mikebrady/shairport-sync 2.4.2

Version 2.4.2

on GitHub

This release has important enhancements, bug fixes and documentation updates. It also appears to bring compatiblity with Synology NAS devices.

New Features

• Source-specified Latencies. Shairport Sync now uses the latencies specified by the audio source. Background: the AirPlay protocol used by Shairport Sync allows the audio source to specify the exact delay or latency that should be applied to the audio stream. Until now, Shairport Sync ignored this information and used fixed preset latencies that were selected on the basis of the "User-Agent" setting. Using source-specified latencies means that Shairport Sync is able adapt automatically to different sources.
  Using source-specified latencies is now automatic unless non-standard static latencies have been specified in the configuration file or command line. Using non-standard latencies is usually done to compensate for delays in the back end of the system. For example, if the audio amplifier being driven by Shairport Sync has an inherent delay of its own -- as happens with many home theatre and surround sound systems -- then some users have reduced the latencies used by Shairport Sync to compensate. This usage is discouraged -- the audio_backend_latency_offset in the appropriate backend stanza (e.g. in the "alsa" stanza) should be used for this. Static latency settings are now deprecated, and will be removed in a future version of Shairport Sync.
• Set Volume Range. This is a new setting that allows you to use just a portion of the full range of attenuation offered by a mixer. For example, if a mixer has a minimum volume of -80 dB and a maximum of +20 dB, you might wish to use only 60 dB of the 100 dB available. This might be because the sound becomes inaudible at the lowest setting and unbearably loud at the highest setting. It is for this reason that many domestic HiFi systems have a volume control range of only 60 to 80 dB.
  Another possible reason to use this setting might be because the range specified by the mixer does not match the actual capabilities of the device. For example, the Raspberry Pi's DAC that feeds the built-in audio jack claims a range of 106 dB but has a useful range of only about 35dB. The new volume_range_db setting in the general stanza allows you to specify the maximum range from highest to lowest. The range suggested for the Raspberry Pi's built-in audio DAC, which feeds the headphone jack, is 35. Using it in this case gives the volume control a much more useful range of settings.

Bug fixes

• Sometimes, especially when using Shairport Sync as a system output, it would not play the audio stream. This was caused by an improperly initialised variable. Fixed. Synology NAS devices now seem to be working with Shairport Sync.
• Fix in the shairport.c: the USE_CUSTOM_LOCAL_STATE_DIR macro was still being used when it should have been USE_CUSTOM_PID_DIR.
• Fix a crashing bug -- if metadata was enabled but a pipename was not supplied, boom.

Other Changes

• Initial timing accuracy improved. The estimate of when to play the starting frame of the audio sequence has improved significantly. This leads to fewer corrections being needed at the start.
• Volume ratios expressed in decibels are now consistently denominated in voltage decibels rather than power decibels. The rationale is that the levels refer to voltage levels, and power is proportional to the square of voltage.
  Thus a ratio of levels of 65535 to 1 is 96.3 dB rather than the 48.15 dB used before.
• The latency figure returned to the source as part of the response to an rtsp request packet is 11,025, which may (?) be meant to indicate the minimum latency the device is capable of.
• An experimental handler for a GET_PARAMETER rtsp request has been added. It does nothing except log the occurence.
• The RTSP request dispatcher now logs an event whenever an unrecognised rtsp has been made.