Subsonic 5.0.beta1 released

[GJ51]

You could try ...

Download and place flac transcoder into the Transcode subdirectory

https://xiph.org/flac/download.html

Step 1

flac --decode --stdout %s

Step 2

ffmpeg -i - -acodec libmp3lame -ab 320k -f mp3 -

Place this setup as a new entry and remove flac from the general audio transcode string. Be sure to add to any previous player when testing.

HTH

[Kirk]

I am seeing in the thread here that other people are also having some FLAC transcoding issues.

I had issues like this on my Subsonic server as well after the upgrade - some FLAC transcodes perfectly fine, but certain albums\songs just won't transcode. The transcoder starts, CPU is used for a bit, and then it's like no MP3 data is ever sent to the client. The issue doesn't seem to be intermittent or random, it seems to be with specific FLAC files. Some FLAC files consistently transcode and play fine, other FLAC files never played for me after the update.

I noticed a change in the ffmpeg version in the new bundle... The new version is ffmpeg version N-61445-gdded5ed and the version in 4.9 was ffmpeg version N-31780-gd5d74cf.

I worked around the problem on my server by taking the ffmpeg binary from /var/subsonic/transcode/ on a 4.9 installation and dumping it into /var/subsonic/transcode/ on my 5.0.beta1 install. So far, I've had no issues from doing this. However, this issue needs to be addressed officially before this beta becomes mainstream...


Sidenote: The desktop notifications are awesome! I've always wanted functionality like this in Subsonic.

[GJ51]

Thanks Kirk,

I've also experienced behavior anomalies with defferent ffmpeg versions. I often will special purpose a version that I know works with a particular file type by renaming it.

In this case, if you know a particular version handles your flac files really well, you can just separate the flac transcoding onto it's own line, rename the ffmpeg that works to "flacffmpeg" and then just call that version in the transcode string.

e.g. So if your audio transcode string is "ffmpeg -i %s -ab %bk -v 0 -f mp3 -"

just change it to "flacffmpeg -i %s -ab %bk -v 0 -f mp3 -"

HTH

I do that a lot if there's a particular transcoding that needs to be experimented on.

As always:

Remember that new transcode definitions will not automatically be selected on players that were created prior to the creation of the new string and will have to be edited to use the new setting.

[jps2041]

Just downgraded back to 4.9

- All chromecast tests failed
- Video player updates don't show buffer-bar, won't allow user to configure bitrate, and in general just seems much slower (verified by several of my users)
- Network connection from android app to server much more spotty than previously. Sometimes it takes long enough for me to connect I'll just listen to a CD in my car or something.
- RAM usage went way up by around 60-75% .. although windows could be to blame, windows is a RAM whore.
- Still no video support for DLNA? or is there something wrong on my end.

Just thought I'd throw out my input on this. Hoping to have some time to help the development effort in a few months.

[EvilPeppard]

I just upgraded from 4.9 to 5.0 beta 1, and am testing it out now.

[nunya]

any chance on getting playlists to show alphabetically on web instead of date added?

any chance of having bandwidth options on video share players i.e. options to limit speed or option for users to switch to lower bandwidth as right now the shared player doesnt allow you to switch and its usually set to high which causes buffering

any chance of caching library & playists on android app, my library has 8,000+ albums on phones when you click library it takes forever to load sometimes doesnt load at all, so i set up about 1500 playlists which usually show up within a second which is more than fine.

Love the app most of my issues are minor tweeks will jump in on beta 5.0 beta 2

androidtv googlecast looks promising

[diffy]

Very happy to see yet another new version surfacing! Thanks a lot Sindre!

Any chance on ditching the current flash player?

Any way of refreshing the Subsonic Apps page? There could well be some quality assurance there, some projects seem dead for instance. Others really doesn't work.

[IrishMLK]

Downgraded back to 4.9 as downsampling was not working for 320->112kbps mp3. All other bit rates downsample fine.

[baxtr]

I have some 1411kbps that will not play at all...unfortunately I am not sure if they did work on an earlier version. It is strange because I have some .flac files with identical properties/bitrates etc... some play...others just sit there and do nothing...but all play if I just use them in any mediaplayer.

[GJ51]

FLAC files always present problems. It is the most difficult file format to transcode successfully and to get consistent results. The best you can do is search the forums for alternate transcoding setups and test for yourself what works best with your library.

You can try a 2 step transcode such as:

Step 1: flac --decode --stdout %s

Step 2: ffmpeg -i - -acodec libmp3lame -ab 320k -f mp3 -

Of course you need the transcoder programs in the transcode directory.

[thequestionmark]

my encode string for all audio is the standard thing i think. never encountered problems
ffmpeg -i %s -ab %bk -v 0 -f mp3 -

regards

[GJ51]

The unfortunate reality with transcoding flac files is that it seems there are too many variables to have a one size fits all solution. There can be a lot of variability within the source files themselves, then there are variations with each version of ffmpeg. To add to the confusion, there can be different transcoding strings.

The only conclusion is that you have to experiment until you find the right (or best) combination that works for your library. I've helped others work on this from time to time and have had users send me samples that I was able to get working on one of my servers, but we couldn't get working on the submitters server. Go figger.

First one with an all encompassing working solution that works on everybody's systems wins.

[supra92]

Is the alphabetical sorting of sub-folders fixed again? It broke way back.. I want to say in v4.0 or so (maybe earlier)... when things were changed to sort off of the metadata instead of the folder name... it's been brought up a number of times with pretty much every release, but it never seems to get a fix.

I know I've seen others mention it, but it's been awhile.

I really want a true "Sort by folder name" option to come back.

Seconding Kargath's inquiry from a few weeks ago. Longtime SS user since 2004, and each new version was like an early Christmas present to which I looked forward to testing out. This unfortunately all came to an end with the release of Subsonic 4.7b, due to the aforementioned sorting issue. It was with 4.7 that the sorting switched from folder structure/names to going by id3 tags -- and I haven't seen any resolution to this mentioned since.

Because of this, I'm still running Subsonic 4.6, which is admittedly rock solid.... but I miss checking out the new features and upgrading to help test out new betas. Has this issue been addressed in 5.0b? I don't mind having id3 tag sorting available as an option.... but many of us have completely based our entire music library folder hierarchy/structure on Subsonic, and need the ability to have SS sort by folders.

Supra92

[diffy]

On ID3 versus Folder and filenames

>I don't mind having id3 tag sorting available as an option.... but many of us have completely based our entire music library folder >hierarchy/structure on Subsonic, and need the ability to have SS sort by folders.

Yup. I also second this request. Folder and file names is a much better approach to managing a music repository. In particular because the metadata often are not complete or not existing at all. I would like to file a feature request for this to come back or as an option.

[sindre_mehus]

I have some 1411kbps that will not play at all...unfortunately I am not sure if they did work on an earlier version. It is strange because I have some .flac files with identical properties/bitrates etc... some play...others just sit there and do nothing...but all play if I just use them in any mediaplayer.

Flac with embedded cover art doesn't play in 5.0.beta1 but has been fixed for the next release.

Sindre