bubbleupnp and neutron app

[Michael Waldor]

I'd like to use the Neutron app as an OpenHome renderer from bubbleupnp controller. I've created the Neutron OpenHome renderer within bubbleupnpserver.

Neutron & bubbleupnp controller are running on the same Android 9.1 device. Within Neutron, its renderer option is engaged. Neutron is up an running. [BTW, I shutdown my Android device regularly, e.g. it was switched off during night.]

Selecting any album within bubbleupnp controller, I encounter error messages during creation of a new playlist. bubbleupnp controller does do a fallback onto local renderer. Going back and forth between Neutron and bubbleupnp controller pressing play multiple times, finally playback by Neutron works.

Within bubbleupnpserver's logfile I see some error 500 messages e.g.

Neutron Music Player [MHA-L29] (5459988A): Failed Establishing Remote subscription null on service (n) ServiceId: urn:upnp-org:serviceId:RenderingControl: Subscription failed:  HTTP response was: 500 Internal Server Error

When playback is working, the current title string is not updated within Neutron and stays at the first title string.

Any ideas?

Regards, Michael

[Bubblesoft]

Hi,

I tried that scenario and did not get the error you mention but found another issue. 

In Android BubbleUPnP, when playing a track (or album) to Neutron (as OpenHome) renderer, it will play 1-3s of the track is fadeout.

This can be worked-around by disabling More > Settings > Control > Take audio focus on playback.

I will fix that problem (which only happens if Android BubbleUPnP and Neutron run on the same device) in the next update.

If you have another problem playing to the OpenHome'd Neutron, please send me a clean BubbleUPnP Server log file of it, following instructions at

the end of my other post.

[Bubblesoft]

Note that I used a Qobuz album for this test. Once the setting I mentioned is disabled, it plays fine, including showing the proper metadata in both Android BubbleUPnP and Neutron.

Also can you please confirm that your BubbleUPnP Server version is the latest (0.9-update50) ? You can check in the Status page of its web config.

[Michael Waldor]

Thanks for your suggestion.

I did watch (some days ago) bubbleupnpserver's logfile when starting playback onto neutron OpenHome renderer. Two renderes were discovered, the sound started, and then both renderers disappeared. After some seconds that process was repeated.

Today I received an update of neutron (and also of qobuz) before starting my new tests. Following your hint I disabled audio focus within menu control (I myself tried a similar setting within local player without success). And now playback is working fine. Also metadata are updated as expected. But the title within neutron is NOT updated depending on context: if I use skip forward from within neutron or if the playlist advances automatically. It IS updated, when skipping is done from within bubbleupnp. But that's nit picking:-)

[Whether using qobuz or local mp3 files doesn't matter.]

One question remains: what does the color change of e.g. the play button within mediathek indicate? It starts mostly in blue, and might turn into brown. When I encountered problems (begore applying your hint), it turned into red (and then playlist contained only 1..2 tracks).

Regards, Michael

[Bubblesoft]

On Friday, September 5, 2025 at 9:05:40 AM UTC+2 miwa...@googlemail.com wrote:

Also metadata are updated as expected. But the title within neutron is NOT updated depending on context: if I use skip forward from within neutron or if the playlist advances automatically. It IS updated, when skipping is done from within bubbleupnp. But that's nit picking:-)

[Whether using qobuz or local mp3 files doesn't matter.]

You cannot skip forward/backward (go to next/prev title) in Neutron as it has no idea what next/prev tracks are (the playback queue, aka content of the Playlist tab in Android BubbleUPnP)

is controlled by BubbleUPnP Server managing Neutron as OpenHome renderer.

-------------

One question remains: what does the color change of e.g. the play button within mediathek indicate? It starts mostly in blue, and might turn into brown. When I encountered problems (begore applying your hint), it turned into red (and then playlist contained only 1..2 tracks).

--------

Color does not mean anything. Some buttons and UI element for albums are using a color derived from the album art.

[Michael Waldor]

I understand your argument, and I wouldn't have expected that it might work. Anyhow, skip forward within neutron works fine. But one must not try to press that button multiple times in quick succession. Even skip backwards works, but only to the  beginning of the current track.

Jumping to the Denon renderer: If used from bubbleupnp, the Denon renderer disables its skip forward button (on TV HDMI screen), but enables the skip backwards button - thus probabely a correct behaviour? Otherwise, if used from Qobuz app (i.e. Qobuz connect with Denon AVR) skip forward & backward buttons are both available and work (by using the IR remote).

[Bubblesoft]

Hi,

Skip forward working is just a luck consequence: when you press skip forward, it makes Neutron stop the current track and send an event for it to BubbleUPnP Server which then initiate
playback of the next track. Geneally speaking, when controlling an OpenHome renderer it is best to only use an OpenHome controller app or program to control it. If you change stuff on the renderer side, only pause and volume should work reliably.

[Michael Waldor]

That makes things clear because I encounter a similar mysterious behaviour with my Denon renderer. I want to stop playback by pressing stop on the Denon IR remote. Instead of stopping it stops - but only for some seconds - and then proceeds to the next track.

Watching the complex interactions between UPNP devices, I did expect, that (maybe) navigation events are communicated, too, and processed. But volume events seem to be sent.

Nevertheless Neutron's display shows the correct title only, if one jumps onto some track (e.g. first one). If the track proceeds automatically to the next one, title is not updated.

Ah, and another (really minor) issue: Volume changes are not always visualized correctly within bubbleupnp play now screen. Changing volume within Neutron works, but bubbleupnp only sometimes sees that change.

And I've changed my mind w.r.t. bubbleupnpserver: For my Neutron usecase it's a bit of overkill to proxy by bubbleupnpserver. Instead I connect bubbleupnp and Neutron directly, but engage bubbleupn's own proxy. All these tasks done on the same Android smartphone. It works fine, despite very first start - I must start playback multiple times to keep Neutron renderer connected. I'll send you a logfile...

Regards, Michael