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[dtc]

On my Galaxy 3, when I try to play a track from my library server and listen to it on the phone the first track can sit for 15 to 30 seconds "preparing" and subsequent tracks take 10 to 15 seconds. This really breaks up the music. The tracks are often only 4 or 5 minutes long. This delay happens even when I have the phone connected to the same wireless network as the library server. I do not believe it is a 3G/4G issue.The files are flac files, mostly 16/44. I understand a delay in loading the tracks, but is this type of delay normal? Are there any settings that would allow for quick startup of playing?  I am using MC 17. Thanks.

[struct]

Is the server trying to convert to mp3 and for some reason very slow at it? Not normal whatever it is.

[dtc]

The server is a pretty fast i5 desktop, so I do not think it is a CPU bottleneck. I am not sure how to set a conversion to MP3 specifically for Gizmo.  I have tried changing the client setting om Media Network - Client Options on the server from Never Convert to Convert if Necessary and have not seen a difference. But, I would not think that any conversion from 16/44 to MP3 should not take close to 30 seconds for a 5 minute track. I have also tried this using 2 different servers and get the same delay.

I am game to try any other settings if anyone has any suggestions.

[dtc]

I would add that if I us a laptop as a client to the same server I do not see any delay, using wireless on the same network. It seems specific to Gizmo on my phone.

[dtc]

Anyone know what the "preparing" message means? Is it waiting for the server or doing something on the client or could it be either?

[JimH]

Probably converting to a format that the Android player can play.

[dtc]

Jim - where do you think the conversion is happening? On the server on the phone? I checked the server while a track was "preparing" and they CPU was 99% idle. If it is a conversion issue, what can I change to get a faster download? I do not see any conversion options on Gizmo on my phone? What should I check on the server?

[dtc]

OK, I tried a mp3 and that played almost instantly. So, how do I get a flac to convert to mp3 on the server, rather than on the phone (if that is what is happening)?

[dtc]

Ice Cream Sandwich on the Galaxy S3 does support playing flac files. I moved some flac files to the  SD card on my phone and played them with a couple of different Android music players. All of them played the flac file without any delay. It seems that Gizmo is doing something with the flac file while it is saying "Preparing", although I am not sure what. If there is a conversion going on it seems like  Gizmo is forcing the conversion. Maybe it does not know that flac is supported. Not sure.

Unfortunately, it does not seem that Gizmo is handling the flac files very well. i do not really want to create a separate library with just mp3 files. I can maintain a separate library on my S3, but would rather just use Gizmo as a single library.

Can anyone confirm that what I am seeing is normal on Ice Cream Sandwich and that Gizmo does show these delays. Thanks for any help.

It does seem like a conversion option on the server for Gizmo would be a nice feature.  Is the problem that Gizmo uses MCWS and MCWS does not support on the fly file conversion?

[JimH]

MC does have conversion options.  Check the Media Network section.  There are two places there that allow conversion.

[dtc]

Jim - can you point me explicitly to how to get the conversion from flac to mp3 to happen for Gizmo. I have not been able to find it. I can do it for library server clients, but cannot figure out how to do it for Gizmo. Thanks.

[dtc]

Note I am using MC 17. Is there an option in MC 18 to allow for server side conversion from flac to mp3?

I am still not sure why there is such a long delay, given that my S3 supports flac playback directly. Any thoughts?

[nitephlight]

it's not transmitted in flac it's streamed through pcm and rendered on the device i believe

[dtc]

I upgraded to MC18 and I can now control the bit rate from the phone. As far as I can tell, the only bit rate setting option is from within gizmo. With the conversion being done, there is no delay.