CD playback problems

[Andrew Bryant]

Hello,

I received my B2 yesterday and have been getting up to speed with it since.

I have ripped one CD and play back from the HDD through my numerous Sonos speakers has been fine.

However I am having issues playing a CD directly to my Sonos speakers.

When I insert the CD, the WebUI identifies it and will give me an option as to the disc title, however when I try to play the disc either directly from the B2 or via the WebUI, 90% of the time there is no playback or for the other 10%  the track will play for a few seconds, then keep cutting out.

I am connected via WiFi, and running Software Version B2B Aug 2 2021 11:51:47.

Any ideas/suggestions on how to resolve this?

Thanks,

Andy

[JFBUK]

Hi Andy,

Can you clarify.

When you say that you 'try to play the disc" do you mean from the CD in the CD player  or from the ripped tracks on your HDD ?

The reason I ask is that the Web UI, in my experience, cannot initiate the playback of a CD. It always wants to rip.

Playback can only be initiated from the remote or the front panel.

If you pause the CD, the Web UI can resume play.

The playback of CDs to Sonos is experimental at the moment so there may be hiccoughs

13th July 2021Exciting experimental software that lets you play CDs through Sonos speakers.
Pick the zone, insert a CD, wait for it to read the contents and press play.
(Or if there is already a CD inserted press the CD button on the remote or use the CD menu.)
CDs are played losslessly.
Its under development so it doesn't display track names yet and the web UI doesn't know about it yet. You may encounter the odd UI wrinkle - let us know any issues.

John

[Andrew Bryant]

Hello John,

So yes so it's when I try to play the CD in the player not ripped tracks.

Upon reading your experience with the WebUI I can say my experience is the same.

The B2 only wants to rip the disc until I press play on the remote control or the front panel, then and only then does the play option appear on the Web UI.

However I try to play the disc there is either no or intermittent playback of a track from the CD.

Playback of a ripped tracks from the HDD is fine.

Thanks,

Andy

[JFBUK]

Hi Andy,

is this just with your Sonos speakers ?

I'm not a Sonos user so cannot offer any particular guidance  on their use with the B2 but others on here  will step in I am sure.

John

[Andrew Bryant]

Hello,

Yes just Sonos speakers, I have no others connected.

 

I have connected an ethernet cable so see it was a Wifi issue but the problem persists.

Thanks,

Andy

[Daniel Taylor]

It'd be helpful to connect the B2 to either some speakers or heaphones.  We need to know if the problem is with the actual playing of the CD or in sending the signal to the Sonos system.

[Andrew Bryant]

Ok so I've paired some bluetooth headphones to the B2.

I can only hear music from the Internet Radio from the B2 through them, no output from the CD or the HDD of the B2.

The plot thickens.

[Daniel Taylor]

Bluetooth and Sonos each add their own different extra complication to the situation.  In an attempt to narrow down the problem, we need to establish whether or not the CD actually plays or not.  Please connect something directly to the B2 through which you will be able to hear the music, independently of Bluetooth or Sonos.

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

Some wired headphones would do for this test.

[PMB]

Hi Andybry,

Martin has released updated software (2nd Aug 2021) to fix the CD playing problem, so please try a Web Upgrade - Settings menu.

Let us know how it goes.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi All,

The 'CD to Sonos' feature works in a completely different way to the normal CD functions so using headphones or directly wired speakers won't prove anyrhing in this case.

So far, what we know is: 

1.  Andy has ripped a CD to the HDD and playback througn his Sonos speakers is working OK.  Thar suggests that the B2 and the CD player are working correctly at that level.

2.  The B2 is running on B2B 02 Aug 2021 already.

3.  The B2 plays a few seconds of music and stops.

@Andy

Have you got the Sonos Controller app running on a PC/Mac?  If so, you can use it to see what is happening.  Also having NAS running will help the diagnosis.

First, a brief description of how the 'CD to Sonos' works as best I have figured it out.

1.  The B2 first creates a folder named '.CD' in the 'music' folder. Essentially, the process is creating a 'pseudo album' in the music collection in real time.

2.  The B2 reads the CD tracks and, except for the first and second music blocks of the first CD track, it breaks the CD tracks into 20 second chunks. 

3.  These chunks are written into the '.CD' folder in 'wav' format.  The first block is a 5 second chunk and the second is a 10 second chunk to ensure a fast Sonos playback start up.

4.  The 'wav' chunks are then transmitted sequentially in real time to the Sonos in the normal way and the Sonos plays them as if they were normal 'wav' tracks.

The whole process idea is brilliant!.

I have attached some screenshots of different situations.

I'm playing a CD to Sonos at the moment and it is working perfectly.  Here is my checklist and process.  I use the front panel for these tasks, as the WebUI usage is not yet supported.

1.  B2 is running 'B2B 02 Aug 2021' (as is Andy's)

2.  WiFi strength -51dBm ('Settings' --> 'Maintenance' --> ''Wifi Strength') the lower the number the better the signal is.

3.  From the front panel, select 'Pick Zone' and select the required speaker(s) 

4.  Ensure that B2 will play correctly to Sonos in normal mode. (as is Andy's)

5.  Ensure that the B2 is not running any other processes (e.g. Import or Export or something else).  The front panel red light should be on steady, the green light should be off.

6.  Insert CD.

7.  Message  "Loading CD" shows thenmessage "DB Lookup" shows.

8.  Album name selection shows.

9.  Ignore the album selection and press the 'Play' button on the B2 front panel.

10. The CD will play to the Sonos.

The first thought that I have is that the Wifi strength could be too low.  The B2 HDD to Sonos is working OK, but that could be because is this situation the B2 is 'streaming' sequential data to the Sonos in real time.  This will put a wireless connection under a lot of stress.

 The 'normal' situation is that an entire track or multiple tracks are uploaded in to the Sonos before playback begins so the kit has time to sort out corrupt data blocks.

So, if you could check your wireless signal strength and post that here then that would be useful.

Screenshots are as follows.  Each one is named beginning 'SS....' and below is a brief note for each one.

SS1 .....  Sonos Controller app on PC before 'CD to Sonos' is started showing the clear playlist queue.

SS2 .....  Sonos app showing the 'Sonos to CD' just started.  Note that the queue track names are all the same; each of these is a sequential 20 second chunk of the same track.

SS3 .....  Same as the SS2 shot showing more of those 20 second chunks in the queue.

SS4 .....  Screenshot of my B2's 'music' folder looking into the '.CD' subfolder.  Note the top two 'wav' tracks at size 862 KB and 1723 KB (5 and 10 seconds respectively) followed by 3446 KB (20 seconds).  Also note the sequential numbering of the track chunks.

Apologies for the length of this post, but I'm still getting to grips with how it all works!

Let us know how you get on.

Regards,

Peter.

[PMB]

Hi Peter,

Great write-up, thanks.

I'd spotted the 20s chunks but hadn't put the whole process together.

My system is playing OK with B2B 2nd Aug 2021 software.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Dawn Rumsey]

We have had our B2 for almost a week and so far have managed to store 2 CDs. Now, When you put in a CD it goes to DB Lookup and sits there - forever. We have to power down the B2, then turn it back on to get the CD to eject. We have tried 3 different CDs to see if there was a problem with one CD not being identified. It sat in DB Lookup for all of them.

I can bring up the webUI on my laptop and the app on my phone so I know it has an internet connection which can direct it to play either of the 2 CDs on the HDD.

What am I doing wrong?

[JFBUK]

Hi Dawn,

I assume you have a B2 model with a hard drive
Can you check that your B2 is using HDD storage

If not and it’s storing music on the SD card then then it’s possible but unlikely that SD card does not have sufficient room to rip any more CDs.

To switch to using the HDD use the menu item

>SETTINGS>MAINTENANCE > USE HDD

John

[PMB]

Hi Dawn.R,

Try this - using the front control go to Settings >> Maintenance >> Advanced >> Reset CD.

If that doesn't help - with the clock displayed check the rolling line of text (below the clock) for 'Source: Hard Disk' - if it shows 'Source: SD Card' then you need to select 'Use HDD' as John suggests.

If that is OK and your B2 is showing a sensible IP Address, something like 192.168.1.127 (indicating it is connected to WiFi) and the clock (can see the internet), then try a Web Upgrade - Settings menu - to ensure you have the latest software.

Paul

Brennan Support.