+- Kodi Community Forum (https://forum.kodi.tv)
+-- Forum: Support (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=33)
+--- Forum: Add-on Support (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=27)
+---- Forum: Music Add-ons (https://forum.kodi.tv/forumdisplay.php?fid=148)
+---- Thread: Release TIDAL music (former WiMP) (/showthread.php?tid=200555)
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - Steve100 - 2017-01-22
Sorry Owladimir
I thought you was referring to more than 999 results displayed within the tidal add-on which Arneson fixed in his recent update.
If I understand what you are referring to then Kodi goes through a similar process of scanning the local files on your machine for the video and audio properties. What we do know, as Arneson has previously mentioned is that TIDAL does not supply this metadata for each file. I think maybe this is done for MQA albums though or perhaps Arneson uses some other method due to the lack of data provided.
I would imagine that as a result, your machine would need to scan a sample of each of these FLAC tracks on the remote TIDAL server to discover their spec which of course is not really an acceptable method due to how much time it would take and probably other problems that I would currently be unaware of.
Arneson, Is there another way around this? Is this something you are currently working on or are we already out of options and simply have to wait for TIDAL to update the data provided to enable MQA labelling per track?
Your comments would be greatly appreciated and this is something I have recently wondered about too.
Thanks in advance.
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - owladimir - 2017-01-22
Hi Steve100,
We are agree.
Tidal2 is a very great plugin.
Tidal have just tu update MQA labelling and search engine better. Arneson have already done an very good job with the LABEL TAGGING MQA after playing a track of one album.
But thanks to TIDAL with MQA support. it's very good with my MERIDIAN EXPLORER 2.
sorry for my poor english.
Olivier
(France)
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - arneson - 2017-01-22
(2017-01-22, 17:10)owladimir Wrote: Hi,
About MQA search engine ?
Because MQA label (outside official Tidal Master Albums folder) is added after you play a MQA track. not before..
You have to try/play each album/track to find hidden MQA and add MQA label.
i'm wrong ? missing something ?
Hello,
the Album informations which the TIDAL-Api returns doesn't contain any information if this is a Masters Album or not.
When a Stream-URL ist requested for a Track the answer of the TIDAL-Api contains a Codec-Info for the Stream.
It returns 'MQA' for a Track of a Master Album.
My Addon has an internal Cache for all MQA Albums. If a Track of a "Hidden Master Album" is played, the Album
is cached as a MQA Album when the first Track is played.
arneson
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - Steve100 - 2017-01-30
(2017-01-21, 21:20)arneson Wrote:(2017-01-21, 17:15)Steve100 Wrote: ...
Decoding in Kodi
I would imagine that in time (may be a lot f time) the Kodi built-in player (PAPlayer) will include a decoder but decoding of this format is currently not generally available and can only be found in a limited amount of software and hardware. probably due to how new MQA still is.
Software Decoding
I am currently enquiring with MQA to obtain a list of all software-based decoders (media players with add-ons for decoding MQA) so that I can configure Kodi to use an external player instead of the internal PAPlayer for all FLAC files in the hopes that I can create seamless unfolding/Decoding of MQA while using Arneson's TIDAL2 Add-on. The output of PCM bit stream would be expanded/unfolded to 96/24 etc. (at least one unfold, maybe eventually more) from Source/Kodi without the need for hardware intervention.
Hello Steve,
I found MQA Decoding Explained on audiostream.com and MQA: Questions and Answers on stereophile.com which explain details of the MQA Codec.
If I understand it right, MQA is an Analog-to-Analog reproduction Codec. So the DAC Hardware has to decode the MQA informations to re-create exactly the same Analog Signal as it was Mastered in the Studio. And it can "Authenticate" that it is decodec correctly.
Because every DAC has a different analog signal characteristic to create the Line Output Signal (analog amplifier at the end) the DAC hast to apply device specific filters to the digital values to reproduce the correct audio signal at the end of the amplifier.
I Think, that is the reason that software decoding to 96/24 or 192/24 can only be a kind of "controlled upsampling" and never can reproduce the audio signal to 100%.
So 48/24 or 44.1/24 is the best quality we can get with software decoding in Kodi.
And the most important thing: You have perfect ears to hear any difference between 48/24 and 96/24 or 192/24 !!
(My ears are too bad to detect any difference)
Please correct me if I'm wrong !
arneson
Hi Arneson
Sorry for the delayed response. I too read through a lot of the content from the author of MQA including his video: http://www.mqa.co.uk/customer/how-it-works and I must admit that there is still much I do not understand. Some of the math and Science involved is very complex and the explanation raises more questions than it answers.
What I believe we can draw from use of this format with TIDAL is this; As you are aware MQA is based on multiple folds A,B & C (encapsulation) and what I can confirm is that at least the first fold (probably not all folds) can be digitally decoded. I believe, although I am guessing here that this is a digital-to-digital process as it is decoded within the digital realm.
When we use software-based decoders such as TIDAL's built-in decoder (when MQA pass-through is not selected) we see the following. I should point out that I am able to see TIDAL's output PCM spec as my AV Receiver, like many, has the capability to display current stream bit-depth and sample rate through any input HDMI, in this instance from my HTPC using TIDAL or KODI.
- When playing a standard 'HiFi' stream the PCM signal being received is 16-bit 44.1khz (CD Quality) as expected.
- When playing a 'Master' stream with MQA pass-through enabled it is being received as 24-bit 44.1khz or 48khz. Obviously, this is because my AV Receiver is not MQA capable.
When playing a 'Master' stream with MQA pass-through not enabled (internal MQA software decoding used) it is being received as 24-bit 88.2khz or 96khz.
So, I think it is safe to assume that at least the first fold can be unfolded digitally. But, I agree with you that I have also seen mention on numerous occasions the need to have each piece of hardware certified and balanced due to it's own unique characteristic of how analogue sound is handled through its own DAC. I think we can draw from this that the second unfold may be a separate analogue-to-analogue process that takes us up to the top end of 176.4Khz/192Khz (where available) like your Meridian Explorer 2 is capable of performing.
As we know, TIDAL at least can only perform the first unfold. This could be an imposed restriction or perhaps because the last unfold cannot be performed in the digital realm. All I know is that we will find out eventually as MQA becomes more mainstream.
In my own humble opinion, although nice to have (more for piece of mind's sake that I am not losing out on something) I am not that overly bothered about not having the second unfold up to 176.4Khz/192Khz. Either having a 16-bit to 24-bit increase or a doubling in sample rate is a somewhat large improvement over the standard CD quality. The fact that the software decoding does both is more than enough for me. Personally I cannot hear any further improvement beyond 24-Bit 96Khz. It sounds amazing anyway.
Steve
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - arneson - 2017-01-31
Hello TIDAL2 fans,
I pushed an update of my addon to my repository: https://github.com/arnesongit/repository.arneson/raw/master/plugin.audio.tidal2/plugin.audio.tidal2-2.0.0-beta10.zip
Changes to V2.0.0-beta10:
- Now shows an Error Message if login fails
- Added Page-Mode to Playlist-Item View
- Increased max. page size from 999 to 9999
- Bugfix: MQA Label extension was missing in Favorite Tracks
- Emulation of "User Album Playlists":
- Shows Album List instead of Tracks if Playlist description contains the keyword ALBUM
- "Default Album Playlist" can be set for Plugin function "user_playlist_toggle"
- Shows User Album Playlist Name in Album Label
- New Context Menu Entries for Album Items to Add/Remove Albums to/from Album Playlists
- Every Playlist can be opend as "Album Playlist" with a new Context Menu Entry
- Shows Album List instead of Tracks if Playlist description contains the keyword ALBUM
In TIDAL I missed a function to sort my collection of albums into Album Collections.
I don't want to have all of them in the favorite album list.
So I made it possible to view a "Track Playlist" as an "Album Playlist".
You only have to change the description of a Playlist and insert the keyword "ALBUM".
Now you can create Playlists like "Albums 2016", "Master Albums" or "Classical Albums"
and browse through your album collections.
You can also open every TIDAL Playlist as "Album Playlist" over the context menu, because
TIDAL also has Playlists with one track of each album, for instance "Favorite Albums of 2016" !
arneson
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - Shogun - 2017-01-31
Your addon is the reason why i have a tidal subscription.
Question:
Is it possible to display the genre tag of the current playing file?
The label "Musicplayer.Genre" is always empty, don't know if the "issue" lies with tidal.
Anyway, thank you for your hard work and dedication.
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - arneson - 2017-01-31
(2017-01-31, 16:40)Shogun Wrote: Your addon is the reason why i have a tidal subscription.
Question:
Is it possible to display the genre tag of the current playing file?
The label "Musicplayer.Genre" is always empty, don't know if the "issue" lies with tidal.
Anyway, thank you for your hard work and dedication.
Sorry Shogun,
but the Track or Album informations which the TIDAL Api returns doesn't contain any informations about the genre.
arneson
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - Shogun - 2017-01-31
Alright, thank you for your time.
Isn't really a drawback.
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - rudtuc - 2017-02-02
Big thanks to arneson for Tidal2 plugin. I have it up and running on Raspberry Pi 3B thru LibreElec/Kodi and Meridian Explorer 2 - it is fantastic.
I first made sure MQA is playing correctly when using local file (downloaded from http://www.2l.no/hires/ for example) with blue light on and then I started to play with Tidal2. I had to change add-on settings to MQA in config and after logging out of Tidal and back in it was all running well.
The only limitation I see - but that's down to my HW/SW setup - is the fact that I cannot use headphones as Kodi volume has to be maxed out for MQA decoding to work (unless there's possibility to adjust hardware volume separately I do not know about).
Again big thank you for great add-on.
Rudolf.
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - arneson - 2017-02-03
(2017-02-02, 13:24)rudtuc Wrote: Big thanks to arneson for Tidal2 plugin. I have it up and running on Raspberry Pi 3B thru LibreElec/Kodi and Meridian Explorer 2 - it is fantastic.
I first made sure MQA is playing correctly when using local file (downloaded from http://www.2l.no/hires/ for example) with blue light on and then I started to play with Tidal2. I had to change add-on settings to MQA in config and after logging out of Tidal and back in it was all running well.
The only limitation I see - but that's down to my HW/SW setup - is the fact that I cannot use headphones as Kodi volume has to be maxed out for MQA decoding to work (unless there's possibility to adjust hardware volume separately I do not know about).
Again big thank you for great add-on.
Rudolf.
Hello Rudolf,
I tried my Meridian Explorer 2 on my LibreELEC system. The Kodi volume has to be at 100% but the Meridian Explorer Volume
can be controlled by a trick which I found here: http://askubuntu.com/questions/227883/how-can-i-adjust-system-volume-from-within-xbmc
To control the volume you need the ALSA Device name.
On my system it is called "DAC":
Code:
# cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [NVidia ]: HDA-Intel - HDA NVidia
HDA NVidia at 0xfae78000 irq 20
1 [DAC ]: USB-Audio - Explorer² USB DAC
Meridian Explorer² USB DAC at usb-0000:00:06.1-1, high speedThen you need the Mixer Device name of the "DAC":
Code:
# amixer -c DAC scontrols
Simple mixer control 'Explorer² USB DAC',0I created these two python scripts in the folder /storage/bin
dac_volume_up.py
Code:
#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import subprocess
subprocess.call( "amixer -q -c DAC sset 'Explorer² USB DAC' 5%+", shell=True )dac_volume_down.py
Code:
#!/usr/bin/python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import subprocess
subprocess.call( "amixer -q -c DAC sset 'Explorer² USB DAC' 5%-", shell=True )Don't forget to make them executable with "chmod +x /storage/bin/dac_volume*.py" !!
If you want to make smaller volume steps, change the 5% to a lower value.
To control the DAC Volume by keyboard shotcuts and/or with a remote control
you have to put these scripts into the keyboard.xml like this:
Code:
<keymap>
<global>
<keyboard>
<f9>RunScript(/storage/bin/dac_volume_down.py)</f9>
<minus>RunScript(/storage/bin/dac_volume_down.py)</minus>
<f10>RunScript(/storage/bin/dac_volume_up.py)</f10>
<plus>RunScript(/storage/bin/dac_volume_up.py)</plus>
</keyboard>
</global>
</keymap>Of course this is a "hack" because scripts have to be in a Script Module Plugin
but it still works for me.
arneson
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - rudtuc - 2017-02-04
Thanks asneson! That works well. I am preparing my RPi to be used in headless mode when playing audio and therefore I might modify the scripts setup to be used with a hardware knob for volume control using rotary encoder like this one: https://www.adafruit.com/product/377 .
I just installed Adata PV120 battery as low budget UPS for my RPi - I plan to use GPIO pin 5 to turn RPi on and off (with correct shut down procedure) as well if required. Or I can use a process to shut RPi down automatically when battery charge is low using this: http://raspi-ups.appspot.com/en/software.jsp but that would require change from LibreElec to something like OSMC as LibreElec doesn't allow process execution to maintain system stability.
Cheers, Rudolf.
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - dlugi603 - 2017-02-12
Hi All,
I have annoying problem..I have installed Tidal on my raspberry and it is connected to my Pioneer 528. Unfortunately the minimum volume is too loud. How to make it quieter? about 20% ? TV, movies are OK, only Tidal is too loud.
THX
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - albertstroh77 - 2017-02-13
What OS, dlugi?
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - [email protected] - 2017-02-13
Hi ! Ihaven't tested your plugin yet, but I will give it a try. Does it support json search ?
RE: TIDAL music (former WiMP) - dlugi603 - 2017-02-13
(2017-02-13, 01:25)albertstroh77 Wrote: What OS, dlugi?
Openelec on Rasberrry 3