Qobuz and Chromecast

[Brantome]

Even though the WiiM Pro supports Chromecast up to 24/192, it appears Qobuz actively caps it at 24/96 as per this response from a Qobuz staff member:
”Our Google Cast receiver application is locked at 24/96. Even though Google Cast can support more, depending on the DAC provided, we have encountered many problems beyond 96kHz. We believe that the Google Cast protocol is not able to handle an audio bitrate higher than 96kHz. That's why we block the quality at 24/96.”

 

[kevinek]

So it makes some downgrade?

 

[Brantome]

So it makes some downgrade?

From what Qobuz themselves say, yes - if the track is 24/192, for example, they’ll only send a 24/96 version over Chromecast.

Edit: You can of course use Qobuz from within the Wiim app and get up to 24/192 on both the WiiM Mini and WiiM Pro, this is just a Chromecast/Qobuz restriction.

 

[Balthazar B]

From what Qobuz themselves say, yes - if the track is 24/192, for example, they’ll only send a 24/96 version over Chromecast.

Edit: You can of course use Qobuz from within the Wiim app and get up to 24/192 on both the WiiM Mini and WiiM Pro, this is just a Chromecast/Qobuz restriction.

In this case the media path is through your phone to the WiiM(s) over WiFi -> AP -> WiiM (or WiFi -> AP -> router -> WiiM), yes? What happens then if you change focus away from the WiiM app on your phone, or close it altogether.

 

[Brantome]

The WiiM app is just a control point while the WiiM unit is the renderer. Once I start playing a playlist, for example, I can switch to another app on my phone without interrupting playback. I’ve just killed the WiiM app on my ipad and the playlist moved on to the next track Ok.

 

[Balthazar B]

The WiiM app is just a control point while the WiiM unit is the renderer. Once I start playing a playlist, for example, I can switch to another app on my phone without interrupting playback. I’ve just killed the WiiM app on my ipad and the playlist moved on to the next track Ok.

Ah, so this sounds like a form of Qobuz Connect, where the service is pushing content directly to the WiiM endpoint (presumably with the WiiM device taking over basic management of the session), and where the control point (i.e., app on the phone) no longer needs to be active. It will be fascinating to analyze the network traffic/transactions in this situation. And compare/contrast it with a Spotify/Tidal Connect and Chromecast-mediated sessions.

 

[Brantome]

Ah, so this sounds like a form of Qobuz Connect, where the service is pushing content directly to the WiiM endpoint (presumably with the WiiM device taking over basic management of the session), and where the control point (i.e., app on the phone) no longer needs to be active. It will be fascinating to analyze the network traffic/transactions in this situation. And compare/contrast it with a Spotify/Tidal Connect and Chromecast-mediated sessions.

Not really like Qobuz Connect as that’s still in development (I know there’s a feature called that but it’s hardly in the same league as Spotify/Tidal/Amazon Music where a target other than the app plays the track). The WiiM app is more like a remote control for your TV…

 

[Balthazar B]

Not really like Qobuz Connect as that’s still in development (I know there’s a feature called that but it’s hardly in the same league as Spotify/Tidal/Amazon Music where a target other than the app plays the track). The WiiM app is more like a remote control for your TV…

OK, but just to clarify, is the WiiM app (proxying one's Qobuz user credentials, I guess) instructing Qobuz to initiate a stream directly to a WiiM endpoint -- or instructing the endpoint to communicate directly with Qobuz -- after which point the app is out of the picture unless the user sends a subsequent command from it (e.g., skip ahead, stop play, new playlist, etc.)?

 

[Brantome]

Tbh, I tend not to overthink it in those terms, but yes, I’d say that’s what it does. You can even switch to the WiiM app on another device and resume control.

 

[bradavon]

Qobuz's IOS and Android support pages both say:

in 24-bit at 96 kHz in most cases and up to 24-bit at 192 kHz on some devices

So I asked Qobuz if you can really get 24/192 over Chromecast, because we know you can't, and at first I got a stock response:

You can find the list of Qobuz-integrated and compatible brands on our website (in the Our Partners section, https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/discover/apps-partners). If your device does not appear on this list, it is not integrated or compatible with Qobuz. This does not however mean you can’t still use Qobuz with your device.

That didn't answer my question on Chromecast so I went back to them and their response is interesting:

I have checked with our technical department and it looks like the statement up to 192KHZ is a statement from Chromecast that we have adopted. But we have noticed problems and actually 192KHZ is therefore reduced to 96KHZ. Our engineers believe that the Chromecast protocol as provided cannot reliably support 192KHZ. We know that in the past we had customers listening with Wiim Pro with Chromecast in 192KHZ but since the latest Chromecast issues it will now be 96 kHz too. Since we are still talking to Chromecast and working on a update ourselves we are still using the phrasing from Chromecast on our website. If it really turns out to be no longer possible to get 192KHZ via Chromecast, we will adjust this information.

Seems like they got the 192Khz support from Google but when Qobuz engineers are locking it to 96Khz, it is cheeky to still be making this claim. They only fessed up when I sent this link to them:

https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/...qobuz-issues-thread/page/192/#comment-1223331

Seems like Qobuz are saying something on their support pages they know to be false, under the guise "technically" it's possible. Even if actually it isn't because Qobuz resamples 24/192 to 24/96 over Chromecast.

I then asked if 24/192 is getting resampled to 96Khz or 48Khz and they said:

1. The tracks will be 96Khz not 48Khz. So far we have no issues with Chromecast and 96Khz.
2. We have only the update that we are further in the development. The first test have not started yet but the team hopes for a release until end of this year. Sadly there are no further details yet. We can't wait for the connect app and to be finally not depending on other services anymore.

Question 2 was me asking for an update on their Qobuz Connect platform.

 

[bradavon]

See I'm basically repeating what Brantome has already said in more detail.

 

[bradavon]

Edit: You can of course use Qobuz from within the Wiim app and get up to 24/192 on both the WiiM Mini and WiiM Pro, this is just a Chromecast/Qobuz restriction.

At least this only affects 24/192 tracks, as having to use the Wiim app isn't ideal.

I prefer using the proper apps. 24/96 and lower does likely cover most tracks on Qobuz though.

 

[ratty]

On a related matter, I see "HI-RES 96.0 KHZ" in the Qobuz app when Chromecasting to my Pro whatever the original sampling rate. Obviously I'd expect this for content in 192 or 96, but 'CD Quality' tracks also show "96 kHz" when casting to WiiM. In the latter case WHA and my DAC show the correct 44.1 or 48, so it's just the Qobuz app that's confused.

Is this a known issue?

 

[Brantome]

On a related matter, I see "HI-RES 96.0 KHZ" in the Qobuz app when Chromecasting to my Pro whatever the original sampling rate. Obviously I'd expect this for content in 192 or 96, but 'CD Quality' tracks also show "96 kHz" when casting to WiiM. In the latter case WHA and my DAC show the correct 44.1 or 48, so it's just the Qobuz app that's confused.

Is this a known issue?

Seems ok here for me on my iPad casting “2CV” by Lloyd Cole to my Pro, all shows as CD quality. However, on my Android phone, I see what you see - looks like a bug in the android Qobuz app.

 

[ratty]

Seems ok here for me on my iPad casting “2CV” by Lloyd Cole to my Pro, all shows as CD quality. However, on my Android phone, I see what you see - looks like a bug in the android Qobuz app.

Thanks for verifying. Yes I should have qualified my remarks that this only affected Android. (The Qobuz lockscreen widget on iPad can show the wrong track when Chromecasting, but that's a different matter.)

Hopefully Qobuz Connect will now be taking development priority over fixing these...

 

[steadyshot]

Hey guys. I don’t know if anyone can help me on this . I managed to create an account in qobuz using my work’s vpn which connects to London servers . Therefore I have created a UK account. I can access my account using mconnect in iOS and probably through qobuz in wiim app. But the thing is that all songs are capped at mp3 320kbps and only few seconds can be played ( samples). Qobuz rejected both my debit card (local) and revolut card and the same happens with PayPal when I try to pay for subscription . Any ideas how can I bypass this ?

 

[Hollywood]

I managed to create an account in qobuz using my work’s vpn which connects to London servers . Therefore I have created a UK account. I can access my account using mconnect in iOS and probably through qobuz in wiim app. The thing is qobuz rejected both my debit card (local) and revolut card and the same happens with PayPal . Any ideas how can I bypass this ?

I tried to create a Qobuz account in the USA and it seem to let me logon, but it just said thank you when I entered my credit card without actually charging it. Under "account" I only see I can buy downloads. I tried to signup a few times, weeks apart with same results.

Is Qobuz not available in the United States?

 

[steadyshot]

I tried to create a Qobuz account in the USA and it seem to let me logon, but it just said thank you when I entered my credit card without actually charging it. Under "account" I only see I can buy downloads. I tried to signup a few times, weeks apart with same results.

Is Qobuz not available in the United States?

It is available in US. It is not in Greece where I am located and it won’t be in the foreseeable future

 

[Hollywood]

It is available in US. It is not in Greece where I am located and it won’t be in the foreseeable future

When you enter a credit card it is common for the vendor to ask for the Expiration Date, 3 digit code on the back, and sometimes a Zip Code (postal code). Qobuz asked for those and "Street". I didn't know if that meant with the street number or without, or if it wanted the suffix like St, Ave, or CT too? Of the combinations I tried, I was not able to sign up.

Sorry you are having issues too.