Stream to HQPlayer Desktop from foobar2000

[bogi]

I found easy to setup and easy to use network solution based on foo_upnp.

It allows to use foobar2000 GUI with HQPlayer sound engine.

 

Streaming sample rate is fixed by configuration. Can be changed, but not automatically based on source content. That's from my point of view the biggest drawback. Another drawback is impossibility to stream DSD content without conversion to PCM.

On the other side, simplicity of setup and use is advantage.

Another advantage is possibility to perform DSP on PCM content in foobar2000 prior to streaming the content to HQPlayer. foobar2000 compatible DSP plugins and standard VST plugins can be used.

And ... all PCM audio formats which play in foobar2000 are supported.

 

If you are interested read my guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gkUNvSlgV_n82izd4vggyPQRhVB4tkB4vF0kx6YUZTg/pub

 

I tried the solution on my notebook and described how to setup it, but I didn't use it yet for listening sessions. If you tried it, please share your experiences and ideas. We can discuss here usability, compare it to other solutions. Based on feedback I can improve or adapt the description.

[bogi]

tranfa, thanks for feedback!

 

Feedback is important for me to know if my effort to write and publish setup instructions had any sense.

[bogi]

foo_upnp is free to use but it isn't open source. Author is the same as author of BubbleUPnP Server. I sent him PM via hydrogenaudio and asked him if it would be possible to modify 'Playback stream capture' to adapt to source content bitrate and bit depth. I pointed him to this topic and to Miska's suggestion from http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/hq-player-20293/index254.html#post576776 . Let's see what happens.

[bogi]

Miska, I got this answer from the author:

Hi,

 

It is not possible to dynamically change the bitrate of PSC based on input audio. By definition it is a PCM (WAV) stream with fixed samplerate/bitdepth that you configure. To send audio stream unmodified to hqplayer, it would have to be an UPnP renderer in which case each track would be sent one by one (and hqplayer would handle the decoding) instead of a long infinite stream.

[bogi]

Have you tried this with VLC?

 

No. Can VLC export what's currently playing as http stream?

HQPlayer Desktop doesn't contain UPnP renderer functioinality, but it is able to play http streams like those from radio stations, if http URL is part of a playlist.

[bogi]

This is incorrect. Just simply change the output mode in SACD -> Preferences from PCM to DSD.

I am familiar with both foobar2000 and DSD topics. But this thread is about streaming to HQPlayer Desktop via foo_upnp, outputting http stream.

[bogi]

Yes, it can.

 

I found that there is such possibility. But I was unsuccessful to make it functional with HQPlayer.

 

I went through wizard in File | Stream, set a FLAC file as input and set up http stream as output. I set no transcoding. In Firefox, I tried then to open the stream, http://192.168.8.100:8080/stream.flac in my case. Firefox opened File Open/Save As dialog with that URL, so the stream was really live. But I was unable to open that stream in HQPlayer Desktop. Reason unknown ...

 

I don't want to use VLC instead of Foobar2000. But VLC could be used between foobar2000 and HQPlayer. VLC could act as DLNA renderer for content played from foobar2000 - in that case foo_upnp could be able to stream audio content without transcoding. If VLC could be able to output http stream without transcoding to HQPlayer, it could bring improvement over the solution I described in the OP.

[bogi]

Aren't you always going to have an issue with a fixed sample rate & bit depth, if all you are doing is providing HQPlayer with just one pcm stream to 'funnel' the whole of the music file playlist?

 

May be you should be concentrate instead on providing HQPlayer with a 'proper' UPnP renderer front end, which can trap separate track stream URLs from the instructions from UPnP control points and forward those streams to HQPlayer.

 

May be.

My original intention was to point to an easy to setup solution. I'm not experienced in streaming, I just tried and described an easy to setup solution, which has some limitations.

More concrete suggestions could help to improve the solution from OP.

[bogi]

Is it possible to do this with JRiver? It has more internal bits for volume control which may or may not be audible...

 

If JRiver si able to output http stream then probably yes. I didn't try that.

[bogi]

Thanks Miska, I sent bubbleguuum your proposal via PM on hydrogenaudio.

If he would agree to implement it, the benefit would be retained simplicity of this solution. The foo_upnp plugin installation and configuration is for this purpose very simple and no other SW is needed.

 

I will let you know his answer.

[bogi]

I did so. Thanks for letting me know he is registered here.

[bogi]

Now 'Playback stream capture' in foo_upnp contains bitrate combo box, where user can select desired fixed bitrate. I could imagine a solution, which would retain the current fixed bitrate functionality, but one special entry would be added into the combobox, it could be called 'adaptive' or 'variable' ...

 

The user then has to get involved by reselecting the stream via the renderer's controller app to get it the process going again.

 

That could be done automatically based on currently played source content, when that 'adaptive' bitrate choice would be selected.

 

What I suggested would be in effect only if 'Playback stream capture' is used (that's already a special case how to use foo_upnp) with 'adaptive' bitrate mode set. Otherwise the adaptive bitrate behavior wouldn't be in function and all would function as till now.

[bogi]

Depending on the control point being used, user intervention could simply be to switch on the 'repeat track' or 'repeat playlist' function on the UPnP control point if it has one. So no need to manually press play again..

 

Miska already proposed in the HQPlayer thread 2 weeks ago:

If foobar just drops the connection and expects re-connect to the same stream on format change, you can help the behavior by clicking to "repeat one" button down from the toolbar. That will play the current item in a loop.

 

That would be elegant solution.

[bogi]

- Using this method, I seem to have no volume control in Foobar, only in HQPlayer. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? Is there a workaround? I'd rather have volume control in Foobar because it's got keyboard shortcuts and I can then use something like a Griffin Powermate

It is not possible to control volume via foobar2000. With http streaming it doesn't seem to be possible.

 

- Is this limited to 2 channels? I use channel replication for stereo sources to bi-amp through my 8 channel DAC (Merging Hapi). Channel replication in HQPlayer (using the Matrix) works, but uses 99% CPU in DSD. So I thought I could use instead the "Convert stereo to 4 channels" in Foobar (running on another computer, and in 44.1k), but that seems to have no effect at all. (I do it in Streaming Profile /Audio Processing and HQPlayer is configured for 7.1)

 

foo_upnp in UPnP Renderer mode supports multichannel as you can read here

https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,93253.msg785057.html#msg785057

But in http streaming mode called 'Playback Stream Capture' it supports only stereo and only default streaming profile.

 

It's probably because the target renderer capabilities are not known with http streaming.