PlexMusicBridge (experimental)

This project aims to bridge the gap between Plex and HiFi music players like the Cambridge Azur 851N. The software allows to use a UPnP capable player as a Plex casting target with support for most control commands (play, pause, seek, volume, ...). Please note that this is only intended to be used with music for now. The software is provided as is without any support, warranty or guarantee that it works for you.

Supported Players

Feel free to add a player via PR! You can use player/template.py as a starting point to implement all necessary functionalities for your player.

• VLC via Python API (install Python package python-vlc)
• Cambridge Azur 851N

Installation

Download the source code:

git clone https://github.com/niclasku/plexmusicbridge

Install dependencies:

pip3 install plexmusicbridge/

Usage

You can either use command line arguments or environment variables for configuration. Example for Azur 851N:

plexmusicbridge -p 851n --log_level error --player_ip 192.168.10.8 --player_host_ip 192.168.10.9

To show all command line options, run (each player can add its own arguments that might not show up here):

plexmusicbridge --help

Docker

You can also run this software as a Docker container. Following environment variables are present by default:

ENV	Description	Required	Default
PLAYER_NAME	Name of player implementation (e.g. vlc or 851n)	Yes
LOG_PATH	Path to log files inside the container		./
LOG_LEVEL	Log level (error, warning, info or debug)		error
GDM_PORT	Port for Plex GDM requests		32412
COMPANION_PORT	Port of Plex Companion request handler		32005
TITLE	Player name, shows up on all Plex apps		Player
SUBTITLE	Player subtitle, shows up on Plex web clients below the player name		Music Bridge
NOTIFY_INTERVAL	Interval to send current playback state to all clients and Plex server		0.5
GDM_INTERVAL	Interval to announce the player to Plex clients and server		0.5

For Azur 851N:

ENV	Description	Required	Default
PLAYER_IP	IP address of Azur 851N	Yes
PLAYER_PORT	Port for UPnP endpoint of player		8050
HOST_IP	IP address of host system	Yes
NOTIFY_PORT	Port of UPnP message handler		30111

Notes

• check if all *.plex.direct domains resolve on host system

Credits

• The Plex companion implementation was adapted from @Hippojay (see https://github.com/hippojay/script.plexbmc.helper/) and @croneter (see https://github.com/croneter/PlexKodiConnect/)
• The Azur 851N UPnP implementation was adapted from @cherezov (see https://github.com/cherezov/dlnap)

ToDo

• use JSON instead of XML for communication with Plex clients and server
• add code documentation
• fix a bug where the web client looses its connection if 851N is used as player
• automatic configuration
• improve code style (e.g. private methods)
• add tests
• replace polling in 851N implementation
• container should allow port forwarding not just host network