the audio streaming series

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Releasing sKit-custom-squeezelite.sh 1.4 for test

I just uploaded a seriously modified version 1.4 of sKit-custom-squeezelite.sh

(UPDATE Nov-12-21 - I uploaded 1.4.2-beta. It comes with a few minor corrections, slightly enhanced stability and traceability)

Background

I received several inquiries related to pCP extensions download issues. 

Fun-fact. I actually experienced these issues recently too, while checking how everything is going. 
And I was already looking into it.

The clunky behaviour of the pCP repositories is well known. Contacting the pCP folks (Paul) about it once more wasn't of any help. They simply seem to accept that behaviour - that was my impression at least.

Folks. 

It took me more than 3 days for (hopefully) finding a way around it, rewriting and testing the code! 

I was that annoyed that I thought to shutdown the project altogether and start over with Raspberry PI OS. I might do that anyhow. I consider Raspberry PI OS the far better base for RPi 4. But many of you know that.

Anyhow. I hope the sKit extension download is much more stable now.

With the updated tool you'll see exactly what's going on while running the custom squeezelite installation and you'll also see what feature fails. The tool will then try again.

I had to write my own functions for doing that. The pCP tools were of no use. 

The new tool tries 5 times to get the whole stuff downloaded. In my case I ran into 3 tries max.
I never made it in 1 attempt!

You can simply install the update via sKit-manager.sh "update".
Than you can run sKit-custom-squeezelite.sh. 

And. Better stay away from the 2nd repo (mirror). sourceforge is simply the worst. I never managed to get a download properly done.


Please let me know how it works.

I btw made two recommendations to the pCP team.

  1. Look for another - a more reliable - download server
  2. Install the standard wget download tool instead of that rather slim thus pretty weak busybox-wget.

Ah.

I added one more little feature: 

You'll now find the "git-commit-id" as unique version identifier for the custom-squeezelite binary.
This way you can also look-up in the pCP browser which exact sKit-squeezelite-custom version is active.Over @github you could lookup what has been changed by opening the respective commit-ids.


THX & Enjoy




5 comments:

  1. UnknownDecember 14, 2021 at 4:51 PM

    Hi Klaus,
    On my CM module 3B+ (allobridge Signature) i get the following error if i use the sKit-custom-squeezelite.sh command.

    extensions download successfully finished
    ________________________________________________________________________________

    extensions integrity check


    program aborted:
    ERROR: tcz packages for integrity check missing

    So downloads are all OK and green, but it fails on the integrity check every time.
    On another PcP installation (Rpi4 model) the installation is working fine. No error there.
    Could it be CM related?

    On both installations i performed a insitu upgrade to PcP 8.1.0 first. After that i wanted to upgrade the custom Squeezelite.

    Regards Remco

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. soundcheck (aka Klaus)December 14, 2021 at 6:02 PM

      I am not testing against RPI3. Sorry. I think I made that clear.

      If RPi 4 works, I am satisfied. And hopefully you too. ;)

      And again. Using stuff like the Allobridge is not what I'd recommend, because of that exact reason you've been experiencing. You now need to stick to an outdated CPU platform.

      And that's why I use the iFi filter stuff with external power supply hooked up to a standard RPI. That keeps me flexible for the years to come. And I'd bet - at a very similar quality to your Allo stuff.

      Enjoy.

      Delete
    2. UnknownDecember 16, 2021 at 1:57 PM

      Fair enough.
      I will replace the USBridge in my current setup with a RPI4 and see what it brings.
      I have the Allo Shanti for power and the Digione sig as HAT. No changes there, only swap USBridge for the RPI4.
      Curious to see if SQ is affected. Will report back.

      Delete
    3. UnknownDecember 21, 2021 at 5:37 PM

      Hi Klaus,
      The RPI4 is in and replaced the Allo USBridge. Did not do a lot of testing. SQ did change a bit. Too little to keep the USBridge.
      Mainly 2 things happened: The darker background got less dark. On the other hand music got more easy/sparkling/flowing.

      So i will be on the Pi4 from now on...

      I see in your "My system" section that you have the server/client now on 1 machine. Can we expect a sKit update for that any time soon?

      Regards Remco

      Delete
    4. soundcheck (aka Klaus)December 21, 2021 at 5:52 PM

      That "Dark Background" I achieve with all the iFi filters. And the external Allo power supplies. These make a hell of a difference in my setup. It'll always be a proper mix of hardware and software and of course proper cabling/grounding.
      You simply can't expect a basic RPI to be a highest quality audio device. A little tweaking and we talk about a different thing.

      2.
      No. I won't release a standalone playback solution any time soon. It'd be a hell of a project. Considering the current pretty much not existing community support of my sKit project I'd say: It's not gonna happen.
      It's a pity. I am sure many people would love it. How I know!?! I am running such a system for almost a year by now. ;)

      Enjoy.

      Delete