Streaming to Android

[rootgordon]

I'm running mpd on a Rock Pi 4, using Manjaro Arm. This works as well as I could ask, so now I'm trying to use this as the base for streaming my music to my phone. I started out with these handy directions on how to make this work. I am using M.A.L.P. as the client on Android.

Now M.A.L.P. does see the database but when I want to play an album it seemingly just skips through to the last track, not playing a single second of sound. I've tried this with both http and nfs for the music_directory. Here's my mpd.conf on the phone:

#music_directory "nfs://192.168.1.10/home/01music/
music_directory "http://192.168.1.10:8000"
bind_to_address "127.0.0.1"

database {
plugin "proxy"
host "192.168.1.10"
port "6600"
}

Using the default config the client will both see and play the music that is stored on my phone, so I don't think the client is doing anything wrong here. But the server is also not giving me any unusual messages. I can access the directory via http using a browser and I can mount and read the nfs-directory from another PC so those shouldn't be the problem either... Is there some way to run the mpd-server in debug-mode on android to get to the bottom of this? Or am I overlooking some painfully obvious mistake I made here?

[MaxKellermann]

Check https://www.musicpd.org/help/ there you'll find generic troubleshooting instructions, most of which are also relevant for Android.

[rootgordon]

Thanks for the suggestion but I already checked that. I don't understand how I can pass those debug-options to mpd on android though, so here I am...

[MaxKellermann]

Let me copy'n'paste for you:

Check the log file. Configure log_level "verbose" or pass --verbose to mpd.

[rootgordon]

Something painfully obvious then. I'm still not getting more output from mpd than I was before.

[skidoo23]

May I suggest an easy solution?

Define http streaming output in mpd.conf of central server (rootgordon's rockpi) - eg generic lame encoder with 320 kbit/s and port 8000 (YMMV)

audio_output {
        type            "httpd"
        tags            "yes"
        name            "httpd on port 8000"
        always_on       "yes"
        encoder         "lame"                  # no flac or vorbis
        port            "8000"
        bind_to_address "0.0.0.0"               # optional, IPv4 or IPv6
        bitrate         "320"                   # do not define if quality is defined
        format          "44100:16:2"
        max_clients     "0"                     # optional 0=no limit
}

On your Android device with MALP client

1. server properties / output / ear symbol / enable "httpd on port 8000" output
2. profile / edit profile / enable streaming from server
3. profile / edit profile / streaming URL http://IP of your rockpi:8000
4. save modified profile
5. main player screen / tap on the three dots / start streaming
6. wait five seconds
7. enjoy the music

[rootgordon]

Easy, yes. In fact I've had this setup before but I was hoping to get rid of the five second delay (which feels ridiculously long) by running a satellite server on the phone. Should've mentioned this in the OP.

[skidoo23]

Looks you are talking about satellite setup. Not quite streaming audio it is just playling remote sound files ;) Always wanted a similar setup with nfs. Please allow me some time for testing. Would you be so kind to supply us in the meantime with verbose MPD and nfs logfiles?

[skidoo23]

Here we go. Lets assume 192.168.1.0/24 network, 192.168.1.1 server with /srv/music directory shared via NFS.

On main server /etc/exports
/srv/music 192.168.1.0/24(ro,no_subtree_check,insecure)

On the Android device Android\data\org.musicpd\files\mpd.conf (UTF-8 encoded)

music_directory			"nfs://192.168.1.1/srv/music"
log_level			"verbose"
database {
				plugin	"proxy"
				host	"192.168.1.1"
				port	"6600"
}

Connect with Android client software (eg MALP) to localhost:6600. Enjoy.

[rootgordon]

So recently I've had to get a new phone, prompting me to give this another shot. Initially I ran into the same problem but through sheer force of questioning everything I finally found out what was wrong (at least in the case of an nfs-mount): The files on the server need to be world-readable.

It's kinda obvious in hindsight, I don't even know what user-ID mpd, or android for that matter, is using. I hate when these threads remain unresolved so this is my solution for anyone who might run into the same problem and finds this.

Also here's a one-liner I used to chmod all the files recursively (based on an answer in this thread):

chmod -R a=r-wx,u=wr,g=wr,a+X *

It leaves directories world-executable while only setting the read-bit on files, you may want to adjust user and group-rights to your liking. It's handy for large collections, which anyone attempting this setup probably has.

Using this with wireguard for remote-access works like a charm and clears up loads of space on my phone so I can take more pictures of my cat. Amazing.

[MaxKellermann]

Simpler version: chmod -R a+rX /music/directory