DNLA and the 29th June Software release

[ARPinTAVI]

I am thinking I should install the latest software release but want to check about the status of the DNLA option.

Is it still experimental? Is it affected by the new software version?

If it is still experimental can I ask why? I have it switched on and am using it with Bose Soundtouch and Flacbox player so far without any problems and I don't want that to change.

Andrew

[Daniel Taylor]

I don't think the DLNA option was touched for the more recent software. 

When I'm unsure of a new release, I keep a backup of my current software so that I can go back to it if I need to (or want to).  When I get some time, I plan on building a new SD card with the latest, up to the minute software on it.  But since I've been quite happy with the Oct,2019 software, that SD card will be set aside intact, just in case.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Andrew,

The latest release is now 'Jul 1 2020' and there are some significant fixes (not to DLNA) so that would be the release to go for. There haven't been any recent updates to DLNA that I can see so you should be safe enough to move on to the new release.  As Daniel says here, you could build a new (micro)SD card with the new release and preserve your current version as a backup.  I currently have 4 SD cards with different releases just so that I can test for different scenarios.

The last status for DLNA that I can find is that it is experimental.  Perhaps the Brennan Team has not received sufficient feedback from forum users for it to become 'Production' ststus, but that is just my thought.

Regards,

Peter.

[ARPinTAVI]

Hi Peter,

I don't get the options as to which release I have when I do a web upgrade so I've just done it and crossed my fingers.

Although I could probably follow all the complicated (to me anyway) instructions for building SD cards I really don't have the time or inclination to do so, nor do I want to remove the back of the machine again.

I just want my B2 to keep working so I can play my music.

I do wonder though, with all the mucking about with NAS and DNLA and the problems it seems to cause, whether it would be easier for the App and the UI to be made able to play the files (either FLAC or MP3) on devices other than the B2 but of course using the B2 as the source.

Possible?

Practical?

It would certainly be the answer to all my musical desires right now!!

Andrew

[David Wheeler]

Hello Peter and Andrew

Just thought I would chip in with some feedback on DLNA usage, which I have been deploying since receiving my B2 a couple of months ago.  I play the B2 either from the optical output, via a line-level digital receiver, and then into self powered speakers, or via DLNA into a wireless speaker unit - a Bang & Olufsen Beosound 2.  Incidentally, because B2 is acting as a server, it is possible if you need such a scenario to play different music simultaneously into the different destinations.

Until the B2 arrived I had not fully appreciated what Paul had told me about DLNA, which is that the receiving device controls the output.  So in my case the B&O app on my phone tells the B2 to play whatever music I select on it, the B2 app does not tell the B&O speaker what to play.  Which is a shame, because the B2 app is so much better, particularly when set to play randomly from the whole collection of 8000 or so tracks.  Like many others here, we have rediscovered lots of overlooked music this way, each new song being displayed with its artwork and other information on the phone.  A truly great little app!

Sadly, the B&O app does its job, sees the complete collection, will show 'recently added' albums, and will play anything selected, but when set to random shuffle it seems to choose the same 100 or so tracks in the same order every time I play this way, and when it comes  to the end of the last track just starts again back at the beginning.  There seems to be some Amazon-style algorithm operating too - as in 'you were interested in this item, so we thought you would like this', so the musical style played appears to be all in a similar vein.  The Brennan app does thankfully seem to use a proper pseudo-random approach.

I don't know whether the shortcoming is in the Bang & Olufsen app, or an inevitable result of the NAS principle, but it would be really good if the B2 app could directly control its output into a network connected device.

I would be interested in hearing other users' experience of playing via DLNA

regards

David Wheeler