HTTP stream turning silent in mpd

.mpdconf

# An example configuration file for MPD.
# Read the user manual for documentation: http://www.musicpd.org/doc/user/


# Files and directories #######################################################
#
# This setting controls the top directory which MPD will search to discover the
# available audio files and add them to the daemon's online database. This 
# setting defaults to the XDG directory, otherwise the music directory will be
# be disabled and audio files will only be accepted over ipc socket (using
# file:// protocol) or streaming files over an accepted protocol.
#
music_directory		"~/music"
#
# This setting sets the MPD internal playlist directory. The purpose of this
# directory is storage for playlists created by MPD. The server will use 
# playlist files not created by the server but only if they are in the MPD
# format. This setting defaults to playlist saving being disabled.
#
playlist_directory		"~/.mpd/playlists"
#
# This setting sets the location of the MPD database. This file is used to
# load the database at server start up and store the database while the 
# server is not up. This setting defaults to disabled which will allow
# MPD to accept files over ipc socket (using file:// protocol) or streaming
# files over an accepted protocol.

db_file			"~/.mpd/database"
# 
# These settings are the locations for the daemon log files for the daemon.
# These logs are great for troubleshooting, depending on your log_level
# settings.
#
# The special value "syslog" makes MPD use the local syslog daemon. This
# setting defaults to logging to syslog, otherwise logging is disabled.
#
log_file			"~/.mpd/log"
#
# This setting sets the location of the file which stores the process ID
# for use of mpd --kill and some init scripts. This setting is disabled by
# default and the pid file will not be stored.
#
pid_file			"~/.mpd/pid"
#
# This setting sets the location of the file which contains information about
# most variables to get MPD back into the same general shape it was in before
# it was brought down. This setting is disabled by default and the server 
# state will be reset on server start up.
#
state_file			"~/.mpd/state"
#
# The location of the sticker database.  This is a database which
# manages dynamic information attached to songs.
#
sticker_file			"~/.mpd/sticker.sql"
#
###############################################################################


# General music daemon options ################################################
#
# This setting specifies the user that MPD will run as. MPD should never run as
# root and you may use this setting to make MPD change its user ID after
# initialization. This setting is disabled by default and MPD is run as the
# current user.
#
#user				"nobody"
#
# This setting specifies the group that MPD will run as. If not specified
# primary group of user specified with "user" setting will be used (if set).
# This is useful if MPD needs to be a member of group such as "audio" to
# have permission to use sound card.
#
#group				"nogroup"
#
# This setting sets the address for the daemon to listen on. Careful attention
# should be paid if this is assigned to anything other then the default, any.
# This setting can deny access to control of the daemon.
#
# For network
#bind_to_address		"localhost"
bind_to_address		"0.0.0.0"
#
# And for Unix Socket
#bind_to_address		"~/.mpd/socket"
#
# This setting is the TCP port that is desired for the daemon to get assigned
# to.
#
port				"6601"
#
# This setting controls the type of information which is logged. Available 
# setting arguments are "default", "secure" or "verbose". The "verbose" setting
# argument is recommended for troubleshooting, though can quickly stretch
# available resources on limited hardware storage.
#
#log_level			"default"
#
# If you have a problem with your MP3s ending abruptly it is recommended that 
# you set this argument to "no" to attempt to fix the problem. If this solves
# the problem, it is highly recommended to fix the MP3 files with vbrfix
# (available from <http://www.willwap.co.uk/Programs/vbrfix.php>), at which
# point gapless MP3 playback can be enabled.
#
#gapless_mp3_playback			"yes"
#
# Setting "restore_paused" to "yes" puts MPD into pause mode instead
# of starting playback after startup.
#
#restore_paused "no"
#
# This setting enables MPD to create playlists in a format usable by other
# music players.
#
#save_absolute_paths_in_playlists	"no"
#
# This setting defines a list of tag types that will be extracted during the
# audio file discovery process. The complete list of possible values can be
# found in the mpd.conf man page.
#metadata_to_use	"artist,album,title,track,name,genre,date,composer,performer,disc"
#
# This setting enables automatic update of MPD's database when files in 
# music_directory are changed.
#
auto_update	"yes"
#
# Limit the depth of the directories being watched, 0 means only watch
# the music directory itself.  There is no limit by default.
#
auto_update_depth "5"
#
###############################################################################


# Symbolic link behavior ######################################################
#
# If this setting is set to "yes", MPD will discover audio files by following 
# symbolic links outside of the configured music_directory.
#
#follow_outside_symlinks	"yes"
#
# If this setting is set to "yes", MPD will discover audio files by following
# symbolic links inside of the configured music_directory.
#
follow_inside_symlinks		"yes"
#
###############################################################################


# Zeroconf / Avahi Service Discovery ##########################################
#
# If this setting is set to "yes", service information will be published with
# Zeroconf / Avahi.
#
zeroconf_enabled		"no"
#
# The argument to this setting will be the Zeroconf / Avahi unique name for
# this MPD server on the network.
#
#zeroconf_name			"Music Player"
#
###############################################################################


# Permissions #################################################################
#
# If this setting is set, MPD will require password authorization. The password
# can setting can be specified multiple times for different password profiles.
#
#password                        "password@read,add,control,admin"
#
# This setting specifies the permissions a user has who has not yet logged in. 
#
#default_permissions             "read,add,control,admin"
#
###############################################################################


# Database #######################################################################
#

#database {
#       plugin "proxy"
#       host "other.mpd.host"
#       port "6600"
#}

# Input #######################################################################
#

#input {
#        plugin "curl"
#       proxy "proxy.isp.com:8080"
#       proxy_user "user"
#       proxy_password "password"
#}

#
###############################################################################

# Audio Output ################################################################
#
# MPD supports various audio output types, as well as playing through multiple 
# audio outputs at the same time, through multiple audio_output settings 
# blocks. Setting this block is optional, though the server will only attempt
# autodetection for one sound card.
#
# An example of an ALSA output:
#
#audio_output {
#	type		"alsa"
#	name		"My ALSA Device"
##	device		"hw:0,0"	# optional
##	mixer_type      "hardware"	# optional
##	mixer_device	"default"	# optional
##	mixer_control	"PCM"		# optional
##	mixer_index	"0"		# optional
#}
#
# An example of an OSS output:
#
#audio_output {
#	type		"oss"
#	name		"My OSS Device"
##	device		"/dev/dsp"	# optional
##	mixer_type      "hardware"	# optional
##	mixer_device	"/dev/mixer"	# optional
##	mixer_control	"PCM"		# optional
#}
#
# An example of a shout output (for streaming to Icecast):
#
#audio_output {
#	type		"shout"
#	encoding	"ogg"			# optional
#	name		"My Shout Stream"
#	host		"localhost"
#	port		"8000"
#	mount		"/mpd.ogg"
#	password	"hackme"
#	quality		"5.0"
#	bitrate		"128"
#	format		"44100:16:1"
##	protocol	"icecast2"		# optional
##	user		"source"		# optional
##	description	"My Stream Description"	# optional
##	url		"http://example.com"	# optional
##	genre		"jazz"			# optional
##	public		"no"			# optional
##	timeout		"2"			# optional
##	mixer_type      "software"		# optional
#}
#
# An example of a recorder output:
#
#audio_output {
#	type		"recorder"
#	name		"My recorder"
#	encoder		"vorbis"		# optional, vorbis or lame
#	path		"/var/lib/mpd/recorder/mpd.ogg"
##	quality		"5.0"			# do not define if bitrate is defined
#	bitrate		"128"			# do not define if quality is defined
#	format		"44100:16:1"
#}
#
# An example of a httpd output (built-in HTTP streaming server):
#
audio_output {
	type		"httpd"
	name		"Psy-Q's m00sic"
	encoder		"lame"		# optional, vorbis or lame
	#encoder		"flac"		# optional, vorbis or lame
	port		"8000"
#	bind_to_address	"0.0.0.0"		# optional, IPv4 or IPv6
	bitrate		"320"			# do not define if quality is defined
	max_clients	"3"			# optional 0=no limit
	mixer_type	"software"
}
#
# An example of a pulseaudio output (streaming to a remote pulseaudio server)
#
#audio_output {
#	type		"pulse"
#	name		"My Pulse Output"
##	server		"remote_server"		# optional
##	sink		"remote_server_sink"	# optional
#}
#
# An example of a winmm output (Windows multimedia API).
#
#audio_output {
#	type		"winmm"
#	name		"My WinMM output"
##	device		"Digital Audio (S/PDIF) (High Definition Audio Device)" # optional
#		or
##	device		"0"		# optional
##	mixer_type	"hardware"	# optional
#}
#
# An example of an openal output.
#
#audio_output {
#	type		"openal"
#	name		"My OpenAL output"
##	device		"Digital Audio (S/PDIF) (High Definition Audio Device)" # optional
#}
#
## Example "pipe" output:
#
#audio_output {
#	type		"pipe"
#	name		"my pipe"
#	command		"aplay -f cd 2>/dev/null"
## Or if you're want to use AudioCompress
#	command		"AudioCompress -m | aplay -f cd 2>/dev/null"
## Or to send raw PCM stream through PCM:
#	command		"nc example.org 8765"
#	format		"44100:16:2"
#}
#
## An example of a null output (for no audio output):
#
#audio_output {
#	type		"null"
#	name		"My Null Output"
#	mixer_type      "none"			# optional
#}
#
# If MPD has been compiled with libsamplerate support, this setting specifies 
# the sample rate converter to use.  Possible values can be found in the 
# mpd.conf man page or the libsamplerate documentation. By default, this is
# setting is disabled.
#
#samplerate_converter		"Fastest Sinc Interpolator"
#
###############################################################################


# Normalization automatic volume adjustments ##################################
#
# This setting specifies the type of ReplayGain to use. This setting can have
# the argument "off", "album", "track" or "auto". "auto" is a special mode that
# chooses between "track" and "album" depending on the current state of
# random playback. If random playback is enabled then "track" mode is used.
# See <http://www.replaygain.org> for more details about ReplayGain.
# This setting is off by default.
#
#replaygain			"album"
#
# This setting sets the pre-amp used for files that have ReplayGain tags. By
# default this setting is disabled.
#
#replaygain_preamp		"0"
#
# This setting sets the pre-amp used for files that do NOT have ReplayGain tags.
# By default this setting is disabled.
#
#replaygain_missing_preamp	"0"
#
# This setting enables or disables ReplayGain limiting.
# MPD calculates actual amplification based on the ReplayGain tags
# and replaygain_preamp / replaygain_missing_preamp setting.
# If replaygain_limit is enabled MPD will never amplify audio signal
# above its original level. If replaygain_limit is disabled such amplification
# might occur. By default this setting is enabled.
#
#replaygain_limit		"yes"
#
# This setting enables on-the-fly normalization volume adjustment. This will
# result in the volume of all playing audio to be adjusted so the output has 
# equal "loudness". This setting is disabled by default.
#
#volume_normalization		"no"
#
###############################################################################

# Character Encoding ##########################################################
#
# If file or directory names do not display correctly for your locale then you 
# may need to modify this setting.
#
#filesystem_charset		"UTF-8"
#
# This setting controls the encoding that ID3v1 tags should be converted from.
#
#id3v1_encoding			"ISO-8859-1"
#
###############################################################################


# SIDPlay decoder #############################################################
#
# songlength_database:
#  Location of your songlengths file, as distributed with the HVSC.
#  The sidplay plugin checks this for matching MD5 fingerprints.
#  See http://www.c64.org/HVSC/DOCUMENTS/Songlengths.faq
#
# default_songlength:
#  This is the default playing time in seconds for songs not in the
#  songlength database, or in case you're not using a database.
#  A value of 0 means play indefinitely.
#
# filter:
#  Turns the SID filter emulation on or off.
#
#decoder {
#	plugin			"sidplay"
#	songlength_database	"/media/C64Music/DOCUMENTS/Songlengths.txt"
#	default_songlength	"120"
#	filter "true"
#}
#
###############################################################################

mpd.log

Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] opened from 192.168.0.227:39822
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] process command "playlistinfo"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] process command "status"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] process command "status"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] process command "playid "12""
Apr 10 18:37 : playlist: play 11:"Dynatron/Aeternus/Dynatron - Aeternus - 12 A Beacon from Home.flac"
Apr 10 18:37 : decoder_thread: probing plugin flac
Apr 10 18:37 : decoder: audio_format=48000:24:2, seekable=true
Apr 10 18:37 : output: opened plugin=httpd name="Psy-Q's m00sic" audio_format=48000:16:2
Apr 10 18:37 : output: converting in=48000:24:2 -> f=48000:24:2 -> out=48000:16:2
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : playlist: queue song 12:"Igorrr/igorrr-poisson_soluble-moisissure-adn147d-flac/Moisissure/14 - Igorrr - Valse en Decomposition.flac"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] process command "status"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] process command "replay_gain_status"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [3] process command "idle"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [3] command returned 1
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] process command "currentsong"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [5] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] opened from 127.0.0.1:47185
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] process command "playlistinfo"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] process command "status"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] process command "status"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] process command "status"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] process command "replay_gain_status"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [1] process command "idle"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [1] command returned 1
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] process command "currentsong"
Apr 10 18:37 : client: [6] command returned 0
Apr 10 18:37 : state_file: Saving state file /home/psy-q/.mpd/state
Apr 10 18:38 : client: [5] timeout
Apr 10 18:38 : client: [5] closed
Apr 10 18:38 : client: [6] timeout
Apr 10 18:38 : client: [6] closed

Were you ever able to solve this issue?

Yes, kind of, at least for most clients. By forcing the format to 44100:16:2 for the stream and also adding always_on:

audio_output {
  type    "httpd"
  name    "Whatever"
  encoder   "lame"    # optional, vorbis or lame
  port    "8001"
  bitrate   "320"     
  max_clients "8"    
  mixer_type  "software"
  format    "44100:16:2"
  always_on "yes"
}

Wonderful! I'll give this a go! Thank you so much!

If it does work for you, let us know :) If this is still an issue people run into, maybe it would be good if I put it somewhere more visible (a blog post or something).

Hello again! Just to follow up, those changes did alleviate the problems I was having.

As an overview, my use-case was for providing the music played in MPD to OBS Studio.

I made the following changes to my audio_output settings:

Key	Value
always_on	yes
encoder	wave
format	44100:16:2
mixer_type	null

In my specific configuration, I was initially using the built-in OBS audio client to render the stream.
During my testing, I changed the above settings and started using the VLC audio client to render the stream.

I have been using this fairly rigorously over the past month with no dropouts yet.

Thank you for helping me pinpoint the problems with my configuration, I also hope that this information may help others in the future :)

That's great to hear, thanks a lot for trying it out and giving feedback! I believe I got this hint a few years ago on the #mpd IRC channel so I can't really take credit for it :) But since it doesn't seem to be widely documented, I wrote a little blog post about it.