't, as i have an Android tablet and an Android smartphone. But as i said, the pausing issue occurs even if i only play local audio files in Kodi, without any UPNP connection running, so i guess UPNP is not the problem

 

2 hours ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Video files are not supported by Supersonic. Music only!

If in localhost mode, you don’t need HQPlayer’s network button activated.

There will be a 15-20 second delay. This is normal, please be patient.

 

Ok, no problem about that 👍

 

2 hours ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

When you say playback is paused, do you mean HQPlayer is placed in paused mode? Please check its interface.

 

Yes, i confirm that both Kodi and HQPlayer enter paused mode a very few seconds after HQPlayer starts playing the stream. I'm not able to understand which one causes paused mode first, forcing the other one to do the same, as apparently both enter paused mode in the exact same time...

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

I’ve never experienced that problem and can’t re-create it.

 

Have you tried using Supersonic on one machine and HQPlayer on the other?

 

Obviously you’ll need to share the folder where you want the temp files created on the machine running HQPlayer and mount it on the machine running Supersonic. You’ll also need to point to that mounted location as the place where temp files should be created.

 

If you can do this then please tell me if the result is the same.

 

If one machine is more powerful than the other, that’s the machine that should be running HQPlayer for the “heavy lifting”.

 

Also under Kodi’s settings, Player -> Music please check that you have, “Automatically play next song” turned on.

 

Another thought, please try with Always create temp files turned on in Supersonic’s settings. Tell me if the result is the same with this on or off.

 

Thanks

[Luca72c]

1 hour ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Also under Kodi’s settings, Player -> Music please check that you have, “Automatically play next song” turned on.

 

It was turned on already

 

1 hour ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Another thought, please try with Always create temp files turned on in Supersonic’s settings. Tell me if the result is the same with this on or off.

 

The result is not the same. That way, when playback in Kodi starts HQPlayer receives the stream, but doesn't start playback at all. I have to press play in HQPlayer to have playback started, but from then on it doesn't enter paused mode. Someway preferable to me, but still needs manual intervention

 

1 hour ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Have you tried using Supersonic on one machine and HQPlayer on the other?

Obviously you’ll need to share the folder where you want the temp files created on the machine running HQPlayer and mount it on the machine running Supersonic. You’ll also need to point to that mounted location as the place where temp files should be created.

If you can do this then please tell me if the result is the same.

 

Tried that way, but HQPlayer in the lan-connected PC doesn't receive any stream.

I mounted the temp dir of the HQPlayer PC into Kodi PC file system and pointed to it in Supersonic settings, but no luck.

But i have to say that i can't understand some settings; specifically:

1. What's the difference between "Path to temporary files" (in Supersonic "Main Settings") and "External client path to temp files" (in Supersonic "HQPlayer Settings")? What should i input there and using what exact syntax (i see that somewhere in settings volumes are reported in the form of "C:\", somewhere in the form of "C/")?

2. What should i input in "Client location/Drive letter to this machines music folder" (in Supersonic "HQPlayer Settings)? Using what exact syntax?

3. What should i input in "Path to HQPlayer" in that case (separate HQPlayer PC and Kodi PC)?

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

Under HQPlayer settings, "External path to temp files" is how that path appears on the machine running HQPlayer.

 

This will obviously appear differently on the machine running Kodi/Supersonic. On that machine it will appear with its share name, and in the case of Windows that is more likely to be a mapped networked drive to the location on the machine running HQPlayer. This is the path you would enter in Supersonic's main settings under "Path to Temporary files".

 

I hope that makes it clearer.

 

Playback always starts for me when temp files are created. I don't know why it isn't for you.

 

As a test, always make sure the same file can play in HQPlayer when you just drag 'n drop it, without Supersonic being involved.

 

With Windows the path separator is always a backslash "\". On Linux and Mac a forward slash "/"

[bibo01]

On 11/29/2020 at 3:27 AM, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

No rush. And, of course, I’ll be happy to help you.

Hi Geoff,

does Kodi support Qobuz? I'm asking because in Kodi's forum I read that it doesn't anymore, but maybe it has been rectified and it was old info. Thanks 

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

6 hours ago, bibo01 said:

Hi Geoff,

does Kodi support Qobuz? I'm asking because in Kodi's forum I read that it doesn't anymore, but maybe it has been rectified and it was old info. Thanks 

Hi, What happened was that Qobuz withdrew the API keys used by the Qobuz add-on for Kodi. So that no longer works.

 

You can use UPnP to Kodi acting as a UPnP renderer though.

[Luca72c]

13 hours ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Under HQPlayer settings, "External path to temp files" is how that path appears on the machine running HQPlayer.

This will obviously appear differently on the machine running Kodi/Supersonic. On that machine it will appear with its share name, and in the case of Windows that is more likely to be a mapped networked drive to the location on the machine running HQPlayer. This is the path you would enter in Supersonic's main settings under "Path to Temporary files".

I hope that makes it clearer.
With Windows the path separator is always a backslash "\". On Linux and Mac a forward slash "/"

 

Ok, thanks.

And what about "Client location/Drive letter to this machines music folder" (in Supersonic "HQPlayer Settings") and "Path to HQPlayer" in case of external HQPlayer client?

[Luca72c]

13 hours ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

Playback always starts for me when temp files are created. I don't know why it isn't for you.

As a test, always make sure the same file can play in HQPlayer when you just drag 'n drop it, without Supersonic being involved.

 

If i drag 'n drop in HQPlayer without Kodi/Supersonic involved, i have to press play to make the playback start as well. That's why i never use that way of playback, i usually control HQPlayer remotely using HQPDControl

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

31 minutes ago, Luca72c said:

 

Ok, thanks.

And what about "Client location/Drive letter to this machines music folder" (in Supersonic "HQPlayer Settings") and "Path to HQPlayer" in case of external HQPlayer client?

This is in case you don't want temporary files created (unless necessary, because the originals are not in a format HQP supports).

 

In that case you can map the location of your music library on the machine running Supersonic, to a drive letter on the machine running HQPlayer. By doing that Supersonic should be able to load the original URLs from the server machine (running Supersonic) onto the client machine (running HQPlayer).

 

You have to be careful that you map the correct location. In the most common directory structure a folder named "Music" would contain all the artist folders and a folder for compilations and those folders would in turn contain the actual album folders, which contain the music files. In that case it is the "Music" folder that you would map to a driver letter on the client machine. That same folder would obviously need to be shared from the server machine to the client machine and connected to from the client machine.

 

Because this part is confusing, I usually recommend always creating temporary files. It's probably better to do that anyway for sound quality reasons. If you do that this field is ignored.

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

28 minutes ago, Luca72c said:

 

If i drag 'n drop in HQPlayer without Kodi/Supersonic involved, i have to press play to make the playback start as well. That's why i never use that way of playback, i usually control HQPlayer remotely using HQPDControl

I was only asking this question to make sure the files would play in HQPlayer. I think this is due to some differences between Kodi running on Mac and Windows. Although it is supposed to be cross-platform behaviour can be different between Windows and Mac. Most of the development and testing has been done on Mac as well as between Macs and, more recently,from Mac to Linux. I will do more testing on Windows and add in or change the code for the Windows platform, when time permits.

[Luca72c]

27 minutes ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

This is in case you don't want temporary files created (unless necessary, because the originals are not in a format HQP supports).

In that case you can map the location of your music library on the machine running Supersonic, to a drive letter on the machine running HQPlayer. By doing that Supersonic should be able to load the original URLs from the server machine (running Supersonic) onto the client machine (running HQPlayer).

You have to be careful that you map the correct location. In the most common directory structure a folder named "Music" would contain all the artist folders and a folder for compilations and those folders would in turn contain the actual album folders, which contain the music files. In that case it is the "Music" folder that you would map to a driver letter on the client machine. That same folder would obviously need to be shared from the server machine to the client machine and connected to from the client machine.

Because this part is confusing, I usually recommend always creating temporary files. It's probably better to do that anyway for sound quality reasons. If you do that this field is ignored.

 

Thank you very much, everything much clearer now.

Last thing: in case of separate PC running Kodi the first and HQPlayer the second, what should i input in "Path to HQPlayer" in Supersonic in the first PC?

[Luca72c]

26 minutes ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

I was only asking this question to make sure the files would play in HQPlayer. I think this is due to some differences between Kodi running on Mac and Windows. Although it is supposed to be cross-platform behaviour can be different between Windows and Mac. Most of the development and testing has been done on Mac as well as between Macs and, more recently,from Mac to Linux. I will do more testing on Windows and add in or change the code for the Windows platform, when time permits.

 

Ok, thank you very much indeed, you're very kind!

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

19 minutes ago, Luca72c said:

 

Thank you very much, everything much clearer now.

Last thing: in case of separate PC running Kodi the first and HQPlayer the second, what should i input in "Path to HQPlayer" in Supersonic in the first PC?

That's a good question. Actually it's the same path, because HQPlayer on the PC running Supersonic controls HQPlayer running on the client PC. So no change there. Obviously HQPlayer needs to be installed on both, and that means you must install HQPClient on the PC running Supersonic. That's an option when installing HQPlayer4Deskop.

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

21 minutes ago, Luca72c said:

 

Ok, thank you very much indeed, you're very kind!

I Try 😀

[Luca72c]

1 hour ago, Geoffrey Armstrong said:

That's a good question. Actually it's the same path, because HQPlayer on the PC running Supersonic controls HQPlayer running on the client PC. So no change there. Obviously HQPlayer needs to be installed on both, and that means you must install HQPClient on the PC running Supersonic. That's an option when installing HQPlayer4Deskop.

 

Very interesting, i didn't understand first PC's HQPlayer was involved in controlling second PC's HQPlayer.

Then, in that case, wouldn't it be needed to point to Kodi PC's HQPlayerClient in "Path to HQPlayer" of Supersonic settings, instead of pointing to HQPlayerDesktop?

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

21 minutes ago, Luca72c said:

 

Very interesting, i didn't understand first PC's HQPlayer was involved in controlling second PC's HQPlayer.

Then, in that case, wouldn't it be needed to point to Kodi PC's HQPlayerClient in "Path to HQPlayer" of Supersonic settings, instead of pointing to HQPlayerDesktop?

It is actually the small hqp-control2 app that I use to control HQPlayer4Desktop. I just thought it would be easier for the user to navigate to HQPlayer4Desktop.app, then I correct the path in code.

[Geoffrey Armstrong]

Happy New Year everyone!

Over the holidays I had some time to take a look at this again. I believe I've found solutions to the problems reported here with the previous version.

 

So if anyone wants to try this again, or try it for the first time, here it is together with a Quick start guide and other support files.

 

If it works successfully for anyone who tests it here, I'll release it in the usual way via gitHub.

 

Geoff

script.module.tinydb.zip plugin.audio.tidal2.zip plugin.audio.subsonic-2.0.6.zip Quick Start guide.zip plugin.audio.supersonic.zip