A recent software upgrade to Raspberry Pi OS broke the way Squeezelite had previously played to the Pi's HDMI output. I've seen some mention of this issue in the piCorePlayer threads, so I gather HDMI is very much a moving target right now. This is one of those times when, after about fourteen years of using Linux as my main OS, I feel like a total newbie.
I will provide much, much more detail below, but first I'd like to say that I'm hoping for some guidance at the most basic level: should I just stick with a version that works, for now, or is it worthwhile to try to find the problem and fix it? If the latter, I will need a lot of guidance.
Early this month, I started working on a project that would turn a Pi into a self-contained media center that could be plugged into a TV's HDMI input to play video and music. Since video was part of the plan, piCorePlayer was not an option, and I decided to use Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian). I used the regular version (includes a gui desktop, but minimal pre-installed software) of the most recent release, dated January 11, 2021. I started off with a Pi 3B, but soon switched to a 3B+. The situation I describe here applies to both.
When first installing the OS, the setup procedure prompts to update software. I did that, and proceeded to install other software I wanted, including LMS 8.1.1 and Squeezelite v1.9.8-1344. Everything worked. When LMS served audio to squeezelite, I could hear it through TV audio system (A/V receiver and speakers). Playing video with VLC, audio and video both worked.
This remained true until last Saturday, when I ran another software update, using apt-get dist-upgrade. Following that update, LMS could no longer play music through Squeezelite. VLC was still able to play video and audio through the HDMI output.
I have since repeated the process with a fresh install of the same OS image. This time, I skipped the initial software upgrade, but installed my choices. Again, LMS and Squeezelite worked, until I ran a manual upgrade, this time using the recommended command, apt full-upgrade. Again, Squeezelite was no longer able to output to HDMI.
I have also made a fresh install and allowed the initial software upgrade. This time, the LMS/Squeezelite combo never worked, but VLC is still able to play audio through HDMI.
I have checked the level the Squeezelite player is set to and turned it up. I have checked the Alsamixer level. I have tried using the Pi installation of LMS to serve music to a Boom, and it worked. I have tried bypassing the TV HDMI input and connecting directly to an HDMI input in the A/V receiver, without success.
The current Squeezelite startup command is:
I have also tried these outputs:
plughw:CARD=b1,DEV=0
sysdefault:CARD=b1
All worked before the upgrade. I can't get any audio out of squeezelite with them now.
I'm stuck. I suppose the logical thing is to try some other options with Squeezelite, but which options? I haven't a clue about how to proceed. Are there logging options I should use in LMS and/or in Squeezelite that might shed some light on the situation?
Or would it make more sense simply to assume that this is not going to work for now? I can always start again with a fresh install and never run a software upgrade. It just irks me to have to do that. It's admitting defeat. But, as we've seen recently, sometimes that's the intelligent choice.
I will provide much, much more detail below, but first I'd like to say that I'm hoping for some guidance at the most basic level: should I just stick with a version that works, for now, or is it worthwhile to try to find the problem and fix it? If the latter, I will need a lot of guidance.
Early this month, I started working on a project that would turn a Pi into a self-contained media center that could be plugged into a TV's HDMI input to play video and music. Since video was part of the plan, piCorePlayer was not an option, and I decided to use Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian). I used the regular version (includes a gui desktop, but minimal pre-installed software) of the most recent release, dated January 11, 2021. I started off with a Pi 3B, but soon switched to a 3B+. The situation I describe here applies to both.
When first installing the OS, the setup procedure prompts to update software. I did that, and proceeded to install other software I wanted, including LMS 8.1.1 and Squeezelite v1.9.8-1344. Everything worked. When LMS served audio to squeezelite, I could hear it through TV audio system (A/V receiver and speakers). Playing video with VLC, audio and video both worked.
This remained true until last Saturday, when I ran another software update, using apt-get dist-upgrade. Following that update, LMS could no longer play music through Squeezelite. VLC was still able to play video and audio through the HDMI output.
I have since repeated the process with a fresh install of the same OS image. This time, I skipped the initial software upgrade, but installed my choices. Again, LMS and Squeezelite worked, until I ran a manual upgrade, this time using the recommended command, apt full-upgrade. Again, Squeezelite was no longer able to output to HDMI.
I have also made a fresh install and allowed the initial software upgrade. This time, the LMS/Squeezelite combo never worked, but VLC is still able to play audio through HDMI.
I have checked the level the Squeezelite player is set to and turned it up. I have checked the Alsamixer level. I have tried using the Pi installation of LMS to serve music to a Boom, and it worked. I have tried bypassing the TV HDMI input and connecting directly to an HDMI input in the A/V receiver, without success.
The current Squeezelite startup command is:
Code:
/home/pi/bin/squeezelite -s localhost -n MusicHall -z -o hw:CARD=b1,DEV=0plughw:CARD=b1,DEV=0
sysdefault:CARD=b1
All worked before the upgrade. I can't get any audio out of squeezelite with them now.
I'm stuck. I suppose the logical thing is to try some other options with Squeezelite, but which options? I haven't a clue about how to proceed. Are there logging options I should use in LMS and/or in Squeezelite that might shed some light on the situation?
Or would it make more sense simply to assume that this is not going to work for now? I can always start again with a fresh install and never run a software upgrade. It just irks me to have to do that. It's admitting defeat. But, as we've seen recently, sometimes that's the intelligent choice.