TuneBlade | Release Notes

Release 1.8.0.0 20-December-2018

This release adds support for Sonos speakers with AirPlay 2 support.

[New Feature] This release adds support for Sonos speakers with AirPlay 2 support. This includes support for Sonos One, Sonos Beam, Play:5 (2nd version) and Playbase. If you have older Sonos speakers, then you can group them with one of the compatible speakers to make TuneBlade work with them.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.7.9.0 15-December-2018

This release fixes a compatibility issue with the oldest generation Airport Express.

[Compatibility Fix] Release 1.7.7.0 broke compatibility with the oldest AirPort Express (released 2004, model A1088, 802.11g) and a few non-MFi devices. This release fixes this compatibility issue. Thank you all who reported.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.7.8.0 4-October-2018

This is a bugfix release to the previous release. Thank you all who reported the issue.

[Bugfix] TuneBlade was crashing while connecting with few receivers including TuneAero. This has been fixed.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.7.7.0 27-September-2018

This release has compatibility fixes for most AirPlay 2 receivers and support for all Apple TV security modes.

[Compatibility Fix] Fixed compatibility issues with AirPlay 2 receivers including AirPort Express with fw 7.8, and most other AirPlay 2 receivers.
[Compatibility Fix] Fixed compatibility issue with Apple TV 4/4k. All security modes are supported i.e. One Time Passcode, Password, Every Time Passcode are all supported.
[Known Issue] Sonos speakers (with AirPlay 2) aren’t supported yet.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.7.3.0 9-October-2017

This release has new APIs for remote control, bugfix for HABridge integration and tweaks for being compliant with the default settings of Avast firewall.

[Enhancement to Remote API] A simpler HTTP Remote API is now available for easier integrations. For more info: http://www.tuneblade.com/developer/simpleRemoteApi.html . The old API is fully compatible.
[Bugfix] Compatibility with HA-Bridge (Bridge for Alexa) has been restored which was broken in 1.7.1 release. Thanks to all who reported and helped troubleshoot.
[Tweaks for Avast Firewall] Avast Premier blocked some of TuneBlade traffic with it’s default settings. Internet Sharing option had to be enabled. This is no longer required as TuneBlade now uses different set of ports to accommodate Avast firewall. Thanks to all who reported and helped troubleshoot.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.7.1.0 15-September-2017

This is a maintenance release to fix compatibility issue with Apple TV 4 which now enforces a new layer of security (Device Verification):

[Compatibility Fix] A recent update to tvOS on Apple TV 4 caused TuneBlade to not be able to connect to it. This has been fixed in this release. Only the default security i.e. “First Time Passcode” is supported.
[Credits] Thanks to Martin(funtax on github) and Philippe G (philippe44 on gihub) for open sourcing the Apple TV Device Verification protocol. Thanks to these libraries: Bouncy Castle, Chaos.NaCl, plist-cil and Curve25519 for making it easier for us to support Device Verification. Please check the credits page for full information

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.6.0.0 (1.6.2.0/1.6.3.0) 20-October-2016

This is a maintenance release with a new feature, improvement and fixes. (1.6.2.0 and 1.6.3.0 are bugfix releases over 1.6.0.0)

[New Feature] TuneBlade now implements a DACP server for AirPlay speakers or hifi receivers to control volume of TuneBlade from their hardware buttons and/or remote. Earlier the volume on TuneBlade and the receivers could be out of sync due to lack of DACP remote support in TuneBlade. Some receivers (like Airstream A100) would not change volume at all from it’s buttons or remote when connected to TuneBlade. These issues are now fixed due to the DACP server in TuneBlade.
[Improvement] TuneBlade now bundles the latest available version of Apple Bonjour service (3.1.0.1) which is required by TuneBlade to discover receivers.
[Bug Fix] On some Windows 10 PCs, device settings like volume and autoconnect were getting reset during system sleep/hibernate/shutdown occasionally. This has been fixed.
[Compatibility Fix] A recent update to ShairPort-Sync caused TuneBlade to identify it incorrectly as a proprietary system and imposed trial limitation on it. Thanks to all who reported this issue and got it resolved with the help of ShairPort-Sync's developer, Mike. (For developers: Any receiver with Zeroconf text record, "am" set to Kodi, XBMC, or if it contains ShairPort or if the record is missing will work uninterrupted with TuneBlade free version.)
[Information] Some LinkPlay chipset based systems like Muzo Cobblestone were failing to connect to TuneBlade. The LinkPlay team have resolved this issue. Please check for firmware update on your receiver if it fails to connect.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.5.1.0 07-March-2016

This is a maintenance release with new features, improvements and a bug fix.

[New Feature] Option to hide any particular receiver from the list.
[New Feature] Option to specify any additional delay (upto 500 ms) caused by a DSP or DAC in the receiver output audio chain causing the receiver to be out of sync from the rest of the receivers. TuneBlade will schedule the samples to play early by the configured milliseconds and causing the final output of the receiver to be in sync with other receivers.
[New Feature] Option to save the AirPlay password.
[Bug Fix] An issue causing some non-Apple/MFi receivers including Freebox, ShairPort Sync to not play audio occasionally from TuneBlade has been fixed.
[Improvement] Some significant performance tweaks in the audio capture engine which enables TuneBlade to capture smoothly without glitches under heavy CPU usage.
[Improvement] A new "Apply" button in the settings window.
[Improvement] Naming restrictions on manually added devices has been removed. Any international character or symbols can be used.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.4.4.0 26-January-2016

Bug fix: Volume failed to update due to some regional settings for some users.
Other minor tweaks.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.4.2.0 2-January-2016

Minor tweak. Changing the default sound device for Virtual Loopback recording mode was failing on some systems.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.4.1.0 8-November-2015

Targets newer Windows libraries. This makes future Windows update less likely to break any functionality in TuneBlade.
A solution to an issue specifically on some Windows 10 PCs where TuneBlade will fail to discover devices.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.3.5.0 15-September-2015

Minor tweaks related to specific third party audio drivers having static noise while TuneBlade is capturing.
Performance tweaks for resource starved systems.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.3.2.0 30-April-2015

Non-Ascii characters for receiver name are now supported.
Enhancement to the connection standby feature: Including dithered silence is optional.
The dialog for opening a YouTube video on VLC now remembers the last chosen quality setting, and if there is a URL in the clipboard, it is preset on the textbox.
Several other important tweaks and fixes.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.3.1.0 22-March-2015

New feature: "Force reconnection on connection error". This option is useful for always-on streaming scenarios. Can be enabled in general settings.
Responsive layout: TuneBlade scales and displays properly large number of AirPlay receivers on low resolution as well as high resolution screens.
Improvements to silence detection for "Connection Standby" feature. Connection standby now works with VB-Cable in "Virtual Device Loopback" capture mode.
Several other tweaks and fixes.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.2.4.0 8-January-2015

Bug fix: A tweak in previous update caused choppy playback in some environments. This has been fixed.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.2.3.0 29-December-2014

Kodi 14.0 is recognized as an open source receiver and is not interrupted every 10 minutes in the free version.
Several tweaks.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.2.2.0 16-December-2014

The remote interface is enabled as a default option.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.2.1.0 28-November-2014

A bug fix to an issue related to virtual network interfaces. (Thanks Kuba!)

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.2.0.0 26-September-2014

Control TuneBlade from an iOS device on the same local network. (Link to App Store)
Configure time to standby an active connection.The "Connection Standby" can be found under "Preferences>>AirPlay Streaming" tab.
Selectively configure individual receivers to connect automatically when discovered. Can be found under "Preferences>>AirPlay receivers"
Add receivers manually by specifying IP Address and Port number. Useful for networks where Zeroconf is disabled or doesn't work properly. Can be found under "Preferences>>AirPlay receivers"
You can now capture audio from Mic-In or Line-In or any other in/out audio endpoint through a new audio capture mode, "Specific Endpoint". Can be found under "Preferences>>Audio Capture"
Several tweaks, especially related to device discovery.
Bug fixes.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 1.0.0.0 11-December-2013

Usage data is no longer transmitted to the server.
Code Signed.
Bug fix: While streaming using Virtual Device Loopback capture mode, if you restarted or shutdown the system, TuneBlade was unable to restore back your default sound device preference. This has been fixed.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 0.9.16.0 26-November-2013

This release consists of optimization to the 'Start at Login' behaviour. In the previous versions, when application started at login, it would start in the usual way of displaying the splash icon and then displaying the main window.
In this release, during startup you will just notice the TuneBlade icon in the tray without the splash icon and the main window. For this new behavior to be effective, open settings, enable or re-enable this setting and press OK.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com or post on the support forum: http://tuneblade.com/support/QandA.html

Release 0.9.14.0 7-November-2013

New Feature: The current volume level is displayed when moving the slider.
New Feature: Option to increase width of the volume sliders. This makes it comfortable to fine tune volume levels, and also makes changing volume easier on touch screen devices.

If you are having any issues with this release, please do no hesitate to contact us at support@tuneblade.com

Release 0.9.13.0 23-October-2013

Tweak: Resampling is now set to the highest quality. (TuneBlade resamples audio only if Windows Audio Engine output mix is other than '44.1 khz - 16 bit - Stereo'. To avoid resampling, set system's audio mix to this rate in Windows sound settings.)
Tweak: TuneBlade will now auto-reconnect if the connection(s) was closed due to temporary lack of system resources. Earlier it use to disconnect and required a manual reconnect.

Release 0.9.12.0 9-October-2013

The individual volume level state of AirPlay devices are now maintained between application executions.

Release 0.9.10.0 30-September-2013

This release consists of two new features and a tweak related to volume control.

A new audio capturing mode, “Virtual Device Loopback” has been added. (The default technique of capturing audio (Direct Loopback or WASAPI Loopback) captures degraded audio when protected content is being played.) This new capture mode can be configured from TuneBlade preferences. Third party virtual sound card drivers are required to enable this mode. This has been tested to work with ‘VB-Cable’ and ‘Virtual Audio Cable (VAC)'.
A new feature to auto-connect to AirPlay receivers as soon as they are discovered on the network. This can be configured under general settings.
Volume control was causing the audio to play at relatively higher volumes at lower settings. This has been fixed.

Release 0.9.9.0 19-September-2013

This release consists of minor tweaks. Streaming to RaspyFi is now possible.

Release 0.9.7.0 16-September-2013

This release consists of performance optimizations and tweaks.

Release 0.9.6.0 10-September-2013

A 3-band Equalizer has been added.

Other changes include tweaks and minor bug fixes. Connection establishment timeout has been increased, with the ability to cancel an ongoing connection if it is taking too long to establish a connection.

Release 0.9.2.0 20-August-2013

Minor tweaks.

Release 0.9.1.0 16-August-2013

Minor tweaks in user interface including some additional information in preferences window.

Release 0.9.0.0 10-August-2013

TuneBlade is now free with no limitations while streaming to XBMC and ShairPort.
Minor tweaks.

Release 0.8.23.0 3-August-2013

A minor bug fix update.

"Start at login" setting was not functioning since the past few releases.
(Thanks to the user who sent us a feedback regarding this problem.)

Release 0.8.22.0 3-August-2013

This release contains a minor bug fix affecting ShairPort4w users who were unable to connect when ShairPort4w is password protected.

Release 0.8.21.0 1-August-2013

Major Tweak: TuneBlade was relying on a timer which became inaccurate under some conditions, causing unpleasent skips and pauses. This has been fixed by replacing it with an accurate hardware depedent timer.
A less stringent disconnection policy in trial mode. Disconnection is still at 10 minutes, but it will happen after 10 minutes of 'actual' streaming.

Release 0.8.20.0 31-July-2013

Minor bug fixes including:

Bug fix: Streaming mode was getting reset to Normal during TuneBlade startup, instead of using the saved value.
Bug fix: Streaming mode buttons were losing their function under certain conditions.

Release 0.8.19.0 26-July-2013

(Release Notes for 0.8.12.0 - 0.8.19.0)

Several bug fixes and tweaks including the following:

Default user interface is now stripped out of video playing options, streaming mode options and the master control panel. These features can be made visible from the preferences window.
Few users were unable to install or use the application due to an issue related to interfacing with Apple Bonjour. This has been fixed in this release.
Higher granularity in volume change.
A bug fix related to connecting with devices having large port numbers, mainly XBMC and ShairPort.
A feedback form when you close the application. Also available in the help section of preferences.

Known Issues:

Lower quality audio in Windows 8 when XBOX Music Windows Store app is running. Closing this application will bring back the normal CD quality for other applications.
Unable to connect with password protected XBMC and ShairPort. (Not an issue when connecting with AirPort Express) [Update: this has been fixed in release 0.8.22.0]

Release 0.8.11.0 15-July-2013

This version includes additional probes for detecting reasons for Bonjour installation problems for some users.
Logging to a file is now disabled by default. It can be enabled through preferences.

Release 0.8.10.0 12-July-2013

This update includes minor tweaks and bug fixes.
A getting started window is displayed on startup.
The VLC buttons are not visible on the UI by default. Those can be turned on through preferences.

Release 0.8.9.0 9-July-2013

This update includes minor tweaks and bug fixes.
This update sends anaonymous usage data to TuneBlade servers.

Release 0.8.8.0 1-July-2013

Bug fix release.

Release 0.8.7.0 28-June-2013

A bug fix related to splash screen due to an issue in the .Net framework.
Other bug fixes.

Release 0.8.6.0 27-June-2013

A bug fix related to a crash which happened rarely during system power state change.

Release 0.8.5.0 26-June-2013

A bug fix to handle a random crash.
TuneBlade can now send crash reports to TuneBlade support. This can be disabled in settings.

Release 0.8.4.0 25-June-2013

This version logs any random crash to "error.log" in the log folder (%localappdata%\Tuneblade\log). This can be sent to support@tuneblade.com.

Release 0.8.3.0 23-May-2013

New dark themed user interface.
Optimizations for smoother playback in challenging network conditions.
New system monitor window to monitor streaming conditions.
Simplified AirPlay buffer selection. Three streaming modes:
- Real-time - Lowest possible buffer. Normally less than 350 ms.
- Normal - 2 second buffer
- Buffered - Highest possible buffer size. Normally 5 seconds.
Plus, option to select any custom buffer size.
New 'connect all' and 'disconnect all' button.
New signal strength indicators.
New buffering indicator with progress info.
New connecting indicator with progress info.

Release 0.8.2.0 09-May-2013

Highly improved AirPlay streaming reliability.
Important bug fix that fixes the problem of jittery playback under medium/low network, and when connected to multiple speakers.
Configure AirPlay buffer upto 5 seconds. At this buffer size, a very reliable AirPlay streaming can be acheived. Reliablilty improvements can be noticed especially when connected to multiple speakers, and/or under medium to low network conditions.
Policy to pause the last connected device momentarily when speakers' buffer are about to underflow.
View indicators on UI for streaming signal strength. A red color text for receiver indicates that the receiver is kept on pause momentarily due to bandwidth issues. An orange color text indicates the device is dropping packets at a rate higher that what TuneBlade can handle.
View Airplay active latency (buffer size) in advanced settings. Active latency can be higher than the configured latency when configured latency is lower than what the connected AirPlay device(s) can handle.
Smooth transition from AirPlay speakers to computer speakers. When no AirPlay receiver is connected to TuneBlade, the computer speakers are un-muted. Instead of an abrupt unmute, the volume fades in smoothly now.
Several performance tweaks and bug fixes.

Release 0.8.1.0 29-April-2013

New splash icon.
Optimizations in audio capturing module.
Added 480p quality settings for opening Youtube videos on VLC. (experimental feature).

Release 0.8.0.0 25-April-2013

First public release.
No known issues.
Tested to work with the following devices:
- All revisions of Airport express (A1088/A1084, A1264, A1392) with firmware version 7.6.2 and 7.6.3.
- Apple TV 3.
- Altec Lansing inAir 5000
- Shairport4w
Stress test: streaming to 5 receivers simultaneously for more than 12 hours.