BBC IPlayer runs late and slow

[johnbeverley]

I had the same problem for around 36 hours, then the delay disappeared. So
it must have been a BBC issue, rather than the iPlayer plugin.
Neil

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[johnbeverley]

BBC IPlayer runs late and slow

BBC radio runs both late and slow. I shall explain.

When I switch on in the morning the time checks are in sync with real-life, but progressively during the day the time slips - as much as an hour or so at the end of the day.

And speech is ever so slightly slow - with the effect that presenters' voices sound deeper than they should.

I'm running LMS (Max2Play) on a Raspberry Pi. I have a mix of original Squeezebox devices and RPi using piCorePlayer. I've tried limiting the number of devices running simultaneously, but it make no difference. I have updated kernels and versions of everything else I can think of.

I have terrific broadband and a fast home wifi network.

Any thoughts?

[bpa]

Any thoughts?

What version of plugin ?
What settings ?
Have you changed the default Settings/Advanced/Filetypes AAC setting ? Can it still play native ?
Does this happen on a single Touch/Radio player, not synced ?
What other plugins installed ?

BBC audio is at 48kHz- it "feels" like audio is being played back at 44.1kHz - this can happen if LMS settings are changed so that a player should play in PCM and not in Flac or native codecs.

[johnbeverley]

Settings

What version of plugin ?
What settings ?
Have you changed the default Settings/Advanced/Filetypes AAC setting ? Can it still play native ?
Does this happen on a single Touch/Radio player, not synced ?
What other plugins installed ?

BBC audio is at 48kHz- it "feels" like audio is being played back at 44.1kHz - this can happen if LMS settings are changed so that a player should play in PCM and not in Flac or native codecs.

Thanks for speedy response.

I'm running BBC iPlayer (1.5.4.5)

Configured thus:

Live stream Dash>HLS>MP3>FlashAAC
On Demand Dash>HLS

Settings/Advanced/Filetypes:

AAC:
AAC Disabled
FLAC Disabled
MP3 Disabled
PCM faad

Other plugins:

BBC iPlayer Extra
Date & Time
Network Test
Powersave
Radio
Visualiser Screensaver

The phenomenon occurs across the estate, with different devices running independently. Coincidentally I cannot get synchronisation to stick, and have to re-enable it manually each time I want to use it.

Regards
John

[bpa]

AAC:
AAC Disabled
FLAC Disabled
MP3 Disabled
PCM faad

This is your problem. You have only enabled AAC to PCM transcoding. PCM has no header providing audio format details and so player assume a 44.1kHz 2ch 16bits stream.

Use defautl AAC setting (i.e. enable AAC natove, AAC Flac ) and all will be OK.

[johnbeverley]

Thank you

This is your problem. You have only enabled AAC to PCM transcoding. PCM has no header providing audio format details and so player assume a 44.1kHz 2ch 16bits stream.

Use defautl AAC setting (i.e. enable AAC natove, AAC Flac ) and all will be OK.

I shall try that. Thank you.

[johnbeverley]

Worked. Thanks again.

I shall try that. Thank you.

Worked. Thanks again.

[bpa]

Worked. Thanks again.

Why were the settings disabled in the first place ?
Changing default settign should only be done with care as side effects are inevitable.

[johnbeverley]

I followed the guidance from "Soundcheck"

Why were the settings disabled in the first place ?
Changing default settign should only be done with care as side effects are inevitable.

I followed the guidance from "Soundcheck":

https://soundcheck-audio.blogspot.pt/2017/08/logitechmediaserver-settings-guide.html

[bpa]

I followed the guidance from "Soundcheck":

Trust your own ears and use default whenever possible.

Some of those suggestions have been the subject of very long "religious" arguments in the audiophile forum.

[johnbeverley]

Default?

Trust your own ears and use default whenever possible.

Some of those suggestions have been the subject of very long "religious" arguments in the audiophile forum.

Having messed around with those settings (and obviously heard things worse as a result) I unsuccessfully did search around for a listing of the default settings for "filetypes".

Can you point me at such a listing?

Regards
John

[bpa]

Having messed around with those settings (and obviously heard things worse as a result) I unsuccessfully did search around for a listing of the default settings for "filetypes".

Can you point me at such a listing?

There is no listing. The default setting is everything enabled - anything explicitly "disabled" is not default.

It is possible you may have installed plugin or other files that have changed the LMS supplied transcoding. The main default transcoding settings include: Native, lame, flac, faad and sox - alone or in combination. The less common formats have their own transcoder which I can't remember such as wvunpack and mppdec.

Plugins to support non standard LMS formats or extend existing ones may have their own transcoding such as HLS aka Apple m3u8 using ffpmeg or avconv.

[johnbeverley]

Ah. I see.

There is no listing. The default setting is everything enabled - anything explicitly "disabled" is not default.

It is possible you may have installed plugin or other files that have changed the LMS supplied transcoding. The main default transcoding settings include: Native, lame, flac, faad and sox - alone or in combination. The less common formats have their own transcoder which I can't remember such as wvunpack and mppdec.

Plugins to support non standard LMS formats or extend existing ones may have their own transcoding such as HLS aka Apple m3u8 using ffpmeg or avconv.

Ah. I see.

Everything working perfectly now.

Next on my to-do list - how to receive hi-res BBC R3 overseas?

[bpa]

Next on my to-do list - how to receive hi-res BBC R3 overseas?

The BBC restricts non UK to AAC 48kHz 96kbps for DASH & HLS or 128kbps 44.1kHz for shoutcast http/MP3

If playing DASH make sure the BBCiPlayer plugin both setting are set to "Use highest bitrate for DASH stream"

To get UK stream which provide higher quality - you need to use a VPN and appear to be based in the UK. I can't help on that issue.

The BBC test streamed R3 in Flac for last years Proms and that was available to non UK - no news on whether this experiment will be repeated.

[bpa]

I had the same problem for around 36 hours, then the delay disappeared. So
it must have been a BBC issue, rather than the iPlayer plugin.

Delay is not the same as slow. OP problem was that plaback ran at about 90% normal speed so 1 hours program would start at right time but take about 66 minutes to play.

A delay is when a program starts late but runs at the correct speed and so completed in the correct duration.