Music dropouts with an internet radio stream

[buzz]

rolf_the_wolf,

Yes, SONOS uses a buffer, but I don't know exactly how long the buffer is. My observation suggests that the buffer is about two seconds.

The reason that computers seem slow is that they use a longer buffer. Since the buffer is built as the station starts, a 20 second buffer will delay start for 20 seconds.

I suspect that the choice of delay depends on the context. Since we are used to a long delay from the computer programs, they can use a longer buffer and will be more immune to network difficulties. Also, a web page can otherwise entertain us with graphics and text while the buffer is being built. SONOS, on the other hand, responds to other commands quickly and cannot display the distractions. A 20 second delay would seem much too long. This leaves SONOS a little more vulnerable to network issues.

I think that it is a case of "dammed if you do and dammed if you don't".

Not all stations will start promptly. This is partly due to pokey servers at the streamer service and partly due to the method used to publish the station's stream. Some stations publish a direct URL for their stream and, if the stream starts promptly, the SONOS system seems responsive. Other stations bury the stream URL in a web page. SONOS will scrape the page for URL's, patiently trying anything that looks like it might be a stream. If the web server is slow or the page forces SONOS to slog through a load of scripts, images, and dead end URL's, the scraping operation could burn some time.

My experience has been that some stations seem to struggle while others will start promptly and play all day without issues.

[rolf_the_wolf]

Thanks to buzz for the detailed explanations.
The 20 second buffer was an example as already a 5 second buffer could be helpful in most cases.
Is there a chance to find this out or do you think that Sonos would build in a "user setup delay time" in future SW releases.
My findings in Switzerland are, that most on weekends we fight with short disconnections and if you call your provider, they normally deny any comms disconnections.

BTW, I was in good mood and went to my dealer and bought 3 play:3 stations and removed the competition

Regards, Rolf

[TeeDoubleUDee]

We have a Play:3 in the kitchen and my wife uses it almost exclusively to listen to BBC R2. Very occassionaly (maybe once or twice week) the sound will start to stutter (break up), I just press the play/pause button, wait about 5 seconds and press the button again - perfect sound restored! I've not made a fuss of it on here as I've put it down to the internet stream. I've never noticed a stutter when playing music from my NAS.

[buzz]

Originally Posted by rolf_the_wolf

Is there a chance to find this out or do you think that Sonos would build in a "user setup delay time" in future SW releases.

I doubt that this will be a future option because SONOS is reluctant to add options to the user interface. My gut feel is that minor timing adjustments have been made from release to release.

A fully effective option would need to be configurable for each station. This could be done for all stations, favorite stations, or at the TuneIn servers. Both the buffer length and a note about which link to use should be included if the stream link is buried in a web page. Unfortunately, the situation is very dynamic. Stations can change the setup any time they want and, since there are tens of thousands of stations, someone will be consumed while trying to stay current.

[raydiognome]

I love the whole concept. Having just purchased a play 3, connect and bridge as well as adding the sirius internet option I'm extremely disappointed with how this system is working.

1. SiriusXM constantly drops out. Does not drop out when streamed through a PC wirelessly connected to my network

2. The connect ZP90 keeps dropping of the network. I now have it hardwired and it's dropped off twice in the past 4 hours.

3. Slacker has stopped working 3 or 4 times. Songza has stopped twice. They play fine for a couple of hours then it just stops. At that point NONE of the internet music options work. After a few minutes it works again.

I have not seen any bandwidth or buffering messages and these services all play fine on my wife's PC which is wireless.

I have also had the internet streaming working on Sonos while doing heavy downloading. The issues are occurring when there is NO network load.

All in all, very disappointing for the money this stuff costs. Sadly, if I can't get this resolved it's all going back.

Someone please tell me there's hope.

Thanks

[buzz]

raydiognome,

First post! Welcome to the forums.

A ZP90 dropping off the network can be a duplicate IP address issue. I suggest that you reset your network by shutting EVERYTHING down, then restarting in the following order:

Modem
Router
Wired SONOS units
Wireless SONOS units
NAS if you use one
Everything else

Allow each step to fully complete before moving on to the next step. If you are assigning fixed IP addresses for anything on the network, make sure that these devices are mapped outside of the DHCP range.

Note that SiriusXM dropouts similar to what you are experiencing have been reported by multiple users. SiriusXM uses a different server scheme for SONOS and the PC clients. Lately, the SiriusXM servers for SONOS are experiencing some issues. We don't know exactly where the blame should fall or if blame should be shared between SONOS and SiriusXM.