We here, plus at least one client, are experiencing an issue where we cannot playback a set of files purchased from Qobuz through UPnP. The files show up, and Mosaic seems to load the first file, but playback does not start. Playback is possible through Services -> Qobuz -> Purchases -> Albums -> , but, what would happen if the Qobuz subscription was not renewed? Would the Qobuz section appear with Purchases playable even if there were no longer valid credentials for a Qobuz account?
I’m assuming that these files are in AIFF format and if that’s the case then this is a known issue. Qobuz is doing something strange with the encoding of their downloaded files and that’s causing an issue with some playback mechanisms. We’re looking into a fix for this and hope to have a solution in the next release.
In the mean time there are a couple of options:
Re-encode the files. Just use dbpoweramp or something similar to “convert” the files from AIFF to AIFF with no other changes. You’ll end up with the same bits and tags, but the process will re-encode the metadata and do it correctly.
Convert the files to a different format (i.e. FLAC)
If the account isn’t renewed then the login to Qobuz will no longer work and the albums wouldn’t be accessible through the Qobuz app or via the Qobuz support in Mosaic (or Roon, or anything else).
Thanks for the input - I had looked at the metadata but could not find anything amiss myself. They are indeed AIFF files - I will try the reencode.
Not sure about what you report about Roon playback, as, they show up in Roon in my NAS array hard drive library, not in the Qobuz section. Eric from Qobuz (NYC) told me that once one has purchased the download from them, there are no restrictions, and a subscription is not necessary to playback purchased files.
Roon is a little more forgiving of the file structure as are a few other pieces of software.
The files themselves have no restrictions once downloaded, but if the account is cancelled there’s no way to login and access them to be streamed via the internet.
Right - but these files weren’t being streamed from Qobuz - they are purchased downloads.
And, thanks for the advice - I ran the album fils through XLD just now, and they play just fine, and I logged out of Qobuz before test to make sure. So, a little tedious to fix, but simple!
Seems like you shouldn’t have to fix this, if it is an odd thing on the Qobuz side - seems like they should just send a ‘standard’ sort of AIFF…
Casey, just to add that you do not need to reformat your files. You can go back to the Qobuz store, enter your account and download the files again in another format .
If your subscription to Qobuz expires then, no surprise, you will not be able to access Qobuz streaming but the player might still work for purchases, I haven’t tried… However as these are purchased files you have two choices when downloading from Qobuz. One is to download your purchase into the Qobuz app. If you have done this then if your subscription terminates even if it is goodbye to your purchases stored in the app they will still be available to you in the store I believe as you should still have an account there.The other option is to download to your hard disk in which case the files are yours for as long as your hard disk lasts ( do back up). If you downloaded in the first way then, again, go back to the store and download again but to your hard disk. You will need to install a small program called 7-Zip to open the zipped file from Qobuz. You need to download in this way if your purchased files need to be stored on e.g. a NAS.
