Preferred NAS streamer software

Support
#1

I finally got the upsampler for my vivaldi setup and am streaming using a demo version of Assets. I have been using a home based plex server for my media streaming and find the mosaic software with Asset sound great but the user display isn’t very cool. On Plex I have about 12 albums or artists displayed in a rectangular matrix with decent sized album covers that I can clearly see on my cell and I can scroll endlessly until I get to the bottom of the matrix regardless of how many albums or artists i have in sort. Also, when I sort by artist, it gives me “entire albums” by artists. With the Asset/Mosaic setup I get a linear list of artists with tiny covers and may only be one track from an album of various artists rather that the entire album properly joined. Of course, releases by artists where there is no one else attributed works properly. It almost seems as if it’s set up to play pop songs rather than compositions. Prior to buying the media server software, I wanted to get a feel for what and how it works. Do all of the server interface softwares work in this manner and is this a function of mosaic? I know this is probably elementary, but I could use some help here

thanks

#2

The “official” view on server software is this:

However some users report that Asset ( UPnP server software) works fine. So there seems to be some issue with your setup that differs from what others experience, However I do not quite understand what you are referring to regarding Plex as this seems to be another server software version or app mainly intended for A/V use :

So I do not understand quite where Asset in conjunction with Plex enters the picture. Maybe I have misunderstood your post but without further clarification the result you have would seem to be resulting from incompatibility as explained in the FAQ link.

I would simply download MinimServer 2 to your server hardware with MinimWatch 2 to your computer for control purposes and see if that fixes things after scanning your albums to it.

https://minimserver.com/minimserver2.html

#3

plex 4
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plex 5
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plex 3
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plex 2
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Thanks as always Pete for chiming in with a great response. I looked more at what was going on last night and it appears after further investigation that adding Asset to my server made a tunnel for Plex to get through to my Upsampler. It appears on limited use so far that the Mosaic interface is what is disappointing to me and that with Asset, Plex is now working fine and interfacing with the Upsampler directly. Although I really like the “data quality” reading displayed below the album art while the track is playing on Mosaic, Plex to me is much more user friendly. Here are a few shots to understand my thoughts. Photo Plex 1 is a sample page of the library. Shot two is the inside of a Miles Davis artist folder showing a quick bio and the albums that I have available on the server. Plex 2 shows the Miles Davis Library expanded. Plex 3 shows the album art and track listing. Plex 4 shows the track which is playing with album art as it is playing. Possibly as I dig around more, I’ll be able to pull in additional features.

I see now that I have loaded them that they are not in order nor labeled. Menu screen 2nd from bottom, Miles Davis albums screen 3rd from bottom, album screen 4th from bottom, No playing track screen (similar to Mosaic) at top. Hopefully that explains my setup.

BTW, the tip on the software to find missing Metadata works great. Now using that burning resourse exclusively.

plex 5
plex 51125×2436 437 KB

thanks again

Barry

plex 1
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#4

Barry, great to hear that you have got it sorted out. If you prefer Plex then great -I Iike freedom of choice.

In some ways changing apps is often really only a case of getting used to the new one. Mosaic was never intended as more than a basic player app for the services that are provided. However it was also never intended to be the final word on what dCS would provide. Think of it as a work in progress.

#5

Hey Pete. I went to AXPONA this year and got a free sub to qobuz. I now understand mosaic much better and its purpose as a manager on the dcs system as-well as the interface to streamed music. I see now that what I was expecting was a table listing all music available in quobuz with covers to choose from which is what plex does for my server data but mosaic just handles things differently. I probably still dont understand all that it can do but i see it really is more a handshake to directly access qobuz on dcs. Qobuz software seems setup to be portable so you have you playlists ready to go when you’re on the fly. Plex is more a display and control for your database. They all have pluses and minuses but i wanted to circle back with thanks now that i actually have a better understanding. B

#6

Hi Barry. This is the first response that I have been able to write for several months so I hope it is OK. Some here will know I have been seriously ill - lucky to be able to do this at all - and have been in hospital for most of this time. No audio at all of course during that time and still not really back to listening to the system as I have been home for only four weeks.

Qobuz is huge and has many features that cannot be accessed via Mosaic. Mosaic is fine for day to day replay of your albums/tracks but you need to download the Qobuz desktop player to your computer to control Qobuz itself including the quality of sound sent to you, what genres of music you are interested in, the fabulous text information for rack/label/music genre etc, the on-line shop for purchases and so on. Think of Qobuz as having several flavours. Use Mosaic to play via dCS but Qobuz desktop to sort out a base line of what you want (incidentally the best place to pick weekly new releases) and one of the Qobuz portable players if you want to listen e.g. via phone. For example I use desktop every Friday morning to select from that day’s new classical releases. Once picked as favourites they automatically appear in Mosaic which is where I play them from.

Take a bit of time to find out what you can do and which solution best fits the purpose you require and be happy to switch between them as your needs demand.

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#7

Welcome back Pete :+1:t2: I am glad that you made it!

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#8

Yes Pete. We are so thankful you are back with us.

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#9

Wow Pete. I was not aware and am certainly happy that you feel well enough to be back and hopefully listening. Hopefully you are over the hump and healing quickly. Speedy recovery. Thank you for taking the time to respond and welcome back… sincerely!

Regarding qobuz yes, i has seen that mosaic only brushes qobuz’s capabilities. I find that it is building a playlist for me but the algorithm for needs a bit of time to refine itself. Yes i have noticed that weekly feature and am watching it. I have found the software particularly helpful in finding and listening to recommended recordings by friends, acquaintances and reviewers that have not been exposed to. ( bad english). Often my taste is contrary to the opinion given but being able to quickly add the suggestion to qobuz list and to be able to experience what has been suggested is terrific. Being able to quickly look up an artist and fairly quickly access much of their catalog is also stellar. Im looking forward to where my saved qobuz media is better organized for visual access but it Works great with mosaic. Yes. I see that switching between qobuz and mosaic (and plex for my home streamed media) makes things much more comprehensive. Also when not being in my primary listening area with my ipad using qobuz to airdrop to my zeppelin or car is great. I setup my sampling rates and when home love that open pipe. Also when changing out a cable or making minor adjustments to the system a qobuz reference list makes comparisons much easier. Reading and researching about streaming has also caused me to make some substantial improvements to my supporting network chain which has really helped on all systems.
It has and continues to be not only a great source of listening but an expansion of my thoughts about how to improve my overall listening experience. In any case. Thanks again and best wishes for a continued speedy healing. B

#10

Pete, i am very pleased to read your posts again. I hope your health is back for good! I read your today’s post with great joy. Good health! Robert

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#11

I also am really glad to see you are back, Pete. Best wishes for further speedy recovery. We feared you were a goner! Like it or not, you are the Father of the Forum, so to speak, and the place hasn’t been the same without you.

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#12

Welcome back Pete!
As @Simon_C says, it’s not been the same without you!
Here’s wishing you a steady recovery…

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#13

Pete - Welcome back! Great to hear from you, and best wishes for continued recovery.

#14

Pete - So good to have you and your knowledge back to the forum. Stay healthy my friend

#15

Welcome back Peter. Good to see you are back live and kicking.

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#16

I would like to think everyone for your kind best wishes regarding my recovery. I hope that they can be fulfilled but unfortunately I doubt if I will be restored to the position I was in before being now left somewhat disabled. So I may not contribute as regularly as I once did but your good wishes are really appreciated believe me.

Kindest Regards

Pete

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#17

Pete,

It is wonderful to hear from you. I am of course sorry that you haven’t had a full recovery but, regardless, the fact that you are back and able to enjoy music is terrific.

Best wishes to you, this forum feels whole with you around regardless of the amount you are able to contribute!

Separately, I recently celebrated my father’s 90th birthday with him and while he definitely is not anywhere near as fit or even healthy as he once was, we celebrated together and that was great in and of itself. Birthday or no birthday, I hope you are able to do the same with your loved ones.

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