mconnect player is a media player app, which is designed to send video/photo/music files to UPnP and Chromecast devices, note that no Apple Airplay is involved here.
I have it too 
Another interesting point with MConnect, what you play appears in the Naim App and the App recognises UPnP is being played. In the Naim app you can also advance to the next track with the forward button (???) but the Naim app doesn’t refresh the screen to show the new track details - weird.
I opened another thread today, what I don’t understand is why Naim can’t provide a UPnP gateway to Qobuz in the Naim app, as MConnect have done - for earlier streaming card users it would make all the fiddling around superfluous 
Both apps have their limitations, but globally I prefer the Naim app a bit.
On Mconnect, I can’t go further in a track. It doesn’t work. Weird.
But for sound quality, after some days of comparing, I prefer the Mconnect for vocals and acoustic music, and Naim app for rock and electric jazz. The Naim app gives more substance and weight, the Mconnect is more refined. I can hear it, however it’s not night and day of course.
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You got me wondering…
Details:
Stream Tidal 16/44 flac from MConnect HD on IPod to my local UPNP server.
Gear:
IPod Touch 7th gen using MConnect HD
HQPlayer UPNP (no Tidal support)
Start the stream and look on my router for who has the external Tidal Connection:
I find that HQPlayer UPNP has got the streaming connection from the Tidal server.
Now, on the HQPlayer machine itself, I will look at it’s network connections:
First line circled shows IPod Touch (192.168.86.34) has a connection to HQPlayer
Second line circled shows HQPlayer having an established connection to the Tidal cloud - 54.192.49.240.
So, in my case and if I am reading it correctly, it appears MConnect sets up the Tidal connection and authorization which then allows HQPlayer UPNP with no Tidal support to connect to the Tidal servers in the cloud to directly stream the flac file.
MConnect needs to be kept running to keep things moving along, if it is closed the stream soon stops. It should be noted that looking on my router while the Tidal streaming is going on, the IPod Touch is basically idle for external connections.
That’s my theory, anyone else bothered to look?
When I stream my music library ( Melco) using Mconnect, if I close the app, the music continues.
Yes, that’s why I posted that Chick Corea screen grab of the Naim app in post 41 - it shows UPNP at the top of the screen.
Are the files buffered and loaded in the Melco?
Is your Muso involved in this?
What happens if you switch off the iPod or close HQ Player while the same music is playing (but leave other equipment on)?
Muso isn’t involved. Turn off the IPod or just close app and the music soon stops when using Tidal to stream.
I think streaming from Tidal or using a local server to stream results in a different behavior from MConnect as Simon mentioned earlier.
FR is steaming locally from a Melco server whereas I’m streaming from Tidal. When I close MConnect streaming Tidal the stream ends quickly, while in FR’s case, doing a local stream via Melco doesn’t require MConnect to stay open. Authentication for Tidal could be a part of it and the Melco likely builds it’s own playlist as the music is stored on it, a guess there.
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In our system the iPod and HQ Player and MConnect are all actively involved in streaming from Tidal.
[As regards the Melco - yes, I momentarily forgot that the Melco is a library so the music files are all on there, so it carries on playing whatever was queued up to play if you turn MConnect off].
I have the files stored only on the Melco, so yes.
If you refer to @bruss comments above, all that seems inconsistent. He said that shutting the app and iPad the music can continue or not.
In your case, you are running the HQPlayer 4 embedded, and it acts as a UPnP AV renderer, the mconnect player is just a controller. Below is a list of apps that can be used as a controller for the HQPlayer 4 embedded:
- HQPlayer Client (comes with HQPlayer 4 Desktop)
- HQPDcontrol on Android and iOS
- HQPWV
- Roon
- mconnect player for iOS/Android / mconnect player HD for iOS/Android
- BubbleUPnP
- Alchemy Desktop
- HQplayerd controller
Understood. Part of the discussion was that MConnect HD was proxying the stream and then passing it over to the device. In my case at least, it appears since MConnect is the controller, it sets up the stream and monitors it’s progress. If MConnect is killed off on the IPod or the IPod is shut down, then the stream on HQPlayer stops quickly. The HQPlayer UPNP renderer is taking the Tidal stream directly and not proxied via the IPod running MConnect, rather it is controlled/monitored by MConnect.
Seem about right?
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I’m still not understanding why mconnect on Android starts the connection and then the renderer/source stays connected when the android device is switched off, and the ipad disconnects or stops the renderer/ source interaction when the ipad is switched off.
Something different is occurring, what and why?
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The mystery deepens… I think I’ll try the android version this weekend.
This appears common across all HQPlayer control apps, for example if you use Roon or HQPlayer Client or HQPDcontrol on iOS/Android to control the HQPlayer UPnP AV renderer, you will find that music stops if you shutdown the controller.
@bruss, so what you are saying is interesting! So it looks like turning off the device does not shut down the control app orderly, so it does not have a chance to disconnect the source (e.g Tidal) from the renderer (e.g. HQPlayer embedded).
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I think you might have something there. The Apple device possibly causes running apps to shutdown properly before powering off. On Android, this might not be the case for running apps when powered off, or at least the mconnect app.
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