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[mwillems]

This guide to installing JRiver's ARM build for the Raspberry Pi version 1 B+ and the Raspberry Pi version 2. There is now an official licensed ARM build.

Mediacenter works best on a Pi 2, but will work on the Pi 1 B+ (especially if you overclock), but the experience is limited. The steps to get MC running on the Pi are somewhat similar to getting it running on a normal linux system, with a few tweaks.

Setup

Hardware/OS setup:

Install Raspbian onto an SD card using the downloaded NOOBS image from the Raspberry Pi website. They have good instructions, and Raspbian works on both the Pi 1 and the Pi 2 (although you need an updated installation medium for the Pi 2).

Configuring Hardware:

At first boot the Pi shows a config utility (called raspi-config). For easy use of mediacenter, I recommend a) setting the Pi to boot into a graphical desktop environment by default (ignore this if you're comfortable with the console), b) choosing the audio output you want by default (HDMI or the Pi's built in audio output*), and c) thinking about whether you want to choose one of the overclock* options in the advanced options. Once you've picked your settings, reboot.

Notes:

Audio: the Pi's HDMI output works great, but the built in stereo jack is not the highest quality output in the world. I wouldn't recommend using it for actual listening. If you have a USB DAC, just ignore that for now, this option is only about the behavior of the Pi's built in audio outputs.

Overclocking: Overclocking can potentially shorten the life of your Pi or cause instability. However, because the Pi now comes with built in thermal throttling, you can overclock using the raspberry pi utility as described above without voiding your warranty. Overclocking makes a huge difference in performance for the Pi 1; I did not find the Pi 1 usable at stock settings, YMMV. Overclocking is less important for the Pi 2, but it definitely improves performance. I have not personally encountered overclocking related instability with about four different Pis, but that doesn't mean you won't. If you decide to wait to overclock you can get back to the built in configuration utility any time by running

Code: [Select]

sudo raspi-configin a terminal window

Software Preparation:

After rebooting, you should be looking at the Pi's desktop. If your Pi isn't plugged into to an ethernet line, take a minute to configure your wi-fi adapter to get internet access. Once that's done, open a terminal by clicking on the icon that looks like a computer monitor. Enter the following into the terminal:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

After you enter the line, you'll be prompted whether to install updates to packages; press "y" to confirm. It may take a little while for the packages to download and install. Now enter the following into the terminal

Code: [Select]

cd /boot
sudo nano config.txt

This will show you the file config.txt in the text editor nano. You'll see a lot of information in the config file already, scroll down to the bottom of the file using the direction keys on your keyboard and enter the following two lines exactly as shown:

Code: [Select]

framebuffer_depth=32
framebuffer_ignore_alpha=1

Then save the file by pressing Ctrl+O, then enter. Then press Ctrl+X to exit, and you should be back at the terminal. Now close the terminal and reboot the pi.

Installing MC:

After the reboot, it's time to install MC:

Code: [Select]

mkdir Downloads
wget -q "http://dist.jriver.com/mediacenter@jriver.com.gpg.key" -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo wget http://dist.jriver.com/latest/mediacenter/mediacenter21native.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter21.list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mediacenter21

If you receive an error message after the mkdir line indicating that Downloads already exists, just go ahead with the follow on steps.

After installation completes, you should see MC in the application menu in the upper left hand corner under "sound and video." Open MC, and you're off!  

Installing a License:

JRiver offers a 30-day trial, but to keep using the software you'll need to buy and register it. Currently a JRiver for Linux license or Master license will work. There are several ways to install a JRiver License, but the easiest way is to do it on the command line.  

When you purchase JRiver, you receive an E-mail with an .mjr file. Download that file to your Raspberry Pi's Downloads directory (the one created above). Then open a terminal by clicking on the icon that looks like a computer and enter the following command:

Code: [Select]

mediacenter21 /RestoreFromFile ~/Downloads/"Media Center21 Linux-YYYYYY.mjr"
Replace the Y's with the numbers from your .mjr file, but otherwise enter the command exactly as shown.  

NOTE for advanced users: This will not work correctly if you try to do it via ssh, because Mediacenter needs a display/xserver in order to run.  If you have used the headless/VNC setup instructions below, try connecting to the pi using VNC and using lxterminal to register your license.

Audio Setup:

If you're using the Pi's built in audio output (HDMI or stereo), it should just work provided you did the steps above. If you have a USB DAC, you'll need to configure MC to address it just like in normal MC for Linux. That means looking under options --> Audio Devices and looking for a hardware device (an entry for your DAC that has something like "front:" or "surround:" in the name).  

Updating:

To update mediacenter (and the rest of your Pi OS) just enter the following line on the terminal:

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
Troubleshooting Audio

If you followed the steps above and are not getting audio output via HDMI, try the following:

Alsamixer:
In the terminal "alsamixer" and you will see a volume bar (a "graphical" mixer displayed using ASCII characters).  Check whether the volume is muted by looking at the bottom of the column: if you see "MM" press the "m" key to unmute and then press escape to exit.  If you see "00" then the output isn't muted and that's not the problem (press escape to exit)

Monitor/DVI issues:
Many monitors expect/request a DVI input, which results in the Pi not sending sound to those monitors by default.  To find out if that's what's causing your problem, open a terminal, and type

Code: [Select]

sudo nano /boot/config.txt and then find the line that reads

Code: [Select]

#hdmi_drive=2  Remove the "#" symbol, and leave the rest of the line intact.  If your file doesn't have that line for some reason, you can just add the line at the end of the file.  In either case, save the file by pressing CTRL+O, and exit nano by pressing CTRL+X. Then reboot the Pi and test whether you can get sound over HDMI. Changing that option in config.txt has resolved no-audio issues for several folks with screens that have those issues with HDMI support.

Pops and Dropouts

Pops or dropouts can be caused by a lot of different things and can be tough to troubleshoot.  Some users have found that adjusting CPU frequency scaling can help on RPi 2's (RPI 1's won't benefit from this tweak).  The following link explains how to set your RPi 2 to stay at maximum CPU frequency (using the performance CPU governor: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=95578.msg676554#msg676554

Some notes on getting the most out of MC on the Pi:

The Pi is not a full-featured computer so things will take longer to do on the Pi than on a normal computer. Be patient especially during startup or right after. It might take ten or even thirty seconds for mediacenter to start after you click the icon (depending on whether you have a pi 1 or pi2 and your other settings). Video is not currently supported and the maximize and minimize buttons do not work (at least for me). Other than those two issues, everything I've tested works pretty well.  

An Important Note Concerning Power: Pi's are very sensitive to not having enough power; if you plug in too many power hungry USB peripherals it can cause the Pi to reboot or turn off (and corrupt the sd card!). The safest way to resolve this is to use a good powered USB hub and plug the peripherals into that. The best part is that the Hub can also power the Pi itself, so you still only have one wall plug! Some USB hubs won't work very well due to back-power issues, but a recommended list of hubs is available here: http://elinux.org/RPi_Powered_USB_Hubs.  To be clear, if you're just plugging in a usb keyboard/mouse and a wi-fi adapter you should be fine with the normal power supply; it's things like external hard drives and USB DACs that need more juice.

Additionally, if you don't want to use a USB hub, you may be able to power more peripherals by adding the following line to your config.txt:

Code: [Select]

max_usb_current=1
That line allows the Pi's USB ports to supply more current to peripherals, which has allowed several forum members to use an external Hard Drive without using a USB hub.  [Thanks to Hilton for finding and testing that option.]

Pi's are also sensitive to sudden loss of power: cutting off the power on a pi without shutting down properly can and will corrupt your sd card. For that reason it's important to always shut down your pi appropriately. However accidental power outages do occur, so, as a best practice, consider backing up your sd card with a disk imaging utility once you've gotten everything working the way you want. Another more advanced approach is to hook up a rechargeable battery in between the power supply and the Pi to act as a buffer in case of sudden power loss, and configure the Pi to shut down gracefully when mains power goes out, but that's a more advanced topic.

Status of Features:

What I've tested that works for me:

1) Local audio playback of FLACs and MP3s (Pi 1 and 2)
2) Using the Pi as a library client (Pi 1 and 2)
3) Using the Pi as a DLNA renderer (Pi 1 and 2)
4) Controlling the Pi with gizmo or eos (Pi 1 and 2)
5) Streaming to gizmo from the Pi (works on Pi2, not on the Pi 1)
6) Normal window resizing
7) ALSA-compatible USB DACs
8 ) Using an external hard drive with the Pi (some additional configuration required for some drives)

What I have not tested:

1) DSD (I have no DSD-compatible hardware or files)
2) Airplay, etc. (I have no macs or i-devices to test with)


What is not working/supported:

1) Video Playback
2) Maximize and Minimize buttons

[mwillems]

Running Without a Monitor: If you would like to run the Pi without a monitor attached, that's a slightly more advanced topic.  MC needs some kind of "display" in order to run.  When a monitor is not attached, the pi will not necessarily start it's display, which will prevent MC from running. The following steps outline a very basic method of creating a virtual display and allowing for remote control of Mediacenter on the pi. NOTE: If you're using a different username than "pi", you should replace all instances of "pi" in the code below with your username.  

Enter the following commands

Code: [Select]

sudo apt-get install tightvncserver
tightvncserverAfter the second command, you will be prompted for a regular password, pick one you will remember. You will also be asked whether you want to create a view-only password. Type 'n'.

If it worked correctly you should see something like:

Code: [Select]

New 'X' desktop is pi:1
If you see a number other than :1 in that output, use that instead of :1 below. Now enter the following lines in the terminal

Code: [Select]

sudo vncserver -kill :1
vncserver :1 -geometry 1920x1080

You should now have a virtual desktop running on your pi. Test it out by trying to log in from another computer using a VNC client.  For example, tigervnc is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux: https://bintray.com/tigervnc/stable/tigervnc/1.4.3

When you start TigerVNC it will ask you for the VNC server details.  Enter the ip address* of your pi, followed by ":1". It will look something like

Code: [Select]

192.168.1.35:1 Once you enter the address, click connect, and it will prompt you for your password.  

*If you don't know the ip address of your pi, enter "sudo ifconfig" in a terminal on your pi, and it will tell you. You're looking for a 4-part number separated by periods next to the phrase "inet addr." You want the one in the paragraph labelled eth0 if your pi has a wired connection or wlan0 if your pi has a wireless connection.

You should now be looking at a virtual desktop on your pi, from which you can run MC!

We're not done yet, though, as we still need to configure the pi to start the vncserver and MC on boot. The easiest way to do this is with a cron script. Type "sudo nano ~/headless" into the terminal and type the following

Code: [Select]

#!/bin/bash
export USER=pi
ps -e | grep tightvnc || vncserver :1 -geometry 1920x1080
export DISPLAY=':1'
ps -e | grep mediacenter || mediacenter21 /mediaserver
Once you're done, press CTRL-X, and choose "y" and press "enter" twice.  Now type

Code: [Select]

sudo chmod 755 ~/headless
crontab -e
After you enter the second command, you may be prompted you to choose an editor; if so choose /bin/nano, which should be option 1.  Now you should now be looking at a file with some information in it.  

If you want mediacenter to launch on boot type the following line at the bottom of the file:

Code: [Select]

@reboot     /home/pi/headless > /dev/null
If, instead, you want mediacenter to launch on boot, but also make sure that it's still running and relaunch it if it has crashed, enter the following at the bottom of the file INSTEAD of the previous

Code: [Select]

* * * * *   /home/pi/headless > /dev/null
Once you've added the one you want, press CTRL-X and then "y" and "enter" twice.  Now reboot your pi as described above, and within a few minutes you should be able to access MC and your VNC desktop.  

There are some limitations to this method.  For example, you cannot use this method to control the pi's actual display output, so you couldn't use this to remote control a pi's display when it's hooked up to a monitor.

If you want a more robust solution that doesn't have these limitations (but requires a few more steps), Hilton provided step by step instructions for a fuller featured remote access method which allows using windows remote desktop, and an alternative VNC method that allows you to remotely control the Pi. His method can be found here: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=95578.msg666290#msg666290, with some extra configuration bits here: https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=95578.msg666323#msg666323.

[mwillems]

<reserved>

[PrinterPrinter]

Hello Guys,
How about instructions on how to upgrade from a fully working MC20 install on RPI to MC21?

Thanks!

[mwillems]

If you follow the guide above from the part after the "Installing MC" header, I'm pretty sure both can sit side by side (i.e. you can follow the MC install instruction above without disturbing your MC 20 install). 

Make sure to make a library backup of your MC20 library first (using the option under File->Library->Back-Up Library).  Then you can restore that backup in MC21 once you've installed it, and all settings and the database should come across.  Don't remove your MC20 installation until your happy with how MC21 is working.

And I'll repeat, make a library backup and store it in a safe space before doing anything.

[PrinterPrinter]

If you follow the guide above from the part after the "Installing MC" header, I'm pretty sure both can sit side by side (i.e. you can follow the MC install instruction above without disturbing your MC 20 install). 

Make sure to make a library backup of your MC20 library first (using the option under File->Library->Back-Up Library).  Then you can restore that backup in MC21 once you've installed it, and all settings and the database should come across.  Don't remove your MC20 installation until your happy with how MC21 is working.

And I'll repeat, make a library backup and store it in a safe space before doing anything.

Thanks Mate,
My library is actually on a separate PC still running MC20 for now, but it's good advice.

[mwillems]

Thanks Mate,
My library is actually on a separate PC still running MC20 for now, but it's good advice.

The local configuration settings (like audio device and media network settings etc.) are still kept in the local library, so you'd do well to make a backup of the Pi's library either way. 

[PrinterPrinter]

Hello Again,
so all is good and well, I installed MC21 and the licence.

My only issue is that my Pi still boots into MC20, how do I change it to MC21?

thanks,

[mwillems]

Hello Again,
so all is good and well, I installed MC21 and the licence.

My only issue is that my Pi still boots into MC20, how do I change it to MC21?

thanks,

Have a look at the script you use to start MC and see if you can work out what you need to change.  If you're stumped ask again and I'll put up a code snippet 

[PrinterPrinter]

Have a look at the script you use to start MC and see if you can work out what you need to change.  If you're stumped ask again and I'll put up a code snippet 

Thanks, I figured it out ;-)

I now have a small problem for he MC21 booting before the wifi connection, I suspect and so gives me an error of library not found - if I tell it to try again it immediately connects... I seem to recall there was some workaround it? Perhaps telling MC21 to keep trying on its own (with out a dialog box - it's a headless set up) - or delaying MC21's launch until after a Wifi connection is established?

Thanks!

[mwillems]

The easiest (not particularly sophisticated) fix is to add a "sleep" command to your script before the line that starts MC to delay the start of MC by some amount.  The syntax is

Code: [Select]

sleep X
Where X is a number expressed in seconds that tells the script how long to wait.

So if it takes your wifi 30 seconds to come up, try "sleep 35" or something like that.  Try tinkering with different values until you get what you need.

[PrinterPrinter]

The easiest (not particularly sophisticated) fix is to add a "sleep" command to your script before the line that starts MC to delay the start of MC by some amount.  The syntax is

Code: [Select]

sleep X
Where X is a number expressed in seconds that tells the script how long to wait.

So if it takes your wifi 30 seconds to come up, try "sleep 35" or something like that.  Try tinkering with different values until you get what you need.

Perfect!
Thanks

[roognation]

First, thanks guys for posting this: I am running MC21 on my Raspberry Pi Model B (512MB RAM, 2 USB ports) and it is basically working.  I do notice some issues, of course due to lack of horsepower.  I would like to run this solely for audio.  Gizmo is working pretty well, too.

Without MC21 running, the CPU meter in the upper right corner hovers between 0 and 1 percent.  When MC21 is running and not-playing (stopped), the CPU utilization hovers between 4-7 percent with occasional jumps to 44%.  When playing, the CPU utilization pegs at 100% and program reaction is a little slow.

Curious: is there a list of options or features that we can disable to make MC21 more responsive?  Especially given that I only want audio features?  I'd like a stripped-down version if one exists.  Maybe there can be features that are not installed during the primary installation?

Should we disable any swap-files to force running entirely in RAM?

Anyway, still very cool to play with.  Will continue to test.  THANKS!

[mwillems]

This will sound dumb, but the single best thing to free up CPU is to disable the spectrum analyzer in the top bar of mediacenter.  It uses a hilarious amount of CPU on linux for some reason, and on a Pi it can actually free up 10 or 20% CPU in my experience.  You turn it off by right clicking on it (or on where it otherwise would appear when playback is stopped)

[roognation]

I forgot to mention: I disabled the Spectrum Analyzer right out of the gate...still pegged at 100% during playback without the analyzer running.  Anything else we can try?

EDIT:
I know you can use VNC to allow MC to run headless; I can use Gizmo for most of the control; does that take less resources than using a display?

[mwillems]

I forgot to mention: I disabled the Spectrum Analyzer right out of the gate...still pegged at 100% during playback without the analyzer running.  Anything else we can try?

Overclocking the pi.  I had difficulty getting perfectly smooth playback with a model 1 B+ which had some optimizations over the B.  I think overclocking is pretty much your only route to more performance, and there's no guarantee you'll get there.

EDIT:
I know you can use VNC to allow MC to run headless; I can use Gizmo for most of the control; does that take less resources than using a display?

It doesn't require fewer resources because MC requires X to run, so it's just running a virtual x server instead of a physical x server which has about the same memory and CPU consequences.  The pi's desktop environment has a pretty low profile, but you could try using an even lower profile window manager like fluxbox or i3 or something.  But if I were you I would have a look at top and see what's using the CPU.  I'd bet MC is using virtually all of it.

[bob]

I forgot to mention: I disabled the Spectrum Analyzer right out of the gate...still pegged at 100% during playback without the analyzer running.  Anything else we can try?

EDIT:
I know you can use VNC to allow MC to run headless; I can use Gizmo for most of the control; does that take less resources than using a display?

If you are just rendering audio you could try minimizing MC, there is always at least a bit of windows eventing going on when it's not minimized.
 

[bob]

FYI, I used this guide to install flawlessly on Raspbian Jessie.
The updated OS gives more choices for the audio devices, you might be able to select analog vs hdmi without mucking with the config file.

[mwillems]

FYI, I used this guide to install flawlessly on Raspbian Jessie.
The updated OS gives more choices for the audio devices, you might be able to select analog vs hdmi without mucking with the config file.

Thanks for the confirmation, I haven't done a tear down rebuild yet since the switch to Jessie, so it's good to know that everything is working.

[roognation]

Yes, n00b question here: what is the best way to get MC21 to start when the Pi powers up?  I have the option checked under options-startup, but that did not seem to do anything; I am happy to put a script to work, but need a push in the right direction.  Thanks in advance.

[mwillems]

Yes, n00b question here: what is the best way to get MC21 to start when the Pi powers up?  I have the option checked under options-startup, but that did not seem to do anything; I am happy to put a script to work, but need a push in the right direction.  Thanks in advance.

The startup menu option doesn't work on Linux right now.  Most of the architecture for what you need is in the headless operation scripts above https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=99370.msg687832#msg687832.  It just needs some light adaptation.  I assume you have the pi plugged into a monitor?  The following scripts assume that you do and that you're using the default user.  If you want to run it headless instead, just use the exact instructions above.  If you're running as a different user, replace "pi" with that user in the scripts below.

To autostart MC on a Pi plugged into an actual display, make a script (we'll call it "start_mediacenter21.sh") like this

Code: [Select]

#!/bin/bash
export USER=pi
export DISPLAY=':0'
sleep 10
mediacenter21

Then add a job to your user's cron tab (as described above) that says

Code: [Select]

@reboot     /home/pi/start_mediacenter21.sh > /dev/null
Scripting Notes:

Sleep The sleep line is there to give the system time to "come up" and bring up the network connection before starting MC.  The argument passed to the command is expressed in seconds (i.e. sleep 10 waits 10 seconds).  You may find that you need to wait longer or less long on your particular pi.  If the script doesn't work, try "sleep 30" and then work your way down until you've found the shortest delay that still works. 

Export? You need the two export lines because cronjobs don't run in a default environment.  So cron doesn't "know" where to find the xserver (the display), etc. 

[phillil]

Guys, this is awesome thanks!

I've been waiting for years to be able to do away with a pc for music, and now I can.

So I've managed to get this working, with my Pi2 connected to a TV and USB Dac, using JRemote on the iPhone to control.

It works really well - my library is FLAC and hi-res FLAC and once it's up and running, plays flawlessly and with even play a smart-list (4 - 5 stars) randomly, which picks from over 5,000 tracks.

I can also skip forward and back using a remote as my amp (DAC) talks back to the Pi2 over the USB connection

So all-in-all, really really please, so thanks.

However there are a few gripes stopping this from being perfect....

1) I can get MC to load in the virtual display ;1, but tracks won't play. I'm not sure if it's related but I get an error on the virtual desktop (No session for PID 817). I can view the library with JRemote on the iPhone, but nothing plays. Equally I can try and play a track using MC directly using TigerVNC desktop, but nothing plays.

2) My music collection sits on my Synology NAS, and the library builds OK, and track play with no problem. However on a reboot, the files on the NAS cannot be found. I have to open FileManager then navigate to the NAS first, then everything is OK.
Is there a way of connecting at logon??

Any help would be appreciated

[mwillems]

I'm a little confused; you mention having the pi hooked up to a TV, but you're also using a virtual display?  You don't need both of those things unless I'm missing something.  Can you clarify what exactly you're trying to do? 

As for the NAS, it sounds like it's not being automatically mounted on the Pi.  You might need to map the shares by adding them to your /etc/fstab file.  Are you familiar with how a Linux fstab works?  If not I may be able to help, but I'll need more info.

[phillil]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Sorry for the confusion....

I started off using the TV just to get everything working, then I planned to go headless so I can do away with the TV

I'm not familiar with fstab as I'm a complete linux noobie, so would appreciate the help, or somewhere I can learn the linux basics!!

Many thanks

[mwillems]

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Sorry for the confusion....

I started off using the TV just to get everything working, then I planned to go headless so I can do away with the TV

Ok, so your next step is once you have the virtual desktop up, check what the audio device is set to in MC.  You should see your DAC listed there, and make sure it's selected.  It's likely that MC is just trying to play to the Pi's native outputs or something like that.  If you don't know which device to select, post the output of the alsacap command and we can point you in the right direction.

I'm not familiar with fstab as I'm a complete linux noobie, so would appreciate the help, or somewhere I can learn the linux basics!!

Many thanks

The fstab is a file that tells the OS what to mount at boot and when (it stands for "FileSystem TABle").  We need a little more info about your raspberry and how your NAS shares are set up to figure out the specific entries you'll need. 

1) Do you know if your Pi is running Raspbian Wheezy or Raspbian Jessie?  That will make a difference in how to handle the automount because Jessie uses a new(ish) system daemon called systemd which handles automounting differently.  If your install is recent it's probably Jessie.  One easy way to tell is to type into the terminal

Code: [Select]

systemctl status
If it gives you detailed output about your system services, then you're running Jessie.  If it gives you a "command not found" type error you're running Wheezy.

2) Additionally, how does your NAS share files?  SMB/CIFS?  NFS?  Something else?  That's also important to know.

Assuming you're on Raspbian Jessie (which is most likely), a good general resource for learning modern fstab basics is https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fstab.  It's for a different Linux distribution (Arch) but the fundamentals will serve you well on any modern Linux distro (because they virtually all use systemd now). Read the whole thing if you want to learn about it, but take special note of https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fstab#Automount_with_systemd.

[phillil]

In terms of the audio, it actually plays fine when plugged into the monitor and the JMRC is opened on Display=0. My output on MC is set to my USB DAC

If I open MC to display on the virtual desktop (Display =1) then the file won't play. It's not that sound isn't heard, the file just doesn't actually play (the progress bar/timer doesn't move and JMRC just says that nothing is playing).
The file 'tries' to play when I click the play button on the GUI, but it just stops and nothing happens.

You correct in that I am using Jessie, and I am currently using SMB share from my Synology NAS

Many thanks for your help

[mwillems]

In terms of the audio, it actually plays fine when plugged into the monitor and the JMRC is opened on Display=0. My output on MC is set to my USB DAC

If I open MC to display on the virtual desktop (Display =1) then the file won't play. It's not that sound isn't heard, the file just doesn't actually play (the progress bar/timer doesn't move and JMRC just says that nothing is playing).
The file 'tries' to play when I click the play button on the GUI, but it just stops and nothing happens.

That suggests that the Audio Device (under Tools-->Options-->Audio) isn't set correctly or is otherwise triggering an error in the instance on the virtual desktop. Can you check in the options in MC in the VNC instance and confirm that the audio device is correctly set to your DAC? If everything is set correctly, here's another thought:

If you used my scripts above you started MC in /mediaserver mode which suppresses pop up error dialogs (because some are modal and would prevent MC from continuing to function after an error was thrown, which is undesirable in a headless context).  Try closing the open instance of MC in the VNC and reopening it using the application menu, and then try to play something.  You may get an informative error dialog.

You correct in that I am using Jessie, and I am currently using SMB share from my Synology NAS

Many thanks for your help

Ok so what you want to do is to add a line like this to your fstab:

Code: [Select]

IPaddress:Share  /place/to/mount  cifs  defaults,noauto,x-systemd.automount  0  2

You should replace "IPaddress" with the local IP address of your NAS, replace "Share" with the name of the share you're trying to mount, and replace /place/to/mount with a filepath to where you want the share to show up on your local filesystem. I usually make a directory in my home directory called "data" and mount my share there.  If you have multiple SMB/CIFS shares you should add a separate line for each with a separate local mount location.

Hope that helps!

[phillil]

OK I've found the problem with the audio - if I play a file from File Manager, it plays OK. If I try and play a file in my library it fails, so it must be something to do with the way the links in the library differ from TV display = 0 vs VNC = 1

However I'm having trouble with the automount - when I navigate to the folder I created (home/pi/data/music) I get the error "Error opening directory: - no such device"

Any ideas?? Is it a credentials issue??

[phillil]

I can get;
sudo mount -t cifs -o guest //WindowsPC/share1 /mnt/mountfoldername
to work from the console

But when I add to fstab
//WindowsPC/share1 /mnt/mountfoldername cifs guest 0 0

Nothing mounts

Maybe that's why your suggestion isn't working??

[phillil]

OK I've figured it out!

The command was correct, it wasn't mounting however because there was no network connection

So I changed the Pi2 config to wait for network at boot, now it works!!

Thanks, and sorry for clogging up this thread

[mwillems]

OK I've figured it out!

The command was correct, it wasn't mounting however because there was no network connection

So I changed the Pi2 config to wait for network at boot, now it works!!

Thanks, and sorry for clogging up this thread

No worries, glad you got it sorted!

[phillil]

Hi there,

it's been a few weeks now MC seems to still be running OK on my RPi2 to the point I'm almost considering packing the PC away!!

However there is one small niggle...

I leave my RPi2 on all the time, and fire-up JRemote to start playing music. However on occasion MC won't respond, and although it is still running when I check using my laptop (TigerVNC) it seems to have locked up.

I'm not sure what causes this - I know if I try and play a track before the amp (USB DAC) is switched on it can get upset. Also when I clear a playlist??

Either way it's very frustrating as I have to login using Tiger and reboot the RPi manually, which is OK for me but not very wife friendly. I was hoping the RPi / MC would be ultra stable as it's on Linux, but it doesn't seem to be the case

I have setup a cron task as per the setup guide which is supposed to restart MC if it stops running, but this doesn't seem to rectify the issue. Once MC stops responding, it won't close, restart etc. if i try manually and the only thing I can do is to  reboot the RPi which 100%n cures the problem

Is it possible to setup a cron that reboots the RPi if MC stops responding, rather than restarting MC??

Many thanks

[mwillems]

Hi there,

it's been a few weeks now MC seems to still be running OK on my RPi2 to the point I'm almost considering packing the PC away!!

However there is one small niggle...

I leave my RPi2 on all the time, and fire-up JRemote to start playing music. However on occasion MC won't respond, and although it is still running when I check using my laptop (TigerVNC) it seems to have locked up.

I'm not sure what causes this - I know if I try and play a track before the amp (USB DAC) is switched on it can get upset. Also when I clear a playlist??

Either way it's very frustrating as I have to login using Tiger and reboot the RPi manually, which is OK for me but not very wife friendly. I was hoping the RPi / MC would be ultra stable as it's on Linux, but it doesn't seem to be the case

I have setup a cron task as per the setup guide which is supposed to restart MC if it stops running, but this doesn't seem to rectify the issue. Once MC stops responding, it won't close, restart etc. if i try manually and the only thing I can do is to  reboot the RPi which 100%n cures the problem

Is it possible to setup a cron that reboots the RPi if MC stops responding, rather than restarting MC??

Many thanks

The hard part would be knowing when mc stopped responding programmatically.  I'm not sure how to know that that's the case if you see what I mean.  Bob may have some thoughts. 

For your reference, you don't need to reboot the pi, you should be able to terminate the MC process and restart using one of the "kill" family of commands.  I.e. typing "killall mediacenter21" into a terminal should terminate MC, and then the cron script would restart it about a minute later.  You might be able to script something that kills and restarts MC on command, which would speed up the restarts if things have gone sideways.

[phillil]

It's a real shame because it's a bit of a show-stopper to be honest...

I tend to check each morning just to see if MC is still responding, and this morning it had crashed again. It was still running, but just wouldn't respond to anything

I suppose the other option is powering the RPi2 from my amp, so it cold booted each time the amp started. I suppose this is really risky because the RPi2 would frequently experience the power being pulled (each time the amp is switched off) which may corrupt the SD card??

[mwillems]

I suppose the other option is powering the RPi2 from my amp, so it cold booted each time the amp started. I suppose this is really risky because the RPi2 would frequently experience the power being pulled (each time the amp is switched off) which may corrupt the SD card??

I haven't experienced the kind of instability you're seeing, but if I were trying to work around this problem, I would probably leave the pi on, but write a script that kills and restarts JRiver.  I would then either bind the script to a remote control button or an ssh android app. Honestly if you really want it to be "easy" for an end user (but not necessarily for you who has to set it up), the Pi has many input output pins that can be used to trigger scripts.  You also could buy a physical button that would restart JRiver: https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/usage/gpio/ .  Or it may be possible rig up your amp (if it has a signalling relay, which many amps do) to send a signal to one of the pins triggering a JRiver restart based on the amp turning on.

None of that is as hard as it sounds, but honestly you would do better to figure out what's triggering the crash and fix it.  I have a pi with 47 days of uptime right now and I've only restarted JRiver once in that time (during an upgrade).  I use it most days.  If it's just a matter of not trying to start playback with the amp off that seems easy enough to work around, but if I were you I would try to reproduce the lockup until I figured it out.

[bob]

There is a socket issue on the linux builds that we are trying to get to the bottom of that is causing instability.
It seems like it is triggered by some DLNA devices on the network.

[phillil]

Cheers guys, I really appreciate your support and the options seem really encouraging. I will try and find out what it causing JR to crash, but it just seems like when it's overloaded (being asked to do things quickly like play doctor, followed by browsing the library then selecting a different rack to play), but it does occasionally crash overnight.

I like the sound of using a pin to kill MC when the amp starts up (it does have a 5V relay output) I'll see what I can find out

I suppose there is also a way to use my old USB Windows IR remote?? With my normal setup I use a PC, and my harmony remote. I use PC software called AutoHotkey where I map one of the Windows remote keys (numpad0) to force the PC to reboot on the rare occasion something has gone wrong.

Is there an AutoHotKey equivalent for Linux that will run on the Pi do you think?? I will do some research..

Once again thanks

[mwillems]

I like the sound of using a pin to kill MC when the amp starts up (it does have a 5V relay output) I'll see what I can find out

There are several 5V input pins on the pi GPIO, so that will work perfectly if you can handle the scripting.  There are lots of good scripting tutorial for the GPIO on the web, but I learned from an O'Reilly Book called "Raspberry Pi Cookbook" that has lots of examples of different GPIO uses.

I suppose there is also a way to use my old USB Windows IR remote?? With my normal setup I use a PC, and my harmony remote. I use PC software called AutoHotkey where I map one of the Windows remote keys (numpad0) to force the PC to reboot on the rare occasion something has gone wrong.

Is there an AutoHotKey equivalent for Linux that will run on the Pi do you think?? I will do some research..

If you have a device (of any kind) that can communicate with a Linux box, you can script based on the inputs; if anything it's easier in Linux than windows.  The main issue is that Pi's don't have native IR receivers on them, so the IR remote can't directly communicate with the Pi as is.  You'd need to rig up an IR receiver on the Pi, which is possible (see e.g. https://www.pi-supply.com/product/flirc-usb-ir-remote-dongle-for-raspberry-pi/?v=7516fd43adaa or http://www.raspberry-pi-geek.com/Archive/2014/03/Controlling-your-Pi-with-an-infrared-remote

Once you get it receiving, there's a linux daemon called "trigger happy" that IIRC ships with Raspbian by default that let's you run scripts based on arbitrary inputs.  There are also a bunch of other ways to do it, but if you're using an IR remote, you don't have to stop with restarting MC.  You can use it for volume control, track control, you name it.

[phillil]

OK, so I have now researched and managed to get my cheapo MCE remote to kill and start MC by adding key bindngs to the LXDE config file, such as;

<keybind key=”KP_1″>
  <action name=”Execute>
    <command>mediacenter21</command>
  </action>
</keybind>

So I can use the numpad keys to execute commands, but a minor gripe that i can't seem to find help with (after many hours searching!!)....

I can launch MC, and it opens on display:0, but I want to open it on display:1 so I can see it using tigerVNC and check it's running if necessary.

I am currently just using the 'mediacenter21' command to run MC - how can I modify this to open it is display:1?? Or, should I just run the 'headless' script that we created in the beginning of this thread instead?

Also, although I can map keypad on my MCE remote (KP_1, KP_2 etc.), how do I make use of the other buttons as I don't know what they are called, and they are probably not on a keyboard?? The play, stop etc. don't seem to work for controlling MC

Many thanks

[mwillems]

OK, so I have now researched and managed to get my cheapo MCE remote to kill and start MC by adding key bindngs to the LXDE config file, such as;

<keybind key=”KP_1″>
  <action name=”Execute>
    <command>mediacenter21</command>
  </action>
</keybind>

So I can use the numpad keys to execute commands, but a minor gripe that i can't seem to find help with (after many hours searching!!)....

I can launch MC, and it opens on display:0, but I want to open it on display:1 so I can see it using tigerVNC and check it's running if necessary.

I am currently just using the 'mediacenter21' command to run MC - how can I modify this to open it is display:1?? Or, should I just run the 'headless' script that we created in the beginning of this thread instead?

In order to launch on display :1, you need to export the environment variable for display otherwise the script assumes display :0.  So I'd advise launching a script instead of a bare command, and then in the script you'll need the line

Code: [Select]

export DISPLAY=:1 before you invoke mediacenter21.

Also, although I can map keypad on my MCE remote (KP_1, KP_2 etc.), how do I make use of the other buttons as I don't know what they are called, and they are probably not on a keyboard?? The play, stop etc. don't seem to work for controlling MC

Many thanks

How is your IR device communicating with MC?  Do you have an IR adapter plugged into the Pi?  Or are the commands going through from the receiver with CEC or something like that?  

[phillil]

OK Thanks - I thought I would need a script to launch in DISPLAY:1 rather than the bare command. I will try that.


I am using an IR remote with a USB receiver. CEC from the amp doesn't seem to work, although I'm sure it has done at some point. I may have un-ticked a box in the options.

CEC from the amp is my by far my preferred option, so it would be great to get that working, especially if I could use (for example) the 'up arrow', or any other button to remap and start/kill MC. That would really be awesome!

If I think back, CEC from the amp/DAC might only have worked when I had a monitor attached to DISPLAY:0, so maybe that is an issue

[jimwc]

I have just installed MC21.0.28 on an RPi2 running Jessie following this very useful guide, and have run into two initial problems:

1) I cannot close MC21.  If I try to close the program using either the red X icon or File >> Exit (or any other method), MC21 hangs.  The RPi is not frozen (I can restart the Pi), but the MC21 window is unresponsive. The only way to close MC21 is to reboot the Pi.

2) I was able to restore from a MC21 library created on my Mac, but could not restore the settings (only the files themselves).  That means I have to recreate all of my customizations (e.g. what shows up in the title bar during playback, or which fields show by default in the tagging window).

This may or may not matter, but my music files are stored on a Synology NAS and shared with the Pi2 using CIFS mounted read-only. However, the file locations in tools-->Options are local to the Pi (and are all the defaults).

Thanks for any assistance,
Jim

[jimwc]

I was able to solve the first issue (MC21 will not close) by adding "sudo" in front of "ps -e | grep mediacenter || mediacenter21 /mediaserver" in my ~/headless file from M Willems' guide to running headless on an RPi2.  Are there any major downsides to running MC21 as root?

Thanks,
Jim

[jimwc]

Update: running MC21 with sudo only fixes the "no close" problem for a little while.  Maybe this has something to do with the VNC session going to sleep at some point after rebooting the Pi?

I recently executed sudo apt-get update, and noticed that the first line on the console says
"Hit http://dist.jriver.com wheezy InRelease"

Could this be my problem since I am running Raspian Jessie?  Do I need to reinstall MC21 for jessie by somehow changing something in the following?

wget -q "http://dist.jriver.com/mediacenter@jriver.com.gpg.key" -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo wget http://dist.jriver.com/latest/mediacenter/mediacenter21native.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter21.list

Again, many thanks in advance for tolerating all of my Linux noob questions.
-Jim

[Dewd]

I'm a relative Linux Noob, but am finding my way around.  Have access to an expert as well - lol

So, I have a Raspberry Pi 2B
It came with the preloaded Noobs card (Raspbian Wheezy)
I have followed the instructions above, but when I try launch MC in the GUI,  I just get a white panel / window that overlays the GUI.  JRMC21 shows up on the Panel at the top of the screen and I can close the white window by closing MC from the panel at the top of the Linux GUI .   I see the CPU spiking as if it were starting an app, but that's all.  

Any idea what I might have done wrong?

[Mark_NL]

I'm a relative Linux Noob, but am finding my way around.  Have access to an expert as well - lol

So, I have a Raspberry Pi 2B
It came with the preloaded Noobs card (Raspbian Wheezy)
I have followed the instructions above, but when I try launch MC in the GUI,  I just get a white panel / window that overlays the GUI.  JRMC21 shows up on the Panel at the top of the screen and I can close the white window by closing MC from the panel at the top of the Linux GUI .   I see the CPU spiking as if it were starting an app, but that's all.  

Any idea what I might have done wrong?

Are you sure you did this part of Mr. Willems's Quick start guide?

...........Now enter the following into the terminal.

Code: [Select]

cd /boot
sudo nano config.txt

This will show you the file config.txt in the text editor nano. You'll see a lot of information in the config file already, scroll down to the bottom of the file using the direction keys on your keyboard and enter the following two lines exactly as shown:

Code: [Select]

framebuffer_depth=32
framebuffer_ignore_alpha=1

Then save the file by pressing Ctrl+O, then enter. Then press Ctrl+X to exit, and you should be back at the terminal. Now close the terminal and reboot the pi.

 

[tom539]

Hello,

thanks a lot for this tutorial - works great 

But I have a problem to configure WebGizmo-layout: after a change (e.g. delete a standard-view like "Composer") and [OK], the change is lost and standard-view is still active.

Thanks for any help.

[Dewd]

Yes, I was sure I had done that, but I still went and checked the config.txt file.  The two lines were there right at the end, as expected.  So I commented them out and saved and rebooted.  Same problem.  I went back in and took the comments out, saved and rebooted and it worked fine.  Weird, but at least it's working now.

Are you sure you did this part of Mr. Willems's Quick start guide?

...........Now enter the following into the terminal.

Code: [Select]

cd /boot
sudo nano config.txt

This will show you the file config.txt in the text editor nano. You'll see a lot of information in the config file already, scroll down to the bottom of the file using the direction keys on your keyboard and enter the following two lines exactly as shown:

Code: [Select]

framebuffer_depth=32
framebuffer_ignore_alpha=1
Then save the file by pressing Ctrl+O, then enter. Then press Ctrl+X to exit, and you should be back at the terminal. Now close the terminal and reboot the pi.

[mwillems]

Hello,

thanks a lot for this tutorial - works great 

But I have a problem to configure WebGizmo-layout: after a change (e.g. delete a standard-view like "Composer") and [OK], the change is lost and standard-view is still active.

Thanks for any help.

You need to restart between changes for them to take effect in WebGizmo if I recall correctly. 

[mwillems]

Update: running MC21 with sudo only fixes the "no close" problem for a little while.  Maybe this has something to do with the VNC session going to sleep at some point after rebooting the Pi?

I recently executed sudo apt-get update, and noticed that the first line on the console says
"Hit http://dist.jriver.com wheezy InRelease"

Could this be my problem since I am running Raspian Jessie?  Do I need to reinstall MC21 for jessie by somehow changing something in the following?

wget -q "http://dist.jriver.com/mediacenter@jriver.com.gpg.key" -O- | sudo apt-key add -
sudo wget http://dist.jriver.com/latest/mediacenter/mediacenter21native.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter21.list

Again, many thanks in advance for tolerating all of my Linux noob questions.
-Jim

The release is fine.  The hanging on close you're experiencing is likely just MC taking a while to shut down.  In my experience it might take up to thirty seconds to close on the pi.  Does it eventually close if you close the program and leave and come back?

Running MC as root is not advised.