Asset R5 beta for OSX/Linux

[PeterP]

I'm proud to announce that beta version of Asset UPnP R5 for OSX and Linux is ready for testing.

Feature-wise it's a clean port of the latest Windows version, with OSX/Linux specific parts retained from R4.7.

Most important changes from R4.7:

• DSD support
• UPnP search support
• Monkey's Audio codec support

Changes since R5 beta 1

• Expanded debug logging functionality to figure out stuck scan bug
• Fixed broken "rescan all" command (also bad behavior after configuration changes that require library to be fully rescanned)
• Fixed not downscaling album art images - use "rescan all" to fix wrong album art records from older betas
• Fixed stuck scanning due to memory usage creep when indexing music files with large attached picture tags (beta 4)
• Improvements to album art indexing performance (beta 4)
• Fixed non-lowercase-capitalized folder.jpg files not being seen (beta 5)
• Added a forced timed rescan option to help with scenarios where folder change tracking doesn't work reliably. (Linux: beta 5, OSX: beta 6)
• Fixed DSD glitches (beta 6) (details).
• Added an option to hide [All Tracks] / [Shuffle Tracks] items - in both configuration and per control point overrides; use [NoAllTracksItems] in control points override to hide these items.
• Search bug fixes [beta 7]
• LPCM wrong stream format bug fix [beta 7]
• Added Monkey's Audio codec [beta 8]
• Fixed a bug causing MP3 files to take a long time to index on slow machines [beta 8]
• Fixed internet radio not working with default settings on machines with ARM processors [beta 8]
• QNAP x09: Fixed not rescanning library on app startup [beta 8]
• Fixed differently capitalized folder.jpg files not being recognized in folder browsing mode [beta 9]
• Fixed slow browsing on machines with write cache disabled (QNAP in particular) [beta 9]
• Changed configuration & library data location to avoid clash with R4.x series [beta 10]
  Relevant configuration files will be moved (if upgraded from older R5 beta) or copied (if upgraded from R4.x) on first run.
• OSX: Fixed early R5 regression breaking folder structure browsing [beta 11]
• Fixed "download configuration dump" serving truncated archives on QNAP if the configuration size exceeds 64MB, due to QNAP's /tmp size limit [beta 11].

Registered users
If you have used a registered copy of R4.7 before and have not erased your configuration data, R5 beta will function as a registered version.

Downloads

<now released>

[Laurent69]

Hello PeterP

is the linux x86 built compatible with ASUSTOR NAS using braswell CPU ?

many thanks for this beta release !

[2bob]

Hi,

i've loaded R5 on top of 4.7 registered on a Debian machine.

The tree displayed on the control points appears to be the default despite some edits i had made.
The Asset server GUI looks correct.

I've tried the 'Get Default' option then re-apply my changes but the control points still show the default tree.

[PeterP]

Thanks for your feedback.

Unfortunately I've been unable to recreate browse tree layout bugs, all changes do get applied, the same way they did in R4.

Your control point might be showing an old cached copy, perhaps try forcibly reopening the control point, or using another one with no prior cache to see what Asset actually serves.

[PeterP]

is the linux x86 built compatible with ASUSTOR NAS using braswell CPU ?

I'm sorry but I do not have this exact NAS model available for testing. We do not provide proper installers for any NAS series other than QNAP; if you have SSH access to your NAS, you can launch it as a regular Linux program and see if it works.

[2bob]

Hi Peter,

thanks for the response.
I have two control points, SONOS and NAIM and they are both showing the same.

I'll try removing Asset from the server and performing a clean install, i guess i'll lose my registered status?

[2bob]

I deleted /usr/bin/asset/bin, re-installed the R5 beta and modified the tree again.
Now all control points show the correct structure.

Curiously Asset still shows that it's the registered version and the watched media folder info was intact after the re-install.
Where is that info stored?

[PeterP]

Configuration data is stored under ~/.dBpoweramp on Linux.

[simes_pep]

Hi Peter, Spoon,

Many thanks for this Beta - I was away for the last couple of weeks, please got to install it this morning, and started transferring over the DSD files I had in a separate library.

Playback of DSD64 (dsf files) is confirmed in native format, to the Naim network player, running the latest firmware, 4.4.48, so I can retire the Asset R5 on Windows version I was using for the DSD playback, which was not ideal, as my Windows machines are all wireless connected.

However, initial feedback is that the 'Detect & Catalog New Tracks' setting/function doesn't seem to work. This worked fine on the R4.x versions on the RPi, however I don't think it was actually working for me with the R5 on Windows version. I have to click the 'Rescan folders detect changes' to get any changes picked up.

Also have you given any time, to how Asset runs on multi-core CPUs, to leverage the RPi2/3 processor architecture and maximize the potential performance available, during the scanning and serving of the files?

Many thanks,
Simon.

[simes_pep]

When playing DSF and FLAC files alongside each other, there is a playback volume difference, due to the nature of the file format (multi-bit vs single-bit and all that), however is there a way there could a uplift of DSF/DFF files during the UPnP serving process, by a few dBs?
I know, I could use ReplayGain to adjust the difference, but this is on a file-by-file setting and not a format/file-type basis.

Thanks,
Simon.

[Spoon]

When dsd is served "as is', or is dop embedded, the stream is untouched and the volume cannot be changed. Instead, set the flac to 24 transcoded wave and lower its volume with the replaygain setting.

[simes_pep]

Hi I already transcode .flac & .m4a, .mp3 to WAV, but without 'Increase to 24-bit', what this do for my standard Red-book Tracks?
So I would then apply a ReplayGain of a minus amount to all tracks in my library, which would be ignored for the .dsf?
I am serving the dsf 'as is', as Naim have native DSD64 playback in their Network players.

Does it adjust the tracks reference as presented to the UPnP Render, as this would change for the Playlists managed by the Naim app, which takes the 'served' filename.

Any comment/ideas on the 'Detect & Catalog New tracks' function - I have been making wholesale changes in my Music Library, replacing FLAC versions of SACD rips, with native dsf files, and the only time the changes are picked up, is through a manual command to Rescan.

Thanks,
Simon.

[Spoon]

24 bit gives more accuracy for when the volume is reduced. A lower replaygain reference volume can be set when generating replaygain tags.

Peter will need to comment on scanning.

[simes_pep]

Hi Peter,
Any update on the 'Detect & Catalog New Tracks' function for R5?

Also any developments in the optimisation of the code for the multi-core architecture of the RPi 2/3?
I have a dedicated RPi2 for Asset, so happy to have each process dedicated to a CPU core.

Thanks,
Simon.

[Laurent69]

Hi, as noted by sjbabbey, I also noticed missing art work with the R5.2 BETA4 on debian 64bit. Album on which artworks are missing are the ones when "artist" tag is filled but no "album artist" tag.
I also have Asset Upnp 5.1 for PC installed and such album arts are correctly displayed.

I also tried to activate the 'Fill missing Album Artist tags from Artist or Compilation tags' configuration parameter but it does not affect the album art display.