Mac High Sierra problems

[Miklos]

Once again - thanks for all your input and advice.

I will try to power-cycle the router to see if there is an issue there......

One last query - do you think that the Marantz renderer might be at fault? When I first opted for UMS on the purchase of the Marantz a couple of years back, I had issues then because there wasn't a renderer in place for the Marantz. Someone within the Forum kindly put one together for my then set up (I was using an antiquated OS system - 10.6.8). This worked perfectly and has continued to do so until last week - even though I upgraded my Mac to High Sierra last year. Even with the upgrade I did not need to do anything to get UMS working as before, then as I say last week, it decided not to function anymore! There was one odd issue that I spotted previously - although after the Mac upgrade, etc - the Marantz renderer was no longer showing in the Log - but the Marantz was working fine with UMS (go figure!). I checked the folder on the Mac and it wasn't there. So I luckily located the earlier config file on a USB stick and added this to the UMS folder. But although it shows in the log at start up - the Marantz isn't identified.

Thanks for all your time on this, I really appreciate it

[Nadahar]

This problem is on the network level, so renderer configuration files etc doesn't come into play. For some reason the Marantz never contacts UMS, and the scope of the problem is limited to the network in some way.

It could be software on the computer running UMS that prevents/blocks the communication from reaching UMS (although unlikely as the other renderers are registered), it could be a number of problems on the network level itself (routers, switches) either preventing UMS' packages from reaching the Marantz or preventing the Marantz' packages from reaching UMS, or it could be the Marantz itself that no longer reacts as it should.

I'm not familiar with the receiver, but I have an Onkyo myself where the card with the DLNA software and input source selection/HDMI died. That lead to it not reacting to any communication at all, so it is certainly possible. As this was a known problem with these cards I got a free replacement after jumping through some hoops to "qualify". Now it's working fine again, from what I've learned since the problem is caused by the new lead-free solder that doesn't handle heat cycles as well as "proper" solder and ends up developing internal cracks and the loss of connection. It's definitely possible with an error that would make just the UPnP/DLNA part stop working. There are free UPnP diagnostic/spy software out there that one can use to check that devices respond to UPnP traffic, although I'm pretty sure that they would show the same as UMS: Nothing.

[Miklos]

There is light at the end of the tunnel, Nadahar

MARANTZ.png (77.58 KiB) Viewed 11089 times

I was holding back on power-cycling the BT SmartHub since I was using it elsewhere - anyhow, 10mins ago I unplugged the bugger and let it rest for 2mins. Connected the Hub back up - did the same for the Marantz - and hey presto, what do-ya-know the Marantz popped up on UMS (see screen grab above) and I am currently listening to a Flac file via the Mac/UMS/Router/Marantz - LOUD & CLEAR!

We got there - well you did, Nadahar :-)

Thanks for all your patience with me over this - you are a *.

Fingers crossed it works OK tomorrow - I'm paranoid about turning everything off and never seeing them (hearing them) again!

Your perseverance paid off - Bless You.

The problem must have been some crossed wires/info/bug/whatever on the BTHub.

Have a Great Day (what's left of it).

All my Best
x

[Nadahar]

Good to hear

Many routers have buggy software with memory leaks or other problems which manifest over time and can lead to state table errors or other problems that prevents some packets from getting to their destination. I'm pretty sure this was your router - I'd see if there's an updated firmware available for it - you might get lucky and that it's a bug they have actually fixed

[Miklos]

Hi Nadahar

Well, Monday morning has thrown up something new .......

For some reason the Marantz is now only playing certain FLAC audio files. It seems to be quite random - some it plays fine and then others it rejects with FILE FORMAT ERROR (although I can manage to access them individually via TRANSCODE).

All of these audio files played previously and there is nothing to suggest that any are different file formats.

Looking at my Log at start up there is one cited as WARNING:-

APPLICATION SUPPORT.png (19.25 KiB) Viewed 11079 times

Don't know if this is causing the problem (or why it isn't there if it should be).

I hate to pester you (again!) - but have you any ideas?

Cheers

[Nadahar]

Ignore WEB.conf, you only need it if you want to define online media resources for playback via UMS.

The reason for the playback problem is probably because of a problem in your renderer configuration. To find the exact reason you'd need to generate debug files while trying to play some of these files. But, I have a guess about what it might be. In one of the recent UMS versions we've "renamed" the "aac" codec to "aac-lc" (because that's what it actually indicates). If you look through your renderer configuration for the Marantz and replace any "aac" that's found on the "Supported" lines in the "a:" section, you might get lucky. If not, post the debug files.

[Miklos]

Thanks for that, Nadahar

I am uncertain how to find the "aac' in "Supported Lines".

I have opened the Marantz config with TextEdit (Mac) which gives me this:-

MARANTZ CONFIG.png (28.79 KiB) Viewed 11075 times

Here is the Marantz info from the UMS STATUS window :-

UMS MARANTZ.png (44.67 KiB) Viewed 11075 times

I somehow don't think I am looking in the right Folder (?)

Any suggestions?

Cheers

[Miklos]

Attached are the Logs when attempting to play several FLAC files with the message FILE FORMAT ERROR.

ums_dbg.zip

(48.4 KiB) Downloaded 881 times

[Nadahar]

You're in the right file, but this file is very inaccurate and outdated. @Sami32 already made some renderer configurations for you to try in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=9151&p=29511&hilit ... Mac#p29525

You should try these and report back to him.

[Miklos]

Hi Nadahar

I didn't know if any of the suggestions from Sami32 would still work with my later set-up - anyhow, I carried out a FFmpeg upgrade (I'm now using the latest directly from the FFmpeg site for Mac - 3.4.2) and patiently worked my way though all the suggested (and kindly provided) Marantz configs that Sami32 prepared last year. It is difficult to identify one from another (but for anyone else who might be following this and also seeking similar help) the top one (No1) from the 3 posted on 26th Jan 2017 works the best of all.

SAMI32 26_1_17.png (102.6 KiB) Viewed 11066 times

I have been testing it out for the past hour and all the earlier problems (the Marantz not recognising UMS; only playing back certain audio files; etc.) seem to have all been put to bed! The only thing I haven't tried is moving up the revisions of UMS - I am currently on 6.7.4.

So its Fingers Crossed here-on-in........

Thanks to Everyone who contributed and got me back up-and-running.

Cheers