piCorePlayer Releases

pCP Team 7 June 2024 pCP 9.2.0

piCorePlayer 4.1.0

pCP Team 24 November 2018

The pCP Team has released an new version of piCorePlayer.

Significant changes

  • Kernel 4.14.81
  • AudioCore kernel 4.14.81-rt47. All RPi processors supporting Realtime Kernels.
  • RPi Firmware 2018/11/12
  • Support for RPi3A+ Board.
  • Upgrade to BusyBox 1.29.3
  • Fix for partition sizing , should resolve >32GB sdcard issues.
  • Wifi: Added driver for rtl8822bu chipset.
  • Wifi: Correction for “=” in passwords.
  • Wifi: Add CRDA for proper setting of Country Code.
  • Update to Squeezelite v1.9.0-1121-pCP
  • Integrate gpio-poweroff and gpio-shutdown overlays. (Easier support for power on/off boards).

Notes

  • Adding a file named “netusb” to the boot partition will automatically load/configure net-usb kernel modules.
  • PlayerTabs on top of the pCP web page now will only display pCP devices, if you have players running pCP 4.0.0 or earlier and want them to show up in tabs, please upgrade squeezelite on that device.

Download

New images or insitu update are available. The released versions can be downloaded from here.

piCorePlayer 4.0.0

pCP Team 1 September 2018

The pCP Team has released an new version of piCorePlayer.

Here are the major changes

  • Launching new web site—see www.picoreplayer.org.
  • Kernel 4.14.56
  • AudioCore kernel 4.14.56-rt34. All RPi processors supporting Realtime Kernels.
  • RPi Firmware 2018/07/17
  • Completely rebuilt Wifi. Web interface with hidden Wifi, special characters.
  • Added driver for rtl8188eu chipset.
  • Static IP support for Ethernet or Wifi.

Repo updates

  • Update to Squeezelite v1.9.0-1111
  • Updated Bluez to 5.50
  • Updated LMS binaries (flac and sox are now significantly faster, upgrade perl cyrpto libraries).

DAC additions

  • Allo Katana.
  • Google voiceHat.
  • pCP default kernel now supports 384kHz on a good number of DACs.

Download

New images or insitu update are available. The released versions can be downloaded from here.

piCorePlayer 3.5.0

pCP Team 24 March 2018

The pCP Team has released an update for piCorePlayer.

Here are the major changes

  • RPi3B+ Support.
  • Kernel 4.14.26
  • RPi Firmware 14 Mar, 2018.
  • Moves to a 9.x piCore Base.
  • Moved from BusyBox modutils to kmod based modutils  (For better module dependency and configuration).
  • Updated to Squeezelite 1.8.7-1052, includes native DSD support.
  • Cirrus Logic (Wolfson) Card support.
  • HiFiBerryAmp2 Support.
  • Bluetooth Speaker Support.
  • Wireless AP Support (Tested with internal RPi Wifi).
  • Shairport-Sync 3.1.7, with added separate output settings.
  • Audio Kernel (armv7 only) is now a RT kernel /w Full Preemption.

Notes

  • Kernel’s in the 4.14.y and newer have increased the default required version of SMB and NFS mounts. 3.0 is now required by default, if your NAS does not support this, you will need to explicitly set vers=2.0  (or maybe even vers=1.0) on the mount options. See the information on network mount section of the LMS page.

Download

New images or insitu update are available. The released versions can be downloaded from here.

piCorePlayer 3.22

pCP Team 23 September 2017

The pCP Team has released a minor update.

Here are the major changes

  • Kernel 4.9.50.
  • RPi Firmware Sept 14, 2017.
  • Changed default governor to performance.  This was accidentally dropped when we changed to 4.9.y kernels.
  • Updated RPi Wifi and bluetooth firmware.  Fixes BroadPwn vulnerability.
  • Updated to squeezelite 1.8.7-999.
  • Updated Allo PianoPlus drivers.
  • Add back missing hiface support. (Missing in 4.9.y kernels).
  • Allow for spaces in remote network shares.
  • Increased samba share path field length, and improved tool tips.
  • Add support for exFat file systems.
  • Fixed Wifi SSID with spaces when using newconfig.cfg method.

Notes

  • Insitu Update is available, but for those that are using older images with 25MB boot partitions, pCP 3.22 boot partition will no longer fit.  You will need to start with a new image.
  • LMS in repo updated to Lyrion Media Server Version: 7.9.1 - 1505480690.

Download

The released versions can be downloaded from here.

piCorePlayer 3.21

pCP Team 19 July 2017

The pCP Team has released a minor update, but has some key new things that some have really been waiting.

Here are the major changes

  • Kernel 4.9.35, Firmware 2017/06/30.
  • Supports new Allo DigiOne, MiniBoss, and updated PianoPlus driver to support Dual Mono/Dual Stereo.
  • Added Piano Plus alsamixer controls to Audio card Control Page.
  • Multiple USB and Network Mounts.
  • Wifi should now work in the Audio Optimized Kernel.
  • If you have a RPi3, you can now run pCP from a USB memory card. - You may need to configure your RPi3 to support this—see Boot from USB. You will have to increase the waitusb= value in cmdline.txt.
  • Squeezelite packages in image updated to latest.
  • Touchscreen kernel module package, now include fbtft and other kernel modules for other screens.
  • Fixed AudioCore Touchscreen kernel packages for missing backlight dependency…(separate Backlight-xxxxx.tcz is no longer required).

Notes

The multiple drive mounts was a significant code change. Hopefully I’ve handled all the possible cases.

piCorePlayer 3.20

pCP Team 1 May 2017

Hi guys, we are sorry for the late announcement - but pCP 3.20 has been released.

Kernel/Firmware changes

  • 4.9.21 kernel.
  • RPi firmware - 2017/03/31.
  • config.txt changes to increase usable memory on RPi2/3 by 16M.
  • config.txt changes to decrease videocore memory usage.
  • RPi Zero-W Support.
  • Allo Boss and Piano-Plus Support.
  • Changed 8192cu driver (same version that OSMC uses).
  • 8812au driver included.

Other pCP changes

  • Squeezelite updated to v1.86-945.
  • ffmpeg updated to 3.17.
  • wiringpi shared libraries included by default. (Used to be static linked to squeezelite).
  • flac updated to 1.3.2.
  • utf8 support for fat32 partitions.
  • New card configuration system, will help with speed on squeezelite page. Also allows us to add more specific card information.
  • Set –nomysqueezebox option from web interface.
  • Default LMS install is 7.9.0 released version.
  • Great updates to pCP jivelite pacakge. Made possible by mherger.
  • pCP Help web site—see https://www.picoreplayer.org.
  • This is still a work in progress, where we can easily create web pages with HOWTO’s and other information. If you have something you would like included, creates a simple web page and let us know.
  • And last but not least, corrections to the insitu update process.
  • Reloading the reboot page should no longer reboot your pCP device again.
  • You can now do an insitu update and change from pcpCore to pcpAudioCore, and vise versa.

For the adventuresome 3.11 users reading this, if you do a hotfix (Near the bottom of the Main Page in Beta Mode), this will install a small fix that, that will allow you to do an insitu update to 3.20. By my tests, if you are using a 3.11 image, when you install 3.20, you should have about 180k of disk space left on the boot partition. 99% Full. In my mind this is a bit risky, but I suppose if your card is not easily pulled, give this a try. Worse case you have to pull your card and reflash.

piCorePlayer 3.20b5

pCP Team 2 April 2017

Hi, the pCP Team is nearing the completion of the release of a new piCorePlayer 3.20. Because of the many significant kernel changes, improvements and bug fixes we decided to offer a public beta. Anyone is free to try the beta, but if you find a problem please post diagnostic data.

Both version are ready for testing.

Notes

  1. piCorePlayer3.20beta5 which is a normal version like all previous pCP releases. The kernel and modules are mostly vanilla versions from the official Raspberry Pi Linux source with only a couple of tweaks.
  2. piCorePlayer3.20beta5-Audio version. This version contain all the same improvements as the above normal version. But in addition we have added all the audio related patches that Clive (aka JackOfAll) made for the raspberry kernel. So here we have support for more I2S DACs and we support higher sample rates etc.

This version is only recommended for I2S soundcards and hardwired network. The optimizations for audio has been known to interfere with Wifi, and for sure will make USB soundcards unstable.

piCorePlayer 3.11

pCP Team 8 February 2017

pCP 3.11 is a small bug fix version with the following improvements.

Changes

  • Added Workgroup field to Samba Setup.
  • Added Additional gateway and DNS options to Static IP setup for wired Ethernet.
  • Updated HDMI configuration to work with Shairport-sync.
  • Added [HotFix] button to the [Main Page] to make the next hotfix easier. (See below)

For current users, we are trying a different way of deploying small little hotfixes.

If you are running pCP 3.10, you can upgrade by using the URL into your browser.

piCorePlayer 3.10

pCP Team 7 January 2017

Hi, the pCP Team are proud to announce the release of a new piCorePlayer 3.10. Because of the many changes, improvements, bug fixes and additions, we decided to jump directly from version 3.02 to 3.10.

Actually, we have released two versions:

  • piCorePlayer 3.10 which is a normal version like all previous pCP releases. The kernel and modules are vanilla versions from the official Raspberry Pi and piCore (Tinycore) repo.
  • piCorePlayer 3.10-Audio which contains all the same improvements as the above mentioned version, but in addition, we have added all the audio related patches that Clive (aka JackOfAll) made for the Raspberry Pi kernel. So here we have support for more I2S-DACs and we support higher sample rates etc.

Changes

  • Updated to Kernel 4.4.39.
  • Samba Server implemented in [Beta] Mode.
  • Squeezelite is now dynamically linked.
  • Added Advanced audio card control - lets you control output level, available DTP filters, and parameter to dtoverlay.
  • Shairport-Sync updated to a lighter weight.
  • New pCP extension repository, hopefully more stable.
  • Numerous under the hood changes and bug fixes.

IMPORTANT

As we have so many changes we unfortunately are unable to offer “in situ” update - so will need to burn the new image (after unzipping the download) to your SD card. Also the “newconfig method” via USB stick won’t work for this version.

piCorePlayer 3.02

pCP Team 25 September 2016

Sorry for the long wait before we could release a fixed version—please try the new version piCorePlayer 3.02.

Changes

  • Shairport-sync issue - fixed.
  • Several extensions updated.
  • HiFiBerryDAC+ Pro supported.
  • Kernel updated to 4.4.20.
  • filesystem extension available again.
  • rpi-vc extension available again.
  • New web page to control adding/removing extensions (using “Advanced mode” and selecting “Extensions”).
  • And a lot of smaller and larger improvements.

The pCP Team
Paul, Greg, Ralphy and Steen

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