Starting with version 5.0.0, Symfonium has integrated a transcoding engine based on FFmpeg. This engine allows Symfonium to transcode media on the fly, enabling support for a wider range of codecs and formats.
Notes:
- To optimize the application size, codecs and formats are only added on a need/request basis, and not all codecs are supported.
- This feature is currently under active development to better support Chromecast and UPnP devices. If you encounter any issues or have specific needs, please report them on the support forum.
- To determine what to transcode and when, the engine analyzes the media at the start of playback. Although this process is fast, if you are certain that you only use natively supported codecs, you can disable the engine in the Playback settings.
- Note that the engine creates temporary files, so ensure that you have sufficient free space available.
Features
Local playback
The engine enables local playback of previously unsupported audio format:
- MusePack (.mpc)
- Direct Stream Digital / DSD (.dsd, .dsf)
- Aiff (.aif, .aiff, .aifc)
- WavPack (.wv)
- Windows Media Audio (.asf, .wma)
- True Audio (.tta)
- Monkey’s Audio (.ape)
ALAC is a lossless audio codec that is used to compress audio files without losing any of the original quality. The Symfonium engine is capable of transcoding to ALAC and attempts to preserve the quality of hi-res media without degrading it. However, it may not always be bit perfect, although most users will not be able to notice any difference.
It’s important to note that Android devices do not support most of these formats by default. Therefore, you need to use SAF mode with the local provider for Symfonium to be able to detect and play these files.
Chromecast playback
The engine allows transcoding of media when casting to Chromecast devices.
Transcoded source format:
- MusePack (.mpc)
- Direct Stream Digital / DSD (.dsd, .dsf)
- Aiff (.aif, .aiff, .aifc)
- WavPack (.wv)
- Windows Media Audio (.asf, .wma)
- True Audio (.tta)
- Monkey’s Audio (.ape)
- Alac (.mp4, .m4a)
The transcoding engine in Symfonium is responsible for converting media to a format that is supported by the playback device. When streaming to Chromecast, the engine currently transcodes to AAC, which is a lossy codec. If you have specific needs for more precise or higher quality settings, you can open a feature request with details about your requirements.
If your media provider supports transcoding, the server-side transcoding will always be prioritized for performance and battery usage optimizations. When streaming from Kodi, the transcoding engine runs on your phone, meaning that the media will go from Kodi to your phone, and then to Chromecast. This can result in increased battery and network usage.
UPnP playback
The transcoding engine is not currently used for UPnP devices, as codec support can vary depending on the device and may require profile settings or overrides. If you have specific needs or encounter issues with UPnP devices, please report them on the support forum and provide logs so that the team can investigate and improve compatibility.