Chromecast lost control of playback errors

[Ian_Robson]

I’ve noticed this quite a bit in the three days I’ve been trialling Roon. Has happened with chromecasts only so far.

[dylan (Dylan Caudill)]

Hi @Ian_Robson,

So we can better assist you, please provide a brief description of your current setup using this link as a guide.

Make sure to describe your network configuration/topology, including any networking hardware currently in use, so we can have a clear understanding of how your devices are communicating.

Is there any specific content that seems to cause this error to occur (streaming vs local, certain sample rates, etc.)?

Outside of Chromecast is everything working as expected with the same content?

[Ian_Robson]

Hi @Dylan

As below.

• I have a fresh install (3 days ago) of Roon 1.6 running on a MacBook Pro (2018 Touchbar 13") as core and control.
• Files are stored on an external USB drive connected to the MacBook
• 15000 tracks, mix of ALAC and AAC
• Networking is Google Wifi - 3 nodes
• Endpoints include 3 x Chromecast, 2 x Chromecast Audio, 1 x Google Home, 1 x Onkyo Cast Device, 1 x HomePod, 1 x ATV4, 1 x ATV3, 3x Sky Q (Airplay)

Usually I’m sending output to 1 device or a small group of either chromecast or airplay devices.

Most recently I had the issue playing Roon Radio so the tracks could have been from my library, Qobuz or Tidal. At the time I was casting to a group comprising the Google Home and the Onkyo.

[dylan (Dylan Caudill)]

Thanks for the info, @Ian_Robson.

Does this behavior occur only when playing back to grouped Chromecast devices or does it happen for individual playback as well?

When this error occurs are the devices still visible in Roon? Are you able to play back to them right away?

[Ian_Robson]

So far only grouped chromecasts. With groups as small as two devices. They remain visible as zones but Roon reports that it has lost control of the playback device. After a few seconds I can press play and it’ll get going again.

[dylan (Dylan Caudill)]

Hi @Ian_Robson,

Frequent Drop Outs Using Chromecast Groups

If it’s possible to use Ethernet with any of the devices involved, it will probably improve your experience. Chromecast grouping can be pretty hard on even the best of WiFi networks; one of the devices in the group receives the audio stream from Roon and then rebroadcasts the audio to the other devices in the group over WiFi. If your MBP is also on WiFi, the amount of wireless bandwidth being used to stream to a 4-device group is roughly four times what it takes to stream to a single Chromecast…

As Allan mentioned in the post above, playing to Chromecast groups can definitely be pretty hard on the network, so it may be networking difficulties that are causing this behavior.

I’d like to enable diagnostics on your account so the team can take a closer look to verify. Can you reproduce the error once more and make a note of the time the error occurs? Respond here with the timestamp and your timezone and I’ll enable diagnostics.