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[krdavies]

I've just purchased a Soundbridge and am having an odd problem. I've started the MC UPnP server and the SoundBridge can see my playlists and files but just displays "This music format is not supported" when I try to play anything. My library is made up of Flac, MP3's and Apple Lossless format but they all return the same message.

The only error the MC shows in the log is "Error sharing file, file not found". The file plays fine in MC itself so MC obviously knows where it is.

Anyone know what might be wrong?

TIA

[JimH]

Make sure you have the latest build of MC11.1.  Then check that you've set the options for the UPnP server in MC and have selected the Roku Soundbridge.  Try playing an MP3 file.

Set conversion options.  Apple Lossless probably won't work.  FLAC might but you'll need to have an MP3 encoder installed.  Try converting a file on the server.

[krdavies]

Thanks for the quick response. I've got it working after a fashion but it's not quite what I expected. I bought the SoundBridge because (and this is from the manual) "Audio Format Support: MP3, AAC, WMA, DRM WMA, WAV, AIFF, LPCM, Apple Lossless, FLAC and Ogg-Vorbis" are supported

The only way I can get it working is to convert files to 256kbps CBR MP3, despite all the type I use being listed above. I don't mind converting to MP3 but MC can't convert apple lossless, which means I can't listen to about 80% of my library even though the M1000 is apple lossless compatible!

Any ideas?

[dlone]

Have you tried the freeware http://www.tversity.com/ ?

It's what I use on dsm-320rd, as MC's UPNP server crashes or 'sticks' on a lot of my videos
I can't vouch for apple lossless working as I've never used it, but for all the file types I do use, it works much better

From their website

The current version is designed such that almost anything you can play on Windows Media Player, whether it resides locally on your computer or located on the Internet, should also play on any of the supported devices, despite the fact that these devices do not natively support many of these media formats. You can also play Quicktime video and Real Media videos (including rmvb), however for the time being you cannot stream Quicktime or Real from the Internet. To give a more precise definition, any media format that has a Directshow decoder will work with TVersity as long as you have the directshow decoder installed, this includes:

[krdavies]

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried TVersity and the M1000 just isn't seeing it at all. I went through the troubleshooting FAQ but none of the suggestions made any difference. It seems this Universal Plug and Play business isn't quite working for me.

The only two Encode options I'm given by MC are MP3 and Ogg. Is it possible to add WAV to the list so at least I'm converting from a lossless format to another lossless format? I've spent a happy few days going from Apple lossless to flac....

[BullishDad]

I've been following this thread because I recently ordered a Sounbridge M1001 that I received today.  Will try to install later.

From what I have read, I think you will not be able to listen to the FLAC file direct.  It will have to be converted to MP3 or OGG to play on the Soundbridge.  It does seem misleading when they say they support a lossless format.
There are forums at Roku that may be worth looking at, but I haven't done that yet.  If it turns out that there is no way to listen to a lossless file (likely the case), then you may want to return the unit if you aren't satisfied with the audio quality.

Edit: It is possible to listen to a lossless file, but it may require the use of a different media server.  Of course, us MC11 users would prefer to stay with the included UPnP server.

[dlone]

There's a list of supported servers here http://www.rokulabs.com/products/soundbridge/servernotes.php that you may or may not have seen


And a bit in this review http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_12_2/roku-m1000-media-player-5-2005.html mentions that itunes and slimserver will playback apple lossless

Best of luck, ntil I found TVersity, I was getting ready to throw my DSM out of the window 

[BullishDad]

Does MC use Windows Media Connect?  I prefer to use MC with the Soundbridge, but I also want to be able to play WMA DRM Napster tracks as well.  I can play Napster tracks in MC if they've been imported to the library.  I'm thinking those should work.

I'm getting close to setting this up and I'm not sure what to expect.

[dlone]

windows media connect is a different app (available from windows update or http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e93a0ba1-1206-4df5-a3e7-f076691261ef&DisplayLang=en) and it does do wmv drm protected files

most of the upnp servers just run in the background and transfer the music/pictures/videos to the hardware devices (some - like tversity - do transcoding as well, so the players can play back formats that they normally couldn't)

[BullishDad]

Well, installed my Soundbridge M1001.  My experience was some good, some not so good.

The good.  I was able to view and playback my MP3 files with the MC UPnP server.  Installation was fairly easy.

The bad.  I tried to play back Napster WMA DRM files.  Didn't work thru the MC server.  I wasn't shocked since the support for those files was listed under Windows Media Connect 2.0.  So I installed WMC, but the Roku couldn't find the library.  I've tried numerous things including reinstalling WMC and following a PDF on Firewall Troubleshooting.  There's no tech support phone number to call, so I emailed them.

[dlone]

You could try the roku support forums http://www.rokulabs.com/forums/  ?

Hopefully they'll have some ideas for you

[krdavies]

Is there some reason MC can't decode it's supported formats to WAV for UPnP server? Wouldn't this be the best quality option for pretty much everything other than protected material?

[dlone]

In theory it's possible, TVersirty does

Technically there's a few issues i'd guess
Bandwidth might be a problem if you use wireless networking (whatever happened to QOS -  it was supposed to be the next great thing and i've never seen a program use it yet)
MC must be able to decode the audio natively (same for video - some codecs send the video straight to the overlay mixer)

The UPNP server doesn't seem to get as much development  as the rest of MC
It's all about priorities I guess - not many seem to need it, so it's better from their point of view to concentrate on other things

[krdavies]

Pity, the theory of being able to use the Soundbridge with my hi-fi is great but it's a bit lacking compared to listening to a cd. Trouble is there's no way of telling if its the Soundbridge or the conversion to MP3.

[BullishDad]

You could try the roku support forums http://www.rokulabs.com/forums/  ?

Hopefully they'll have some ideas for you

I had looked through a number of threads.  I just needed to dig a little deeper.

My problem with Windows Media Connect 2.0 and Napster was caused by the firewall put in place by Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare.  I guess that's what I get for using two Microsoft programs. 

My thanks to wrbuckjr, who posted the instructions he received from Microsoft Tech Support.  Look at his April 17, 2006 post in this Roku thread for the details.

Pity, the theory of being able to use the Soundbridge with my hi-fi is great but it's a bit lacking compared to listening to a cd. Trouble is there's no way of telling if its the Soundbridge or the conversion to MP3.

I have to agree with you on this, although the sound improved once I used an optical cable and put the Soundbridge volume to 100%.  Now that everything is working, including the ability to play Napster DRM'd files, I'm feeling alot better about this purchase.

P.S. After converting some APE files to WMA Lossless in MC, I used the Windows Media Connect 2.0 server, and played the files back on the M1001, which get converted to PCM 1411 kbps files. (Like WAV).  Very nice.  Maybe we could get the MC server to do something similar with APE and FLAC files? Please?

[dlone]

Great news, thanks for posting the results