M4A files not found/recognized

[seidler]

Hi,

I've been using LMS for a while on my x86 server running Debian 10. It works great. I use it to stream to various AirPlay and UPnP-compatible devices around the house.

However, I have the problem that I have m4a and mp4 files in my library and I would like to play those files, too. I have tried searching the forums and the web for a solution, but I didn't find any. The problem is that the folders with the m4a files will appear to be empty when I browse to them in the web interface or Squeezer (Android app). So it's likely that for some reason they are being ignored, and I don't know how to find out why and how to make LMS not ignore them.

Any pointers?

Thanks,

Stefan

[Paul Webster]

Have they been excluded?
Settings/Advanced/File Types

If not - then check LMS server.log to see if there are any clues.

[bpa]

Any pointers?

Check permissions and owner of the "missing" files. Directories holdign the missing files also need to be searchable by LMS (i.e. have "x" permission for LMS user id - often "others") for LMS to finds files in a directory.

Just in case there are other issues with m4a/mp4 - you should also provide info on LMS version.

[seidler]

Thanks for the answers, sorry I didn't respond, I think I'll need to enable notifications for this forum :-)

I did check the permissions and they are the same for folders+files which are being found.

I am running the latest release I think, 8.1.1.

I enabled debug logging for the scanner and I can't really see anything. It lists all the files that it scans, except the m4a ones. So it would show something like this:

[21-01-19 19:30:00.8726] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/The Cranberries/No Need to Argue/5 - Empty.ogg
[21-01-19 19:30:00.8729] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/The Corrs - unplugged
[21-01-19 19:30:00.8732] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/Roxette
[21-01-19 19:30:00.8735] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/Roxette/Tourism
[21-01-19 19:30:00.8736] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/Roxette/Tourism/10 - Silver Blue.mp3

As you can see, it will list the folder for "The Corrs - unplugged", but no files in there. However, there are files in that directory, one example I can play fine:

Playing 01 - The Corrs - Only when I sleep.m4a.
libavformat version 58.45.100 (external)
libavformat file format detected.
[mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2 @ 0x7fe87a10cec0]Protocol name not provided, cannot determine if input is local or a network protocol, buffers and access patterns cannot be configured optimally without knowing the protocol
[lavf] stream 0: audio (aac), -aid 0, -alang eng
Clip info:
 major_brand: mp42
 minor_version: 0
 compatible_brands: mp42isom
 creation_time: 2005-06-20T16:53:25.000000Z
 title: Only when I sleep
 artist: The Corrs
 album: unplugged
 genre: Secular
 track: 1
 date: 1999
 comment: Ripped by Winamp
==========================================================================
Opening audio decoder: [ffmpeg] FFmpeg/libavcodec audio decoders
libavcodec version 58.91.100 (external)
AUDIO: 44100 Hz, 2 ch, floatle, 189.6 kbit/6.72% (ratio: 23699->352800)
Selected audio codec: [ffaac] afm: ffmpeg (FFmpeg AAC (MPEG-2/MPEG-4 Audio))
==========================================================================

I can't make too much sense of the "File Types" setting in the server settings, but the "Disabled Audio File Extensions" field is empty, and under MPEG-4 and MPEG-4 leading audio none of the Decoder settings are disabled, they are either Nativ or something with faad.

[d6jg]

Do you have other m4a and mp4 files that are found ok?

If it’s only these ones or consistent across all then consider converting them to mp3 which you know will play.

[bpa]

I can't make too much sense of the "File Types" setting in the server settings, but the "Disabled Audio File Extensions" field is empty, and under MPEG-4 and MPEG-4 leading audio none of the Decoder settings are disabled, they are either Nativ or something with faad.

This issue has nothing to do with FileTypes. If the issue was FileType then you'd see the files in a album / folder but get a message such as "can't play file for" when you try to play the file.

The issue is the files are not being "seen" when scanned. This is usually (i) permissions and ownership or (ii) exclusions.

"x" Permission must be given to whole tree of directories not just the immediate one containing the tracks. The directory tree starts with the one declared as base folder in LMS settings.

What is the current permission and ownership on the two hierarchically higher directories and on the track files

Are these directories shared or networked ?

[seidler]

Appreciate the help, guys. The files are local. I su'ed to the squeezeboxserver user (su - squeezeboxserver -s /bin/bash) and I could see and read the files:

root@jethro:~# su - squeezeboxserver -s /bin/bash
squeezeboxserver@jethro:~$ ffmpeg -i /media/video/Audio/Secular/The\ Corrs\ -\ unplugged/01\ -\ The\ Corrs\ -\ Only\ when\ I\ sleep.m4a 
ffmpeg version 4.1.6-1~deb10u1 Copyright (c) 2000-2020 the FFmpeg developers
  built with gcc 8 (Debian 8.3.0-6)
  configuration: --prefix=/usr --extra-version='1~deb10u1' --toolchain=hardened --libdir=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu --incdir=/usr/include/x86_64-linux-gnu --arch=amd64 --enable-gpl --disable-stripping --enable-avresample --disable-filter=resample --enable-avisynth --enable-gnutls --enable-ladspa --enable-libaom --enable-libass --enable-libbluray --enable-libbs2b --enable-libcaca --enable-libcdio --enable-libcodec2 --enable-libflite --enable-libfontconfig --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-libgme --enable-libgsm --enable-libjack --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libmysofa --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libopus --enable-libpulse --enable-librsvg --enable-librubberband --enable-libshine --enable-libsnappy --enable-libsoxr --enable-libspeex --enable-libssh --enable-libtheora --enable-libtwolame --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libwavpack --enable-libwebp --enable-libx265 --enable-libxml2 --enable-libxvid --enable-libzmq --enable-libzvbi --enable-lv2 --enable-omx --enable-openal --enable-opengl --enable-sdl2 --enable-libdc1394 --enable-libdrm --enable-libiec61883 --enable-chromaprint --enable-frei0r --enable-libx264 --enable-shared
  libavutil      56. 22.100 / 56. 22.100
  libavcodec     58. 35.100 / 58. 35.100
  libavformat    58. 20.100 / 58. 20.100
  libavdevice    58.  5.100 / 58.  5.100
  libavfilter     7. 40.101 /  7. 40.101
  libavresample   4.  0.  0 /  4.  0.  0
  libswscale      5.  3.100 /  5.  3.100
  libswresample   3.  3.100 /  3.  3.100
  libpostproc    55.  3.100 / 55.  3.100
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from '/media/video/Audio/Secular/The Corrs - unplugged/01 - The Corrs - Only when I sleep.m4a':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : mp42
    minor_version   : 0
    compatible_brands: mp42isom
    creation_time   : 2005-06-20T16:53:25.000000Z
    title           : Only when I sleep
    artist          : The Corrs
    album           : unplugged
    genre           : Secular
    track           : 1
    date            : 1999
    comment         : Ripped by Winamp
  Duration: 00:04:38.72, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 191 kb/s
    Stream #0:0(eng): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp, 189 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2005-06-20T16:53:25.000000Z

That seems to tell me that the files are readable. Also, when I compare the permissions, they seem all fine, but I might be missing something (here's a listing of two directories, one with ogg files that show up and one with m4a that don't):

squeezeboxserver@jethro:/media/video/Audio/Secular$ ls -lna The\ Corrs\ -\ unplugged/ The\ Cranberries/No\ Need\ to\ Argue/
'The Corrs - unplugged/':
total 89720
drwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1000     950 Jan 14  2019  .
drwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1000    1366 Jan 14  2019  ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6657993 Jan 14  2019 '01 - The Corrs - Only when I sleep.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6602068 Jan 14  2019 '02 - The Corrs - What can I do.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6958386 Jan 14  2019 '03 - The Corrs - Radio.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 4646078 Jan 14  2019 '04 - The Corrs - Toss the feathers.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6621951 Jan 14  2019 '05 - The Corrs - Runaway.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 7711818 Jan 14  2019 '06 - The Corrs - Forgiven not forgotten.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6535515 Jan 14  2019 '07 - The Corrs - At your side.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6739424 Jan 14  2019 '08 - The Corrs - Little wing.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6443882 Jan 14  2019 '09 - The Corrs - No frontiers.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6795428 Jan 14  2019 '10 - The Corrs - Queen of Hollywood.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 4544222 Jan 14  2019 '11 - The Corrs - Old town.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6341975 Jan 14  2019 '12 - The Corrs - Lough Erin Shore.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 7029422 Jan 14  2019 '13 - The Corrs - So young.m4a'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 8216276 Jan 14  2019 '14 - The Corrs - Everybody hurts.m4a'

'The Cranberries/No Need to Argue/':
total 68456
drwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1000     582 Jan 14  2019  .
drwxr-xr-x 1 1000 1000      32 Jan 14  2019  ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 4919437 Jan 14  2019 '10 - Dreaming My Dreams.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 4225088 Jan 14  2019 "11 - Yeat's Grave.ogg"
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 8045642 Jan 14  2019 '12 - Daffodil Lament.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 3432859 Jan 14  2019 '13 - No Need to Argue.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6262324 Jan 14  2019 '1 - Ode to My Family.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 4305827 Jan 14  2019 "2 - I Can't Be With You.ogg"
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 4285800 Jan 14  2019 '3 - Twenty One.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 7248878 Jan 14  2019 '4 - Zombie.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 5177649 Jan 14  2019 '5 - Empty.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 5242903 Jan 14  2019 '6 - Everything I Said.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 4720276 Jan 14  2019 '7 - The Icicle Melts.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6013073 Jan 14  2019 '8 - Disappointment.ogg'
-rw-r--r-- 1 1000 1000 6181889 Jan 14  2019 '9 - Ridiculous Thoughts.ogg'

[bpa]

That seems to tell me that the files are readable. Also, when I compare the permissions, they seem all fine, but I might be missing something (here's a listing of two directories, one with ogg files that show up and one with m4a that don't)

Can you confirm that in an earlier post (#4) that it looks like you put the file Empty.ogg file in the "No need to Argue" directory with all the other m4a files but the m4a files were ignored.

[21-01-19 19:30:00.8726] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/The Cranberries/No Need to Argue/5 - Empty.ogg
[21-01-19 19:30:00.8729] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/The Corrs - unplugged
[21-01-19 19:30:00.8732] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/Roxette
[21-01-19 19:30:00.8735] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/Roxette/Tourism
[21-01-19 19:30:00.8736] Slim::Utils::Scanner::Local::Async::__ANON__ (148) Found /media/video/Audio/Secular/Roxette/Tourism/10 - Silver Blue.mp3

If that is the case then it looks like the m4a extension is being ignored and the only standard place I am aware that can be set is in first field in WebUI Settings/Advanced/FileTypes

However I recall there is a plugin which allows a pattern preferences to be added to ignore file- the preference is "ignoreDirRE"

Can you stop LMS and check in prefs/server.prefs the following "ignore" entries and what they are set to in your system.

ignoreDirRE: ''
ignoreInAudioScan: []
ignoreInImageScan:
- /mnt/hddrive/home/albums
ignoreInVideoScan:
- /mnt/hddrive/home/albums
ignoredarticles: The El La Los Las Le Les

[seidler]

Thanks. No, the Cranberries work fine, but the Corrs do not. The Empty ogg is in the Cranberries, which works.

My server.prefs looks exactly like yours, with my directory name in there, of course.

However, I am wondering whether "ignoreInVideoScan" might be a hint. What happens if I take the directory out of there? Because actually, I do have videos in there and I do sometimes want the kids to listen to just the audio of their videos (Fireman Sam is nice even without the video ;-))

[bpa]

Thanks. No, the Cranberries work fine, but the Corrs do not. The Empty ogg is in the Cranberries, which works.

My server.prefs looks exactly like yours, with my directory name in there, of course.

OK.

However, I am wondering whether "ignoreInVideoScan" might be a hint. What happens if I take the directory out of there? Because actually, I do have videos in there and I do sometimes want the kids to listen to just the audio of their videos (Fireman Sam is nice even without the video ;-))

Not sure. I think the ignore is disabling Video directory support in "Basic Settings" tab