View Full Version : Media servers....
Ive been playing about trying to use audio servers from pc to stereo via in this case the chromecast. First one i tried was bubbleupnp standalone server. It didnt work for me ...lol...
Next i tried bubbleupnp foo in foobar.. That works rather well using android, and is decent quality considering its all free.
Just tried plex... Its really a paid for one now, although i signed up years ago and it was free then. I got it to work on ios but not to stream to the cast... Looks to be fairly complex and not very clear. Casts to chromecast via android although i wouldnt say it was as good as the foobar one . Maybe the paid bit is better?
Anyone using others?
Try this Grant https://kodi.tv/about/ I use it for my music and movies. Has loads of settings to get your audio/video sounding and looking right
... Also if you use it on a PC you can control it with a remote app available for iOS or android however on android I would recommend this remote app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.leetzone.android.yatsewidgetfree
Cheers Taz.. I will investigate that. Looks interesting.
Another i tried was Tonido, but had less than satisfactory results. So far the foobar2000 with upnp addon enabled is winner,, and free..... Kodi looks like it may give it a push though..... Any more folks
I've not used tonido but am familiar with Plex, vlc, and some others I can't remember now and found kodi to be the best fit for me... It's an open source application they runs on a wide variety of operating systems and has a dedicated community bettering it and improving it as time goes.
Kodi for me has all the settings I seem to need and find it flawless.
If you need any help with it give me a shout, been using it for about 8yrs now without having the need to look elsewhere
I may need that... downloading it at moment
Here's their forum Grant http://forum.kodi.tv
... Would turn off the RSS feeds first though by going to settings> appearance and you'll see it on the right side of the screen about half way down
Struggling with this tbh Taz... The pc app found music and plays it, although with annoying visuals... Tried the android version which did nothing tbh... Deleted that and tried a remote one which did not much more tbh. Tried starting a server and it came up with an error.
Seems less plug n play than i can cope with tbh.
The pc player, if i got rid of visuals vibrating to music might be ok, especially if it popped up with info etc. But for me being less than an expert on these things its just annoying me at moment lol
That's all in the settings Grant, it does take a little time to get right and I agree that visual is a pain. If you go to settings> appearance> screensaver to turn off visuals, I use "dim" in the screensaver mode option.
For the server to work you will need to direct kodi to the source http://kodi.wiki/view/UPnP/Server here's a guide..
Once it's set up correctly it does work wonderfully
Out of my zone i think... This is one for gaz....
Surprising its so complex when foobars one is so simple. Ah well, thanks for that, and will keep in on pc for now and if Gary is over i will put him to work :)
Foobar is still the overall champ.
I do have jriver, and it does well but doesnt go to chromecast audio so far.
I get where you're coming from, it took me a while to figure out how to tune it in correctly and now I've changed my AV receiver I'm having to play with settings every now and then to get it to sound right. I think they have tried to cater to everyone and as a result kodi needs a lot of tweaking.
Am I right in thinking you want to send music to your stereo (which has the Chromecast connected) via your PC without using any Google software?
This is something I bookmarked a while ago but never got around to trying https://www.reddit.com/r/Chromecast/comments/3tizl1/test_windows_cast_your_pc_audioout_to_the/
interesting .Think I saw that or something similar the other day. Could be an idea, and guess it could grow to a great program if developed ... The Foo upnp way is quite nice. worth a try as its easy and cheap. looks ok and works pretty well. Seems to send 3 different streams.. with me... a flac, a wav and another, all 16/44.8 redbook quality. Its another string to the rpi streaming bow. I did find that the battery supply I was using with chromecast sounded poor... very odd but thats the fact even though it is supposed to put out up to 3 amps. Using just the smps it is much better. So that battery is now just for charging etc. My other one with same capacity but a different make sounds very good. Sure someone will say its all foo lol
Could be a problem battery supply, that is odd, if it's the one that came with it you would expect to work correctly...
I did a quick Google search and seems there are a few people who are in need for something similar to yourself and I'm surprised no real solution has been found, could be to do with Google's restrictions or want for you to use their Google music app.
pgarrish
08-09-2016, 20:11
I use the logitech media server. There is a plug in called streamcast that makes the Chromecast appear as another squeezebox, then you can use the free logitech app or ipeng on your phone/tablet to control it. Find the squeezebox forum and then search for streamcast - the instructions are pretty easy.
PhilofCas
10-09-2016, 19:05
I use the logitech media server. There is a plug in called streamcast that makes the Chromecast appear as another squeezebox, then you can use the free logitech app or ipeng on your phone/tablet to control it. Find the squeezebox forum and then search for streamcast - the instructions are pretty easy.
Thanks Paul, followed your advice here and have just played my pc music through my CC audio, wanted to do that for a while but didn't think it was possible without some in-depth pc skills.
Cheers,
Phil.
(You might recall, we met last year at Geoff's).
good to hear.. Ive not tried it as of yet. all others failed my dumbo test bar foobar/bubble mix, so its the heads clear winner so far. Perhaps doesnt have the glitziest looks but its ok and very usable.
pgarrish
10-09-2016, 19:39
Thanks Paul, followed your advice here and have just played my pc music through my CC audio, wanted to do that for a while but didn't think it was possible without some in-depth pc skills.
Cheers,
Phil.
(You might recall, we met last year at Geoff's).
Glad it worked
Can't place you Phil but Geoff's do's are very open - I frequently don't know most of the people there [emoji1]
PhilofCas
10-09-2016, 20:03
Know what you mean, BIG place is Geoff's (or was, not sure if he's moved yet).
downloaded the server... cannot find the add on though... seems to be various different names given to it and i can find none of them...
Found addon.. Wont install lol. Well, it is installed but wont load. I give up on it. Nice looking system as well but too complex for me i think.
PhilofCas
11-09-2016, 15:12
Hi Grant,
The plugin I used was Chromecast bridge, is this the one you installed?
It was ..at least i think.. Got it at sourceforge. Un packed it and put it into the program... Restarted efc but it kept unticking and saying failed to load i think. Got fed up lol
PhilofCas
11-09-2016, 15:29
All I did was load up the LMS web control, go to settings (bottom right), this opens new tab, then go to plugin tab, scroll down to 'other 3rd party plugins', then enable the Chromecast bridge, hit apply, then I think it says you have to restart, the plugin will then appear top right, choose player, little drop down icon.
Have a bash with that Grant :thumbsup:
Dont think i got anything like that... Need to try it again. You go a url for everything you downloaded perchance?
Got it installed this time but have no player and nothing in top right
PhilofCas
11-09-2016, 15:50
Hi Grant, has your music loaded into it? (was automatic on mine I think, took a little while)
PhilofCas
11-09-2016, 15:56
Further thought, have you got an icon on your task bar? If so, right click it and choose 'open web control', then you get your player up, ready to use
Seems to be.. Found the cast thing and installed it.its not wirking though
Under advanced you get the bridge with lots of options. Doesnt say what to do though.
Also says with unticked box squeeze2 cast
Also in red further down it says parameters empty etc
PhilofCas
11-09-2016, 16:03
Hi Grant, it's all done through the plugin tab, is the cast one now in your 'active plugins' list?
Seems to have found chromecast as its ticked in settings advanced area but in web player it says no player... Crazy system
It chows the ccast at bottom of page yes, but in the play bit it is not found. Also tried a remote with a android but it doesnt work..
Ah well, worth a try. Seems more complicated than others tbh.
PhilofCas
11-09-2016, 16:27
mmm, sounds like you're not far off sorting it :scratch:
Player bit shows music on left pane but the right hand side isnt working as it says no player, so the ccast is not getting picked up there. Maybe this whole thing would have been easier if i had a sqeezebox. Or a younger brain. Cant get over this .tried it several times and im getting no further
In comparison the foobar version is click n play. Not sure why this isnt lol
PhilofCas
11-09-2016, 18:18
Sounds frustrating :steam:, maybe have another go tomorrow
Meantime I will just use the foobar as it works. If and when I r someone has a bright idea, I will give it a bash..thanks for help anyways.:)
pgarrish
11-09-2016, 19:27
There is a thread on the squeezebox forum that walks you through it. Try turning the CC off and on.
In LMS it should appear as a player in the top right.
In the walk through it explains the configuration file. Bit of a faff but once sorted it's easy.
pgarrish
11-09-2016, 19:34
Announce: CastBridge = integrate Chromecast players with LMS (squeeze2cast)
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