Tidal Hi-Res FLAC - Available (?) Now

I’m just a bit curious/worried, if mqa will still be available to choose then?
(when a track/album is available in both formats)
I suppose, it is not entirely up to Volumio, but also depends on what Tidal makes possible…

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Yes that depends entirely on tidal and the settings on their app

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Tidal states: The hierarchy of availability is HiRes FLAC, then MQA (Master Quality Authenticated), then FLAC, then AAC (compressed audio), meaning that, if we don’t have the file available in HiRes FLAC, the source file will be the MQA version and so on.

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I know. Those of us appreciating mqa really hope, Tidal will alter this, allowing us to choose freely between mqa and Hi-Res flac.
Tidal support tend to give generic non-answers when asked about this.
I have a feeling, that the best chance for this is that Lenbrook (Nad, Bluesound etc.) has acquired the MQA company - they may put some pressure on Tidal, to have mqa remain available on their devices…
However, that may result in a BluOS only solution - just as Radio Paradise only plays in mqa on BluOS.

We’ll see as Lenbrook hasn’t made any statements on the why…
Personally I think they went for the patents and technology for their bluesound eco system.

Hi all, have tremendous troubles with Tidal integration. As it is, it’s essentially useless in Volumio since you can’t play the tracks that are returned in search. When you click on a given track to play, it plays one farther down the list. Click next or back to try to reach the desired track does’t work either. I’ve even tried adding the track I want to hear to a playlist and then going to the playlist, but that doesn’t work either, as it either does not get added or the wrong song is added.

This is basic table stakes for a music player. I must be able to play the song I want to hear.

I’ve searched the forum and the V3 issues list, and it seems this issue has come up before, but with no seeming definitive solution. If this is the state of the product, then Volumio is not a usable service.

Am I missing something? Anyone have an ideas I on I can resolve?

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Have you upgraded your system today to V 3.569, as this contains a new build of tidal Tidal integration?

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Thanks for the reply.

Trying it now and will report back.

So, I upgraded and V3.569 of Volumio is a marked improvement for Tidal playback.

A quick test shows that navigation and playback of Tidal works far better. No issues in fact, so far.

I’ll test it out more thoroughly, but this is a huge leap forward from what I was experiencing.

A separate but related issue is that I have automatic updates on, and so I thought I was on the latest version of Volumio.

But that does not seem to be working. I was on a build in September. I had to manually upgrade.

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This is what it is supposed to do. Automatic updates only updates stables releases unless you run in test mode, which you should only do on our request.
image

If not you must accept that things might break down, as these are builds to test certain behavior.

But good to hear that the Tidal integration has improved.

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Hello Wheaten, I just want to point out that version 3.569 of Volumio has an issue with the HDMI display from Waveshare after the update. On my streamer, everything works perfectly on Volumio 3 version 3.378. It’s currently the most stable version released. My setup consists of RPi4 + 7.9" Display + Audiophonics I-Sabre.

After installing Volumio 3.569 on my setup, everything works, including the display. However, after the update and subsequent restart, the display no longer lights up. Another issue is with the internet connection. Even after resetting and reinstalling the touch display plugin, it doesn’t work. So, I have to start from scratch by writing a new installation to the SDHC card and initiating a fresh installation. I’ve tried this three times, and the result is the same. And one more note regarding the search for Hi-Res FLAC. There is no difference between the version I’m using and version 3.569. When using Tidal through Volumio, the option to choose Hi-Res or MQA albums is not available. In Tidal, there is a Hi-Res selection, but some have a data rate of only 16bit/44100, while others have 24bit/96 or 48kHz.

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“I’m back. I did a clean installation again, and Hi-Res works with Tidal. I’m curious to see if the display plugin will be stable after installation. By the way, great job—I adore Volumio!”

Well, When I did run then update, using a screen from waveshare I didn’t encounter any issues. Neither did the team that tested the upgrade prior to release,
I can’t comment on Tidal, because I prefer Qobuz.

Hello all. I’m really enjoying the new functionality and exploring the FLAC catalogue in Tidal.

Now, I don’t want to rain on the parade, but I think I’ve spotted a bug. Have you had any issues with Tidal Connect suddenly stop working?

After quickly switching between different songs in different albums/playlists (and multiple times), Tidal Connect appears active but the system doesn’t play anything back. Then, even if I disconnect Tidal Connect and select something from a local library (USB or Internal Storage), I get an error that the ALSA device is either busy or not available, which is fixed by a Volumio restart.

To replicate the bug, try switching quickly between songs from the Tidal mobile app (on a playlist, for example, or album, or different albums - just play 30 seconds of song A, then switch to song B for 10 seconds or less, then D, and so on until it appears).

I’ve only come across this in that behavior. If I simply let albums or playlists play, or switch between songs without that level of urgency, everything works fine. If you check it out, please let us know.

@volumio @Darmur

could you please provide a system log after reproducing this issue?

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In our region, Qobuz is discriminating, so Tidal is the only option left for me. I don’t understand why they do it, as if our money smelled bad or something.

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Because they have not made music licensing agreements to operate in your country.

I don’t think they find your money smell bad, as it would be digital :slight_smile:
As long as there is no agreement, Qobuz can’t deliver as @Metro already mentioned.

Quick update on V3.569 for Tidal playback after 24 hours of testing:

It’s better, but not totally fixed. For example, in SuperSearch, Volumio still often plays a track from lower down in the results list, especially if the clicked song is not near the top of results.

Also, occasionally, the song playing and the Now Playing screen does not line up. But unlike before, it often resolves itself in a song or two. But then occasionally displays the wrong one again. Definitely better than before, however.

So, it’s progress. But more work needs to be done to make this as rock solid as one would expect in an audiophile player product.

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