SkweezyDs Installation and Configuration

Installation

Prerequisites

  • SqueezeCenter at version 7.0 or later
  • Squeezebox device (SB1/2/3/Classic, Transporter or Duet controller)
  • Linn DS player with Cara or Davaar firmware

Extension Downloader

If using SqueezeCenter at version 7.3 or newer, the Extension Downloader is the recommended way to install SkweezyDs. Installation from a ZIP file for earlier versions is described later

  • Select the Extension Downloader from Settings->Plugins





  • Enable the SkweezyDs plugin and click Apply
  • SqueezeCenter will prompt for, and requires a restart after this step


  • Once restarted SkweezyDs is installed

ZIP file

Installation from a ZIP file is done in the standard SqueezeCenter way

  • Download latest zip file from http://oss.linn.co.uk/trac/wiki/SkweezyDsDownloads
  • In the external plugins directory (normally !Squeezebox/server/Plugins) create a directory called SkweezyDs
  • Unzip the downloaded file into this directory
  • Restart !Squeezebox Server

Do NOT unpack into the Slim/Plugin? directory - this is reserved for plugins supplied with the SqueezeCenter installation

Configuration

It is necessary to pair up Squeezeboxen with DS players for the plugin to work. This is performed using the SkweezyDs configuration page in SqueezeCenter settings

  • BEFORE selecting the configuration page, ensure that the DS player(s) and Squeezebox(en) are powered up and connected to the network so that they will be detected
  • Select the SkweezyDs settings page from the Settings->Plugins menu



  • Select the required pairing(s) from the drop-down lists
  • Disable the Volume checkbox if volume control is NOT required
  • Click the Add button



  • To delete a pairing click the relevant Delete button


  • Once these changes have been applied, RESTART SqueezeCenter


Audio Server Block Size (Ver 0.34 onwards)

From version 0.34 (Cara), there is an additional option to fine tune the audio server block size. The lower this value, the more responsive the application, however this may lead to very heavy processor usage, and possible audio dropout.

In the majority of cases the default size of 4096 bytes should suffice. This needs to be changed upwards if audio dropout is experienced or processor usage is extremely high. It may be tuned downwards to improve responsiveness of the system. To tune this

  • Use a high resolution audio track (preferably 96/24) and reduce the value until audio dropout occurs.
  • Increase to next available value
  • Check processor usage, if SqueezeCenter is continuously using more than 10% then further increase the block size value until this is reduced.

Note - ReadyNAS NV and Duo work best with block size of 8192 or higher

Troubleshooting

Network Issues

  • Ensure firewall is not blocking ports 22621/2/3/4

Capturing Logs

To assist with debugging issues, it will be necessary to enable logging for SkweezyDs

  • Select the Logging control page from Settings->Advanced


  • Change log level for plugin.skweezyds to DEBUG
  • Enable Save logging settings for use at next application restart
  • Apply the changes



NOTE that this will generate a significant amount of logging. It will be necessary to delete the log files produced at regular intervals when this is enabled