Spotify Connect - Max of 11 instances

[zaphod]

In the Spotify Connect Documentation it says:

Quote

There are a maximum of 11 instances of this driver allowed per project.  Any additional instances added will not operate correctly, and may cause problems for the other working instances.

Is this constraint still binding?  Is this a bug in the driver or is there some sort of limitation in either Spotify or C4 that causes a limit of 11?
 

[-defunct-]

5 minutes ago, zaphod said:

In the Spotify Connect Documentation it says:

Is this constraint still binding?  Is this a bug in the driver or is there some sort of limitation in either Spotify or C4 that causes a limit of 11?
 

Yes. It is a limitation of the Spotify implementation and the available ports per device allowed by Spotify's Connect architecture.

Since the Spotify Connect instance is centralized to the primary controller, there can only be 11.

[zaphod]

Thanks. I guess this isn't a huge deal as you can just join onto a stream from another room. But it is nice to be able to send to a room with one step with autoplay.

[BraydonH]

I prefer the 2 step method actually. Open C4 App and set your zones and volume, then open spotify and cast. 

Having streams labeled "Master Bed" (or one for every zone) but then you want to listen to that elsewhere like in the kitchen, so the kitchen is listening to 'master bed', I prefer when the kitchen is listening to 'spotify'. So I usually just do Spotify 1 and 2, or his and hers instead of having a bunch of instances labeled after every room in the house.

To each their own tho.

[msgreenf]

I do the room method. Best experience

[zaphod]

I agree that the room method is the best experience when paired with Auto Room.  Braydon - with your method I guess you don't use the Auto Room feature?

But if you have more than 11 rooms with audio then you are SOL.  I am getting there as I am adding more speakers in my house, but I can probably pare back as some rooms I have are generally listened to together - for example my living room and dining room both have ceiling speakers and are right beside each other with only a partial wall dividing them.  They are separate zones but you couldn't really play different music in each room.  So I really only need one Spotify driver for the two rooms (I could probably even connect the speakers together into one zone on the matrix amp as well).  I have a couple of other instances like this.

[Unsocialtoaster]

We ran into this on a job recently, swpaping from Blusound system which just wasn't reliable to Control4 audio. To get over the 11 stream limitation we ended up using Roberts RS1 for each of the guest rooms that didn't need to be on the main C4 system. At £18 each they might get someone else out of the same hole we ended up in!

[ajd123]

On 11/3/2020 at 10:20 AM, zaphod said:

I agree that the room method is the best experience when paired with Auto Room.  Braydon - with your method I guess you don't use the Auto Room feature?

But if you have more than 11 rooms with audio then you are SOL.  I am getting there as I am adding more speakers in my house, but I can probably pare back as some rooms I have are generally listened to together - for example my living room and dining room both have ceiling speakers and are right beside each other with only a partial wall dividing them.  They are separate zones but you couldn't really play different music in each room.  So I really only need one Spotify driver for the two rooms (I could probably even connect the speakers together into one zone on the matrix amp as well).  I have a couple of other instances like this.

What is "auto room"?

[msgreenf]

16 minutes ago, ajd123 said:

What is "auto room"?

The driver can be set to a specific room and automatically turn that room on. Best way to use Spotify connect in c4 is name by room 

[zaphod]

On 3/22/2023 at 6:47 AM, ajd123 said:

What is "auto room"?

To expand on this, you can install multiple instances of the driver that can be called "Kitchen", "Master Bedroom","Office", etc.  That way you can use the Spotify app to start playing content, click on the devices icon and send the music to that C4 driver instance.  In that way you don't actually have to use the C4 app, remote, TS, etc and everything can be done in Spotify.  The main reason to still need to use the C4 app would be if you want to add other zones to the playback.

I prefer this way to start music as I prefer the Spotify UI to the C4 music UI that can use for native music sources like Tidal.

[ajd123]

23 minutes ago, zaphod said:

To expand on this, you can install multiple instances of the driver that can be called "Kitchen", "Master Bedroom","Office", etc.  That way you can use the Spotify app to start playing content, click on the devices icon and send the music to that C4 driver instance.  In that way you don't actually have to use the C4 app, remote, TS, etc and everything can be done in Spotify.  The main reason to still need to use the C4 app would be if you want to add other zones to the playback.

I prefer this way to start music as I prefer the Spotify UI to the C4 music UI that can use for native music sources like Tidal.

Thanks Zaphod.  My issue with Spotify was not being able to play multiple streams (different music in different rooms) at the same time. 

Unfortunately, every spotify driver in the project gets linked to the same spotify account so it did not provide me with this functionality.

[msgreenf]

10 minutes ago, ajd123 said:

Unfortunately, every spotify driver in the project gets linked to the same spotify account so it did not provide me with this functionality.

it does not

[Cyknight]

Sounds like your limitation is that there's only one connection from a controller to your audio setup. Spotify Connect isn't 'linked' to any account at all.

[ajd123]

47 minutes ago, msgreenf said:

it does not

So in order to have multiple Spotify accounts used within Control4 and associated with a specific spotify room driver, I would need to:

1) login to the specific Spotify account on my phone

2) start a session in Control4 with the playlist I want to save

3) save the playlist (label it accordingly so I know what Spotify account it is tied to)

4) use that specific playlist in the programming for that room / driver

???
 

37 minutes ago, Cyknight said:

Sounds like your limitation is that there's only one connection from a controller to your audio setup. Spotify Connect isn't 'linked' to any account at all.

I have an audio matrix and two 8 zone amps.  I am able to play a single source over multiple locations (sessions).  I am able to play different sources on different locations (sessions) simultaneously.

[msgreenf]

Correct steps. 

 

On the second part of your question, it's all about how many audio cables do you have running from controller to matrix. That dictates the number of unique feeds you can have

[ajd123]

3 hours ago, msgreenf said:

Correct steps. 

 

On the second part of your question, it's all about how many audio cables do you have running from controller to matrix. That dictates the number of unique feeds you can have

Hey Mitch.  I was not quite understanding the benefit of installing individual spotify drivers in each room.  I came across this reddit post which helped explain the benefit more clearly:

"The C4 Spotify driver is actually a Spotify Connect driver, so not fully native. You will still use your Spotify app to select music, and then use C4 to add in zones. There is a handy feature of this driver that makes it a bit more user friendly, though. Your dealer can select instances of each Spotify stream driver to "auto power" rooms within C4. In other words, they could set up multiple Spotify Connect streams and name each one after the rooms they turn on.

For instance, I usually set up Spotify users with several streams that show up as the room names from C4 within the available Spotify "devices" for casting. So, "Kitchen(C4)", "Porch(C4)", and "Party(C4)" would all show up as available devices to stream to within Spotify. When you select the stream, C4 tells the corresponding rooms to turn on. When you stop casting, after a delay it will also turn those rooms back off within C4."

I can see the benefit this provides for guests or family members who do not have the C4 application installed on their phone using their own Spotify account from within your home network.

 

[msgreenf]

You still have to have the right number of cables from your controller to your matrix to stream multiple things simultaneously

[ajd123]

3 hours ago, msgreenf said:

You still have to have the right number of cables from your controller to your matrix to stream multiple things simultaneously

Correct me if I am wrong, but an EA-5 only has two RCA outputs and 1 digital output for audio.  Would that not max out at 3 simultaneous streams?

[Cyknight]

31 minutes ago, ajd123 said:

Correct me if I am wrong, but an EA-5 only has two RCA outputs and 1 digital output for audio.  Would that not max out at 3 simultaneous streams?

2 Analogue stereo and 2 digital coax out actually. So 4. the '5' in EA5 would be the HDMI out (though it's not recommended to use it for distribution along with the other two options, as sync on HDMi is not a guarantee)

Of course, you still need to have those actually connected to get the 4. So yes you can have 11 drivers and 'only' 4 actual connections - and yes that would work as long as no more than 4 streams (note, that is total streams across different services, ie you can have 3 spotify and 1 tune in, not 4 spotify and 3 tune in).

 

This to me is where I'm PERSONALLY not a big fan of the by room driver model. At least not in having it for every room. In the end it's client decision, but for me: a 'room' stream for the kids in their own room, in the ensuite for my better half, and then 2 general for all the rest. And yes ensure there are in fact at least that many controller connections available.