mrw wrote: > I can summarize the results of my experimentation to date: > > I first suggested using the AAC stream in preference to the MP3 stream > on the premise that may be something afoot with the Radio's MP3 decoder, > or with the stream being sent. That no longer seems to be in point, so I > think your apparent recent "success" is likely to have been a fluke. > > I have located a defect[1] in the firmware (Squeezeplay/Jive) concerning > the handling of 'icy metadata' that may be embedded in the transmitted > stream. Where present, embedded metadata can supply the currently > playing track title, possibly an image, etc. Both LBC & ClassicFM > streams provide 'icy metadata', as do many other online streams. > > The effect of the defect is that, periodically, and somewhat randomly, > mishandling of the metadata results in a reboot. In the case of both the > LBC MP3 and AAC streams, the opportunity for mishandling happens about > once in every nine minutes[2]. The odds of that mishandling actually > happening probably are about 1 in 100[3]. Cranking those numbers gives > odds for the stream playing continuously for about four hours as 70%. > The ClassicFM MP3 stream would be worse, because it has a higher bit > rate - the opportunities for mishandling are more frequent, arising > about once in every 3.5 minutes. > > I am in the process of preparing a patched version of 'jive', the > firmware component that runs on the Radio, that corrects this defect. If > successful, that would offer one avenue to fix the issue. (I.E. by > manually installing a replacement version on the Radio). > > This may not suit most 'ordinary' users. I don't know what might be the > best approach for them, further investigation is required. @bpa suggests > that "proxied" streaming may be effective: > https://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?113309-Squeezebox-Radios-Reboots-with-talk-radio-in-the-UK-cable-connected-cable-connect&p=997277&viewfull=1#post997277 > > I intend to post a patched version of 'jive' suitable for testing by > anyone who wishes to try that route. Hopefully it will nail the point in > the real world, and not just on my test-bed. I just need to get my > 'build system' running. > > Also, it's worth remembering that, if a stream is left running for a > long period, it is quite likely that the remote server will simply hang > up. This would give rise to a certain amount of 'rebuffering', followed > by an attempted reconnect and resumption of the stream. This would not > cause the reboot. > > With hindsight, this is not much of a summary ! > > [1] I am 100% confident in this statement. I may yet suffer for this > display of hubris. :) > [2] Each stream reportedly provides a stream rate of 48 kilobits per > second, and there's a buffer of size approximately 3.3M bytes. So the > buffer 'rolls around' about every 9 minutes, and the 'roll around' is > the opportunity for mishandling. > [3] I reckon each fragment of metadata is about 80 bytes in size, and is > delivered every 8,000 bytes.
Hello, Many thanks for that summary , it's a pretty good start for me today. i) I'm not sure that there any images on the AAC station (not in front of me now), but there are some on the MP3 stream I'm sure. ii) Should a modified version of 'jive' become available , might I ask how I would program that on my Squeezebox ? Or is this only something a developer would be skilled enough to do. I obviously don't want to 'brick' the radio beyond recovery due to my errors. Plus how might I know that the code is available if its something I could attempt. (I'm an electronics eng. but whilst having some Rasberry Pi/Arduino experience today I couldn't call myself a programmer.) Thanks once more. Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ bayard1music's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=51497 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=113309 _______________________________________________ Radio mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/radio
