Gapless playback

[LuvMyQuad]

The new Firestick 4K firmware broke some Kodi audio features so I can no longer recommend it sadly. I went back to using my mini PC on Windows 10 which is a much more expensive solution in comparison, but it works perfectly for Kodi. Before summer comes I may try another smart box of some sort that uses less power.

That's odd. I just installed one for my bedroom system about a month ago. Its stereo only, but it works like a charm. Its connected to my TV via HDMI and then I use the optical out from the TV to a small Topping MX3 DAC/Power amp.

What issues did you run into with your firestick setup?

 

[himey]

That's odd. I just installed one for my bedroom system about a month ago. Its stereo only, but it works like a charm. Its connected to my TV via HDMI and then I use the optical out from the TV to a small Topping MX3 DAC/Power amp.

What issues did you run into with your firestick setup?

It can no longer pass through DTS. The newest version of Kodi is buggy on it and you have to use the newest version to pass through DD. Stereo is no longer bit perfect. Kodi on Win 10 doesn't have any issues with Kodi 19 and you don't have to change any settings when switching between stereo and multichannel.

Channels DVR works great for TV, on the Firestick 4K, but for audio and movies I switch over to my Windows 10 mini PC. I have my Harmony Hub working with it too so I don't miss any remote features I was used to with the Firestick.

 

[MidiMagic]

You may have to stop some other processes in Windows to get gapless playback.

 

[himey]

You may have to stop some other processes in Windows to get gapless playback.

What processes are that? Do you mean with Kodi and M4A?

 

[MidiMagic]

Such things as the virus checker scan and the instant start functions for things such as Windows Media Player. Maybe the print spooler. Since each process gets a time slice in Windows, it takes away from the time your audio process gets.

Some processes can also be given lower priorities in the Task Manager. Open it for "processes" to see how many processes are running.

Don't forget to start them again after you finish.

 

[himey]

Such things as the virus checker scan and the instant start functions for things such as Windows Media Player. Maybe the print spooler. Since each process gets a time slice in Windows, it takes away from the time your audio process gets.

Some processes can also be given lower priorities in the Task Manager. Open it for "processes" to see how many processes are running.

Don't forget to start them again after you finish.

So gapless is working for you with M4A files? Using Kodi? Because you disabled a few processes? Or are you speculating?

 

[jimfisheye]

Unexpected interrupts from different apps or OS services causing a lag in something time critical (like streaming audio for playback without dropouts) would not result in consistent "gapped" playback. There would be random dropouts/lags. Otherwise those mystery services would have to coincidentally be turning on exactly at the same time a song segues to the next track. Every time.

Two possible causes for gaps between songs that are supposed to segue:

1. Using a video player that indexes by chapter. Chapter boundaries need to land on frame boundaries. Frame divisions are coarse for audio. You end up with the last song ending before the frame boundary and get that gap.

2. Ripping a CD with ancient software. CD's also use frame boundaries for index points. Ripping that with certain crude old 20th century software leads to gaps at frame boundaries between songs. In fact, there was an old workaround going on with people ripping a CD as a single file and then creating a cue file with track start times. Some older media players supported using cue files and let you navigate tracks by them. 20th century. And I digress as usual.

I wrote sudo explanations quickly there just FYI. Someone can make corrections/additions as they see fit.

VLC is a chapter player. Gaps.
Use an app that caters to music files more smoothly. Pretty sure Kodi works though.

 

[himey]

Unexpected interrupts from different apps or OS services causing a lag in something time critical (like streaming audio for playback without dropouts) would not result in consistent "gapped" playback. There would be random dropouts/lags. Otherwise those mystery services would have to coincidentally be turning on exactly at the same time a song segues to the next track. Every time.

Two possible causes for gaps between songs that are supposed to segue:

1. Using a video player that indexes by chapter. Chapter boundaries need to land on frame boundaries. Frame divisions are coarse for audio. You end up with the last song ending before the frame boundary and get that gap.

2. Ripping a CD with ancient software. CD's also use frame boundaries for index points. Ripping that with certain crude old 20th century software leads to gaps at frame boundaries between songs. In fact, there was an old workaround going on with people ripping a CD as a single file and then creating a cue file with track start times. Some older media players supported using cue files and let you navigate tracks by them. 20th century. And I digress as usual.

I wrote sudo explanations quickly there just FYI. Someone can make corrections/additions as they see fit.

VLC is a chapter player. Gaps.
Use an app that caters to music files more smoothly. Pretty sure Kodi works though.

Kodi is gapless depending on the format. Maybe it can be reworked to support M4A gapless. Until then I have ripped all my Atmos albums as MKV and kept the original background video.

 

[MidiMagic]

This is my experience from live recording sessions.

 

[himey]

This is my experience from live recording sessions.

Sounds like something completely different than this discussion.