PiCorePlayer - Do I need to run LMS on a PC?

[Strider]

I've looked around this section but although there is some love for using a Rpi running PiCorePlayer (local files only) that don't answer if I have to be running LMS on a remote PC? I want to be able to install the player on the Pi and access my files from a NAS just like Volumio/MoOde etc..
One reason I walked away from Logitech Squeezebox was the requirement to have LMS running on a PC and storage for your library - LMS acting as client.
Churs!

 

[killie99]

No need to have it running on a pc, I run it on a pi4 and have my files on a 1tb drive connected to the USB port on the same pi4 (the drive is set up as a share on the network so easily accessible on the network)
Picture of it here https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/threads/ideas-for-a-custom-pi-case.262840/#post-4600003

 

[bencat]

You can load ONE on the same Pi as multiplayer and it will work . I have the view and it is only my view that there is the a large sound quality improvement to have a Raspberry Pi that just acts as an LMS server on its own with a USB HD connected to it with your library . But if all you want is to use a streaming service like Qobuz or Tidal then using the same Pi for both player and LMS would be fine.

 

[Strider]

Thanks Guys, just what I needed to know!
Mark

 

[killie99]

I spent a lot of time comparing LMS running on a different pi4 rather than everything on the same pi4 and came to the conclusion there was zero sonic benefit running 2 pi’s.

 

[Strider]

Gah - downloaded (several times to be sure) 8.2.0 64 bit for Rpi 3b plus and tried 32 bit, tried several Sandisk Ultra 16g/32g micro SD cards, formatted using SD card formatter, Used Raspberry Pi imager with a successful write but nothing from the Pi just power LED. I've read the instructions several times but no boot.
I've done so many MoOde and Volumio builds I've lost count - currently have two Pi's in action as streamers and they work fab.
I've done something wrong or missed something me thinks..

 

[mikeyb]

I had that with one of my Pi3s, just wouldn't boot at all no matter what Distro, and in the end I decided it was dead.

 

[Strider]

I had that with one of my Pi3s, just wouldn't boot at all no matter what Distro, and in the end I decided it was dead.

Cheers Mikey,
Just installed MoOde 8.1.2 (64 bit) onto the same SD card and bingo - boots a treat! The Pi is fine it must be something I've missed out setting up PiCore Player - that fooks up the Pi for a while after trying to power up the Pi with the SD card in with Picore on the SD card.
The Pi with MoOde installed has rebooted a couple of times as normal when configuring without further ado so its gotta be the distro the Pi isn't happy with..

Edit:
So far I've got an RPi 2 running Raspbien just for fun, an RPi 3b running MoOde (SPDIF tophat into DAC), Rpi 4 4g running Volumio to Khadas Toneboard and now an Rpi 3b plus as a fartaround board.

 

[mikeyb]

Only thing to watch out for with Moode is that you need to shut it down via the menu and not just pull the plug as I found that corrupted it.

I think I had that no boot issue with Picoreplayer too and can't remember how I got around it. However Picoreplayer is on my outdoor Pi and it's great as I can power off and on at the mains with no issue, as we never keep the power on outside 24/7.

Volumio used to just fail every now and then and needed a rewrite to card.

Moode was my Distro of choice over all the others.

I now use a Logitech Transporter that beats the Pi easily for ease of use AND most importantly sound quality into my DAC.

I run LMS on a NUC in my computer room and that gives me control of 3 different end points.

 

[Man in a van]

Gah - downloaded (several times to be sure) 8.2.0 64 bit for Rpi 3b plus and tried 32 bit, tried several Sandisk Ultra 16g/32g micro SD cards, formatted using SD card formatter, Used Raspberry Pi imager with a successful write but nothing from the Pi just power LED. I've read the instructions several times but no boot.
I've done so many MoOde and Volumio builds I've lost count - currently have two Pi's in action as streamers and they work fab.
I've done something wrong or missed something me thinks..

If you use the rpi-imager to write pCP to a sd card you need to first unzip the download and navigate to the .img

ronnie

 

[bencat]

@Strider If this is a bit simple then excuse me as I am not sure how much experience you have with this . I am reading in to the thread that you want to load PiCoreplayer on to a Raspberry Pi 3 and use that to run LMS for streaming only and not to add a USB HD with music on it ? If so then there is a very specific set up order that you need to do . Firstly download the latest PiCore for 32 Bit build as this is more suited to the Pi 3 the Pi 4 deals with 64 Bit fine but it can be a bit much for the Pi 3 .

Once the PiCore is loaded and you are able to find the ISP Address open the main page . First thing to do is make sure you expand the SD card file and expand to the full card . IF you do not do this the download only uses a very small partion part of the SD card and it will very quickly run out of memory .

Then you need to follow the set up instructions in the order they are shown todo the basic PiCore set up for naming and audio etc . Then you need to switch over to the tab for LMS on the LMS page it will enable you to install LMS on the Pi and you can then configure LMS as you would normally . I would add the Material Skin Plug in and things like Qobuz , Tidal , Spotify , BBC Sounds etc even if you do not need them now they will be there if you ever do .

https://docs.picoreplayer.org/getting-started/
Above is the set up page link and gives step by step even now I use this and work it through rather than try to jump ahead and doing this makes the installation run smoothly (did a full Pi4 for LMS yesterday) .

https://docs.picoreplayer.org/how-to/install_lms/
In case you need them here are the instructions for adding LMS as well .

What Ronnie says above is also good advice and I would say download Balena Etcher App and use that as it will just pick up the Zip file extract it and write it to your SD card plus it also does a full validation of the write then ejects your SD card from your PC so you just pull it out and load it .

 

[Strider]

@mikeyb , I've been using MoOde for years and never had an issue (well to start with a few years ago until Ronnie helped) and used pretty much every version from 3 onwards without issue. I've also used several versions of Volumio without issue although Volumio does have the odd peccadillo of throwing its toys out of the pram with the library. Currently I've got three Pi's - a 2, a 3b and 3b+ and 4 happily running MoOde and Volumio.

@bencat , I've written both 32bit and 64bit Picore to different SD cards with the same result - no boot, no NIC activity just the power LED. My plan is to try out PiCore player on the Pi headless (same as MoOde/Volumio etc) and use either a USB stick or powered external USB drive or better one of my NAS music libraries. For some reason the Pi will not even attempt to boot with PiCore on the SD card.. I need to wade through the incredible assistance you've posted up for me to see where I've gone wrong.
I'll give Etcher ago - I had to use that recently to write an image to a Poly MTR (VC codec) that went belly up, I might try Rufus as well but can't remember if that's Windoze only. Thanks again!

@Man in a van, done the unzip and had no issues writing the .img to the SD card, I've also tried Win32Diskimager with the same result - clean write but the Pi simply won't boot with Picore but boots fine with Volumio/MoOde. It's weird that the Pi pretty much locks up if I attempt to boot with Picore installed on the SD card.

Thanks gents, I'll have another crack at it later once my head stops spinning, this bloody COVID is screwing up my grey matter..

 

[Man in a van]

@Strider

Try this:

put a sd card in a reader and open rpi- imager

Click on Choose OS

Scroll down to Misc utility images

Click on Bootloader

Select SD Card Boot

Then Choose Storage and write the image to the card.

Put the card in the rpi, connect a monitor and power on the card, the monitor should turn green and the grenn ACT led flash rapidly.

Power off the rpi and try a fresh image. Delete the version you have on your computer and download a fresh one

Connect the rpi to the network with an Ethernet cable (you can configure wireless late, if necessary)

Wait a minute or three and open a browser and type http://pcp.local into the search window

I have just put the pCP 64 Bit image on a rpi3b+ without any problems (allthough the gain over the 32bit image is marginal on the 3b+)





ronnie

 

[Man in a van]

@Strider

Try this:

put a sd card in a reader and open rpi- imager

Click on Choose OS

Scroll down to Misc utility images

Click on Bootloader

Select SD Card Boot

Then Choose Storage and write the image to the card.

Put the card in the rpi, connect a monitor and power on the card, the monitor should turn green and the grenn ACT led flash rapidly.

Power off the rpi and try a fresh image. Delete the version you have on your computer and download a fresh one

Connect the rpi to the network with an Ethernet cable (you can configure wireless late, if necessary)

Wait a minute or three and open a browser and type http://pcp.local into the search window

I have just put the pCP 64 Bit image on a rpi3b+ without any problems (allthough the gain over the 32bit image is marginal on the 3b+)





ronnie

don't try this at home !!!

It does work but only on a rpi 4b

Sorry about that, I got a bit mixed up


ronnie

 

[Man in a van]

@Strider

If you can connect the rpi3b+ to a monitor and keyboard you should be able to watch the verbose output of the install.

If you are lucky you may spot an error message

ronnie

 

[Man in a van]

@Strider

If you can connect the rpi3b+ to a monitor and keyboard you should be able to watch the verbose output of the install.

If you are lucky you may spot an error message

ronnie

It should look like this

 

[bencat]

Had a little think about this and it does seem a little strange . SD card issue , Pi Issue or Distro issue are all a possibility . Firstly I think the one last ry with PiCore . Use the official SD Card Formatter and reformat and clean your SD card so that it is full formatted and clean of any previous writes.

Go to the PiCore page and download a new and clean 32 Bit version of PiCoreplayer . I would then use Balena Etcher to write the distro to the SD card this will both extract and write for you so as long as you ensure you choose the right download zip and the right SD card (look I have got both of these wrong in the past just not being careful to concentrate) it will both write and validate the write before unmounting the card from your PC check that it sates that the flash has been done .

Then use the link I gave to the PiCore set up help page and get the basics done on the player part and see if this can be found . To get the ISP I use Advanced IP Scanner . Just a mention when you first switch on getting the intial set up can take longer than you think some times over a minute and half which while you are watching and waiting seems longer , be patient .

Once you can open the set up page things should be fine but we need to get you to that stage first.

If all of the above has not worked then I would suggest we first try another distro that gives you an easy load for LMS . I have used the following for quite a while and find to use . Like Picore it can be used free but it does nag you about buying a license and limits some of the more advanced features but will work as a free distro .

https://www.max2play.com/
Again first job with this is expand the file system and this allows things to work . I mention this because the last time I used the free version you had to do this but now as I use the paid for version it is done as soon as you load it so just not sure f you need to on the free version .

There is a tab for LMS and setting it up is very easy . If you are just not able to get PiCore to work give this a try .

 

[Strider]

Hi fella's many thanks for your assistance here, nowhere else can you get this kind of help X
Well, finally managed to boot to PiCore player on the Pi3+, absolutely bewildered why it wouldn't boot with the distro on an SD card but MoOde or Volumio would. Strangely I downloaded PiCore on my main rig and had no issue whatsoever booting from the image on the Pi - bizarre...
@Man in a van - thanks bud - with the original image (although freshly downloaded 6 times? the Pi wouldn't boot so no display or NIC activity but a clean boot with display without SD card. Alls good now, clean boot straight into the PiCore player on Chrome.

@bencat - thanks again mate, got onto the GUI on my browser, done a rough config and no issues so far, only thing is it whinges that LMS isn't found but I need to go back and read the brilliant setup guide you posted, my brain is functional again today!

 

[Man in a van]

The reason I posted the screen shot and suggested you compare is that in the past (and occasionally present )
pCP does not sync the time when booting; a network error according to the devs.

This sometimes means that no IP address is reported, hence one can not open the configuration gui.

Although if one navigates to one's router, there is, oftentimes, an IP Address, which enables login and configuration.

If you want to install LMS, select Player/Server from the bottom tabs on the Main Page gui

ronnie

Remember to first eaxpand the files system (1gb will do for starters)

 

[Strider]

Weyhey! Got it up and running today - a bit of a faff (and lots of experimenting) to get the USB DAC to work, totally balls'd it up selecting 'material skin' because that made things a right PIA to use.
I've recognized that it isn't an OOTB plug and play and does require some effort compared with MoOde or Volumio but once the setting up is complete (or near as dammit) in pCP then LMS can be accessed on the browser - it looks exactly like LMS back in the day when I had to SB Classics in the abode, nice interface and straightforward to use.

I'll fiddle awhile until I'm completely happy and switch between the other Pi's comparing sound quality differences (not expecting much cos its software), at the moment my family of Pi's is: Pi4 running Volumio with Khadas Toneboard, Pi3 running MoOde into Hifi Digi+ (coax) to Cambridge Audio 840C DAC.
The Pi 3+ running pCP is currently using an Arcam rPAC over USB but I plan on trying a few(!) other USB DAC's I have - SMSL, Topping. I also have three tophat DAC's of various ESS and Wolfson chipsets to fart around with.

Thanks boys - you guys are a great help to a dotard like myself, excellent guidance in getting this ship sailing.
Churs!