Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: chromecast audio (Read 15565 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

chromecast audio

Would it be possible to add the ability to cast to chromecast audio.

chromecast audio

Reply #1 –
Quote from: marktherob2001 on
Would it be possible to add the ability to cast to chromecast audio.

Hear hear!  I'm looking forward to playing my foobar2000 playlists without having to set up other server software.  Please consider this request.

chromecast audio

Reply #2 –
It was mentioned in another thread recently that there is no Chromecast SDK for Windows so no one could create anything even if they wanted to.

chromecast audio

Reply #3 –
if this is true, then how did this guy manage to stream from windows PC to chromecast audio?

acidhax provides an open source tool on github, that can stream any audio output from windows.

You can find it here:
https://github.com/acidhax/chromecast-audio-stream

i found this via
http://lifehacker.com/how-to-send-your-com...cast-1750297581

I tested it, it works flawlessly ... just some jittering sometimes! At least this is a good workaround for the moment.

I would love to see something like this implemented in foobar2000: you should be able to trigger to play audiofiles via UPnP through chromecast audio without the need of a mobile phone/mobile app.
I don't know how acidhax's tool exactly works, but at the moment i think it just plays in 48kHz (at least that's what my amp says)...

I would love to see a solution that trigger foobar2000 to play HigRes files (Flac 24bit/192kHz) to Chromecast audio.



Re: chromecast audio

Reply #4 –
Quote from: AuDeo on
if this is true, then how did this guy manage to stream from windows PC to chromecast audio?

acidhax provides an open source tool on github, that can stream any audio output from windows.

You can find it here:
https://github.com/acidhax/chromecast-audio-stream

I would love to see something like this implemented in foobar2000: you should be able to trigger to play audiofiles via UPnP through chromecast audio without the need of a mobile phone/mobile app.
I don't know how acidhax's tool exactly works, but at the moment i think it just plays in 48kHz (at least that's what my amp says)...

I would love to see a solution that trigger foobar2000 to play HigRes files (Flac 24bit/192kHz) to Chromecast audio.

There is also castnow for Linux and Windows (it's a node.js based solution with javascript at its core). github: https://github.com/xat/castnow

I wanted to download a chromecast streaming plugin and wasn't even questioning that there **must** be one. I am quite surprised and disappointed by the lack thereof.

Re: chromecast audio

Reply #5 –
Quote from: marc2003 on
It was mentioned in another thread recently that there is no Chromecast SDK for Windows so no one could create anything even if they wanted to.
This means there is no official SDK from Google to send audio from a Windows computer to Chromecast. Apparently, the terms of use forbid to use the official SDK to add support for platforms which are not supported by the official SDK.

Quote from: AuDeo on
if this is true, then how did this guy manage to stream from windows PC to chromecast audio?
This means someone built an unofficial SDK, probably using reverse-engineering.

Quote from: emk2203 on
I wanted to download a chromecast streaming plugin and wasn't even questioning that there **must** be one. I am quite surprised and disappointed by the lack thereof.
Software does not magically pop into existence. The likelyhood that there is a piece of software for a given task depends on various factors. It is more likely if a lot of people are interested in it. It is more likely if it is something which has been around for a while. It is less likely if it involves products from two or more competing companies. In the latter case the available options are probably not limited by technical feasibility.

If there is a Chromecast plugin for foobar2000 when you read this someone, somewhere invested time and effort to make it happen.

If there is no Chromecast plugin for foobar2000 when you read this you have the chance to be that someone who makes it happpen. Provided you have the skills, time and interest. If you are lucky there are other people out there who have a use for it and who appreciate your hard work. If you are less lucky there are other people out there who have a use for it and who take it for granted. There is also the possibility that nobody else has a use for it. This is an unlikely border case.
   
Morale: Non-existence is the default for software features, be happy if it exists. Show respect for developers if you are a user, they provide you with tools. Show respect for users if you are a developer, you are also one.

Enough rambling, here is some practical advice. As far as I can gather from the castnow source code, there are two things you need to do.
1. Implement a HTTP server which provides the audio stream or file. Remember to include a CORS header ("Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *") in the response.
2. Point the Chromecast device to your URL and start playback.

Both castnow and chromecast-audio-stream use the node-castv2-client library by Thibaut Séguy for the second step. He has also gathered a description of a the protocol. He has released his code under the MIT license which is compatible with the foobar2000 SDK license.

Re: chromecast audio

Reply #6 –
The next version of BubbleUPnP Server will add a Google Cast to UPnP AV bridge. That means you will be able to convert any Google Cast device to an UPnP AV renderer.

Thus you will be able to use foo_out_upnp or foo_upnp to play to it in foobar2000, or whatever other programs able to play to UPnP AV devices.

It is already working and I'm playing to a Chromecast v2 via foo_out_upnp as I am writing this message.

Re: chromecast audio

Reply #7 –
Now possible with BubbleUPnP Server 0.9-update12.

Assuming you made your Google Cast device a DLNA renderer:

Two methods for playback:

  • with foo_out_upnp: select the Chromecast as an output in File > Preferences > Playback > Output > Device, then play music in foobar normally. You can also quickly select the output device via Shift+click on the Playback menu entry, then the Devices submenu. Using this method will play to the Chromecast gaplessly as everything is played as a single PCM stream
  • with with foo_upnp, selecting the Chromecast as a renderer and using the UPnP Controller.

Re: chromecast audio

Reply #8 –
Quote from: bubbleguuum on
Now possible with BubbleUPnP Server 0.9-update12.

Assuming you made your Google Cast device a DLNA renderer:

Two methods for playback:

  • with foo_out_upnp: select the Chromecast as an output in File > Preferences > Playback > Output > Device, then play music in foobar normally. You can also quickly select the output device via Shift+click on the Playback menu entry, then the Devices submenu. Using this method will play to the Chromecast gaplessly as everything is played as a single PCM stream
  • with with foo_upnp, selecting the Chromecast as a renderer and using the UPnP Controller.


First of all, thank you Bubbleguuum for all of your development work. You are extremely talented.

My Current Test Setup:
  • Windows 7 PC
  • Foobar2000 v1.3.13
  • foo_upnp 0.99.49
  • foo_out_upnp 1.0 beta 15
  • BubbleUPnP Server 0.9-update23
  • (2) Google Chromecast Audio
  • Google Chromecast Audio "Home" Group (to cast to both devices at simultaneously)

I followed your instructions in this thread and successfully have casted audio from Foobar2000 to both Chromecast Audios simultaneously.  It is very slick when it's working.

Here are my issues:
  • When transitioning from a 24bit 96khz FLAC file to a 16bit 44.1khz FLAC file on a playlist or vice versa, the song being transitioned from is cut short.
  • When transitioning from different bit depth/sample rate FLAC files, it can cause a lock up and the playlist stops playing. Stopping playback with the stop button in Foorbar2000 and pressing play again fixes the issue. This is an intermittent problem.
  • When casting to a Group (multple Chromecast Audio devices), stability of the stream appears to be highly dependent on the weakest Chromecast Audio link. - If a Chromecast Audio device does not have a good connection (weak signal), or if a Chromecast device in the group is disconnected or powered off, the entire stream is broken and a playback error is presented in Foobar2000 with a dialog box and playback halts.  The "Output Device" in Foobar2000 is then set to none and I have to manually set the output device back to the desired cast Group. This behavior does not happen when Group casting with Pandora from my mobile device, the stream continues even if one of the Chromecast Audio devices in inaccessible when using Pandora.

When the Chromecast Audio's have excellent signal strength/connection and I am playing a playlist that has a constant bit depth and sample rate, the setup has been flawless.

Any suggestions to address the issues above?

Cheers, and thank you again for all of your hard work.
- Bryan

Re: chromecast audio

Reply #9 –
Quote from: bnieman on
Quote from: bubbleguuum on
Now possible with BubbleUPnP Server 0.9-update12.

Assuming you made your Google Cast device a DLNA renderer:

Two methods for playback:

  • with foo_out_upnp: select the Chromecast as an output in File > Preferences > Playback > Output > Device, then play music in foobar normally. You can also quickly select the output device via Shift+click on the Playback menu entry, then the Devices submenu. Using this method will play to the Chromecast gaplessly as everything is played as a single PCM stream
  • with with foo_upnp, selecting the Chromecast as a renderer and using the UPnP Controller.


First of all, thank you Bubbleguuum for all of your development work. You are extremely talented.

My Current Test Setup:
  • Windows 7 PC
  • Foobar2000 v1.3.13
  • foo_upnp 0.99.49
  • foo_out_upnp 1.0 beta 15
  • BubbleUPnP Server 0.9-update23
  • (2) Google Chromecast Audio
  • Google Chromecast Audio "Home" Group (to cast to both devices at simultaneously)

I followed your instructions in this thread and successfully have casted audio from Foobar2000 to both Chromecast Audios simultaneously.  It is very slick when it's working.

Here are my issues:
  • When transitioning from a 24bit 96khz FLAC file to a 16bit 44.1khz FLAC file on a playlist or vice versa, the song being transitioned from is cut short.
  • When transitioning from different bit depth/sample rate FLAC files, it can cause a lock up and the playlist stops playing. Stopping playback with the stop button in Foorbar2000 and pressing play again fixes the issue. This is an intermittent problem.
  • When casting to a Group (multple Chromecast Audio devices), stability of the stream appears to be highly dependent on the weakest Chromecast Audio link. - If a Chromecast Audio device does not have a good connection (weak signal), or if a Chromecast device in the group is disconnected or powered off, the entire stream is broken and a playback error is presented in Foobar2000 with a dialog box and playback halts.  The "Output Device" in Foobar2000 is then set to none and I have to manually set the output device back to the desired cast Group. This behavior does not happen when Group casting with Pandora from my mobile device, the stream continues even if one of the Chromecast Audio devices in inaccessible when using Pandora.

When the Chromecast Audio's have excellent signal strength/connection and I am playing a playlist that has a constant bit depth and sample rate, the setup has been flawless.

Any suggestions to address the issues above?

Cheers, and thank you again for all of your hard work.
- Bryan

Hi Bryan,
I made an account on the site since I saw your post and it lead to me creating a similar setup,

My Current Test Setup:
    Arch Linux
    Foobar2000 v1.3.14 through Wine
    foo_upnp 0.99.49
    foo_out_upnp 1.0 beta 15
    BubbleUPnP Server 0.9.16-1
    (1) Google Chromecast HDMI

Even though I'm not running windows foobar works flawlessly so I doubt that would case any differnces between our results, I tried replicating the issue you had with transitioning between different bit depth/sample rate FLAC files and I couldn't replicate the issue, I've been toggling between 24bit 96khz and 16bit 48khz files and I am yet to have it lock up.
Could it be some setting in bubbleupnp with transcoding you have enabled, otherwise it could have to do with me having the hdmi chromecast and you using the audio one.

The only issue I am having is that there is about a 2-3 second delay when pressing play and pausing but if it is a limitation of the upnp server then I'm fine with it.

Edit: I tried exploring the upnp out plugin for foobar and turns out I was using foobar2000 stream capture, not using that and moving the songs to the upnp controller playback queue solved the delay I was experiencing, I'm gonna look if the FLAC's will lock it up when not using the stream capture.
Edit2: Nope, still not locking up for me.

Re: chromecast audio

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Darling on
Quote from: bnieman on
Quote from: bubbleguuum on
Now possible with BubbleUPnP Server 0.9-update12.

Assuming you made your Google Cast device a DLNA renderer:

Two methods for playback:

  • with foo_out_upnp: select the Chromecast as an output in File > Preferences > Playback > Output > Device, then play music in foobar normally. You can also quickly select the output device via Shift+click on the Playback menu entry, then the Devices submenu. Using this method will play to the Chromecast gaplessly as everything is played as a single PCM stream
  • with with foo_upnp, selecting the Chromecast as a renderer and using the UPnP Controller.


First of all, thank you Bubbleguuum for all of your development work. You are extremely talented.

My Current Test Setup:
  • Windows 7 PC
  • Foobar2000 v1.3.13
  • foo_upnp 0.99.49
  • foo_out_upnp 1.0 beta 15
  • BubbleUPnP Server 0.9-update23
  • (2) Google Chromecast Audio
  • Google Chromecast Audio "Home" Group (to cast to both devices at simultaneously)

I followed your instructions in this thread and successfully have casted audio from Foobar2000 to both Chromecast Audios simultaneously.  It is very slick when it's working.

Here are my issues:
  • When transitioning from a 24bit 96khz FLAC file to a 16bit 44.1khz FLAC file on a playlist or vice versa, the song being transitioned from is cut short.
  • When transitioning from different bit depth/sample rate FLAC files, it can cause a lock up and the playlist stops playing. Stopping playback with the stop button in Foorbar2000 and pressing play again fixes the issue. This is an intermittent problem.
  • When casting to a Group (multple Chromecast Audio devices), stability of the stream appears to be highly dependent on the weakest Chromecast Audio link. - If a Chromecast Audio device does not have a good connection (weak signal), or if a Chromecast device in the group is disconnected or powered off, the entire stream is broken and a playback error is presented in Foobar2000 with a dialog box and playback halts.  The "Output Device" in Foobar2000 is then set to none and I have to manually set the output device back to the desired cast Group. This behavior does not happen when Group casting with Pandora from my mobile device, the stream continues even if one of the Chromecast Audio devices in inaccessible when using Pandora.

When the Chromecast Audio's have excellent signal strength/connection and I am playing a playlist that has a constant bit depth and sample rate, the setup has been flawless.

Any suggestions to address the issues above?

Cheers, and thank you again for all of your hard work.
- Bryan

Hi Bryan,
I made an account on the site since I saw your post and it lead to me creating a similar setup,

My Current Test Setup:
    Arch Linux
    Foobar2000 v1.3.14 through Wine
    foo_upnp 0.99.49
    foo_out_upnp 1.0 beta 15
    BubbleUPnP Server 0.9.16-1
    (1) Google Chromecast HDMI

Even though I'm not running windows foobar works flawlessly so I doubt that would case any differnces between our results, I tried replicating the issue you had with transitioning between different bit depth/sample rate FLAC files and I couldn't replicate the issue, I've been toggling between 24bit 96khz and 16bit 48khz files and I am yet to have it lock up.
Could it be some setting in bubbleupnp with transcoding you have enabled, otherwise it could have to do with me having the hdmi chromecast and you using the audio one.

The only issue I am having is that there is about a 2-3 second delay when pressing play and pausing but if it is a limitation of the upnp server then I'm fine with it.

Edit: I tried exploring the upnp out plugin for foobar and turns out I was using foobar2000 stream capture, not using that and moving the songs to the upnp controller playback queue solved the delay I was experiencing, I'm gonna look if the FLAC's will lock it up when not using the stream capture.
Edit2: Nope, still not locking up for me.

Welcome to the forum Darling and for your feedback.  I also posted on the XDA Developers forum and Bubblebuuum replied with some actions to try. I will be trying those today or tomorrow. He/she also could not reproduce the shortened playback or halted playback issue. While I am happy to hear the setup is possible without errors, I am eager to figure out what is causing my issues.

Here is Bubbleguuum's reply on XDA Developers:
Quote
Issue #1: I cannot reproduce this issue. A possible workaround for this issue (and the next one) is to configure a DSP to resample the output of foobar2000 to the max desired samplerate/bitrate, for example 96 kHz / 24 bit. That way, all tracks will be played as a single infinite track.

Issue #2: I cannot reproduce this issue either.

Can you send me a log file doing this

- stop BubbleUPnP Server (via Start menu)
- delete existing log file: C:\Program Files (x86)\BubbleUPnPServer\BubbleUPnPServer.log.0
- start BubbleUPnP Server (via Start menu)
- in foobar2000, make a playlist with just a 44/16 track and a track with a different bitrate/samplerate combo
- set the playback mode to 'repeat playlist'
- play the first track to a CCA (not the group, to make things simpler) until playback stops
- send me (bubbleguuum@free.fr) the BubbleUPnP Server log file

Issue #3: I can reproduce this by unplugging a slave CCA part of the group: after a few seconds the master CCA implementing the group somewhat disconnects the group in a weird way: audio is still playing on the master CCA, but it cannot be controlled, and BubbleUPnP Server receive a notification of it.
I could observe the same thing happening with Google Play Music on Android: if you unplug a slave CCA while gmusic is playing to the group, audio still plays on the remaining connected CCA, but Google Play Music is confused by the situation, attempting to reconnect and failing, leaving the app in an inconsistent state (no progress bar advancing, no playback control) as it has lost the connection. So same issue, with the difference that BubbleUPnP Server is removing the unresponding group (as a DLNA renderer) hence foobar displaying an error and switching to a different playback device. After some effort, I came to the conclusion that I cannot fix or workaround that situation, and I filed an issue on the Google Cast issue tracker.

I will report back to this forum as well as I work through the problem.

Cheers

Re: chromecast audio

Reply #11 –
Hi there.  Just signed up 'cause this looks like a good thread and I am having similar issues.

I have a windows server running foobar2k and Bubbleupnp latest versions
I have my output as my chromecast group

I am playing all flac files and fb2k has a lot of trouble playing them.  if a song ends, and one of the bad flac files is the next song, it wont start playing that track until i press playback / next.  then at the end of the song it will hang as well.  sometimes it will stop in the middle of a flac file and just sit there until press a button (typically i keep it going with my phone and the fb2k controller app). 

occasionally i get the problem where one of my networked streamers loses connection and the program will stop until i skip ahead and then it beeps the chromecast again and plays.

mine never switches to any other playback device though.

if i can help troubleshoot let me know.
Al

Re: chromecast audio

Reply #12 –
I converted a playlist of flac to mp3 to play.  funny thing is, as soon as it gets to a muse song, it wont advance to the song nor will it advance to leave the song.. so it is getting hung up on the transition to and from 44 & 48 khz songs.  I will have to reconvert and force 44.1 for now.