rooExtend – The easy start with Roon Extensions

[Dirk_De_Taey]

@DrCWO

But I only see two images, the cover art and a background image.

Yes, depending on resolution, one only sees 2 pictures, but the in focus picture completely overlaps in most cases the out of focus picture.

When e.g. with the Tom Petty album, there are 2 pictures that are shown alternating (one alone, one with the band) you 1st see the out of focus picture followed by the in focus picture . There is a small delay between the two.
Only the in focus picture is then visable on my display as well.

My display has a 1650*1050 resolution.

[DrCWO (C.W. Oehlrich)]

I wonder why you see the Roon logo in-between.
What exactly did you do to make this happen?

[DrCWO (C.W. Oehlrich)]

@Dirk_De_Taey

My display has a 1650*1050 resolution.

That’s no so much…
Can you change resolution of the display and see if this has any effect?

[Dirk_De_Taey]

I would not know.

As said, as soon as Roon has nothing to play anymore (empty queue), I get that image.

Same behaviour with Chromecast and webbrowser display.

[Dirk_De_Taey]

Cannot changecthe resolution apart from ‘wide’ and ‘normal’ setting.
Tested that already. Does not make any difference.

[DrCWO (C.W. Oehlrich)]

@Dirk_De_Taey

As said, as soon as Roon has nothing to play anymore (empty queue), I get that image.

OK, I can reproduce that if I clear the queue I see the Roon logo. But starting the next playlist the unblurred screen returns.

At the moment I have no idea expect that I already saw that on my old iPad but not yet with rooExtend.
Let’s wait if there will come some more input from other users.

Best DrCWO

[DrCWO (C.W. Oehlrich)]

Now I also got this As you see the display on my Chromium on the PC is different than that on the HDMI output. On HDMI only the blurred background image is displayed.

This seams to be an issue with the Chromium Browser on the Raspberry Pi. After a restart of Chromium anything is OK again…

As I’m out for hiking starting tomorrow morning please re-ping me next Sunday or Monday and I will see if there is an update available for Chrome.

Best DrCWO

[Henry_Svendblad]

@DrCWO I’ve experienced this issue on both a self-built “MOCK” Ubuntu server with Chromium, Chrome, and Firefox on an Intel NUC with 32GB of RAM. So, I don’t think that it’s a memory issue, per se.

I upgraded this NUC to run AudioLinux (btw, AWESOME in every way). This runs ArchLinux, LXQt and Firefox in kiosk mode. I had & still have the same display issue with all of them. The ONLY correct handling of images has been on Chromecast, and the AppleTV app TV:Remote. I still prefer my NUC, and have resorted to rebooting whenever I have a long listening session and want the display. One possible workaround is to run these commands from the terminal via SSH, or create a script that runs every X hours, or have a button in rooExtend web interface that can issue these commands.

The code would look something like this if run from SSH:

# Set the DISPLAY variable
export DISPLAY=:0

# Kill the current Chromium process
pkill chromium

# Give it a moment to ensure Chromium fully closes
sleep 2

# Start a new instance of Chromium
chromium &

[DrCWO (C.W. Oehlrich)]

@Henry_Svendblad

I had & still have the same display issue with all of them. The ONLY correct handling of images has been on Chromecast, and the AppleTV app TV:Remote.

This is a quite interesting finding. For me this means that Chromium on Linux has an issue with the Roon artwork output as you saw it with two different Linux editions.

This means in the end that I don’t have a chance to fix ist

Sorry
Best DrCWO

[Dirk_De_Taey]

Could you please provide clear and compete instructions on how to restart Chromium using ssh.
I don’t know linux at all.
Thanks in advance
Dirk

[Henry_Svendblad]

Your best bet, if you don’t know Linux, or don’t have the SU password for SSH, is to use this command:

http://xxx.xxx.xxx/serviceaction.html?command=reboot
Replace xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx with your rooExtend IP address.

This will simply reboot your rooExtend, should take 30-45 seconds for it to come back up…

[Henry_Svendblad]

@DrCWO

I am sure there is something that can be done to fix this. Windows and Mac roon servers seem to NOT have this problem. I don’t have the answer, but I am happy to help you look. I just wanted to share that it is a broader issue. I will do some homework on this…

EDIT: It seems others are reporting similar issues e.g.

1. Strange New Issue With Roon Image On LG OLED TV
2. Do you use the Roon Display feature? How is it working for you?

I’ll keep digging…

[Scott_Jann]

@DrCWO

For me this means that Chromium on Linux has an issue with the Roon artwork output as you saw it with two different Linux editions.

What about using something else, like Firefox (or iceweasel)? Ages ago I used to use this on raspbian:

(sleep 15; xdotool key F11) &
(sleep 18; xdotool key Control+R) &
iceweasel http://<roon>:9100/display/ &

[Henry_Svendblad]

@Scott_Jann

(sleep 15; xdotool key F11) &
(sleep 18; xdotool key Control+R) &
iceweasel http://<roon>:9100/display/ &

Thanks Scott, this seems like xdotool key Control+R it would do the “trick” – This is what I do manually on my Linux server.

@DrCWO
It seems we would need to install xdotool on dietpi and add a script that refreshes the browser as @Scott_Jann suggested above.

It could look something like this, per ChatGPT, but others might have better info. My Linux skill is intermediate at my best.

To create a bash script that refreshes Chromium (or any other browser) every 6 hours using xdotool on DietPi. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Create a new text file and open it for editing:

sudo nano refresh_chromium.sh

2. Add the following lines to your script:

#!/bin/bash

while true; do
    # Bring Chromium to the foreground (change the window title if needed)
    xdotool search --name "Chromium" windowactivate --sync

    # Send the Ctrl+R key combination to refresh the page
    xdotool key Ctrl+R

    # Sleep for 6 hours (21600 seconds)
    sleep 21600
done

Here’s what each part of the script does:

• It enters an infinite loop using while true to keep refreshing.
• xdotool is used to search for a window with the name “Chromium” and bring it to the foreground.
• Then, it sends the Ctrl+R key combination to refresh the page.
• After that, it sleeps for 6 hours (21600 seconds) before repeating the process.

3. Save the file and exit the text editor.
4. Make the script executable:

chmod +x refresh_chromium.sh

5. Run the script:

./refresh_chromium.sh

Now, your script will continuously refresh Chromium (or any other browser with the specified window title) every 6 hours. You can adjust the window title and sleep duration in the script to match your specific needs.

Make sure Chromium is running and has a window with the specified title for the script to work correctly.

[Faxe]

My Rooextend box stopped working. I can’t access the box anymore by webbrowser. Rooaidj is also not working anymore (extension is not visible in Roon). The box isn’t connected in Rooaidj and I am not to reconnect it.

I tried to restart the box a couple of times without luck. The box is connected to my LAN using the WAN connector.

The sys light at the front is blinking like it did before. The green LAN light is on permanently.

The box is not visible at my router in the list of connected devices. I tried different UTP cables and switches.

What else can I do to get it to work again?

[Henry_Svendblad]

Change cables and plug directly into your router to make sure it’s getting an IP address. From your limited details it looks like it’s not on the same subnet or not on your network at all.

If you are using an RPI, reflash can help.

[Faxe]

Changing cables and connecting the box directly to the modem/router didn’t fix the problem. I am using the Rooextend box. Tried to reflash the sd card and now the red light is on permanently.

[Henry_Svendblad]

From the user manual:

Can you tell if it is dimly lit all the time or bright?

I would reach out to @DrCWO or the company that sells the box, perhaps there is something wrong if you are stuck on red. I don’t have a box like this just an RPI.

[Faxe]

I think the light is bright all the time (can’t compare it). I am in contact with the shop that delivered the box.

[DrCWO (C.W. Oehlrich)]

@Faxe

Tried to reflash the sd card and now the red light is on permanently.

The public image for the Raspberry Pi is NOT THE SAME as the one necessary for the rooExtend-Box!

Please NEVER use this image for the rooExtend-Box. Flashing this image on the rooExtend-Box you loose warranty!!!

Issues with the rooExtend-Box should be reported here and I will help.

rooExtend-Box: Plug-And-Play for Roon Extensions

Dear Rooners, I’m happy to announce the BRAND NEW rooExtend-Box. The rooExtend-Box was made for all music lovers who don’t want to tinker or don’t dare to setup the Raspberry Pi. As plug-and-play solution that doesn’t require any tinkering. Unpack, plug in and you can use all my Roon extensions. In this thread I offer support exclusively for the owners of the rooExtend box. [image] As a plug-and-play solution, no technical knowledge is required to operate the rooExtend-Box. It is oper…

Best DrCWO