Background Music shows as started but doesn't play in latest version

[jayg7800]

Using FPP 9.2, with a Soundblaster 3 USB, I can no longer get this plugin to start after plugin update today. See screenshot:

[OnlineDynamic]

Can you confirm are you still having issues after a complete reboot of the pi?

[OnlineDynamic]

I have also pushed further changes this morning in case there was a permissions issue - so please update to latest version and reboot

[jayg7800]

Good morning,

I attempted to do a full uninstall, reboot, and a fresh install. Unfortunately, I get stuck at this point and cannot click the "Close Button"

Installing plugin fpp-plugin-BackgroundMusic
Cloning into 'fpp-plugin-BackgroundMusic'...
Running fpp_install.sh script for fpp-plugin-BackgroundMusic

Upgrading Background Music Plugin

Cleaning up old processes...
Old processes cleaned up

Installing Dependencies

Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
jq is already the newest version (1.6-2.1+deb12u1).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 34 not upgraded.
Installing build dependencies for bgmplayer...
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
g++ is already the newest version (4:12.2.0-3+rpi1).
make is already the newest version (4.3-4.1).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 34 not upgraded.
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
The following additional packages will be installed:
gir1.2-ibus-1.0 libblkid-dev libdecor-0-dev libegl-dev libgbm-dev
libgles-dev libgles1 libglib2.0-bin libglib2.0-dev libglib2.0-dev-bin
libibus-1.0-5 libibus-1.0-dev libmount-dev libpcre2-32-0 libpcre2-dev
libpcre2-posix3 libpulse-dev libpulse-mainloop-glib0 libsamplerate0-dev
libselinux1-dev libsepol-dev libudev-dev libxcursor-dev libxfixes-dev
libxi-dev libxinerama-dev libxkbcommon-dev libxrandr-dev libxrender-dev
libxss-dev libxt-dev libxv-dev libxxf86vm-dev uuid-dev
Suggested packages:
libgirepository1.0-dev libglib2.0-doc libxml2-utils libxt-doc
The following NEW packages will be installed:
gir1.2-ibus-1.0 libblkid-dev libdecor-0-dev libegl-dev libgbm-dev
libgles-dev libgles1 libglib2.0-bin libglib2.0-dev libglib2.0-dev-bin
libibus-1.0-5 libibus-1.0-dev libmount-dev libpcre2-32-0 libpcre2-dev
libpcre2-posix3 libpulse-dev libpulse-mainloop-glib0 libsamplerate0-dev
libselinux1-dev libsepol-dev libudev-dev libxcursor-dev libxfixes-dev
libxi-dev libxinerama-dev libxkbcommon-dev libxrandr-dev libxrender-dev
libxss-dev libxt-dev libxv-dev libxxf86vm-dev uuid-dev
The following held packages will be changed:
libsdl2-dev
The following packages will be upgraded:
libsdl2-dev
1 upgraded, 34 newly installed, 0 to remove and 33 not upgraded.
E: Held packages were changed and -y was used without --allow-change-held-packages.
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
libavformat-dev is already the newest version (8:5.1.7-0+deb12u1+rpt1).
libavcodec-dev is already the newest version (8:5.1.7-0+deb12u1+rpt1).
libavutil-dev is already the newest version (8:5.1.7-0+deb12u1+rpt1).
libswresample-dev is already the newest version (8:5.1.7-0+deb12u1+rpt1).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 34 not upgraded.
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
ffmpeg is already the newest version (8:5.1.7-0+deb12u1+rpt1).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 34 not upgraded.
Installing PipeWire audio stack...
Reading package lists...
Building dependency tree...
Reading state information...
pipewire is already the newest version (1.2.7-1bpo12+1+rpt5).
pipewire-pulse is already the newest version (1.2.7-1bpo12+1+rpt5).
pipewire-alsa is already the newest version (1.2.7-1~bpo12+1+rpt5).
wireplumber is already the newest version (0.4.13-1).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 34 not upgraded.

==========================================
Compiling Background Music Player

Checking build dependencies...
All dependencies found ✓
Compiling src/BGMusicPlayer.cpp...
g++ -std=c++11 -Wall -O2 -I/usr/include/SDL2 -D_REENTRANT -c src/BGMusicPlayer.cpp -o src/BGMusicPlayer.o
Compiling src/bgmplayer_main.cpp...
g++ -std=c++11 -Wall -O2 -I/usr/include/SDL2 -D_REENTRANT -c src/bgmplayer_main.cpp -o src/bgmplayer_main.o
Linking bgmplayer...
g++ src/BGMusicPlayer.o src/bgmplayer_main.o -lavformat -lavcodec -lavutil -lswresample -lSDL2 -pthread -o bgmplayer
Build complete: bgmplayer
✓ bgmplayer compiled successfully

Setting permissions on helper scripts...
PipeWire configuration written to /home/fpp/.config/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/99-backgroundmusic.conf
Creating /run/user/500 for PipeWire runtime...
Starting PipeWire services...
PipeWire configured to use ALSA device: hw:1,0 (card 1)
M 08:54:14.584610 wp-device ../lib/wp/device.c:619:wp_spa_device_new_from_spa_factory: SPA handle 'api.libcamera.enum.manager' could not be loaded; is it installed?
M 08:54:14.584732 script/libcamera libcamera.lua:168:chunk: PipeWire's libcamera SPA missing or broken. libcamera not supported.
M 08:54:15.083335 m-lua-scripting ../modules/module-lua-scripting/api/api.c:376:object_activate_done: WpSiAudioAdapter:0x1f10048 Object activation aborted: proxy destroyed
M 08:54:15.083424 script/create-item create-item.lua:80:chunk: WpSiAudioAdapter:0x1f10048 failed to activate item: Object activation aborted: proxy destroyed
W 08:54:15.109211 m-portal-permissio ../modules/module-portal-permissionstore.c:63:wp_portal_permissionstore_plugin_lookup: WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x1d4dd18 Failed to call Lookup: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore was not provided by any .service files
W 08:54:15.110968 m-portal-permissio ../modules/module-portal-permissionstore.c:63:wp_portal_permissionstore_plugin_lookup: WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x1d4dd18 Failed to call Lookup: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore was not provided by any .service files
W 08:54:15.112943 m-portal-permissio ../modules/module-portal-permissionstore.c:63:wp_portal_permissionstore_plugin_lookup: WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x1d4dd18 Failed to call Lookup: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore was not provided by any .service files
W 08:54:15.115041 m-portal-permissio ../modules/module-portal-permissionstore.c:63:wp_portal_permissionstore_plugin_lookup: WpPortalPermissionStorePlugin:0x1d4dd18 Failed to call Lookup: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.ServiceUnknown: The name org.freedesktop.impl.portal.PermissionStore was not provided by any .service files
PipeWire started for fpp user
root 2447 0.1 0.0 7828 2732 ? S 08:54 0:00 /bin/bash /home/fpp/media/plugins/fpp-plugin-BackgroundMusic/scripts/start_pipewire.sh
root 2499 0.2 0.1 10376 4028 ? S 08:54 0:00 sudo -u fpp XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/500 PIPEWIRE_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/500 DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/500/bus /usr/bin/pipewire
fpp 2501 0.7 0.2 37440 10200 ? Sl 08:54 0:00 /usr/bin/pipewire
root 2529 0.0 0.1 10376 4024 ? S 08:54 0:00 sudo -u fpp XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/500 PIPEWIRE_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/500 DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/500/bus /usr/bin/pipewire-pulse
fpp 2531 0.2 0.2 36460 7536 ? Sl 08:54 0:00 /usr/bin/pipewire-pulse
root 2544 0.3 0.1 10376 4028 ? S 08:54 0:00 sudo -u fpp XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/500 PIPEWIRE_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/500 DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/500/bus /usr/bin/wireplumber
fpp 2546 6.8 0.4 71224 15196 ? Sl 08:54 0:00 /usr/bin/wireplumber
PipeWire initialization complete (default sink configuration running in background)
✓ PipeWire stack started for fpp user

==========================================
Plugin Upgraded Successfully

IMPORTANT UPGRADE NOTES:

✓ ALSA audio configuration updated for software mixing
✓ PSA announcement system now available

ACTION REQUIRED:
If background music is currently running:

1. Stop background music
2. Wait 2-3 seconds
3. Start background music

This applies the new ALSA configuration for PSA support.

Created player log file: /tmp/background_music_player.log
Cleaning up temporary files...
Setting up header indicator...
Header indicator installed: /opt/fpp/www/js/fpp-plugin-backgroundmusic-indicator.js

Installation/Upgrade complete!

Looking for audio sink matching card name: S3
Setting default sink to: alsa_output.usb-Creative_Technology_Ltd_Sound_Blaster_Play__3_YDSB1730417001978N-00.analog-stereo (card 1)

[jayg7800]

I forced a reboot of my FPP Pi, and tried to start the plugin. It says it started, but doesn't actually start playing anything. I can still manually play MP3 files directly from FPP, so the Soundplaster Play 3 is still functioning properly.

I found the plugin log just now, here are the results after the forced reboot:

bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Direct sample mixing device
hw:CARD=S3,DEV=0
Sound Blaster Play! 3, USB Audio
Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=S3,DEV=0
Attempting to use anyway with plug wrapper...
Starting background music player...
Source Type: playlist
Playlist: Christmas Audio
Shuffle Mode: 1
Audio Device: plughw:1,0
System Volume (ALSA): 70%
ffplay Volume: 100% (controlled by ALSA)
Setting system volume to 70% via FPP API
Background music started successfully (PID: 16596)
2025-11-06 09:26:11 - Background music restarted successfully
2025-11-06 09:26:11 - Return to pre-show complete
2025-11-06 17:04:35 - Starting show transition: fade=5 sec, blackout=2 sec, show=Halloween 2025
2025-11-06 17:04:35 - Original brightness: 100%
2025-11-06 17:04:35 - Original volume: 100%
2025-11-06 17:04:35 - Starting audio fade
2025-11-06 17:04:35 - Fading brightness to 0% over 5s using Brightness plugin FadeDown
2025-11-06 17:04:35 - Fading audio for ffplay PID 15094 over 5 seconds
2025-11-06 17:04:35 - Using ALSA (amixer) for fade
2025-11-06 17:04:35 - Current volume: 100%, fading to 0%
2025-11-06 17:04:43 - Audio fade complete (ALSA)
2025-11-06 17:04:43 - Brightness faded to 0%
2025-11-06 17:04:43 - Stopping background music player
Stopping background music player (PID: 15080)...
Background music stopped
2025-11-06 17:04:44 - Setting volume to 100% for show playlist via FPP API
2025-11-06 17:04:44 - Volume set to 100% for show playback
2025-11-06 17:04:45 - Stopping all playlists
2025-11-06 17:04:45 - Blackout for 2 seconds
2025-11-06 17:04:47 - Restoring brightness to 100% using Brightness plugin
2025-11-06 17:04:47 - Starting show playlist: Halloween 2025
2025-11-06 17:04:49 - Show playlist started successfully - now playing: Halloween 2025
2025-11-06 17:04:49 - Show completion monitor started
2025-11-06 17:04:49 - Show transition complete
2025-11-06 17:04:49 - Starting show completion monitor for playlist: Halloween 2025
2025-11-06 17:04:54 - Show playlist completed or stopped
2025-11-06 17:04:54 - Show monitor exiting
2025-11-06 17:04:54 - Show playlist ended - checking return to pre-show setting
2025-11-06 17:04:54 - Return to pre-show enabled - restarting background music
2025-11-06 17:04:54 - Waiting 10 seconds before restarting background music
2025-11-06 17:05:04 - Resume mode: continue
2025-11-06 17:05:04 - Post-show background music volume will be set to 70% when player starts
Created playlist with 34 files
Converted card number 1 to ALSA device: plughw:1,0
Detected audio device: plughw:1,0
WARNING: Audio device 'plughw:1,0' not found in ALSA device list
Available devices:
null
Discard all samples (playback) or generate zero samples (capture)
default
dmixer
hw:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Hardware device with all software conversions
sysdefault:CARD=Headphones
bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Default Audio Device
dmix:CARD=Headphones,DEV=0
bcm2835 Headphones, bcm2835 Headphones
Direct sample mixing device
hw:CARD=S3,DEV=0
Sound Blaster Play! 3, USB Audio
Direct hardware device without any conversions
plughw:CARD=S3,DEV=0
Attempting to use anyway with plug wrapper...
Starting background music player...
Source Type: playlist
Playlist: Christmas Audio
Shuffle Mode: 1
Audio Device: plughw:1,0
System Volume (ALSA): 70%
ffplay Volume: 100% (controlled by ALSA)
Setting system volume to 70% via FPP API
Background music started successfully (PID: 16230)
2025-11-06 17:05:06 - Background music restarted successfully
2025-11-06 17:05:06 - Return to pre-show complete
2025-11-23 20:57:44 [postStart] FPP postStart hook triggered
2025-11-23 20:57:44 [postStart] Autostart not enabled, skipping
{"daemon_start": {"description": "FPP Daemon Started"}}
2025-11-23 21:03:35 [postStart] FPP postStart hook triggered
2025-11-23 21:03:35 [postStart] Autostart not enabled, skipping
{"daemon_start": {"description": "FPP Daemon Started"}}
{"daemon_start": {"description": "FPP Daemon Started"}}
2025-11-23 21:12:52 [postStart] FPP postStart hook triggered
2025-11-23 21:12:52 [postStart] Autostart not enabled, skipping
{"daemon_start": {"description": "FPP Daemon Started"}}
{"daemon_start": {"description": "FPP Daemon Started"}}
{"daemon_start": {"description": "FPP Daemon Started"}}
2025-11-24 08:58:53 [postStart] FPP postStart hook triggered
2025-11-24 08:58:53 [postStart] Autostart not enabled, skipping
{"daemon_start": {"description": "FPP Daemon Started"}}

[OnlineDynamic]

Thanks for reporting - I see the issue on the plugin install (some code was outputting debug messages after the installation complete message which fpp relies on to know when things have finished - in the process of hopefully fixing some other stuff so will push the change out later to resolve that particular install issue

[OnlineDynamic]

on your other point where it says its playing but it isn't - can you check if the audio is actually comiung out the headphone socket on the pi rather than the soundblaster - seen it getting confused on each device is master recently (that's what I'm trying to fix - surprisingly tricky to get pi, soundblaster and hdmui to all play nicely

[jayg7800]

I just double-checked, no audio is coming out of the pi's headphone jack. Also, even when it says the service has been started, it still shows the player is idle, so I believe its erroring out behind the scenes:

[OnlineDynamic]

Have just pushed a massive code change to hopefully resolve this - been having fun and games with different sound card types, I have switched backwards and forwards between different configs about 60 times and think I now have it stable (fpp requires reboot on changing audio output type) - please test and report back

[jayg7800]

After a reboot, it looks like this is running for me but I do have an issue with how I'm trying to use this plugin. I use multiple FPP devices and one of them is a dedicated remote that plays MP4 videos that need to be named the same as the running sequence's MP3 file name. When trying to run a media sequence with MP3 audio, I get an ALSA error stating the device is in use as it's already playing the background music. This prevents the FPP remote from playing the MP4 video, since the sequence's MP3 audio file (a file with no actual audio in it) can't start. Is there a way around this?

Edit: This is my playlist. The MP4 file (named same as the MP3 audio file that's just dead air) plays on an FPP remote and shows a video on a projector saying "Happy Thanksgiving - our light show will start on xxxxx". Hopefully that helps explain my use case. The goal is to have background music play music in the background while this video and light show sequence runs on repeat.

[OnlineDynamic]

Hi - understand your use case and issue - need to have a think on this one - not sure how easily I can get that to work with current fpp architecture - think I may need to change core fpp but given the point in the season we are now in that type of change won't come out until fpp 10 post xmas

[jayg7800]

Thank you for considering this in the future! In the meantime, I may try to get creative and use a second instance of FPP Player on a standalone Pi3/4 to play the background music with this plugin and use an audio mixer to combine both FPP Player outputs before the FM transmitter.

[msimmons78]

@OnlineDynamic Love the plugin. Could you shoot me an email at msimmons@techprise.com regarding some help with a FPP plugin so we can discuss offline from here. Thanks!