Announce: CastBridge = integrate Chromecast players with LMS (squeeze2cast)

[CommanderROR]

This is what it does all day long, without ever finding my CCA devices:

[16:02:39.000120] UpdateMRThread:668 Begin Cast devices update
[16:02:39.034135] UpdateMRThread:755 Updating configuration /var/lib/squeezeboxserver/prefs/castbridge.xml
[16:02:39.034792] UpdateMRThread:759 End Cast devices update 35
[16:02:55.388330] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1319033016
[16:02:55.388351] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1319031424
[16:03:07.696544] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1319033064
[16:03:07.696565] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1319031472
[16:03:09.000135] UpdateMRThread:668 Begin Cast devices update
[16:03:09.033658] UpdateMRThread:755 Updating configuration /var/lib/squeezeboxserver/prefs/castbridge.xml
[16:03:09.034312] UpdateMRThread:759 End Cast devices update 35

[philippe_44]

Announce: CastBridge = integrate Chromecast players with LMS (squeeze2cast)

Any chance to have tried just the binary on a different machine ? Meanwhile, I'll build a special version for you with logs of what it sees but disqualifies as chromecast devices. Any chance to use this device spy tool or the Linux equivalent (can't remember the name now, but it is in squeeze2upno manual)

[CommanderROR]

@Philippe_44

I'm installing the dev tools for Upnp on my windows 10 machine now and will see what I can find out.

Amazingly both my CCA Devices now suddenly show up in LMS...they have not done that all day...
Even more surprisingly, even the one that is currently streaming from Google Music is showing in LMS...something is wrong with this world!!! Only thing I did was turn on my Windows PC...

[CommanderROR]

This is interesting...

I think I might actually have a clue about what's going on...

Device Spy finds plenty of devices, including the CCA units. However, it also finds a couple of "dead" devices, and some of those carry the same name. Could that be an issue for your Bridge Plugin?

I've currently got two "Esszimmer" devices and three "Wohnzimmer". I guess they are stored somewhere in network limbo (most likely my Router) and show up even if they have not been connected for a while. I'll try and see if I can remove those listings somehow...


UPDATE: It's too early to uncork the vintage wine, but it seems like that was indeed the problem. My Fritz Box stores info on former clients, and apparently does not delete it automatically. After I removed the devices that shared the same name as the CCA Players it now seems to work OK. I'll keep you posted if this sticks or falls apart!

UPDATE2: It looks like AutoPlay ist also working. This is great, since it adds a much-needed feature to CCA!

Thanks philippe_44 you are a true hero!

[CommanderROR]

Ok, I was a bit optimistic about autoplay I guess... It seems to crash the CCA at the moment, will have to investigate some more later on.

[CommanderROR]

@Philippe_44

It looks like everything is working fine now! The problem with autostarting was probably because I did not wait long enough after powering off and then powering back on again.

Apart from that, I haven't had any issues! I did not actively try to break anything just yet, maybe I'll do that tomorrow...

Thanks for doing this!!!

[philippe_44]

@Philippe_44

It looks like everything is working fine now! The problem with autostarting was probably because I did not wait long enough after powering off and then powering back on again.

Apart from that, I haven't had any issues! I did not actively try to break anything just yet, maybe I'll do that tomorrow...

Thanks for doing this!!!

Great ! and thanks for testing. As yous said, these are early days and I know there are a large amout of remaining issues and things I don't understand well enough on the Cast protocol itself, so be patient

[CommanderROR]

No worries!

Btw...my lounge CCA seems to have vanished from LMS again. It was online the entire time (but not connected) and I just started SqueezeCtrl to check, and found that it no longer shows up as a player. It's still visible in the Chromecast app though. Well, never mind.

I guess you'll eventually figure it all out, but for now it seems good enough. Maybe switching discovery over to mDNS will make it even more reliable.

I'm sure there ar plenty of roadblocks ahead... 😇

[philippe_44]

No worries!

Btw...my lounge CCA seems to have vanished from LMS again. It was online the entire time (but not connected) and I just started SqueezeCtrl to check, and found that it no longer shows up as a player. It's still visible in the Chromecast app though. Well, never mind.

I guess you'll eventually figure it all out, but for now it seems good enough. Maybe switching discovery over to mDNS will make it even more reliable.

I'm sure there ar plenty of roadblocks ahead... ��

If you can send me the complete log file (/var/log/squeezeboxcenter/logs/castbridge.log) it will help me understanding why they seem to disappear. You could also increase by a lot the setting of "removed after
XX failed scans" that governs how many scan (happens every 30s by default) a device is authorized to not respond to before it is considered gone. I could also change that logic as I have another "keep alive" mode with chromecast devices (as long as you do not put it off)

[CommanderROR]

I will try that. Sadly I can't provide a log from the time the Plugin stopped working, because I set the logfile limit to 10MB and that fills up quickly.
Strangely, it has now stopped working altogether again. Discovery is not picking up any CCA despite the fact that I restarted the Plugin...

[CommanderROR]

OK...I just don't get this!!!

Like I reported earlier, my CCA had vanished from LMS. Restarting the Plugin did not bring them back either. I then just left things running (and actually left the house, went walkies with the dog) and when I got back the living room CCA (the one that is always on) was back in LMS and had started playing. I checked the log, but it does not say anything useful. It keeps searching in vain, then suddenly it picked up the CCA and everything went fine. I'm pretty sure that if I turn on the one in the dining room now, then it'll work perfectly as well. Not a clue what is happening.

I do have a suspicion though...it might have something to do with how my Router handles IP assigning...I just checked, and it shows five CCA in devices list (one active, four inactive) which means it possibly assigned something twice. I'll see if I can reconfigure things there and see if that helps. I reall love my FritzBox, but occasionally it has a few quirks...

[philippe_44]

OK...I just don't get this!!!

Like I reported earlier, my CCA had vanished from LMS. Restarting the Plugin did not bring them back either. I then just left things running (and actually left the house, went walkies with the dog) and when I got back the living room CCA (the one that is always on) was back in LMS and had started playing. I checked the log, but it does not say anything useful. It keeps searching in vain, then suddenly it picked up the CCA and everything went fine. I'm pretty sure that if I turn on the one in the dining room now, then it'll work perfectly as well. Not a clue what is happening.

I do have a suspicion though...it might have something to do with how my Router handles IP assigning...I just checked, and it shows five CCA in devices list (one active, four inactive) which means it possibly assigned something twice. I'll see if I can reconfigure things there and see if that helps. I reall love my FritzBox, but occasionally it has a few quirks...

I've been working on detection improvment, should release something tomorrow. I also refactored a bit the handling of the devices so there should be much less deadlocks ...

[CommanderROR]

Great!

Btw...what setting of logging should I use to get less "fluff" and more useful information? Currently the logs are swamped with reecan attempts because I have set logging to "all"

[philippe_44]

Great!

Btw...what setting of logging should I use to get less "fluff" and more useful information? Currently the logs are swamped with reecan attempts because I have set logging to "all"

Leave debug setting to "none", it is already quite verbose. I should change that one day as it is a bit confusing: "none" means "info" level for all trace streams. The option in that combobox is to add extra levels for the streams

[CommanderROR]

@Philippe_44

Good luck here! I think I managed to catch the moment it starts to fail:

[14:02:06.001678] process:553 [0x512c0] strm
[14:02:06.001738] process_strm:240 [0x512c0] strm command t
[14:02:06.001767] sendSTAT:166 [0x512c0] STAT: STMt
[14:02:08.563675] SendCastMessage:175 [0xb0900480]: Cast sending: {"type":"PING"}
[14:02:11.001687] process:553 [0x512c0] strm
[14:02:11.001766] process_strm:240 [0x512c0] strm command t
[14:02:11.007824] sendSTAT:166 [0x512c0] STAT: STMt
[14:02:11.616433] SendCastMessage:175 [0xb0900480]: Cast sending: {"type":"PING"}
[14:02:12.622337] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1332720576
[14:02:12.622385] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search 928784
[14:02:14.000116] UpdateMRThread:668 Begin Cast devices update
[14:02:14.034756] UpdateMRThread:748 [0xaa3cc]: removing renderer (Wohnzimmer_Cast)
[14:02:14.034802] slimproto_close:932 [0x512c0] slimproto stop for Wohnzimmer_Cast
[14:02:14.034831] output_mr_close:818 [0x512c0] close media renderer
[14:02:14.113260] decode_close:180 close decode
[14:02:14.113297] stream_close:334 [0x512c0] close stream
[14:02:14.220819] CastSocketThread:393 [0xb0d00550]: SSL connection lost
[14:02:14.221012] UpdateMRThread:755 Updating configuration /var/lib/squeezeboxserver/prefs/castbridge.xml
[14:02:14.221551] UpdateMRThread:759 End Cast devices update 222
[14:02:38.591369] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1332720576
[14:02:38.591436] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1328534024
[14:02:42.295835] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search 928784
[14:02:42.295862] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1332720576
[14:02:44.000121] UpdateMRThread:668 Begin Cast devices update
[14:02:44.055690] UpdateMRThread:755 Updating configuration /var/lib/squeezeboxserver/prefs/castbridge.xml
[14:02:44.056465] UpdateMRThread:759 End Cast devices update 57
[14:03:07.947814] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1328534392
[14:03:07.947876] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1332719376
[14:03:12.108273] CallbackEventHandler:594 Answer to uPNP search -1332720576


I'm not sure whether this means anything, but I'd guess the "ssl fail" could have some impact? Although that happens after the Player is ejected, so maybe it'S not important? I have set the "remove Player" setting to 30 btw, but don't think that made a difference. The "Wohnzimmer_Cast" is still running and I can access it from Android.