MPD not gapless anymore

jebb · 2010-05-29 14:41:50

Hi all,

I'm using the standard mpd package from Extra (0.15.9 apparently), and I'm now getting a small glitch on the transition between flac files. It's the slightest delay, probably less than a tenth of a second, and only really obvious on very rythmic transitions.

I'm dumbfounded: mpd's gapless playback has always been flawless in years of use. Can anybody else using mpd check this?

habbe · 2010-05-30 18:17:45

I actually got a small "pop" between many flacs, but some were flawless... I tried one album in mp3, and there was a definite gap. I have no idea how to explain these results.

xenobrain · 2010-05-31 23:29:35

I spotted this on the MPD wiki today:

May 30th, 2010 - mpd-0.15.10 released
MPD version 0.15.10 has been released. This bugfix release fixes a 0.15.2 regression with the mad decoder not properly calculating size. This also fixes a leak and another bug in the libmms plugin.

Might that explain the problems with mp3?

Last edited by xenobrain (2010-05-31 23:30:14)

sDoky · 2010-05-31 23:37:28

I've built "mpd-pulse" from AUR and it doesn't do any gaps between any file types - even flac... (I suppose you could build "mpd-git", afaik it is the same version)

habbe · 2010-06-03 08:07:44

0.15.10 is now in the repos, didn't change anything for me; at least one album in mp3 won't play gaplessly, some flacs give me "pop", some work flawlessly. In mpd.conf:

# If you have a problem with your MP3s ending abruptly it is recommended that
# you set this argument to "no" to attempt to fix the problem. If this solves
# the problem, it is highly recommended to fix the MP3 files with vbrfix
# (available from <http://www.willwap.co.uk/Programs/vbrfix.php>), at which
# point gapless MP3 playback can be enabled.
#
#gapless_mp3_playback "yes"

This won't make any difference which ever way I set this option, I haven't tried vbrfix.

Roline · 2010-06-03 10:08:23

Stupid question, but you un-commented, right?

habbe · 2010-06-04 06:46:20

That's not a stupid question, but anyway yes I (also) un-commented, and restarted mpd after each change.

jebb · 2010-07-03 16:12:13

Messing around a bit further: a clean install gave me perfectly gapless playback (I'm on x86_64 by the way).

Now I've gone back to my main install, and looked at my mpd.conf. It turns out I had the built-in http streaming enabled, I tried turning it off, and lo and behold! suddenly mpd is gapless again.

@habbe: I've never had any pops playing locally, but at the time I was experimenting with it the built-in httpd always gave me a stream full of pops. Are you playing locally through alsa?

habbe · 2010-07-05 20:20:21

jebb wrote:

@habbe: I've never had any pops playing locally, but at the time I was experimenting with it the built-in httpd always gave me a stream full of pops. Are you playing locally through alsa?

I use jack, and I don't have any http-stuff enabled. I now realize most of my flacs are playing perfectly, only a few of them that I didn't rip my self have this 'pop' even though it is a strong word for it. However, mp3:s are not gapless. I converted them from flacs that are playing perfectly, still a small gap between files.

Now I'm running the latest mpd from extra. I have to recompile to get jack-support, with only adding --enable-jack to the PKGBUILD.

Last edited by habbe (2010-07-05 20:22:05)

jebb · 2010-07-06 17:40:16

OK, I understand better now.

MPD is gapless on mp3, provided the files contain the right metadata. Specifically the Xing/Lame header containing the exact number of milliseconds the file lasts or something (haven't looked at that in years).

It is unfortunately entirely possible to have a lame-encoded mp3 which will fail to play gaplessly: it's down to the encoder you use (itself probably calling lame) to write the correct metadata to the file. I've noticed recently as an example that soundconverter, which I'd been using lately, fails to produce gapless files.

How do you encode from flac to mp3?

habbe · 2010-07-06 17:44:46

I use soundconverter.

EDIT. I tried converting to ogg with soundconverter and the result is gapless playback.

Last edited by habbe (2010-07-06 18:03:24)

Arch Linux

#1 2010-05-29 14:41:50

MPD not gapless anymore

#2 2010-05-30 18:17:45

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

#3 2010-05-31 23:29:35

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

#4 2010-05-31 23:37:28

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

#5 2010-06-03 08:07:44

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

#6 2010-06-03 10:08:23

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

#7 2010-06-04 06:46:20

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

#8 2010-07-03 16:12:13

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

#9 2010-07-05 20:20:21

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

#10 2010-07-06 17:40:16

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

#11 2010-07-06 17:44:46

Re: MPD not gapless anymore

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