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Networks and Remotes => Media Network => Topic started by: terrapinchad on October 19, 2016, 07:19:19 am

Title: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: terrapinchad on October 19, 2016, 07:19:19 am
I have a large music collection of FLACs and MP3s.  I use DLNA and JRemote while at home to stream to various devices.  I also use JRemote and Gizmo while away from home (in the car or at work).  I have more MP3 than FLAC files, but to reduce the amount of data I have to use while away from home, I've duplicated my FLACs as MP3s and customized my library views and/or playlists to filter to only MP3.  At home, I prefer to listen to lossless audio because my network can handle it.  Now I'm starting to run into having to have way too much storage (a total of about 3.5TB!).  If I can get rid of my duplicate MP3s, I will free up about 800GB of space (for more music - yeah!).

So, after a long-winded preface, how can I set up MC to transcode FLACs to MP3 only when accessing them remotely (either Gizmo or JRemote)?  I've set up different DLNA servers to access FLACs, 24bit audio and HD movies from different devices at home (HD TVs, Sony receiver, etc). 
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: Kid Twist on October 19, 2016, 08:30:52 am
In JRemote, under Settings > Playback and streaming, uncheck "Use native audio format." This will tell MC to transcode your FLACs to mp3 when you stream over the Internet, but it won't affect playback at home when you use JRemote or any other interface to play your files at their native resolution. Below that, you can also choose low, medium or high streaming quality to further limit the amount of data you use while streaming.
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: terrapinchad on October 19, 2016, 09:01:17 am
Sweet! - Thanks!
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: terrapinchad on October 19, 2016, 09:03:06 am
What about Gizmo?  Is there any way to do the same for that interface? I use it while at work rather than my phone or ipad.
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: JimH on October 19, 2016, 09:38:41 am
In Gizmo's options, you can select the format to play locally.
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: terrapinchad on October 19, 2016, 10:33:37 am
Is that in the MC Options or the Gizmo interface?  I know that you can select whether to play at 'this location' but are the FLAC being transcoded?
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: JimH on October 19, 2016, 10:37:16 am
In Gizmo, click on the three dots in the upper right corner.  Then choose Options > Audio Quality.
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: terrapinchad on October 25, 2016, 01:03:15 pm
Sorry - delayed response.  I'm using the Default Gizmo appearance, but I don't see the three dots.
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: JimH on October 25, 2016, 01:19:18 pm
Try updating Gizmo.
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: DJLegba on October 25, 2016, 01:39:15 pm
It sounds like the question is about Web Gizmo (browser) and not Gizmo on an Android or iOS device. Web Gizmo doesn't have three dots, and there is nowhere to set the audio quality. I believe you set it on the MC server - Tools | Options | Media Center, then configure the Generic DLNA setup. I did a quick test, playing a DSD file on my desktop computer, which doesn't support DSD. The network monitor in Firefox showed that my browser received only 3MB of data for the track.
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: terrapinchad on October 25, 2016, 03:11:02 pm
Correct, I'm referring to the web interface for Gizmo.  So if I have 4 different DLNA servers set up for use on my local network, is the 'Generic DLNA Server' the one that web Gizmo defaults to? (I assume so since there isn't an option to choose a different DLNA server through Gizmo, just the playing now location).  Thanks for all your help!!!
Title: Re: Selective FLAC->MP3 transcoding
Post by: terrapinchad on October 26, 2016, 08:02:12 am
When I try to play some FLAC files, I get an error on the web gizmo player - but others work (even 24bit and 5.1 flacs).  It's a mystery...