Can't ChromeCast from Poweramp

[The Lost Boy]

Still having the issue even after performing factory reset on both phone and Google Chromecast device. The other players (VLC and BlackPlayer) are working fine as well the other TV apps (Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, YouTube).

This is clearly a Poweramp problem.

Edited October 27, 2022 by The Lost Boy
Info

[The Lost Boy]

Anyone else having this problem? I have tried again factory reset on both Google Chromecast and phone with no luck.

[GeilerHeinz]

@The Lost Boy Maybe adjusting the settings of your WiFi network will help.

My three streaming speakers and my mobil device are exclusively connected to the 5 GHz band, which has a different SSID name compared to the 2.4 GHz band. For the 5 GHz WiFi a permanent channel is set, which isn't reserved for preferred user (e.g. radar). WiFi band-steering is deactivated.

Regards

[43Michele]

Honestly, this situation is becoming absurd. I love Poweramp and it's the best player for Android, but now it's more than a year that I can't use it on any Chromecast

I tried with different phones, different networks and various different cast devices, with no success. There must be a common factor but it seems impossible to find

Just to recap what I tested:

- A stock Android 11 Pixel 2 and a rooted Lineage OS 18 Huawei

- A Home Mini, a Chromecast Audio, a Chromecast 1st gen, a 2nd gen, a Google TV

- 2.5GHz and 5GHz wifi networks

- FLAC, MP3, Opus formats

Not 100% of these combinations were tested, but every time Poweramp could connect but the actual playing didn't work, the slider went on for a few seconds with no sound then it reset back to the start position

I fear I'll have to find a new music player :(

[andrewilley]

Chromecast does seem a black art sometimes, made more complex by changes that get made on the Google/server side that have nothing to do with Poweramp or your local devices. Even though PA sends audio data directly from your phone to the CC device via your LAN, the process still requires a WAN connection to servers to set up the link.

It was working fine for me a month or two back, but when I checked a week ago and again today I heard intermittent glitches every 5 seconds or so, and then after a couple of minutes got the silent play/stop/rewind-cursor issue again.  @maxmp, is there a server setting issue again?

Andre

[43Michele]

For me the situation has remained very stable, in that it has never worked for all this time

Also, it may mean little, but I just installed this player, and casting works just fine. This seems to point to an implementation problem, rather than a server/backend one

[The Lost Boy]

@43Michele yes! Totally agree. I love this player but it's the only one that fails to play via Chromecast... Only a black album cover screen and cursor stuck, no audio.

All other players I use like VLC and BlackPlayer just work fine.

It's so frustrating, since I prefer Poweramp over other players in the market but I'm considering not using it anymore 💔

[The Lost Boy]

@GeilerHeinz thanks for this great suggestion, I have tried this too and no luck for me.

[The Lost Boy]

@andrewilley thanks for this explanation, now I understand more about the problem. I hope we get a solution 🙂

[The Lost Boy]

The lack of response and support from developers is frustrating... It's time to move to a different player.

[MotleyG]

2 hours ago, The Lost Boy said:

The lack of response and support from developers is frustrating... It's time to move to a different player.

You seem to forget that Poweramp is designed to be a local music player. That is what it does best. The ChromeCast function can be frustrating at times, but this has been clearly shown to be an issue on the Google server side as they make regular "updates" that break functionality.

Also, you can't compare how most other apps function with ChromeCast. Most typically handshake with the streaming service, then hand off the playback to work directly between that server and the device you want it to play on. With Poweramp, your music files are on your actual device. So Poweramp has to initiate the service between your mobile device and the one you want to Cast to, which still has to go through Google's server to initiate the connection. Then it handles sending the music through your local network for playback. It is the Google connection to the service in the middle that breaks here.

I have a few different player apps on my Android device, they all have issues at different times when trying to Cast local music - for the few that even support this.

[Jeffreydow]

The fact so many of us are getting the exact same symptoms across a multitude of devices and chrome cast certified products to me seems to mean it can only be some play service bullshit or Poweramp itself. I was having luck resetting all casting settings in the app while casting and it used to bring it back when it broke for no apparent reason even mid stream. Mine is again currently working but nothing has changed or updated to my knowledge certainly not with my input anyway I know google screws with stuff in the background and updates stuff we can't even see at times which is the only real reason the app can suddenly break mid streaming then not work no matter what for a week or 5 except with a factory reset, which also lends credence to the fact that it is background upgrades from Google messing with it because your phone after a fresh install would not have said Google slide behind-the-scenes updates going on we know it's ginger it is of major concern that it only seems to affect this one app though I have resorted to using VLC which as a media player on PC is extremely capable but on Android it leaves a lot to be desired apart from the fact that it supports pretty much any video codec you can throw it that being said functions enough to Chromecast somewhat reliably when Poweramp doesn't work thankfully Poweramp still works in the car with Android auto wireless or wired and flawlessly through headphones lol. I love the app too much to ever give it up despite my frustration and VLC will always be my plan B when things break although basically none of the direct streaming apps Poweramp VLC or other music player type apps and most video Chromecast is that send local media not one of them is without issues and instability at different times even with a very solid network connection the only apps that don't really break or suddenly cut out are like others have said the ones that get all their data from the Internet directly to the Chromecast not from local media. The Chromecast Ultra was probably the most stable of them all in my opinion anyway this new 4K Android Google TV Chromecast thing is it cheap nasty piece-of-shit if I'm being honest it comes with 4 gig storage for goodness sake that's shared for all your apps the remote is Janky and half the time doesn't work and the Buttons are not tactile and fuel like it's just made in China my TCL cheapo  TV remote leaves it for dead I wish I could pair it and use it with my Chromecast they are both Bluetooth and infrared The Voice remote anyway it would have just about all the write buttons to anyway I'm way off track but screw Google they don't even release decent firmware updates for their Chromecast just stupid Play service type updates that break crap 🤬 

[The Lost Boy]

9 hours ago, MotleyG said:

You seem to forget that Poweramp is designed to be a local music player. That is what it does best. The ChromeCast function can be frustrating at times, but this has been clearly shown to be an issue on the Google server side as they make regular "updates" that break functionality.

Also, you can't compare how most other apps function with ChromeCast. Most typically handshake with the streaming service, then hand off the playback to work directly between that server and the device you want it to play on. With Poweramp, your music files are on your actual device. So Poweramp has to initiate the service between your mobile device and the one you want to Cast to, which still has to go through Google's server to initiate the connection. Then it handles sending the music through your local network for playback. It is the Google connection to the service in the middle that breaks here.

I have a few different player apps on my Android device, they all have issues at different times when trying to Cast local music - for the few that even support this.

Great explanation! Really appreciate it, thanks a lot!

[maxmp]

@The Lost Boy there was server down event due to the buggy apache web server update, so server crashed sometimes due to memory leak and chromecast was not able to load the web resource it requires. It's update now and should work ok. Let me know if it works for you now.

[The Lost Boy]

@maxmp it works now! Thank you very much for resolving this. I really love this player and don't want to change it, for me it's the best out there.

If this happens again, what's the best way to report it or prevent it?

On 11/4/2022 at 10:29 AM, MotleyG said:

You seem to forget that Poweramp is designed to be a local music player. That is what it does best. The ChromeCast function can be frustrating at times, but this has been clearly shown to be an issue on the Google server side as they make regular "updates" that break functionality.

Also, you can't compare how most other apps function with ChromeCast. Most typically handshake with the streaming service, then hand off the playback to work directly between that server and the device you want it to play on. With Poweramp, your music files are on your actual device. So Poweramp has to initiate the service between your mobile device and the one you want to Cast to, which still has to go through Google's server to initiate the connection. Then it handles sending the music through your local network for playback. It is the Google connection to the service in the middle that breaks here.

I have a few different player apps on my Android device, they all have issues at different times when trying to Cast local music - for the few that even support this.

Great explanation! Really appreciate it, thanks a lot!

[The Lost Boy]

9 hours ago, maxmp said:

@The Lost Boy there was server down event due to the buggy apache web server update, so server crashed sometimes due to memory leak and chromecast was not able to load the web resource it requires. It's update now and should work ok. Let me know if it works for you now.

Unfortunately, it stopped working again. I've tried the factory reset in Chromecast and it works for some minutes, then it seems that the device updates itself and issue comes back 💔😭

 

 

 

 

[Franciscam]

I had all these problems and was beginning to despair of finding a solution. That was until I discovered Hi-Fi Cast, which does everything I wanted (and more, once I had paid $10 for the Pro version - well worth the money).

[GeilerHeinz]

I can confirm streaming PA playback via chromecast got very unreliable the last days/weeks. At the moment I can't cast not even one complete track without constant interruptions. It's very frustrating.

Regards

[The Lost Boy]

@GeilerHeinz same! Never plays the track in full. And it doesn't matter the duration, it happens with Ramones short tunes and with Pink Floyd long ones.

[GeilerHeinz]

On 11/25/2022 at 3:27 PM, GeilerHeinz said:

I can confirm streaming PA playback via chromecast got very unreliable the last days/weeks. At the moment I can't cast not even one complete track without constant interruptions. It's very frustrating.

Regards

It seems like a heavy crowded WiFi channel was causing the constant interruptions at my place. Now casting works again like a charm.

Regards 

[fishyweb]

For the record, I'm also unable to cast from PA on my Pixel 4a5g to my CCwGTVHD. To clarify, it visually appears to cast (according to the app and CC UIs), but no sound is produced, and the progress bar on the app keeps resetting to the same point every few seconds. 

As suggested by others in this thread, I installed HiFi Cast, and was immediately able to successfully cast between these same devices.

Disappointed that (according to this thread) PA has so much problem with casting as it is by far my favourite audio app in all other respects. I sincerely hope @maxmp is able to identify a solid solution. 

Edited December 5, 2022 by fishyweb
Add clarifications

[Jeffreydow]

On 11/5/2022 at 11:51 PM, maxmp said:

@The Lost Boy there was server down event due to the buggy apache web server update, so server crashed sometimes due to memory leak and chromecast was not able to load the web resource it requires. It's update now and should work ok. Let me know if it works for you now.

Thanks must admit mine has been very  stable since that my last post haven't had any issues at all. And yours came not long after (same date) so maybe that did the trick although I don't recall Poweramp being updated since either lol but may have been unless it didn't need to be as it was that other resource web business that caused it 

The web resources i assume you're referring to are to give the chromecast it's app UI and or audio parameters and connection and I'm guessing i it downloads them upon connection each time refreshing it basically by reseting my chromecast settings mid playback repeatedly sometimes fixed it so that makes a lot of sense why sometimes that would work if I persisted but it's been rock solid for basically the last month now and all other times it had broken by now lol so it's looking positive thanks for update and whatever technical stuff beyond my comprehension was fixed. 💪 

[Jeffreydow]

The only one thing I would say now that I have thought about it is if I pause Poweramp it completely disconnect from the Chromecast very quickly like it must timeout but that could be my phone doing battery saving things and killing off background processes also and could in fact be the Chromecast with Google TV because I have also sat that up to kill processes immediately in developer settings thanks to Plex hijacking 5.1 digital audio and switching my receiver into a Dolby mode and not releasing it even when you exit the app lol something I'll have to mention to them actually it's bloody annoying but irrelevant here sorry to mention it but kinda coincided with settings that could affect my chromecast dropping connection to Poweramp after about a minute or so being paused no that this is too troublesome now that it stays connection long as something is playing. I'm inclined to believe it's my own phone or chromecast settings killing the connection in that situation. 

[The Lost Boy]

@Jeffreydow @maxmp This is still not resolved, it's extremely annoying!!! It only happens with Poweramp. Others like myself we have paid for this app because how great it was, please make an effort to fix this and stop blaming Google, because it doesn't happen with other apps and without having to configure WiFi settings or other additional network setup.

Thanks!

[MotleyG]

2 hours ago, The Lost Boy said:

This is still not resolved, it's extremely annoying!!! It only happens with Poweramp. Others like myself we have paid for this app because how great it was, please make an effort to fix this and stop blaming Google, because it doesn't happen with other apps and without having to configure WiFi settings or other additional network setup.!

I’m pretty sure this has already been discussed. Clearly with no update or changes to the Poweramp app the service has worked and then not worked. The only influence is from the Google server side for Chromecast. So when Google stabilizes that, Poweramp works as expected for Chromecast. This isn’t speculation or blame, just reality.

But this is really not the main design intent of Poweramp. It is a music player developed for playing back local audio files with high quality, using the device itself to headphones and other connected devices. If your main use is primarily with Chromecast, and you aren’t happy with the results, perhaps another app is actually better suited for your needs.

@maxmp If the connection quality of Chromecast from Poweramp is influenced by trying to maintain a higher bandwidth than other apps that seem more stable, perhaps there is some merit to have a user choice between good/better/best sound quality that can offset the inverse connection quality? And make “Good” the default to ensure the best connection quality is preferred. I would think there is a concession to be made here considering that CC is typically more about the convenience versus absolute sound quality with most CC devices. And for those that prefer quality over anything else, they can choose to select that option knowing it can affect the connection.