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Gapless playback with CCA from Android App Hi-Fi Cast

Qhwoeprktiyns

By Qhwoeprktiyns
in Software

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Qhwoeprktiyns

Qhwoeprktiyns

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Discovered recently the Hi-Fi Cast app, which offers a sleek and user friendly design, as well as gapless streaming (with FLAC files, so far) for the Chromecast.

 

Can read local files on your phone/tablet, and more importantly connect to a Upnp server. I have tested it with Minimserver and AssetUpnp and it works very well.

 

The developer is responsive and eager to improve the app with additional features, but so far has a limited user base. So I thought I would give a heads up. No affiliation whatsoever, so just an enthusiastic user!

 

The chromecast audio is unfortunately a little underrated. With a good quality Toslink input on a DAC, it has really good SQ, and the simplicity and flexibility, for a ridiculous cost, is unparalleled in my opinion. This type of app makes it even easier to use.

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Rexp

Rexp

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Discovered recently the Hi-Fi Cast app, which offers a sleek and user friendly design, as well as gapless streaming (with FLAC files, so far) for the Chromecast.

 

Can read local files on your phone/tablet, and more importantly connect to a Upnp server. I have tested it with Minimserver and AssetUpnp and it works very well.

 

The developer is responsive and eager to improve the app with additional features, but so far has a limited user base. So I thought I would give a heads up. No affiliation whatsoever, so just an enthusiastic user!

 

The chromecast audio is unfortunately a little underrated. With a good quality Toslink input on a DAC, it has really good SQ, and the simplicity and flexibility, for a ridiculous cost, is unparalleled in my opinion. This type of app makes it even easier to use.

Thanks for the heads-up. I find casting from my Android phone, the sound is less clear than casting from my PC with Airparrot software. Problem is Airparrot seems to colour the sound too much. Hoping that the new Airfoil software will be the solution.

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Qhwoeprktiyns

Qhwoeprktiyns

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Thanks for the heads-up. I find casting from my Android phone, the sound is less clear than casting from my PC with Airparrot software. Problem is Airparrot seems to colour the sound too much. Hoping that the new Airfoil software will be the solution.

 

You must be talking about casting local files.

With files stored on a upnp server there is no difference.

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Qhwoeprktiyns

Qhwoeprktiyns

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You mean stored on upnp server v stored on the Android device?

 

Yes, but to be honest I never cast files stored locally on my Android tablet. The point is, when your files are stored on a Upnp server, I do not think there should be any difference coming from the control point (whether it is a phone, a tablet, a PC...). The data is send directly from the server to the CCA.

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Rexp

Rexp

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Yes, but to be honest I never cast files stored locally on my Android tablet. The point is, when your files are stored on a Upnp server, I do not think there should be any difference coming from the control point (whether it is a phone, a tablet, a PC...). The data is send directly from the server to the CCA.

If you ever get curious, you'll find that your upnp server sounds way better than casting from your Android device.

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Cebolla

Cebolla

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Once again, the "control point" only sends to your Chromecast the address of the music stream, so the music does not go "through" your Android device !
Ironically, the only way to achieve gapless with the Chromecast Audio is for it to not to receive the individual music file tracks directly, so having them "go through" the Android device to handle gapless. The Hi-Fi Cast "control point" must be acting as a proxy, by streaming the files from the UPnP/DLNA media server (to itself), so that it can decode & play the files gaplessly in order to then be able to stream the resultant 'gapless' audio output to the Chromecast Audio.

 

It explains the advice of the HiFi Cast app's developer not to use its gapless mode on a low spec'd Android device and the warning about the increase in battery drain.

We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

-- Jo Cox

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Qhwoeprktiyns

Qhwoeprktiyns

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Ironically, the only way to achieve gapless with the Chromecast Audio is for it to not to receive the individual music file tracks directly, so having them "go through" the Android device to handle gapless. The Hi-Fi Cast "control point" must be acting as a proxy, by streaming the files from the UPnP/DLNA media server (to itself), so that it can decode & play the files gaplessly in order to then be able to stream the resultant 'gapless' audio output to the Chromecast Audio.

 

It explains the advice of the HiFi Cast app's developer not to use its gapless mode on a low spec'd Android device and the warning about the increase in battery drain.

 

Excellent point. However, I have compared Hi-Fi Cast to Cloud Player, which is not gapless, and cannot notice any difference in SQ. I do not notice any difference with BubbleUpnp either. It does not drain my battery either. I am using it with a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.

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bubbleguuum

bubbleguuum

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Excellent point. However, I have compared Hi-Fi Cast to Cloud Player, which is not gapless, and cannot notice any difference in SQ. I do not notice any difference with BubbleUpnp either. It does not drain my battery either. I am using it with a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2.

 

If you played WAV it is very light for the CPU as there is no decoding involved. For FLAC, it must be decoded to WAV which will use the CPU moderately.

 

The easiest way to achieve gapless on Chromecast is to play to it... a continuous gapless WAV (or FLAC) stream generated by whatever program or app, thus using the Chromecast as a "dumb" networked sound card.

 

Other possibilities to do it on desktop computers:

 

- From foobar2000 using foo_out_upnp to play to a Chromecast transformed as an UPnP renderer with BubbleUPnP Server

- using any sofware that is able to play all system audio as a single stream to an UPnP renderer (still using BubbleUPnP Server to make the Chromecast an UPnP renderer). Example: Stream What you hear, Asset or Jamcast captures of system audio.

 

 

AFAIK, there is no example of anyone having made a gapless receiver running on the Chromecast itself (using html5 advanced audio/codec APIs), working with FLAC or WAV. Despite good guy Google telling developers this is the solution in the infamous Chromecast issue about gapless.

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Cebolla

Cebolla

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The easiest way to achieve gapless on Chromecast is to play to it... a continuous gapless WAV (or FLAC) stream generated by whatever program or app, thus using the Chromecast as a "dumb" networked sound card.

 

Other possibilities to do it on desktop computers:

 

- From foobar2000 using foo_out_upnp to play to a Chromecast transformed as an UPnP renderer with BubbleUPnP Server

- using any sofware that is able to play all system audio as a single stream to an UPnP renderer (still using BubbleUPnP Server to make the Chromecast an UPnP renderer). Example: Stream What you hear, Asset or Jamcast captures of system audio.

Hi Bubbleguuum,

 

Is there any possibilty that you could provide something similar for the BubbleUPnP Android app? Plus, as an (iceing on the cake) option, a facility to allow the BubbleUPnP Server to take over the 'gapless' processing for the Chromecast, thus allowing the BubbleUPnP Android app to be switched off?

 

John

We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

-- Jo Cox

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bubbleguuum

bubbleguuum

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Hi Bubbleguuum,

 

Is there any possibilty that you could provide something similar for the BubbleUPnP Android app? Plus, as an (iceing on the cake) option, a facility to allow the BubbleUPnP Server to take over the 'gapless' processing for the Chromecast, thus allowing the BubbleUPnP Android app to be switched off?

 

Well, I already though about it (in BubbleUPnP Server) but dismissed the idea at the time as it is not exactly trivial.

I may look into it again as it would be cool to have.

All that is needed is to implement SetNextAVTransportURI for the UPnP Chromecast renderer implementation in BubbleUPnP Server.

Easier said than done :P.

OpenHome'd Chromecast backed by the UPnP AV renderer would automatically benefit from it, and be gapless.

And it could even make its way to Android BubbleUPnP because the UPnP Chromecast bridge already runs on it, although not many get to see it because it is disabled on devices with Google Play Services installed (as regular cast APIs are used instead).

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Cebolla

Cebolla

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Well, I already though about it (in BubbleUPnP Server) but dismissed the idea at the time as it is not exactly trivial.

I may look into it again as it would be cool to have.

All that is needed is to implement SetNextAVTransportURI for the UPnP Chromecast renderer implementation in BubbleUPnP Server.

Easier said than done :P.

OpenHome'd Chromecast backed by the UPnP AV renderer would automatically benefit from it, and be gapless.

And it could even make its way to Android BubbleUPnP because the UPnP Chromecast bridge already runs on it, although not many get to see it because it is disabled on devices with Google Play Services installed (as regular cast APIs are used instead).

Wow, it certainly would be cool! Plus it's seemingly only one step away for doing the same for all those legacy non gapless UPnP AV renderers out there and certainly in keeping with the BubbleUPnP Server's principle of fixing UPnP/DLNA issues. :)

We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us.

-- Jo Cox

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Rexp

Rexp

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Posted
If you played WAV it is very light for the CPU as there is no decoding involved. For FLAC, it must be decoded to WAV which will use the CPU moderately.

 

The easiest way to achieve gapless on Chromecast is to play to it... a continuous gapless WAV (or FLAC) stream generated by whatever program or app, thus using the Chromecast as a "dumb" networked sound card.

 

Other possibilities to do it on desktop computers:

 

- From foobar2000 using foo_out_upnp to play to a Chromecast transformed as an UPnP renderer with BubbleUPnP Server

- using any sofware that is able to play all system audio as a single stream to an UPnP renderer (still using BubbleUPnP Server to make the Chromecast an UPnP renderer). Example: Stream What you hear, Asset or Jamcast captures of system audio.

 

 

AFAIK, there is no example of anyone having made a gapless receiver running on the Chromecast itself (using html5 advanced audio/codec APIs), working with FLAC or WAV. Despite good guy Google telling developers this is the solution in the infamous Chromecast issue about gapless.

 

Yes, I couldn't get gapless with Hi-Fi Cast App, only the Qobuz app does gapless for me.

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