Cannot cast audio to Google Chromecast

[roldengarm]

What version of Music Assistant has the issue?

2.0.0b145

What version of the Home Assistant Integration have you got installed?

n/a

Have you tried everything in the Troubleshooting FAQ and reviewed the Open and Closed Issues and Discussions to resolve this yourself?

• Yes

The problem

I'm trying to cast Deezer to a Google Chromecast (one without Google TV). It finds the Chromecast, but when I select a song, nothing happens, counter stays at 0:00

I tried RadioBrowser, same problem.
Also tried a new CCWGTV, same problem. It shows "Music Assistant" on the TV, but no audio.

This is repeatedly in the logs:

2024-05-07 02:28:03.723 ERROR (MainThread) [aiohttp.server] Error handling request
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/aiohttp/web_protocol.py", line 452, in _handle_request
    resp = await request_handler(request)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/aiohttp/web_app.py", line 543, in _handle
    resp = await handler(request)
           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/music_assistant/server/controllers/streams.py", line 291, in serve_queue_item_stream
    async for chunk in get_ffmpeg_stream(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/music_assistant/server/helpers/audio.py", line 803, in get_ffmpeg_stream
    async with FFMpeg(
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/music_assistant/server/helpers/process.py", line 80, in __aenter__
    await self.start()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/music_assistant/server/helpers/audio.py", line 120, in start
    await super().start()
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages/music_assistant/server/helpers/process.py", line 96, in start
    self.proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/asyncio/subprocess.py", line 224, in create_subprocess_exec
    transport, protocol = await loop.subprocess_exec(
                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/asyncio/base_events.py", line 1744, in subprocess_exec
    transport = await self._make_subprocess_transport(
                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/asyncio/unix_events.py", line 211, in _make_subprocess_transport
    transp = _UnixSubprocessTransport(self, protocol, args, shell,
             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/asyncio/base_subprocess.py", line 36, in __init__
    self._start(args=args, shell=shell, stdin=stdin, stdout=stdout,
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/asyncio/unix_events.py", line 820, in _start
    self._proc = subprocess.Popen(
                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/subprocess.py", line 992, in __init__
    errread, errwrite) = self._get_handles(stdin, stdout, stderr)
                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.12/subprocess.py", line 1703, in _get_handles
    fcntl.fcntl(p2cwrite, fcntl.F_SETPIPE_SZ, self.pipesize)
PermissionError: [Errno 1] Operation not permitted
2024-05-07 02:28:03.767 WARNING (Thread-7) [music_assistant.providers.chromecast] Load media failed: 1 - error code: 104

How to reproduce

Select a song.
Select a Chromecast to play
Nothing happens

Music Providers

Deezer
RadioBrowser

Player Providers

Chromecast

Full log output

log.txt

Additional information

Using self hosted on Docker.
Not integrated with HA.

What version of Home Assistant Core are your running

2024.5.1

What type of installation are you running?

Home Assistant Container

On what type of hardware are you running?

Raspberry Pi

[OzGav]

Please follow the instructions and only attach - do not paste - the log so we can read this report.

[roldengarm]

Please follow the instructions and only attach - do not paste - the log so we can't read this report.

Sorry about that @OzGav ! I've just done that.

[OzGav]

OK can you list what you have tried from the troubleshooting page and what didn't help.

[roldengarm]

OK can you list what you have tried from the troubleshooting page and what didn't help.

I've tried restarting MA, cleared the cache (in MA), tried enable/disable Enable queue flow mode. It's showing as Flac, but for CC there doesn't seem to be a setting to use MP3.
Tried with both an old school Chromecast as well as a CC with GTV.

Tried two music providers, Deezer and RadioBrowser.

Checked the logs, which shows a 104 Chromecast error, based on my internet search it seems like a coding issue.

I've previously also tried a DLNA app on my tablet (BubbleUPNP) but that was causing similar issues.

I don't have a complicated network setup, all on the same subnet.

Just a side note, there is no feedback in the UI, i.e. it just does not play, it would be great if errors could be displayed in the UI.

Please let me know what else you need to know @OzGav

[OzGav]

Have you ever had MA working?

[roldengarm]

Have you ever had MA working?

Not really. It worked briefly using DLNA, but was not reliable. Therefore trying to use Chromecast. @OzGav
It keeps throwing that 104 error code in the logs.

[OzGav]

The log you supplied is showing beta 143? I see you are running in docker. Have you started the container in host networking mode and privileged mode?

#2150

[roldengarm]

I'm using this image: image: ghcr.io/music-assistant/server

Setting privileged to true seems to make it work, sometimes. The MA UI still doesn't work all the time, randomly Music Assistant does show up blank on Chromecast, then I try a different song, and the MA UI doesn't update. The lack of error handling in the MA UI is frustrating.

Sorry but in this state I can't hand it over to non tech people in the house. I've spent already a lot of time on this, think I'm going to give up.
Thanks for the prompt support @OzGav

[OzGav]

OK. We would like to get it working for you as there are 10000+ people using it these days and we are just about to go to the stable build. You do have to run it in privileged mode. In that mode if there are different errors in the log then you can post that and we can have a look. Regardless I will leave this open for a while as Marcel may spot something straight away

[roldengarm]

My major concern with MA at this stage is the lack of error handling in the UI.
I've shown my wife, and she tried, and immediately said it didn't work as it took ~10 seconds before it started playing. Then she tried to change the volume, which was applied with a ~5s second delay, so then it was suddenly blasting through the house.

Also, selecting another player is frustrating as it opens on the side and it's confusing how to select it.

I just tried, another error in the logs:

music-assistant-1  | 2024-05-07 05:15:56.294 WARNING (MainThread) [music_assistant.providers.deezer] Failed getting album: {'error': {'type': 'DataException', 'message': 'no data', 'code': 800}}
music-assistant-1  | 2024-05-07 05:15:56.299 WARNING (MainThread) [music_assistant.music.track] Unable to fetch album details deezer--NzGbVhyV://album/86389 - album://86389 not found on provider deezer--NzGbVhyV
music-assistant-1  | 2024-05-07 05:15:56.714 ERROR (MainThread) [music_assistant.webserver] Error handling message: players/queue/play_media: No playable items found

Had to try three times and then it suddenly worked.

[OzGav]

Yes there is something wrong with your setup as it works very fast for most people. What hardware are you running it on? How much RAM?

[roldengarm]

On a RPI4. Zero issues in other apps, like HA, it's very fast.

My issue is not really that it's slow, but that the UI doesn't show any progress indicators / errors / warnings.

[OzGav]

Progress is shown when you click on a track by the player bar showing the selected track, the button in the centre changes to a pause icon, the track counter goes to zero and starts counting up. This should happen within a second. When you change volume that is instantaneous.

How much RAM does your Pi have?

[roldengarm]

4GB.

[OzGav]

It should work ok then unless you are running a lot of other addons. MA needs around 2GB RAM.

Looking bck at another of your comments. Players are selected as you say by popping out the player menu. You then click on the one you want. The name of that player will then appear in the player bar so you know which one you are controlling. When you have multiple players playing simultaneously then you can see what they are all doing on the home screen and pause and resume them there.

Why you got that error with Deezer I am not sure as I don't use that provider. Try sending some radio browser streams, that should work fine. Note there will be a slight delay which is outside of MA's control as the station has to start their stream after the request.

[roldengarm]

Thanks @OzGav much appreciated. I will give it a try.

On a side note, unfortunately my plan to use a Chromecast as audio receiver failed. I bought an audio extractor (HDMI => SPDIF) that arrived today so I can plug it into my speakers (with bt / spdif / rca input). However, it still requires a TV to be connected.
I also tried a tablet to serve as DLNA receiver via BubblePNP, but that requires a very beefy tablet by the looks of it, my Lenovo Tab4 couldn't handle it.
Also tried FullyKiosk as audio target; same problem. So I've run out of options to make my dumb speakers smart, unless you have a brilliant idea.
It's a shame Google discontinued CC Audio.

[OzGav]

If you have a spare RPi (any version) you can run PiCorePlayer on it and that can connect via BT or the 3.5mm stereo jack. There are also ESP32 options.

Yes if you ever find a CC audio in the $1 bin somewhere then grab it!

[roldengarm]

Hi @OzGav hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm still struggling to figure out what to buy. I'd like a ready-made solution, as I don't have a 3D printer to create a custom box for an ESP device. I'd like to use the SPDIF or COAX in on my speakers.
I've been searching for a long time now, but I'm still unsure where to start.
A RPI only has 3.5mm jack / BT, so I'd need extra hardware for that as well, plus RPI's are hard to come by.
I did see the docs, but that didn't help me further.

Squeezelite seems like a good idea, and it says you can connect a cable to connect to SPDIF, but the ESP32 board doesn't have SPDIF out so that's again confusing :(

Also not keen to spend hundreds of dollars on this, based on the fact it should be relatively cheap with an ESP32 device.

[OzGav]

If you want to come to the lounge on Discord there has just been a bit of discussion about that and one of the guys has been asked to write uo something that answers your question. That extended response won't be done until the end of the month but you should be able to find some useful info there now.

P.S. You have the HDMI output from the RPi as well

[roldengarm]

Thanks @OzGav !
Glad that documentation is being worked on.
I've discovered that it works very well via the Fully integration. Previously it didn't work well, perhaps because I had not enabled privileged.

[erkr]

I use CC videos with an active powered hdmi audio splitter by lack of CC audios. The CC can't drive passive splitters. They don't need a TV set. I think this is only for passive adapters as the TV provides the power

[erkr]

I just had a very similar issue. Music was stopped, casting the MA random 100 playlist.
The queue was far from done. Only Spotify provider and Chromecast players. I checked: no errors logged.

Then I noticed probably the same issue: pressing play did not resume the playlist. It just jumped to the next track and remained in stopped state. No errors logged again.

I 'solved' it by clearing the queue and start a new one

Also running RPi 4, normally no issues like this.

[roldengarm]

I use CC videos with an active powered hdmi audio splitter by lack of CC audios. The CC can't drive passive splitters. They don't need a TV set. I think this is only for passive adapters as the TV provides the power

I have got an active splitter from Temu, but it only works when there's a TV connected to the output @erkr

[erkr]

@roldengarm
I bought these previous on ali:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_EGYH223
The ones I got work without TV

[OzGav]

I;m just converting this to a discussion as we seem to have veered away from this being a MA issue. I am assuming you are running the docker container correctly now and that is all fine. For all your testing I would suggest you use the Chromecast. If that is all working fine then we can look at providing more advice about a solution for your speakers. If anything isn't working then let us know and we will tackle one problem at a time.

[Zerwin]

Okay, I figured it out, it was a firewall problem on my router. My Home Assistant was allowed to talk to my Chromecast, but the Chromecast wasn't allowed to talk to Home Assistant. Once I allowed that, it started working. Hope this helps someone else if they have the same problem.

Btw, it seems like the Sample Rates for Speakers have a typo, 48kHz 16bits is shown two times, I'm guessing one of these should be 24bits

Also, should MA when it's casting to a Chromecast device show the cover image of the song playing or not ? Currently it doesn't for me but I'm not sure if that is a bug or intended.

[OzGav]

Thanks at this stage of MA it usually is a network problem.

someone else mentioned the duplicated sample rate so we will look at that

it might depend on the chromecast device. Try with flow mode on and off.

[mikeb9x]

Is there a way to manually enter the IP of a Chromecast player so MA won't change it? MA is frequently losing connection with one of my speakers (it still works in HA and Google Home app) and seems like the issue might be with the IP - when the speaker is unavailable the IP in MA is changed to something like [::ffff:c0a8:22]:8009, where it should be normal IPv4 address (I have IPv6 turned off in my router).

[OzGav]

No that is not possible. MA will not be changing the IP. I will check what the recommendation is for IPv6

[madbrain76]

Is there a way to manually enter the IP of a Chromecast player so MA won't change it? MA is frequently losing connection with one of my speakers (it still works in HA and Google Home app) and seems like the issue might be with the IP - when the speaker is unavailable the IP in MA is changed to something like [::ffff:c0a8:22]:8009, where it should be normal IPv4 address (I have IPv6 turned off in my router).

Have you tried disabling IPv6 in HA under Settings -> System -> Network ? Not sure if this will affect MA, but it might. I left this setting as "Automatic", but perhaps "Disabled" will help in your case.

I also have IPv6 disabled in my router, because my ISP doesn't support IPv6 yet.

All my Chromecast audio devices and WiiM Pro Plus with built-in CCAs have DHCP reservations, so the IPv4 addresses don't change. I just noticed that the WiiM app also has an "Enable IPv6" device option under Network status / Configure IP. I also left his option at the default of enabled for all 12 WiiM devices.

For the 2 actual Google-branded CCAs that I still have, there is no IPv6 setting. However, the Google Home app shows the IPv4 address only in settings / device information. Same for the video devices - 2 Chromecast with Google TV (4K version), and the Chromecast Ultra. No trace of IPv6 anywhere.

It all seems to work fine with IPv4 only, so far.