SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & SQPOS)

General discussion relating to the O2 Joggler, from the default O2 setup, to alternative operating systems and applications.
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

JimbobVFR400 wrote:Must be Triodes because the official one only works on real Logitech hardware.
Have you tried changing any of the addon settings to see if that helps?
User avatar
roobarb!
Posts: 1746
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 1:30 pm
Location: Salford, UK
Contact:

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by roobarb! »

JimbobVFR400 wrote:Must be Triodes because the official one only works on real Logitech hardware.
True - the official one relies on code that isn't included in the source for SqueezePlay. There's an option to compile with it, but there must be some secret wizardry in there we're not allowed to know about.

On the question, I've had no problems, but then I stopped my Spotify Premium subs a while ago because it cost more than I usually spent on albums each month. You do have a premium account, don't you?
BirdsLikeWires - Get fresh builds of Debian Bullseye and Bookworm for OpenFrame with the latest 5.10 and 6.1 kernels! 8-)
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

roobarb! wrote:On the question, I've had no problems, but then I stopped my Spotify Premium subs a while ago because it cost more than I usually spent on albums each month.
My wife and kids would kill me if I stopped my Spotify Premium subscription. My wife uses it on the Joggler all the time and my kids benefit from the offline playlists on their iPods.

... I occasionally use it too ;)
proddick
Posts: 29
Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:59 am

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by proddick »

I am currently running a Joggler with the Squeezplay OS (internal flash) and very pleased with it.

I would like to use another Joggler with Squeezeplay but need it to connect to some Bluetooth speakers. Is this possible using one of the Links distros?

Sorry if this is covered somewhere in the forum - I have checked with no success.
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

I reflashed my Joggler with roobarb's modified Openpeak image then installed the latest PnPIII. The reason for doing so is that Squeezeplay kept crashing out on me. Although LMS kept running and I could still access my music using a controller on my phone or iPad, the loss of the Squeezeplay interface on the Joggler was getting a tad annoying.

What is even more annoying is that now having bit the bullet and succesfully re-pimped my kitchen Joggler, the Triode Spotify plugin won't play ball. It has my email address as user name but when I add my password and apply, then run a test, I get a message that I'm not logged in, a failure to receive the metadata and the test fails.

Any suggestions? I'm really missing Spotify.

---EDIT---

As (bad) luck would have it, Spotify wasn't connecting on my phone or iPad. Now it's OK, so it looks like the problem wasn't with the new install but my connection to Spotify itself. Phew!
User avatar
roobarb!
Posts: 1746
Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2011 1:30 pm
Location: Salford, UK
Contact:

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by roobarb! »

proddick wrote:I am currently running a Joggler with the Squeezplay OS (internal flash) and very pleased with it.

I would like to use another Joggler with Squeezeplay but need it to connect to some Bluetooth speakers. Is this possible using one of the Links distros?

Sorry if this is covered somewhere in the forum - I have checked with no success.
It's certainly possible if you install to internal memory and then use a Bluetooth dongle in the USB port. I've never done it though, but sqpOS has Bluetooth support. It will need some manual command-line configuration.
BirdsLikeWires - Get fresh builds of Debian Bullseye and Bookworm for OpenFrame with the latest 5.10 and 6.1 kernels! 8-)
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

gegs wrote:I reflashed my Joggler with roobarb's modified Openpeak image then installed the latest PnPIII. The reason for doing so is that Squeezeplay kept crashing out on me...
Sorry to quote myself but the problem remains. Every now and then Squeezeplay bombs out, Tango restarts and I'm back to the main Openpeak interface. Curiously the music doesn't stop, even during the restart, and can still be controlled using Squeezebox controller apps on my phone or iPad. Is anybody else experiencing this?
User avatar
JimbobVFR400
Posts: 264
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:39 pm

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by JimbobVFR400 »

I've only had this happen once on mine but TBH my pnp joggler doesn't get used that often as I mainly use the SqpOS one that also runs the server.

Roobarbs description for SqpOS actually cites this as one of the reasons he developed SqpOS so I'm sure it's not that uncommon. It's not squeezeplay crashing BTW it's the tango interface crashing and restarting to verify the top of squeezeplay with no way of bringing squeezeplay to the front.

Do you actually use the other stuff in pnp at all, if not I'd be tempted to go for an internal install of SqueezeplayOS (although I'd run from usb if you also want to run LMS as well) and be done with the problem. If you run SqpOS from a usb you can still have pnp on the internal memory, remove the stick and reboot for pnp.
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

I think I'll just put up with it on my kitchen Joggler. As you say, Squeezeplay keeps running and I'm able to control it with my phone. My kids use the Youtube app and my wife uses the iPlayer and Weather apps, so it would be hard to switch to Squeezeplay OS exclusively on that machine. I do use SqpOS on my Joggler in the lounge because it's attached to my hi-fi and is used exclusively for music, including the excellent Airplay feature.

My kitchen Joggler runs LMS because it is nearer to the router (wireless connection), although I'm fiddling with running LMS on my Raspberry Pi alongside Raspbmc. I've installed LMS and can log in to the server on the Pi but it isn't connecting to squeezebox.com and I can't get the Spotify addon working; when I do (note the optimism) I'll use the Raspberry Pi as the server for both my Jogglers. If I don't get it working (note the pragmatism), I may buy another Raspberry Pi to use as a Squeezeplug.
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

gegs wrote:...although I'm fiddling with running LMS on my Raspberry Pi alongside Raspbmc. I've installed LMS and can log in to the server on the Pi but it isn't connecting to squeezebox.com and I can't get the Spotify addon working...
Quoting myself again, sorry for that.
Tweaks to the LMS install on the Pi finally broke Raspbmc , so I've re-installed Raspbmc along with my plugins. I can't be bothered with that hassle again so I reckon I'll get another Pi to use as a Squeezeplug. I'll install it on another SD card and check it works first before buying.

I may be wrong, but I think LMS may be more stable if I run it on a dedicated device with a wired connection. The Pi is such a low power device that it would be ideal to run as a 24/7 server.
User avatar
JimbobVFR400
Posts: 264
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:39 pm

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by JimbobVFR400 »

I was going to say SqpOS running on a USB installed internally in place of the wifi card has been rock solid since just before Christmas. However it all went a bit wrong last night so I can't :-)

Even so I still think running LMS on the joggler gives a better more responsive experience than running on a pi.
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

JimbobVFR400 wrote:Even so I still think running LMS on the joggler gives a better more responsive experience than running on a pi.
Is this a hunch or have you read any articles to this effect?

I thought that a dedicated server connected by ethernet to my router might be more stable than a server running wirelessly on my Joggler that is also serving another SqpOS Joggler wirelessly. It also might take some of the load from the Joggler if the server was deactivated and it ran as a Squeezeplay client only.

All of the above, of course, assumes that the Pi runs LMS well. I can try it out using a spare SD card and I'll post back my findings. That's the beauty of the Pi - power it down, insert another card and boot up into a whole new system. I thought that since the Pi can run XBMC so beautifully it wouldn't struggle with LMS, but that is just a hunch. If it doesn't perform well, I've at least saved myself the purchase of a second Pi.
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

Wow! Squeezeplug on the Pi is fantastic.

The interface is simple and self-explanatory and there are a lot of good pointers if you're not sure what options to choose (or even what they do). The image is about 3.74gb; it says it should fit on a 4gig card with lots of space left over, but my 4gb card was only 3.69gb and the image was too big to fit. I wrote the image to an 8gb card and one of the first options available was to resize the partition to fill the card - superb!

I installed LMS and Squeezelite and all my usual plugins and soon had the Pi acting as a server for my two Jogglers running Squeezeplay. The sound setup was great too and can be set to use the RPi internal soundcard or other devices (only necessary if you want to run the Pi as a headless player with Squeezeslave or Squeezelite). One of the sound device options on the list was the Behringer UCA 202 (of which I had a spare).

My only lack of success was with Shairport. I installed it and my iPad recognised it as an Airplay device, but it wouldn't properly connect and play through the Pi. I don't know enough about Airplay, and specifically Shairport, to know what's wrong or if I can remedy it. Is Airplay a device-to-device protocol that bypasses the router? Does it rely on wireless capability? If so, that could be the issue; my Pi only has an ethernet connection.*

Even without Airplay the Pi makes a cheap and extremely low-powered LMS server and I am definitely going to buy another Pi for this purpose.

*I've since read that it works over WLAN, so I'm none the wiser. The Shairport Airplay receiver is recognised, it just doesn't actually receive. I'd be grateful for any pointers.
User avatar
JimbobVFR400
Posts: 264
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:39 pm

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by JimbobVFR400 »

Sounds really good. How does scanning time compare to LMS on a joggler (i have nearly 15k tracks stored on my NAS) and how do the menus and Web interface compare speed wise
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

JimbobVFR400 wrote:Sounds really good. How does scanning time compare to LMS on a joggler (i have nearly 15k tracks stored on my NAS) and how do the menus and Web interface compare speed wise
To be honest, I don't store music tracks so I didn't attempt a scan. My NAS is really for photos and video. You can install Samba but I didn't (yet) because I don't really use it with LMS. Almost my entire LMS experience is with web radio and Spotify. You can install Squeezeplug using either hard float or soft float and there is a warning about hf not being compatible with Spotify, but Triode's plug-in worked for me and I'm sure I chose the hf install option.

The web interface is pretty nippy, certainly when navigating the "settings" tabs and installing and configuring addons. Squeezelite also works well as a headless player and syncing with the Jogglers was easy. Controlling Squeezelite with the Logitech app on my phone was smooth and simple and I think this will form the basis of the music system when I next have people round.
Jetpac
Posts: 27
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:32 pm

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by Jetpac »

How much difference does having a USB DAC make to the sound quality?
At the moment i just use my joggler connected via AUX in to a small TEAC Setup with half decent bookshelf speakers.

But will be picking up a 2nd joggler and more than likely using a pair of creative T20s.

Is it worth the extra expenditure for the DAC?
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

Jetpac wrote:How much difference does having a USB DAC make to the sound quality?
This topic has been covered a lot in the forums. The best thing to do is to get one of the cheap ones to see what difference it makes and then, if you think the difference is worth it, you can buy something better with more connection options.

My kitchen Joggler runs off one of these: http://amzn.to/Z4C278

My lounge Joggler, which is connected to my AV amplifier, uses one of these: http://amzn.to/16dJu5u

Don't hesitate to buy the cheap one. It should give you improved performance and volume and will be the best couple of quid you've spent, even if you replace it with a more expensive one at a later date. I can't speak for other DACs but the two above work with the Joggler as soon as you change the audio interface (easily done in Squeezeplay's settings).
Last edited by gegs on Tue Jun 04, 2013 10:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

I've been a little frustrated with Squeezeplug on the Raspberry Pi. After a great initial impression I found that I couldn't access the server's web interface and I assumed it kept crashing. Then I found that my router's DHCP was assigning a new IP address, possibly when the DHCP lease expired (it happens after a day or so). It kept doing this even though I had used DHCP reservation to set the Squeezeplug IPs (LAN and WLAN).

Squeezeplug itself appears to be working fine but I was about to post a negative review of it before discovering that my problems were caused by my Virgin Media Hub (VMH), not Squeezeplug itself.

I've tried setting static IPs on the Squeezeplug as well as DHCP reservation on the router. The VMH seems to know better and still assigns different dynamic IPs when it chooses. I'll see if I can extend the lease time when reserving an IP on the router so that this only becomes an occasional annoyance rather than a daily one. I assumed that reserving an IP set a lease time of 'forever'.

Maybe this is how DHCP reservation is meant to work, i.e. only until a lease expires, it's just that reserving an IP has always worked for me before without worrying about lease expiry or frequent IP reassignments.

---EDIT---
This appears to be a common problem with the Virgin Media Hub, if their forum is anything to go by. You'll note that I don't refer to it by its official title, "Super Hub", because it is far from that at the moment.
User avatar
pete
Posts: 2950
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 6:33 am
Location: Time Traveler

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by pete »

Gegs,

Unrelated a bit I have this three tuner HD device on the network called HDHomerun. Just a little dinky box that streams HD TV. That said it doesn't really have an IP in itself. I wanted a statically assigned IP so I did configure it on the router via its MAC address. Its very chatty and allows is looking at the router for its assignment but stays the same. I am using Smoothwall. To the device it will appear to be getting a DHCP address when in fact it is just getting the same static IP address which never changes.

Just thinking maybe if you assign a static address on the router for it; it will not change?
- Pete
O2 Jogglers running EFI Ubuntu / Squeezeplayer
OpenPeak Voip Telephony / Zigbee tabletops hardware modded with Seabios / RTC / Ethernet ROM edits / SSD drives running XPe for automation screens

Auto mater
gegs
Posts: 1146
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:22 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: SqueezePlay for Joggler (Native, Ubuntu & sqpOS)

Post by gegs »

pete_c wrote:...Just thinking maybe if you assign a static address on the router for it; it will not change?
That's what DHCP reservation does (or in my case, doesn't).

I had thought of disabling DHCP and adding all devices manually, which would solve the problem but be a real pain to set up; so many MAC addresses to take note of and type in. It would be more secure but less convenient.

My main gripe is that the very same router used to work well reserving IP addresses in the DHCP lease table. The last firmware update from Virgin Media (not optional) has screwed that up. This makes the router faulty IMO and I will be seeking a replacement model, their newer one, in the hope of getting this functionality back. The problem is that existing customers have to pay a £49.95 installation fee for the new router but I will be seeking to have this waived or, at the very least, reduced significantly.

The only other solution is to run the "Super Hub" (a cosmic joke) in modem mode and use another router for wi-fi, one that does have working DHCP reservation. Not ideal or very energy efficient.
Post Reply