Streaming over DLNA

[Noamtasini]

Hi all!
Firstly, Will streaming FLAC/WAV files over shared WiFi network, on my HD, wirelessly from my laptop to the Wiim Mini degrade file quality vs playing directly from laptop into a DAC?
Secondly, is my inner laptop's DAC bypassed by streaming this way to Wiim?
Wiim will be connected via toslink to external dac at the end of the chain btw.
Thanks

 

[Mr Ee]

Firstly, Will streaming FLAC/WAV files over shared WiFi network, on my HD, wirelessly from my laptop to the Wiim Mini degrade file quality vs playing directly from laptop into a DAC?

I'm going to say no..., but there are many factors that could influence the final sound.
Of course, simplest way is to try it for yourself to see if, in your setup, you can perceive any material difference.
If not, or very minor / insignificant, then maybe just go with the simpler solution, which I imagine would be to stream to wiim mini.

Secondly, is my inner laptop's DAC bypassed by streaming this way to Wiim?

Yes.
The external dac at the end of the chain will be used.

 

[ruslan6060]

Hi all!
Firstly, Will streaming FLAC/WAV files over shared WiFi network, on my HD, wirelessly from my laptop to the Wiim Mini degrade file quality vs playing directly from laptop into a DAC?
Secondly, is my inner laptop's DAC bypassed by streaming this way to Wiim?
Wiim will be connected via toslink to external dac at the end of the chain btw.
Thanks

If you use the digital output from the Wiim, there will be no drop in quality for your hearing. I tried this and that. Yes, and measurements show this on the forums. It depends more on which dlna server you have on your laptop. And what are the settings on it.

 

[Noamtasini]

Thanks guys for the speedy replies. Figured as much regarding both subjects.
So positively, DLNA, in its protocol, "tells" the laptop to bypass its own DAC without a digital out signal being sent physically?

 

[Brantome]

Thanks guys for the speedy replies. Figured as much regarding both subjects.
So positively, DLNA, in its protocol, "tells" the laptop to bypass its own DAC without a digital out signal being sent physically?

Unless you have told the DLNA server to transcode the file, it will send the original file to the WiiM and your laptop DAC won’t be used.

 

[Noamtasini]

Unless you have told the DLNA server to transcode the file, it will send the original file to the WiiM and your laptop DAC won’t be used.

Got it. Thanks

 

[d6jg]

You will need to be running a DLNA server on the laptop though as WiiM does not (yet) support basic file sharing.

 

[Mr Ee]

You will need to be running a DLNA server on the laptop though as WiiM does not (yet) support basic file sharing.

Or use an app that does support basic smb file shares, instead of the wiim app.

 

[Noamtasini]

So I'll be using both a Windows laptop and an Android phone.
Will Buubleupnp or DLNAserver be adequate for both?

 

[simbun]

You'll need a media server running on the laptop to index and serve your files, then a controller like BubbleUPnP or the WiiM Home App that you'll use to browse your collection and send it to the WiiM Pro.

MinimServer is a great choice for the media server.

 

[Noamtasini]

Sounds pretty straight forward MinimServer. I'll definitely need it as I have 1TB of shows in FLAC aprox.. Hopefully it's smooth and a good quality stream.
Do you prefer Bubble or the Wiim Home app for controlling?

 

[simbun]

I have the licensed version of MinimServer and BubbleUPnP is the only control point that takes advantage of all of its features (including the ability to initiate a rescan), but try both and see what you prefer.
BubbleUPnP has a free version with a limit on the number of tracks that can be queued, but its functionality far exceeds the current WiiM Home App.

 

[Hollywood]

MinimServer is a great choice for the media server.

There are many ways to use WiiM to play music with an app the displays Artist, Album,Track. Other threads discussed Server/Apps combos that also show Artist Info, Artist Photos, and Lyrics.

Is there such a thing with MinimServer to also show that extra info on your phone or tablet?

 

[simbun]

There are many ways to use WiiM to play music with an app the displays Artist, Album,Track. Other threads discussed Server/Apps combos that also show Artist Info, Artist Photos, and Lyrics.

Is there such a thing with MinimServer to also show that extra info on your phone or tablet?

MinimServer is a local UPnP server, it doesn't pull information from other sites, however when coupled with BubbleUPnP it can be used to link to any sites you want.

In its simplest form you can add a link in MinimServer that BubbleUPnP will show that will take you to allmusic (for example) using whatever tags you want to use as search terms. It would open the site and you may then need to click on one of the results.

I have a local MusicBrainz database instance so can make this a bit more polished. I have direct links in BubbleUPnP (pulled from MinimServer) to the AlbumArtist and Album allmusic pages, because I've pulled the URLs from the MusicBrainz database, and load these through a script during indexing, no tag updates required.

Having said all that, this isn't what MinimServer is about, it's without a doubt the most customisable local music server there is. If you have extensive tags (beyond just Album, AlbumArtist, Track Number, Artist, Title etc) no other server can utilise them more fully.

 

[Hollywood]

MinimServer is a local UPnP server, it doesn't pull information from other sites, however when coupled with BubbleUPnP it can be used to link to any sites you want.

In its simplest form you can add a link in MinimServer that BubbleUPnP will show that will take you to allmusic (for example) using whatever tags you want to use as search terms. It would open the site and you may then need to click on one of the results.

I have a local MusicBrainz database instance so can make this a bit more polished. I have direct links in BubbleUPnP (pulled from MinimServer) to the AlbumArtist and Album allmusic pages, because I've pulled the URLs from the MusicBrainz database, and load these through a script during indexing, no tag updates required.

So MinimServer is your server, running an a computer, Raspberry Pi? BubbleUPnP is your control app and after you select what you want to listen to, BubbleUPnP shows you the "extra" stuff?

Sounds cool! After you set it all up, is there much or any maintenance?

Thanks for the reply and explanation.

 

[Brantome]

MinimServer is a local UPnP server, it doesn't pull information from other sites, however when coupled with BubbleUPnP it can be used to link to any sites you want.

In its simplest form you can add a link in MinimServer that BubbleUPnP will show that will take you to allmusic (for example) using whatever tags you want to use as search terms. It would open the site and you may then need to click on one of the results.

I have a local MusicBrainz database instance so can make this a bit more polished. I have direct links in BubbleUPnP (pulled from MinimServer) to the AlbumArtist and Album allmusic pages, because I've pulled the URLs from the MusicBrainz database, and load these through a script during indexing, no tag updates required.

Having said all that, this isn't what MinimServer is about, it's without a doubt the most customisable local music server there is. If you have extensive tags (beyond just Album, AlbumArtist, Track Number, Artist, Title etc) no other server can utilise them more fully.

Sounds like that requires a lot of effort and knowledge compared to LMS that @Hollywood has already discussed. I see little point in trying to find a way to skin another cat when you already have one…

 

[simbun]

So MinimServer is your server, running an a computer, Raspberry Pi? BubbleUPnP is your control app and after you select what you want to listen to, BubbleUPnP shows you the "extra" stuff?

Next to each album/track in BubbleUPnP - whether you're browsing or playing - is a vertical ellipses, that when clicked will show metadata about the album/track including a link that will open in the browser.

Sunds cool! After you set it all up, is there much or any maintenance?

In terms of the server itself zero, other than to initiate a rescan when you load more music.

If you went down the route of linking directly to allmusic websites then when you tagged your files you'd also need to add the allmusic link to a script (or tag if you'd prefer).

There is a 30 day trial available, and if you send me your list of AlbumArtists I can probably create the script to link them to allmusic if you'd like? Given I have the local MusicBrainz instance it's just running some SQL.

 

[Hollywood]

Sounds like that requires a lot of effort and knowledge compared to LMS that @Hollywood has already discussed. I see little point in trying to find a way to skin another cat when you already have one…

Just passing time while waiting to see if the WiiM/Squeezelite firmware fixes the skipping problem. As it is, it was you that suggested a DLNA server in another thread. I don't know if that would solve the skipping issue, but since the WiiM Home App does not skip, I wondered if that was also the case with a DLNA server and whether I would get the "extra info" I am looking for. Otherwise the WHA works.

 

[simbun]

Sounds like that requires a lot of effort and knowledge compared to LMS that @Hollywood has already discussed. I see little point in trying to find a way to skin another cat when you already have one…

Once it's all set up, it just becomes part of your tagging process i.e. add another tag/link.

If you've already scanned your music with LMS you may be able to make use of the artist images it's download to populate the artist index in MinimSever.

 

[Hollywood]

Next to each album/track in BubbleUPnP - whether you're browsing or playing - is a vertical ellipses, that when clicked will show metadata about the album/track including a link that will open in the browser.


In terms of the server itself zero, other than to initiate a rescan when you load more music.

If you went down the route of linking directly to allmusic websites then when you tagged your files you'd also need to add the allmusic link to a script (or tag if you'd prefer).

There is a 30 day trial available, and if you send me your list of AlbumArtists I can probably create the script to link them to allmusic if you'd like? Given I have the local MusicBrainz instance it's just running some SQL.

Thanks for explaining. I did not know of any of this, but I understand everything you explained. For now I want to see if the new firmware solves the LMS skipping issue. If not I may look into your setup.
Thanks again!