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New user: Roku stick - Audio Quality?
Posted:
Sat Jun 29, 2019 3:39 pmby proteusmaximus
Hi,
I installed and have been using Serviio for the last few days, using a Roku stick HDMI and the Roku Media Player to stream audio files from my computer. No problems; however, I don't seem to be able to get audio quality beyond 192 kpbs with mpegs, even though many have higher bitrates as played on my computer. Also, flac files do not appear to be showing up or at least are not shown as 'flac' on the Roku Media Player screen. I see mpeg and wav files.
I am trying to figure out why this 192 kpbs limit exists on my set up, so I'd appreciate some help. Is the limit on Serviio (transcoding??, which I have not done anything with), the Roku Stick, the Roku Media Player, something else? If this is part of a FAQ, just a url or two to set me in the right direction is fine.
I thank you for your help.
Bob
Re: New user: Roku stick - Audio Quality?
Posted:
Sat Jun 29, 2019 5:47 pmby atc98092
I can't say for certain, but that limitation might be with the Roku. Which Roku profile are you using? The default Roku profile transcodes more that your Stick needs. For example, the "Roku 1080 Media Player (2016+)" profile has zero transcoding for any audio only files, but the "Roku Media Player" transcodes all audio only media to MP3. In fact, every Roku profile except the "Roku Media Player" profile doesn't touch audio files at all. So check your profile and see which you're using.
Re: New user: Roku stick - Audio Quality?
Posted:
Sat Jun 29, 2019 5:55 pmby proteusmaximus
atc98092 wrote:...Which Roku profile are you using? .
Thanks for your reply. In truth, I don't know which profile I'm using. I haven't assigned a profile and assumed that the setup would take care of that...probably not a wise thought. Shear ignorance; my apologies. Would you kindly fill me in on where the profile is located; what I should do to change it or whatever needs to be done? Also, is there documentation on profiles? I need to become knowledgeable on this topic for sure.
Again thanks!
Edited: Ok, I found profiles.xml in the Serviio config folder. I searched it with my editor, and found several instances of "Roku", including what appears to be the "Roku Media Player" profile talked about previously. From what I can see, it appears that profile.xml contains all 4 Roku profiles. I haven't removed any nor assigned one as a default. How is this done? I would benefit from some help here.
Re: New user: Roku stick - Audio Quality?
Posted:
Sat Jun 29, 2019 6:34 pmby atc98092
proteusmaximus wrote:atc98092 wrote:...Which Roku profile are you using? .
Thanks for your reply. In truth, I don't know which profile I'm using. I haven't assigned a profile and assumed that the setup would take care of that...probably not a wise thought. Shear ignorance; my apologies. Would you kindly fill me in on where the profile is located; what I should do to change it or whatever needs to be done? Also, is there documentation on profiles? I need to become knowledgeable on this topic for sure.
Again thanks!
Edited: Ok, I found profiles.xml and application-profiles.xml in the Serviio config folder. I also searched the web and found mention of "Roku Profiles" as some sort of download. To be clear: I have not changed anything in profiles.xml or application-profiles.xml. And, I have no idea of where to find what I believe are four Roku profiles, albeit I believe the only one I would use is the generic Roku Media one. I still would benefit from some help here.
By default Serviio assigns the generic Roku profile to all detected Roku devices, so you need to select the correct one. Depending on which Stick you have (forgot to ask) you should use either the "Roku 1080 Media Player (2016+)" , "Roku 4K Media Player (2016+)" or the "Roku 4K Media Player w/MPEG2". You change the assigned profile in the Serviio console on the Status tab. Find your Roku device, click edit, then change the profile assigned. Save the change, then on the main Status tab click Save at the bottom to apply the profile.
Re: New user: Roku stick - Audio Quality?
Posted:
Sat Jun 29, 2019 6:52 pmby proteusmaximus
Thanks! I will have to double check what version of the Roku stick I use, and I know how to change the profile in the Serviio console. All is good thanks to your help. I appreciate it.
Re: New user: Roku stick - Audio Quality?
Posted:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 1:43 pmby proteusmaximus
proteusmaximus wrote:Thanks! I will have to double check what version of the Roku stick I use, and I know how to change the profile in the Serviio console. All is good thanks to your help. I appreciate it.
Just to finalize this posting: I am using a Roku Stick model 3500X, which uses the Roku Media Player profile, I believe. The audio quality is limited to 192 kbps and flac files are converted to mpeg, as far as I can tell. Flac files are recognized and played, just not in their native format.
I'm planning on getting a streamer/DAC to improve audio quality in the near future.
Thanks for your help.
Re: New user: Roku stick - Audio Quality?
Posted:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 7:50 pmby atc98092
The 3500 Stick might be powerful enough to use the the "Roku 1080 Media Player (2016+)" profile (especially just for audio, might not be good enough for HD video), so I suggest giving it a try. The profile you are using is converting all music to MP3, which is why you are seeing the 192 kbps bitstream. The profile I suggested doesn't do that, so if your Stick supports your native media you should get whatever it's encoded as.
Re: New user: Roku stick - Audio Quality?
Posted:
Sun Jun 30, 2019 8:37 pmby proteusmaximus
I'll give that profile a try. Thanks.
Edit: Using the Roku 1080 Media Player (2016+) worked, and I have flac files streaming at their higher bitrates. I greatly appreciate your suggestion.