Streaming audio via DLNA to A/V receiver

[alan_b]

Please add me to the ranks of Winamp users who would love to be able to stream audio directly from Winamp to an A/V receiver via DLNA.

For the first time in years, I launched Windows Media Player to explore its DLNA capabilities (just got a DLNA-capable A/V receiver).

WMP is as awful as I remember it, but it can stream audio via DLNA.

I do not want to switch from Winamp to WMP so, as a temporary workaround, I've been using an HDMI connection to play Winamp through the receiver... but this has created problems of its own, namely:

• having to switch the Windows (7, x64) "Default (Audio Playback) Device" each time I want to play audio through the receiver, rather than the computer's own speaker setup, and
  
  
• whenever I'm listening via HDMI-to-receiver the audio cuts out each time Windows' screen saver (which my monitor doesn't want me to defeat) kicks in

It would be fantastic if Winamp incorporated this decidedly current-tech capability!!

[Batter Pudding]

DLNA support is something I would also be keen on. There have been a few partially built UPnP implementations, but nothing that really seems to work well. I tend to use Winamp to organise my music then need to swap to WMP to link through to the Hifi. Not the best.

As to keeping Winamp awake - this is possible with ThinkTink's plugin:
http://www.winamp.com/plugin/details/222640
(Discussion thread here: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=346588)

I also have a Win7 shortcut to flip Power Saving plans. Couple of shortcuts on the desktop
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...ower-plan.html


When DLNA support is added to Winamp they will need to add this "keep awake" feature as part of it.

[alan_b]

Thanks so much for responding!!

I've read the discussion (thank you for the pointer) and am now looking at the plugin page, http://www.winamp.com/plugin/details/222640

The problem I see with this plugin is that it "prevents Windows from going into any power or screen saving state while Winamp is actively playing media." My monitor insists that I allow it to black out when listening to music (I can already see faint Winamp burn-in), which is how it works when I'm using the VGA out for video and the headphone out for audio (this problem only manifests when I'm streaming audio through the HDMI out).

My Power Management settings provide for sleep "Never" and hibernation "Never." Under Multimedia Settings, I have selected "When sharing media, Prevent idling to sleep," so none of these settings need to be changed.

The only relevant setting here seems to be "Turn off display after 10 minutes." The HDMI audio stops when the display is turned off. And therein lies my problem...

Does think tink's plug-in allow for HDMI audio to continue playing when the display is turned off?

[Batter Pudding]

Think Tink's plugin keeps the PC awake. Screen and disks. So this would keep the screen fully awake if you are worried about that. It doesn't keep the audio awake on its own.

To avoid burnin I'd kick in one of the Milkdrop visualisations. They do look impressive on a 50" TV Screen over HDMI.


Some of the problem here is that HDMI is carrying both the audio and video signals. So the moment your monitor goes to sleep it tells HDMI to fall asleep taking out the audio with it.

Who is feeding your HDMI? Intel, AMD or nVidia? It may be possible to find a driver option to allow video to sleep but keep audio alive.

You monitor only "insists that I allow it to black out when listening to music" because it assumes that as you are not doing any keyboard or mouse input it thinks the PC is not being used. This is OS level and not actually Winamp doing it.

[alan_b]

When I say that my monitor "insists that I allow it to black out when listening to music," I am being anthropormorphic... I mean that the monitor is begging me not to defeat the screen saver, because that would allow Winamp to get further burned-in...

My display adapter is "Intel HD Graphics 3000." I've poked around in the "Intel Graphics and Media Control Panel," but I haven't found anything there that addresses audio.

I'm surprised that there is no way to decouple the HDMI audio/video (at least for screen saver purposes) on either the OS or display adapter level. I was hoping that I had missed something... and am hoping that there'll be a way to remedy this on the Winamp level...

[DrO]

this really sounds more like a hardware handling aspect than anything Winamp (or even the OS by it's design) can really have any control over. and i suspect that by using hdmi, since it's linked audio and video, that is why you're not able to do what you want.

either way, i don't think this i something you're going to be able to achieve (especially from Winamp's side even with plug-ins to do things as this does seem like a fundamentally lower issue for you than what Winamp would be involved with anyway).

[Batter Pudding]

If you don't want to put something nice and funky on the screen like Milkdrop, then maybe locate a black image to display instead. Opening the Winamp video window at full screen would also keep the screen awake.

If you think this through you will see what happens. The PC tells the screen to go to sleep after 10 minutes. This then sends the whole HDMI port to sleep on the PC. Which means the ability to send Audio out is also sent to sleep. This is by design of the OS. Not a Winamp feature in anyway.

Is your HDMI lead between PC and Screen or between PC and Amp?

[alan_b]

Yes, you are both quite correct. I realized right away that this was only happening with HDMI audio... I just had no idea whether this was something that could/must be addressed on the OS level, the display adapter level, or the application level.

I was hoping that there was some way to decouple/demux the HDMI audio and video — or at least get the hardware to handle them independently — so that the screen would blank out while the HDMI audio continued to be passed along... instead of putting the entire HDMI port to sleep, just not passing the video component. I'm still not sure why this couldn't be relatively-easily implemented, but that may be due to my limited understanding of the spec...

@Batter Pudding: the HDMI goes from laptop to a/v receiver.

I would go for a full-screen visualization if jiggling or tapping the mouse would cause a set of control buttons [play, stop, pause] to momentarily appear in a set position. The music is usually playing while I'm working, and I need to be able to pause it immediately when the office phone rings. I tried it out and, between hitting Esc, waiting for the visualization to stop and WA to pop out of full screen mode, finding the pause button and so on, it is decidedly far from 'immediate.'

[When passing audio through the analog headphone out, I just position the mouse over the pause button and let the screen blank out... when the phone rings, I just tap the mouse and WA pauses immediately]

This is all making me hope even harder that WA implements DLNA capabilities... that would obviate all of my HDMI-related problems...

[Batter Pudding]

Enable the Hotkeys in Winamp Preferences. Then you can set any key combination to silence Winamp. Mute or Pause - whichever best suits.

Once you have the hotkeys enabled, you should be able to setup numerous other shortcuts to skip tracks, change volume, etc. Quicker than using the mouse.

Meanwhile... I'm gonna have a bit of a play with my own HDMI attached PC and see if I can find any combination of OS settings that can get this to work. Mine also connects to the Amp before the TV so if I find something that works, I'll let you know.

Though, personally, I just like the simplicity of telling the PC not to fall asleep.


And I would also love to see a real DLNA setup in Winamp. Something that can pass over a Winamp Playlist would be nice. Or at least have access to Winamp's version of the music database.

Puts Marketing hat on... it would also mean I would be able to push my Online Radio Streams direct from the PC to the HiFi and\or TV. A perfect little idea for a Radionomy.com upgrade. Pushing Radionomy streams around the house would be ideal.

[MrSinatra]

Alan,

does your receiver support airplay by any chance?

not sure any of these will help, but maybe u can get some life out of:

http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=320803

http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=330122

http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=325787

[alan_b]

Heh... I had narrowed my receiver choice down to two, only one of which boasted AirPlay support. As it happened, the one I purchased was better for me in every other respect, so no AirPlay here.

Thank you for the links to the other threads... I'm delighted that *someone* is trying to produce a suitable plugin, but it's clear that the current offerings aren't ready for prime time. I really hope that the WA dev team will implement this, and soon...!!!

[MrSinatra]

just out of curiosity, did u try them both?

edit: actually, I see the second one is only for rendering dlna, not making winamp a server / control point.

[alan_b]

No, I didn't. As a general matter, I'm leery of installing programs/plugins written by unknown (to me) parties—particularly when they're at the alpha level—although I will definitely follow these plugins' development to see where they go.

Even with a fully-realized plugin, my archives are predominantly flac, support for which is a must-have...

[MrSinatra]

some routers have dlna servers built into them, (like my asus ac66) but in my case I took a cheap fanless laptop (even an old one works fine) and digitally connected it to my stereo, and I use aWAR remote (android) to control winamp on it via wifi.

[alan_b]

The router option was an intriguing suggestion, MrSinatra... my Linksys router is DLNA-certified, however I confirmed that it will *ONLY* work as a media server for a single external drive connected directly to the router's own USB port... it will not stream media off of the multiples drives connected to any of the computers on a network... The tech person with whom I spoke also confirmed that *ALL* Linksys routers suffer from the same limitation...

[alan_b]

Thank you for the Hotkey suggestion, Batter Pudding.

Each time I try to rest the Pause button, WA throws the following error:

Global Hotkeys
-----------------

Hotkey registration failed as another program has already registered the following hotkey(s):

Playback: Volume up
Playback: Volume down
Playback: Forward
Playback: Rewind

Curiously, no mention is made of any program having 'registered' the Pause button...???

Meanwhile... I'm gonna have a bit of a play with my own HDMI attached PC and see if I can find any combination of OS settings that can get this to work. Mine also connects to the Amp before the TV so if I find something that works, I'll let you know.

Yes, please let me know if you come up with anything interesting.

Though, personally, I just like the simplicity of telling the PC not to fall asleep.

My monitor is not particularly fond of that approach, though I may ultimately wind up pursuing it...

[MrSinatra]

Originally Posted by alan_b

The router option was an intriguing suggestion, MrSinatra... my Linksys router is DLNA-certified, however I confirmed that it will *ONLY* work as a media server for a single external drive connected directly to the router's own USB port... it will not stream media off of the multiples drives connected to any of the computers on a network... The tech person with whom I spoke also confirmed that *ALL* Linksys routers suffer from the same limitation...

I can't speak to that, but I have read some folks hooked up a usb hub to a router to connect multiple drives, no idea which ones support that tho. my router also makes things available as a network drive.

do you not want to hookup a laptop direct to the stereo?

[alan_b]

my router also makes things available as a network drive.

Do you mean that it can stream files that are sitting on an external drive connected to a computer on the local network?

If so, what is its make/model ?

do you not want to hookup a laptop direct to the stereo?

That would be impractical, for a host of reasons...

For now, unless I can figure out what's going on with the hotkeys, or Batter Pudding finds something useful on his system, or your router can stream files that are sitting on an external drive connected to a computer on the local network, it looks like I'm constrained to going back and forth between WA and [sigh] WMP, depending upon where I need the audio to go at any given time...

[MrSinatra]

Originally Posted by alan_b

Do you mean that it can stream files that are sitting on an external drive connected to a computer on the local network?

If so, what is its make/model ?

its the ASUS AC66

what I am saying is that a usb drive connected to the router becomes a network drive, which means any computer on the router can read and optionally write to it as if it were a local drive. this is a feature pretty common to higher end routers. its possible your Linksys does it since it does the dlna server.

so, yes, a computer could access the files, and basically "stream" them to winamp or whatever.

Originally Posted by alan_b

That would be impractical, for a host of reasons...

for my own curiosity, they are?

Originally Posted by alan_b

For now, unless I can figure out what's going on with the hotkeys, or Batter Pudding finds something useful on his system, or your router can stream files that are sitting on an external drive connected to a computer on the local network, it looks like I'm constrained to going back and forth between WA and [sigh] WMP, depending upon where I need the audio to go at any given time...

if I'm understanding what you mean, then I think what I am suggesting would work for you. its essentially no different than if a computer simply shares files in a workgroup or something like that.

just to be sure, can you describe the setup you are hoping to achieve using the things I have suggested? meaning, what parts are where, and how does it functionally work?

[ellio]

I am really, really praying that the new update will provide DLNA support.

It's the BEST way forward !