Please post your comments about our HiFiBerry installer here.
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57 comments
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Stuart MacLean Official comment Hi
I've uploaded a new version of the HiFiBerry Installer adding OSMC to the list of Linux Distributions.
Also the Raspbian distribution has been updated to the new Jessie release containing the new sound driver for the DAC+ Pro sound card.
All the best, Stuart -
igor_s It seems HiFiBerry installer exists for Windows and OS X only.
If you need something similar for Linux, you can put a look on wonderful tool Ansible (http://www.ansible.com) and its special role (https://github.com/igsol/mpd_rpi) which can setup DAC+ as one of the subtasks. -
Alex Balcanquall nice idea but a few issues:
1) I said I wanted to just do music, it offered me 4 images, with not enough detail to choose, for example did they have airplay, miracast, upnp control, what? oh and no matter what audio items I select it offered the same 4 images.
2) I chose the max2play, but the first time it didn't ask me what model pi I had, it failed to install because I had not run as admin.
3) on next start as admiin it offered to write the failed write, I said ok, it hung after the extracting image item
4) I quit and reran, this time when I selected max2play it asked me what hardware I had, interestingly it didn't re-download anything. At the end it told me I had installed dac+ when I clearly selected amp and that was the picture.
Oh more testing shows that some paths through the tool, like skipping the help me choose means one never gets asked for the pi and berry model
nice idea, currently waay to error prone, would say this is alpha quality not beta. -
HiFiBerry team Hi Alex,
unfortunately the post about the installer was published a bit too early. This is really still a development version. Stuart as uploaded the correct version now and he will also look into your bug reports and see which have been fixed already and which are new to us.
Best regards
Daniel -
Stuart MacLean Hi
To answer the various points raised so far.
The installer has been designed for Windows and MacOSX with a possible version for Linux (depending upon demand).
Alex, from your description it sounds like you were using the version that has the "Help me choose my Linux Distribution". This version of the installer was really only meant for internal release for discussion about producing a UI guide so the functionality of it wasn't complete.
However in saying that I've just released a new version of the installer. Links are
For Windows
http://downloads.hifiberry.com/HiFiBerry_Installer.exe
For Mac
http://downloads.hifiberry.com/HiFiBerry_Installer.dmg
I've put in logic such that the list of distributions shown is based on the features selected along. So the list you get should reflect the features selected, if possible (Airplay, SqueezeBox or Spotify).
If you choose Max2Play it should not ask you about your Model of RPI or what HiFiBerry hardware you have, as this specific Linux distro is already all setup to work on all variations. Hence no need to ask the question. So the fact that your being asked about what hardware the next time round is a bug that I'll get fixed.
I'll also try and recreate the part where it hangs after extracting the image item. However I have fixed a bug in the new version where it was hanging at this point, so this issue might have already been resolved.
Keep sending the feedback.... the more I get the more I can fix.
All the best,
Stuart -
Stuart MacLean Hi
I've uploaded a new version of the installer onto the website. Same downloads links as given in my post above.
This version contains a number of bug fixes and UI tweaks that should resolve the various issues described by Alex. Specifically:
- A bug was found where by the download would start when it was not required as the downloaded image had already been downloaded. This could cause the installer to hang.
- The navigation for Max2Play and the Linux Distribution helper guide has been fixed. So you should not see the pages for selecting the hardware. Also updated the Max2Play description to say that this is the case.
- Added a check to see if the installer is "Run as administrator" and if not a message dialog is shown on start up (Windows version only) explaining that it needs to be run as admin and why (i.e. so it can write to the SD Card).
- Amended the final instruction pages to note that the picture shown is off the webpage configuration and the picture shown is a screen-shot of that configuration page. (Max2Play and piCorePlayer).
- Fixed the wording and advice from when the SD Card fails to write (when not in Run as administator) to give this advice.
Please keep the feedback, testing, suggestions and bug reports coming. The more there are the better a product we'll be able to deliver to you the customer =D
All the best,
Stuart -
Alex Balcanquall Thanks. Just to confirm, there is only one image for both Pi and Pi2? I ask because one of my downloads didn't boot and IIRC the filename it said I was downloading was different for Pi2 (though it was late so I could be confused :-) ) -
Stuart MacLean Hi Alex,
Some of the distributions have separate images for Pi and Pi2, while the others have a single image for both.
The distributions with separate images for Pi and Pi2 are: OpenELEC, piCorePlayer and Arch Linux.
The distributions with a single image for both: Raspbian, Volumio, Max2Play and PiMusicBox.
Stuart -
Stuart MacLean Hi Everyone,
I've uploaded a new version of the installer that includes support for both our new DAC+ Light and DAC+ Pro products. The download links are the same as before.
Enjoy, Stuart -
NoSpark I am new to HiFiBerry and the Raspberry Pi 2 Model B so most likely the issues I face are due to my ignorance, but let's get started.
My Pi configuration.
New Raspberry Pi 2 Model B
New HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro
WiFi is thru a Edimax USB Wi-Fi Adapter EW-7811UN
I am using a Duracell Class 10 32GB SD card
And, by keyboard/mouse is wireless microsoft product.
First:
I didn't understand the significance of the installer so I downloaded the Raspbian NOOBS image and flashed it on the SD card.
The Raspberry Pi recognized this OS and worked very well. (BTW - The IceWeasel browser works EXCEPTIONALLY well with NOOBS)
BUT nothing seemed to recognize the DAC+ Pro.
OK, more research. I stumbled upon a comment in your forum that specifically said that the OS had to be configured to recognize the DAC+ Pro. Fair enough, I thought, so I set about trying to configure my NOOBS OS but I had no luck. I.e. I could not find the instructions on what files to change and how to change.
Then I stumbled upon the Installer. The Windows Installer version to be specific.
I downloaded the .exe file loaded a fresh SD card and flashed the card after selecting Pi 2 B and the DAC+ Pro.
I inserted the card into the Pi and;
1 - I went thru the initial setup box - seemed OK
2 - Entered the command line mode - seemed OK
3 - Typed startx
4 - The desktop loaded, I could see the trash can but the entire task bar, or whatever it is called in Linux, at the top of the screen was blank and just kept flashing like it was constantly refreshing.
At this point the system was hung and nothing more could be done.
I tried a reboot, hardwire internet, and hard-wire keyboard but the result was the same.
I placed my NOOBS SD back in and everything worked fine, except Pi does not recognize the DAC+ Pro.
Two things.
1 - I hope my Windows Installer experience helps
2 - I still can't recognize the DAC+ Pro Card. Specifically, how can I get this thing working?
Cheers,
NoSpark -
HiFiBerry team Hi NoSpark,
this is not an issue with the installer. X11 on the Raspberry Pi seems to hang when it has to use an I2S sound card. However, for music playback you don't need to start X. What exactly do you want to do? Based on this we can recommend a distribution for you.
If you want to configure Raspbian by hand, the instructions can be found here:
https://www.hifiberry.com/guides/configuring-linux-3-18-x/
Best regards
Daniel -
NoSpark Wow, how quick you respond! That's cool!
What do I want to do? Good question! Get comfy for a long answer... (Not really, just a summary)
I am an "older" product design engineer. I specialized in microcomputer applications at University way back in the early '70s. The Intel 4004 was still a design option and the Intel 8080A was the premier microcomputer choice. (Boy, did TI ever screw it up badly with the TMS9900 but that is a story for another day)
As a result, I am an inveterate tinkerer. Lately I have been interested in designing an audio tube power amp. I have a decent amp design now that is working well and I am looking for sources. Vinyl, Tape, CD, all candidates.
All is well with the world from my point-of-view. The one day my wife says after looking at tubes, transformers, all kinds of discrete parts, arduinos, Raspberry Pi (multiple revisions of Pi) says: "When can I use one of your creations?" Great question, eh?
The problem is, what would she like and really appreciate? She loves SiriusXM so OK that's it, SiriusXM on the Pi using a DAC+ Pro. And my 7” Touchscreen Monitor for Raspberry Pi from the Pi SWAG store just arrived so it will be a complete package! This is what I want to do!
My primary reason for purchasing a HiFiBerry DAC+ Pro card was to give my wife a use case for all my tinkering.
But now I am concerned about the usability of SiriusXM on a Pi browser as the Flash player seems to be an issue.
So the next best thing would be general internet radio and personal song files, but based on your answer, the Pi Raspbian GUI may have a problem with the graphical interface?!
By the way the concept of OpenELEC is interesting, there are others like that out there as well. OpenELEC didn't seem to play well with the GUI either when I built an image for it.
So, what are your thoughts?
Thanks!
NoSpark -
HiFiBerry team If you want to use a GUI on the Raspberry Pi itself, OpenElec or OSMC would be a good choice. Both work well withe the DAC. If you are looking for something that is more audio-oriented, you might also check out Volumio, RuneAudio and PiMusicBox. However, they all have a browser based interface and no local GUI.
Best regards
Daniel -
Anton About SiriusXM: Not sure if there is a Kodi-Plugin for it, if yes, OpenELEC or OSMC would work.
I don't think SiriusXM works with Volumio, RuneAudio and PiMusicBox, but I might be wrong.
Until very recently SiriusXM was working with Squeezeboxes, so squeezeplug or a LMS and picoreplayer would have worked. But unfortunately, SiriusXM seems to have changed their API and sent notices just a few weeks ago to users of old Logitech Squeezeboxes, that it would probably not work anymore due to the changes. It is still open if there would be a new plugin, or if SiriusXM gets implemented into the ickstream plugin. For now, it seems not to work (I can't check it, since I don't use SiriusXM, the test period in my girlfriend's new car is just over since yesterday).
So, maybe for SiriusXM a browser is the only way. Or maybe using SiriusXM on any computer or cell phone, and streaming it to the Raspberry Pi, which should work with most audio distributions mentioned above, e.g. using Airplay.
If SiriusXM is not 100% necessary: All (most?) audio distributions have internet radio plugin included, mostly based on tunein, I think. Which works great, but it does not give you SiriusXM, of course.
Hope that helps you a bit... -
NoSpark Good Day Daniel and Anton!
Wow! Again, high quality answers delivered quickly. Well done!
From the perspective of my wife, streaming SiriusXM is the only viable solution. She likes the content and the fact that it "just works"! At the very least on a PC. I will load the options mentioned above and see what happens. Thanks for the additional options this will be fun indeed!
My problem, and that of other Raspberry Pi users, is with SiriusXM only. Apparently SiriusXM streaming only works with Flash version 11.1 or higher. The Gnash plugin is recognized as Flash version 10.4 (If I remember correctly). HTML5 support is not sufficient at this time. And that apparently is the rub.
Curiously, I get the farthest into SiriusXM with IceWeasel. At least that browser tells me that my Flash is too old. It is so frustrating though, as the SiriusXM login screen displays the login screen just long enough to select username and you think you have a chance, before the Flash version warning appears over the login. Stinkers!
Well OK, I will try your other suggestions for internet radio and library playlists. Keep an eye out for an Raspbian GUI fix for I2S and thanks for you good work!
Cheers,
NoSpark -
David Walderst Hi, I am having problems with Digi+, Volumio and Pi2 B+
All seems ok after the installation but when I reboot after setting up and saving the WiFi settings in Volumio it fails to read the network settings file (regardless of having an Ethernet cable attached or not). I think I'm doing everything correctly but I am quite new to this and quite prepared to accept that I'm making a silly schoolboy error! -
Stuart (HiFiBerry team) Hi David,
I tried creating a similar installation to see if this was a problem with Volumio. If anything it is more a problem of design... from what I can determine is that when you've setup your WiFi settings Volumio has written that as the network configuration. i.e. It will try and use the WiFi settings rather than the network cable, even though the WiFi connection is not working quite right.
Off course, the problem you then have is that you can't access the Volumio box over the network regardless of it being physically connected by an ethernet cable.
I think your best solution would be to reinstall Volumio and retry the network installation.
Hope this helps,
Stuart
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David Walderst Many thanks for your reply. I have had Volumio working well over wifi for some time now, without the Digi+, it's only since using the installer and Digi+ card that the problems have arisen. Ideally I need the Pi to continue to run wirelessly as it is some way from any Ethernet connections.
When running Volumio with the Digi+ and your installer and having set the wifi up, everything is fine, running with or without the Ethernet. It is only the 'saving changes' that cause the crash.
When writing to the networking settings file does Volumio stumble across some of your additions? If so does this mean that I will struggle to get everything working in harmony?
Many thanks for any help - I'm itching to see if the Digi+ solves my slight distortion/harshness that I'm experiencing using an HDMI to optical converter.
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Stuart (HiFiBerry team) Essentially all the installer does is to write an identical copy of the Volumio distribution with the exception of writing to a few configuration files to ensure that it is pre-configured for your hardware.
In the case of Volumio this includes the /boot/config.txt to add the line
dtoverlay+=hifiberry-digi
and configures the /etc/mpd.conf mixer configuration
mixer_control "PCM"
mixer_type "software"
and that is all. The Volumio image is version 1.55 released 08-02-2015. How this is causing the problems that your currently experiencing I am not too sure relate? But I hope the information provides useful?
Maybe if you could post the kernel log from the terminal:
dmesg
There could be a conflict between the Digi and your wireless dongle?
Cheers, Stuart
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jl_bonnaffe +1 to release a Linux installer (or at least a raw image anyways)
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HiFiBerry team Hi,
what do you mean be "a raw image"?
Best regards
Daniel -
jl_bonnaffe I meant an SD card image. Those you can extract or flash with a dd command.
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HiFiBerry team You can use the standard distributions provided by the developers of the distributions. Our installer just uses the standard distributions and configures config.txt as documented here:
http://support.hifiberry.com/hc/en-us/articles/205377651-Configuring-Linux-3-18-x-or-higher
Best regards
Daniel -
jl_bonnaffe Thanks, that's clear !
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hetixo Hi
I've tried several times to install openelec to an sd card. The Mac installer didn't work as didn't the windows one which i tried to do on another machine when I thought it might have been the mac installer that was the problem. I've tried brand new sd cards and i get the same message every time.
Failed. Could not write linux to the card, and at the bottom of the error box it says 'failed to set up card'. The wording might be slightly different but that's the general gist of it.
Thinking it might be Openelec that was the problem, I tried Volumio but i get exactly the same outcome.So, in short, trying to install any sort of platform on the sd card fails every time from both installers.
Any ideas what I might be doing wrong?
Thanks in advance. -
Stuart (HiFiBerry team) Hi
In order to write to an SD card on either Windows or MacOSX, the program needs run with administrator / root privileges. In the case of Windows you need to run the installer using "Run as Administrator". This can be accessed via the Windows file popup menu.
For MacOSX the installer will prompt you for an account with root privileges, just before it writes to the SD card.
From your description it sounds like it is the most likely cause for your issue.
Hope this helps, Stuart
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hetixo Hi Stuart and thanks for the reply.
I did run the Windows installer as administrator and also had to sign in with my Mac password for the mac installer, so it can't be that I'm afraid.
Hetixo -
Stuart (HiFiBerry team) Hi Hetixo
I was wondering if you could email at stuart@hifiberry.com the installer's logs as this will hopefully allow me to see exactly what is going wrong.
The Windows log can be found in your Window's user directory, e.g. (note AppData is a hidden directory)
C:\Users\bonez\AppData\Roaming\HiFiBerry\install_log.txt
on MacOSX it is
$HOME/.config/HiFiBerry/install_log.txt
Cheers, Stuart
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hetixo ok thanks Stuart I will do that when i get back from work. Thanks for your help.
have now sent it. -
hetixo Did you get the log file Stuart?
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