Plugin: Squeezeslave

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by routerunner

Blimey Tom, I don't know what to say... this is a very very generous offer of you, however I still hope that some user from the UK will positively respond to my call, otherwise will definitively consider your offer.

many thanks
Eddy

Well, next time in London you can buy me a Guiness or two London is one of my favorite cities to visit. (Brussels is #1 - Better food, better beer, sorry!)

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

Well, next time in London you can buy me a Guiness or two London is one of my favorite cities to visit. (Brussels is #1 - Better food, better beer, sorry!)

I've finally found a a volunteer from the UK!!!, but don't worry Tom I'll still buy you some beer any time you'll be around ....

BTW regarding the food, as being Italian, I kind of agree with you, however regarding beer, well my friend I'm very sorry for you, but here is another planet

Eddy

[Suntan]

I've never really looked into squeezebox players as music playback isn't too big of a deal for me. However, the Mrs. would love to have access to audio files played back on the livingroom speakers without having the TV on.

Could you give this a rundown to see if I have the idea correctly?

I install your plugin and let it update my extender (HD200 in this case) so that it will connect with the free logitech audio server application that I would have to install somewhere on the network?

Then I can access the extender and have control of audio playback with, say, an android tablet for selection of audio/play/stop/etc.?

Also, if I understand this correctly, your "plugin" doesn't really tie the squeeze server to sage so much as it just provides a means for "uploading" firmware to the extender so that squeeze server can connect to the extender independently of sage server?

If all of the above is correct, how does a person go about "switching" between Squeeze capabilities and Sage capabilities on an extender? Can it be done from remote or does it involve a hard power cycle, or some such? Or is it expected that an extender that is "converted" to a squeeze player won't really be swapped between sage capabilities and squeeze playback often?

-Suntan

[routerunner]

I install your plugin and let it update my extender (HD200 in this case) so that it will connect with the free logitech audio server application that I would have to install somewhere on the network?

Yes

Then I can access the extender and have control of audio playback with, say, an android tablet for selection of audio/play/stop/etc.?

Yes

Also, if I understand this correctly, your "plugin" doesn't really tie the squeeze server to sage so much as it just provides a means for "uploading" firmware to the extender so that squeeze server can connect to the extender independently of sage server?

Correct

If all of the above is correct, how does a person go about "switching" between Squeeze capabilities and Sage capabilities on an extender? Can it be done from remote or does it involve a hard power cycle, or some such? Or is it expected that an extender that is "converted" to a squeeze player won't really be swapped between sage capabilities and squeeze playback often?

At the moment the squeeze slave software is uploaded into the extender as soon as the extender is enabled in the plugin configuration page. The squeeze slave player and SageTV coexists on the extender, but cannot be used simultaneously as they shares the same resources. To remove the squeeze slave player, just disable it in the plugin configuration page and hard power cycle the unit. There isn't such a "conversion" involved.

In the next release things are going to change radically. As I'm going to support more extenders (next one will be the MediaMVP) the separation between SageTV software and Squeeze Slave player will be enforced as sharing the same resources is not longer possible, plus other benefits like using less extender's memory. As a consequence I've implemented a better mutual exclusion mechanism whereby when the SageTV extender is powered off (by means on the remote) the Squeeze Slave player is uploaded and the extender ready to be used as a headless Squeezebox device, but as soon you press the power button on the remote the software will be automatically stopped and unloaded from the unit allowing SageTV to work exactly as before with all the memory available, this way you'll automatically get the best of both worlds.

[Suntan]

Originally Posted by routerunner

when the SageTV extender is powered off (by means on the remote) the Squeeze Slave player is uploaded and the extender ready to be used as a headless Squeezebox device, but as soon you press the power button on the remote the software will be automatically stopped and unloaded from the unit allowing SageTV to work exactly as before with all the memory available, this way you'll automatically get the best of both worlds.

This sounds more along the lines of being usable by the Mrs.

Any ETA for the update?

In any case, it looks like quite the accomplishment as it is.

-Suntan

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by Suntan

Any ETA for the update?

Is currently under testing as there are quite few changes/improvements. I hope to complete the testing by the end of next week.

In any case, it looks like quite the accomplishment as it is.

Glad you like it!

Eddy

[Deacon Crusher]

does this version include hd100 support?

thnks

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by Deacon Crusher

does this version include hd100 support?

thnks

Unfortunately I spent more time than I thought to make the MVP/HD200/HD300 working properly with the new mutual exclusive mechanism as I had to re-design a bit the sage plugin the slave player and the kernel drivers and currently performing extensive testing, plus another fix regarding some initial digital noise on the audio output I'm trying to get rid of, finally I've just found a European volunteer to perform HD100 testing.

In short HD100 support will be very difficult in the next release, but definitively present (if it does work ) in the next after.

Eddy

[spacecadet]

Originally Posted by routerunner

Unfortunately I spent more time than I thought to make the MVP/HD200/HD300 working properly with the new mutual exclusive mechanism as I had to re-design a bit the sage plugin the slave player and the kernel drivers and currently performing extensive testing, plus another fix regarding some initial digital noise on the audio output I'm trying to get rid of, finally I've just found a European volunteer to perform HD100 testing.

In short HD100 support will be very difficult in the next release, but definitively present (if it does work ) in the next after.

Eddy

Looking forward to the MVP and/or HD100 port. I've got spares of both of these and would love to deploy them as squeeze clients! Great stuff!

[routerunner]

Testing of the new version 2.0.0 is nearly finished and very happy with it

I can now announce the official support of the MediaMVP to the list of the existing extenders an confirm that the HD100 will not be included in this release as yet.

Why 2.0.0?

Well this is an important milestone for this project. I spent lot of time on making it working the way I like, in particular the mutual exclusion mechanism which was necessary for the MediaMVP and in the future HD100 port, also I did almost rewrite the Linux drivers to be more efficient and I finally got rid of the digital "burp" that plagued the starting of music playback, I've extensively modified the player code to support new device drivers capabilities, made independent volume control and the sync between extenders and real squeeze clients almost perfect. Technical details will follow in the official release note, however this post is also about a very important change in the projects that has the final goal to re-direct all my efforts in supporting a local charity which will definitively benefit from your help.

I live in Swindon in the UK, is not a big town, but we do have a good sense of community and we do have a small charity SCWAD (Swindon Children Without A Diagnosis or with rare disorders) which I decided to support with your help. Basically starting from version 2.0.0 there will be a license scheme in place whereby every extender that you want to control as a squeeze slave player must have a license. The license is based on the extender MAC address and soon will publish the eBay link where you can make your purchase if you wish. Please bear in mind that 100% of the revenue will be donated to this charity and collected automatically from the linked PayPal account.

So what happen to all the existing users?

Well, if you're not interested on version 2.0.0 and future upgrades, then simply don't install the new version when available, however I do hope that existing users will upgrade anyway not just for the software, but to help making a difference for someone less fortunate than me and you.

many thanks
Eddy

[routerunner]

The announcement post has been moved here

[spacecadet]

Originally Posted by routerunner

I'm very pleased to announce version 2.0.0 of the Squeezeslave plugin.

Congrats! I'm very excited about this new functionality.

I'm trying to get this new plugin to work and haven't had any luck yet. What's the best way to troubleshoot.

I'm new to Squeeze server/etc in general, so I am not sure where to start looking.

Here's what I've done so far:

1. I've got the "Logitech Media Server" running on my computer
2. I've installed and licensed the plug-in
3. I've got a MediaMVP connected as an extender
4. I've configured the plugin by telling it to use my licensed MediaMVP as a Squeeze box.
5. Finally, I turned off the MediaMVP by hitting the green power button on my Hauppauge remote. The red light on the front of the MVP turns off.
6. I see the following line in the Sage tv log file:

Thu 3/15 20:13:46.247 [PluginEventQueue@cd4333] Squeezeslave: Extender xxxxxxxxxxxx software uploading.

7. Nothing happens.

That's as far as I've gotten. I don't think Logitech sees the MVP as a player, because it's not showing up in the Logitech software.

Where should I begin to troubleshoot?

Thanks!

Brian

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by spacecadet

Congrats! I'm very excited about this new functionality.

I'm trying to get this new plugin to work and haven't had any luck yet. What's the best way to troubleshoot.

I'm new to Squeeze server/etc in general, so I am not sure where to start looking.

Here's what I've done so far:

1. I've got the "Logitech Media Server" running on my computer
2. I've installed and licensed the plug-in
3. I've got a MediaMVP connected as an extender
4. I've configured the plugin by telling it to use my licensed MediaMVP as a Squeeze box.
5. Finally, I turned off the MediaMVP by hitting the green power button on my Hauppauge remote. The red light on the front of the MVP turns off.
6. I see the following line in the Sage tv log file:

Thu 3/15 20:13:46.247 [PluginEventQueue@cd4333] Squeezeslave: Extender xxxxxxxxxxxx software uploading.

7. Nothing happens.

That's as far as I've gotten. I don't think Logitech sees the MVP as a player, because it's not showing up in the Logitech software.

Hi Brian,

you follow the right procedure, which version of Windows are you running? Then please check the following:

- Run the Windows Task Manager->Processes Tab, do you see the FreeFTP.exe running in the process list ?
- Check in SageTV installation directory (SageTV\SageTV) do you see a file names "ftpd.ini" ?
- Open a Windows file manager session and type in the location bar the following (without double quotes):

"ftp://squeezeslaveplayer:squeezeslaveplayer@localhost/2.6.16.1"

can you browse a file called "squeezeslaveplayer" ?

thanks
Eddy

[spacecadet]

Originally Posted by routerunner

which version of Windows are you running?

Windows XP Service Pack 3

Originally Posted by routerunner

- Run the Windows Task Manager->Processes Tab, do you see the FreeFTP.exe running in the process list ?

Yes

Originally Posted by routerunner

- Check in SageTV installation directory (SageTV\SageTV) do you see a file names "ftpd.ini" ?

Yes

Originally Posted by routerunner

- Open a Windows file manager session and type in the location bar the following (without double quotes):

"ftp://squeezeslaveplayer:squeezeslaveplayer@localhost/2.6.16.1"

can you browse a file called "squeezeslaveplayer" ?

I couldn't get this to work quite right through the Windows file manager, but I was able to connect successfully using FTP from a Windows command prompt. I also connected to the ftp server from another computer on my network, just to make sure there wasn't a firewall on the server getting in the way.

Brian

[routerunner]

Do you have IIS installed on your machine? If so, make sure the IIS FTP server is disabled.

The fact you can browse the mentioned file from another machine proves that the FTP server is working properly, which is good.

Can you please telnet into the MediaMVP, type "ps" and check whether the squeezeslaveplayer is in the process list?

Eddy

[spacecadet]

Originally Posted by routerunner

Do you have IIS installed on your machine? If so, make sure the IIS FTP server is disabled.

The fact you can browse the mentioned file from another machine proves that the FTP server is working properly, which is good.

Can you please telnet into the MediaMVP, type "ps" and check whether the squeezeslaveplayer is in the process list?

Eddy

Ok. Being new to Squeeze, I'm exploring a bit more and discovered that I also cannot get SoftSqueeze to work. So, I think my problem is Squeeze Server related. I'm going to work on getting SoftSqueeze functioning and once that's good, I'll let you know if I have luck with the MVP.

Thanks for your help so far!

FWIW, I telneted into the MVP and I do believe that the squeezeslaveplayer is running. Here is the output of "ps"

  PID  Uid     VmSize Stat Command
    1 root        144 S   init
    2 root            SWN [ksoftirqd/0]
    3 root            SW< [events/0]
    4 root            SW< [khelper]
    5 root            SW< [kthread]
   12 root            SW< [kblockd/0]
   30 root            SW  [pdflush]
   31 root            SW  [pdflush]
   33 root            SW< [aio/0]
   32 root            SW  [kswapd0]
   68 root         68 S   init
   69 root        212 S   /bin/sh /etc/rcS
   96 root        160 S   /sbin/udhcpc -f -i eth0 -p /tmp/udhcpc.pid
   99 root            Z   [telnetd]
  100 root        116 R   /usr/sbin/telnetd
  148 root            Z   [squeezeslavepla]
  173 root            Z   [squeezeslavepla]
  198 root            Z   [squeezeslavepla]
  220 root         36 S   /sagetv/mvpwait
  226 root        428 S   ./squeezeslaveplayer -m00:0d:fe:0c:5f:ce -R192.168.10
  233 root        252 S   -sh
  234 root        164 R   ps

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by spacecadet

~ # ps
  PID  Uid     VmSize Stat Command
    1 root        144 S   init
    2 root            SWN [ksoftirqd/0]
    3 root            SW< [events/0]
    4 root            SW< [khelper]
    5 root            SW< [kthread]
   12 root            SW< [kblockd/0]
   30 root            SW  [pdflush]
   31 root            SW  [pdflush]
   33 root            SW< [aio/0]
   32 root            SW  [kswapd0]
   68 root         68 S   init
   69 root        212 S   /bin/sh /etc/rcS
   96 root        160 R   /sbin/udhcpc -f -i eth0 -p /tmp/udhcpc.pid
   99 root            Z   [telnetd]
  100 root        116 S   /usr/sbin/telnetd
  148 root            Z   [squeezeslavepla]
  173 root            Z   [squeezeslavepla]
  198 root            Z   [squeezeslavepla]
  208 root       5264 S   /sagetv/miniclient 192.168.10.3
  209 root       5264 S   /sagetv/miniclient 192.168.10.3
  210 root       5264 S   /sagetv/miniclient 192.168.10.3
  211 root       5264 S   /sagetv/miniclient 192.168.10.3
  212 root       5264 S   /sagetv/miniclient 192.168.10.3
  215 root        252 S   -sh
  216 root        164 R   ps

Yes, the software "was" running, the list of squeezeslaveplayers processes are called zombies in *nix world. I can see you tried to power up/down the MediaMVP at least three times...

Thanks for your purchase...

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by spacecadet

226 root 428 S ./squeezeslaveplayer -m00:0d:fe:0c:5f:ce -R192.168.10

That's more like it....see the partial IP address after "-R" that's the IP address of your Squeeze server which means that you have manually specified it, please use "AUTO" instead in the Squeezeslave configuration page

[spacecadet]

Originally Posted by routerunner

That's more like it....see the partial IP address after "-R" that's the IP address of your Squeeze server which means that you have manually specified it, please use "AUTO" instead in the Squeezeslave configuration page

Yes. Switched back to AUTO and that seemed to do the trick... now I can see the Squeezeslave in the list of players.

However, I can't get any audio. Using the web remote, it appears to be playing, but I get no sound. I am using the analog (L/R) outputs on the Media MVP.

That said, the web remote seemed a little flaky when I used it to control the Softsqueeze player on my PC... like sometimes I had to push Play on the Softsqueeze UI even though the web remote thought the song was playing.

What version of the squeeze server are you running? I had been using the latest (7.7.1) and I'm going to try downgrading to 7.5, since that version seems to have some good buzz on the interwebs.

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by spacecadet

Yes. Switched back to AUTO and that seemed to do the trick... now I can see the Squeezeslave in the list of players.

Yes, there is a small issue on that, which I fixed already and will be available in the next release, 99.9% of users will use AUTO, however thank you for finding the bug for me

Logitech Media Center 7.7.1 is fine and it is the version I'm currently using.

Regarding the web interface you need to get used to it, also you should make sure your're new Squeezeslave device has the volume level turned up from the web UI.

I'm assuming you tried the MVP connected to the TV first, correct?, if not please be careful about the dongle you're using, for instance any XBOX/PS3 dongle wont work because they are designed to be connected to the TV and they are so called input SCART, what you want is an output SCART dongle or one which can be manually configured via a switch, still with the latter (and I have tried few) you'll notice the left channel level is lower than the right channel. The best SCART would be the signal split one which will have audio RCA connectors.