Radio Paradise FLAC........and ALAC

[Adrian_P]

Csi, Merry Xmas to you too.

The information in your guide works and it’s what I was originally using but as I pointed out earlier it isn’t what I would now regard as the optimum setup. Having MinimStreamer transcode everything to WAV is fine for locally-stored FLAC files but can potentially cause problems for radio streams as WAV is meant to provide a wrapper around a distinct file of finite length. For radio streams we should be using linear PCM (without the WAV wrapper).

I showed out how I set this up just a few posts earlier. Take a look back at post 161, where you will see you can use a simpler form for the m3u file together with a modified transcode format that allows MinimStreamer to transcode FLAC radio streams to PCM and local FLAC files to WAV.

Radio Paradise FLAC........and ALAC

This has been an interesting thread and investigation into radio streaming with MinimStreamer. I have been using MinimStreamer for years now to transcode my locally ripped FLAC files to WAV on the fly. To do this, I had set the stream.transcode property to flac:wav. When I recently added the lossless radio streams from Radio Paradise and JBRadio2 everything worked without me needing to change anything on the transcoding side. This was good for me as I didn’t want to mess up transcoding of my lo…

[Csi_basel]

Thanks Adrian_P!!

I changed the m3u file to the simpler setup and changed the transcode to flac:wav, *:L16. All working fine with my SU and Muso.

I was worried that my DSD albums would not work but they are playing as before.
I was reading all the posts with envy as you managed to get the FLAC streams working…
Great stuff!!

[zallen58]

Bonjour Adrian,

I have read the tread that you made on May 29 2019 regarding Radio Paradise FLAC on minimServer. I don’t why it didn’t work. I’m not a tech savvy but I can sort it out. I have a SuperUniti and as you know I tried to install RP flac with vTuner and it failed. So I read your tread and follow instructions.

I installed MinimServer and MinimWatch after I got a couple of errors with “mscript” I installed MinimStreamer as well. I had to install java 8 as well. I can see in the PC root “MinimServer [AG]” is running and I can see it on my SuperUniti as well and it works.

So I used the coding that you gave and wrote it as below (no space between lines)

#EXTM3U

#EXTINF:-1,[RP;flac] Radio Paradise FLAC

http://stream.radioparadise.com/flac

And It didn’t work I got this below as message

+*http://stream. radioparadise.com/flac

unkown command: http://stream.radioparadise.com/flac

+:status=1

As I’m not a tech savvy did I miss something or are there something that I should have done before or after to create the “Radio Stations.m3u” and I don’t know where I should see that file either.

Thanks in advance for your help

Allen

[Adrian_P]

Where are you getting these messages from? Sounds like you are trying to execute the .m3u as a batch file which is not how this works.

Take a look at my post from 29th July 2019 linked to just a few posts up. You’ll see there what the recommended format for the .m3u file is (you are using an outdated version).

What you need to do is take a copy of the .m3u file in the right format and copy it to your music library on your NAS (or wherever you are running MinimServer). Anywhere will do – I have mine in a “Playlists” folder. Then, when you do a rescan of your library, MinimServer will scan your .m3u file and make the stations browseable in the Naim app.

[zallen58]

Bonjour Adrian,

Thanks for the quick answer.

A long story short. I used Notepad++ to create a new file as explain by Csi_basel in the thread December 26. After that, I change the .txt to .m3u extension. Then I copy that file where my music is stored.

I uninstalled MinimServer and reinstalled it. I restarted both my computer working on windows 8 and my SuperUniti. I can see Miniserver is working (green icone), I can also see on my computer Miniserver AG.

On my SuperUniti when I click on UPnP I can see Miniserver AG. I have access to my music. I also see the playlist that I have created. Inside the playlist there are 3 internet radios links (RP, RPMellow and JB2) when I click with the remote (list/ok bouton) on any of these 3 links nothing happen, no music no sound.

So, now I can see the radio stations on my SuperUniti but I can access them. I checked my script and it is exactly like your thread of July 29. So there is something somewhere that is incorrect but I can’t find it. Do you have any idea? Merci encore de votre aide!

[Adrian_P]

Have you installed MinimStreamer and MinimWatch and set the transcode setting in MinimWatch as described in my July 29th post?

[zallen58]

Bonjour,

I have installed MinimServer, MinimWatch and MinimStreamer. At the bottom right icone on my computer MinimServer icone is green, MinimWatch is not green (some king of grey) and if I click on the icone I have only access to Options, Refresh and Exit. In the MinimWatch log it says “Startup complete”.

Concerning the transcode I can’t write it on MinimWatch as I do not have stream.transcode in Properties. So as I have this access on MinimServer Properties under system I wrote it there “flac:wav” in the stream.transcode box. I have nothing in stream.convert stream.options and stream.record.

So in stream.transcode box I wrote, as you recommend, " flac:wav, L16 " (remember it is on MinimServer - Properties - System). When I click to apply I got a message written in red below the stream.transcode box " Transcode setting ':L16’ requires a converter; correct highlighted value and retry. The code line now is in red in the stream.transcode. Which converter is required and I can I solve this issue. Thanks

Any help,

[Adrian_P]

Sounds like there is a problem with MinimStreamer. What type of device have you installed MinimServer on?

At the bottom right icone on my computer MinimServer icone is green, MinimWatch is not green (some king of grey) and if I click on the icone I have only access to Options, Refresh and Exit.

There is no separate icon for MinimServer. When you run MinimWatch you get a Minim icon in the system tray and if everything is OK it should be green. If it is grey there is a problem connecting to your server. So which is it, green or grey?

In the MinimWatch log it says “Startup complete”.

Please right-click the MinimWatch icon and choose “Show Log” and post a screenshot of the log here.

Concerning the transcode I can’t write it on MinimWatch as I do not have stream.transcode in Properties. So as I have this access on MinimServer Properties under system I wrote it there “flac:wav” in the stream.transcode box. I have nothing in stream.convert stream.options and stream.record.

So in stream.transcode box I wrote, as you recommend, " flac:wav, L16 " (remember it is on MinimServer - Properties - System). When I click to apply I got a message written in red below the stream.transcode box " Transcode setting ’ :L16’ requires a converter; correct highlighted value and retry. The code line now is in red in the stream.transcode. Which converter is required and I can I solve this issue.

To set the transcode options, right-click your MnimWatch icon and choose Properties, then open the System tab. Your dialog should look as follows:

If MinimStreamer is properly installed, the stream.converter field should contain “ffmpeg”.

Make sure transcode option is set to flac:wav,*:L16.

Finally, make sure your .m3u file looks something like this:

#EXTM3U

#EXTINF:-1,[RP] Radio Paradise FLAC
http://stream.radioparadise.com/flac

#EXTINF:-1,[RPEclectic] Radio Paradise Eclectic FLAC
http://stream.radioparadise.com/eclectic-flac

#EXTINF:-1,[RPRock] Radio Paradise Rock FLAC
http://stream.radioparadise.com/rock-flac

#EXTINF:-1,[RPMellow] Radio Paradise Mellow FLAC
http://stream.radioparadise.com/mellow-flac

#EXTINF:-1,[JBRadio2] JB Radio2 FLAC
http://199.189.87.9:10999/flac

#EXTINF:-1,[ChillOutZone] Chill Out Zone FLAC
http://air.chillout.zone:8000/radio/chillout_plus

[Adrian_P]

Allen, I checked the MinimStreamer documentation here:

https://minimstreamer.com/userguide.html#Stream%20converter%20program

If your stream.converter field is empty it means MinimStreamer cannot find either the ffmpeg or avconv stream converter programs on your system. It needs one of these programs to transcode the FLAC stream to L16.

Note that Synology and QNAP NASes have ffmpeg installed by the default in the NAS operating system so you don’t need to do anything special. This covers most cases for people using a NAS, so the fact that it isn’t working for you leads me to believe you are not running MinimServer on a Synology or QNAP NAS.

Perhaps you are running everything (server and MinimWatch) on your laptop running Windows. If that is the case then you will need to install a stream converter program for MinimStreamer to use. Doing this on Windows isn’t difficult but it’s a bit more involved than just running an installer program. Follow these instructions to install ffmpeg and you should be ok:

How to Install FFmpeg on Windows 10 & Add FFmpeg to Windows Path

After you have checked ffmpeg is installed and on your path you should find MinimStreamer works. Restart MinimServer (right-click the MinimWatch icon and choose Restart). Then check your stream.transcode field contains “ffmpeg”. Then try playing a radio station from your playlist.

[mlgh]

Hello,
I’ve just read through this thread and have to admit that it’s generally out of my depth.
A question…
My streamer is a ND5XS and I listen to Paradise quite alot on the 320 stream.
The Paradise app now supports Chromecast.
The ND5XS doesn’t do Chromecast but I do have a Chromecast Audio which is plugged into the toslink input of my preamp (it could also be plugged into one of the digital inputs of the ND5).
When Casting from the RP app set to the FLAC stream does the Chromecast work from this stream as well?
It must be said that sonically it is rather disappointing and I prefer the 320 stream direct from the ND5XS.
Thanks
Mark

[zallen58]

Bonjour Adrian,

Merci beaucoup, now it is working well. I get according to SuperUniti using MinimServer as UPnP 44.1kHz LPCM16 to all 3 internet radios.

The last thread as how to install “ffmpeg” was a game changer. Now all the 3 Internet Radio work well. You were right “ffmpeg” was not install so I follow instructions and It works in a flash. It was my issue but all the information you gave over the time is fantastic. I should say that before installing “ffmpeg” I uninstalled MinimServer, MinimWatch and MinimStreamer and reinstall them after.

Thanks for you dedication on that matter.

[Adrian_P]

De rien. Glad you got it working. Once I realised you are running on Windows the problem became apparent.

[Adrian_P]

I think that tells you a lot about the quality of the output from the Chromecast. If you’re prepared to try setting up MinimServer for FLAC radio it will sound a lot better, but the 320k AAC RP stream is pretty good.

[Csi_basel]

I think its a big thanks from all of us on this thread to Adrian_P!!

The Flac streams are a major upgrade compared to the 320 mp3 Paradise streams. Very happy with the sound quality

[easeback1]

@Adrian_P

you will need to install a stream converter program for MinimStreamer to use. Doing this on Windows isn’t difficult but it’s a bit more involved than just running an installer program. Follow these instructions to install ffmpeg and you should be ok:

Has anyone managed to install a similar converter for Mac OS X? I downloaded a free version of FFmpeg on my Mac Mini, but Mimimserver doesn’t seem to recognise it. There is another option, but this requires command line input - something I usually try to avoid on account of having no real idea what I’m doing…

[Adrian_P]

Easeback, I’ve never used a Mac so can offer no direct experience, but take a look at the MinimStreamer User Guide page:

https://minimstreamer.com/userguide.html

You can override the above search by installing a binary executable for the ffmpeg or avconv program anywhere on the computer or NAS that is running MinimServer and setting the stream.converter property to the absolute path of this ffmpeg or avconv program.

If you are installing the stream converter program in the MinimServer opt/bin directory, the location of this directory depends on the platform you are using to run MinimServer, as follows:

• On Mac, you can find the opt/bin directory in the folder
  /Users/your-user-name/Library/MinimServer

So, assuming you have installed an ffmpeg package on your Mac, you need to find the location of the ffmpeg binary that has been installed, and then either:

• Copy that location into the stream.converter property in MinimWatch, or
• Copy the binary from the install location to /Users/your-user-name/Library/MinimServer/opt/bin

[easeback1]

Thanks for the tip Adrian – My Mac now recognises the ffmpeg file in the opt/bin directory.

Minimwatch icon / menu remains greyed out however (& no green background for the Minimserver icon). I can stream local UPnP files via Minim but internet radio is still not happening.

Recent ISP switch means I now have the ISP’s fibre router feeding into my old Linksys router. Other streaming services are working fine (Tidal, Netflix etc.) with this setup, but just wondering if this might cause problems for Minim?

[Adrian_P]

@easeback1

Minimwatch icon / menu remains greyed out however (& no green background for the Minimserver icon). I can stream local UPnP files via Minim but internet radio is still not happening.

I assume you are running MinimWatch on the same Mac where MinimServer is running? If so it’s hard to see what the issue could be connecting to the server on the same machine. Can you see any logs? (Right-click MinimWatch and choose Options->Show log (watch)). In any case, if you can stream local files then the server is running fine.

When you say Internet radio isn’t working, do you mean Internet radio playing FLAC streams through MinimStreamer isn’t working?

@easeback1

Recent ISP switch means I now have the ISP’s fibre router feeding into my old Linksys router. Other streaming services are working fine (Tidal, Netflix etc.) with this setup, but just wondering if this might cause problems for Minim?

If you can access Tidal then your network access is fine. I can’t see why Minim should have any particular problems since it’s just opening http web streams.

Have you tried opening one of the FLAC streams in a web browser from your Mac where Minim is running? If not, try clicking this link for RP:

http://stream.radioparadise.com/flac

Does it play?

[easeback1]

Adrian, thanks for taking the time to reply. Yes, most FLAC streams work fine via web browser, as do internet radio selections via the Naim app. Nothing untoward showing up on the Minim logs either. The same problem occurs with both my Macs and on a Synology NAS, so it’s not a device-specific issue.

Bit of a conundrum really. I mentioned my recent ISP change because I was at least able to get a ‘green’ Minim connection prior to the upgrade, but even then access to the FLAC streams was a hit-and-miss affair, with frequent dropouts or failed connections.

Not a major deal in the overall scheme of things. I just like it when things work.