Last change 10 Sept 2016 by bogi
Stream to HQPlayer Desktop
from foobar2000
Easy to setup and easy to use network solution.
Convenient for one sample rate.
OverviewThe solution uses foobar2000 component foo_upnp. foobar2000 with foo_upnp can run locally on the same computer as HQPlayer Desktop or it can run on remote computer. Only Media Server part of foo_upnp is used. foo_upnp provides access to content currently played in foobar2000 via http port. HQPlayer connects to that content via playlist file, containing http link. When connection is established, WAV stream is transferred from foobar2000 to HQPlayer. The stream runs at speed (44.1k to 192k) and bit depth (16 or 24) configured in foo_upnp. It is not possible to switch stream rate and bit depth automatically based on source content.
Basic Prerequisites- HQPlayer Desktop installed and sound output configured
- foobar2000 installed and media library configured
Setup1. Install foo_upnpDownload foo_upnp component from this link. In foobar2000, install the downloaded file through File > Preferences > Components > Install and restart foobar2000. 2. Configure foobar2000Actions in red marked areas are only required.
- Go to File > Preferences > Tools > UPnP > Server > Basic Settings
Choose some network name, http port and start Media Server.
- Go to File > Preferences > Tools > UPnP > Server > Streaming Profiles
Select Default profile to edit. In the red marked area: Select wav codec. Choose sample rate and bit depth according to majority of music content you want to play. For example if you want to play mainly ripped CDs, set 44100 and 16. Press OK to close the configuration dialog. - Go to File > Preferences > Playback > Output and set device to Null Output
3. Set up HQPlayerOn HQPlayer computer create a m3u8 playlist file (for example f2k.m3u8) containing single line:
http://<hostname>:<port>/content/psc.wav
Substitute <hostname> with network name or IP address of computer running foobar2000.
Substitute <port> with value you entered in Basic Settings configuration dialog.
The line has to be finished with newline (<Enter> on PC keyboard).
Drag the playlist file from your File Explorer and drop it on HQPlayer Desktop.
If all was correctly configured, one special track should appear in HQPlayer as on the picture.
If so, press the Play button.
4. Play any music content in Foobar2000If all was configured correctly, music content played in foobar2000 GUI should be output through HQPlayer. Check the Format line in HQPlayer Desktop (see the above picture).
NotesSteps 1 and 2 are one time configuration actions in foobar2000. You don’t need to repeat them when foobar2000 restarts.
Creating playlist file in Step 3 is one time configuration action on HQPlayer computer.
HQPlayer Desktop preserves the last playlist content across restarts. If you deleted the special track from HQPlayer playlist, drag & drop the playlist file again to HQPlayer. Don’t forget to press the Play button (or click on the special track) in HQPlayer.
On the above picture you can see non zero value of Limited counter. Lower volume level in HQPlayer about few dB in such a case.
DSP in Foobar2000foo_upnp allows to use any foobar2000 compatible DSP plugin or any standard VST plugin.
For example you may want to apply headphone crossfeed, perform 5.1 to stereo conversion, apply equalization, replay gain etc.
It can be set in Streaming Profiles dialog through Audio processing button.
LimitationsDSD content cannot be streamed in native DSD format. It can be streamed in PCM format if foo_input_sacd is installed and ASIO driver mode is set to PCM in foobar2000 Preferences > Tools > SACD.
All PCM content supported by foobar2000 including lossy DTS and MP3 can be streamed.
Foo_upnp provides WAV, LPCM and MP3 streams. Only WAV stream is supported by HQPlayer Desktop. Streaming involves conversion to WAV if source file has other PCM format.
Changing stream sample rate is possible only in Streaming Profiles configuration dialog. You don’t need to restart server or playback in foobar2000, but you need to restart playback in HQPlayer (press STOP and PLAY button). Automated adaption of stream sample rate to source recording is not supported by foo_upnp.
Thoughts about sound qualityThe described solution is easy to setup and use. But in comparison with pure HQPlayer playback it involves conversion to WAV in foobar2000. That’s additional processing which may be unwelcome when performed on HQPlayer computer from two reasons:
- Computer load. Upsampling and PCM <-> DSD format conversion performed in HQPlayer may already attack performance limits of your computer. In such a case any additional load may cause troubles, for example dropouts in playback.
- Noise. Processing performed in foobar2000 may add it’s own noise pattern.
From these reasons it may be more appropriate to run foobar2000 on different computer than HQPlayer, especially if DAC is connected directly to HQPlayer computer.
发表于 2017-5-17 02:47:30
提升卡
变色卡
楼主
