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Author Topic: Using MC to push Remote Streams to UPnP renderers  (Read 2709 times)

AndrewFG

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Using MC to push Remote Streams to UPnP renderers
« on: April 18, 2015, 04:16:02 am »

Recently there have been a few posts on the main forums along the lines of "why can't I use MC to push this or that radio stream / video stream etc. to my DMR".

And they have a valid point. It would be cool if MC could do this.

And more to the point, it would I think be trivially easy for MC to add that feature. Today when MC pushes a local track, it sends a SetAVTransportUri command with the URL of the track on MC's server, then it sends a Play command, and then the renderer downloads the track from MC's server. Now in the above process there is actually nothing to prevent the SetAVTransportUri command passing the URL of any track on any server anywhere in the world. And then when MC sends the Play command, the renderer should go off and download that track from wherever it is located. Basically MC just hands off the remote URL to the renderer and lets the renderer get on with doing its own thing...

You would need some logic to stop MC trying to push a Next track when playing in this mode. But otherwise I think it is trivial.

Of course there will be cases where the renderer can't get through the firewall to download the track. And there will be some cases where the renderer cannot play the media format. So in those cases you could eventually consider making MC into a proxy server that pulls the remote track and re-serves it on to the renderer. However I think you could get a lot of mileage from the above mentioned simple remote URL hand off process before you need to start losing sleep over making MC into a proxy server.


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Hendrik

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Re: Using MC to push Remote Streams to UPnP renderers
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2015, 07:25:54 am »

MC already does this, if you use a mp3 http stream and try to play that over DLNA it tells the DLNA device to play the remote mp3 URL.

In cases where this doesn't work, its usually streams which the DLNA device just doesn't support.

I recently tested this with audio streams too, for the BBC streams. The MP3 streams worked just fine when played via DLNA to my TV. The new HLS AAC streams did not, as kind of expected.
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AndrewFG

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Re: Using MC to push Remote Streams to UPnP renderers
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2015, 08:14:32 am »

MC already does this, if you use a mp3 http stream and try to play that over DLNA it tells the DLNA device to play the remote mp3 URL.

In cases where this doesn't work, its usually streams which the DLNA device just doesn't support.

I recently tested this with audio streams too, for the BBC streams. The MP3 streams worked just fine when played via DLNA to my TV. The new HLS AAC streams did not, as kind of expected.

Interesting. I had overlooked this.

PS regarding the question of whether the renderer can support a specific media type, you could have called GetProtocolInfo in order to decide whether or not the renderer has a chance of supporting that format. Perhaps warning the user that it might fail to play..
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jmone

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Re: Using MC to push Remote Streams to UPnP renderers
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2015, 08:27:46 am »

I do this all the time.  I've setup the attached playlist in MC for a bunch on Radio Streams in MC then use a remote to push these streams to various players as required.  It "mostly" works but the problem can be that some streams can not be played by all renderers for example the 2GB stream is a 1ch MP3 stream that Android devices don't like.  I've mentioned this previously, but it would be better if MC actually process these via the DSP settings and sends the processed stream (like any other Audio Track) instead of just the URL IMO.

Thanks
Nathan
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Arindelle

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Re: Using MC to push Remote Streams to UPnP renderers
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2015, 01:41:47 pm »

I do this all the time.  I've setup the attached playlist in MC for a bunch on Radio Streams in MC then use a remote to push these streams to various players as required.  It "mostly" works but the problem can be that some streams can not be played by all renderers for example the 2GB stream is a 1ch MP3 stream that Android devices don't like.  I've mentioned this previously, but it would be better if MC actually process these via the DSP settings and sends the processed stream (like any other Audio Track) instead of just the URL IMO.

Thanks
Nathan
that's sort of what I'd thought would behind Tidal "integration" .. just using JRiver as the only renderer ... everyone wins (except those dependant on outside renderers of course LOL - just have to buy a JRiver USB key?!). But I bet Sonos and others have already realized that as well as Mr. West. I know a bit off topic, but not really; sorry to derail the conversation though
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