Bluetooth Sound Server for linux

[stemsee]

Introduction

I want to be able to play a media file to several bluetooth connected sound-cards (speakers, earphones, buds etc).
After connecting three devices to my laptop over bluetooth, I was able to play multiple streams of music to each device. However the goal is to have one media player send one stream to those devices. It's is not like ApMe which synchronizes different devices to play the same media source in sync. This is a true bluetooth sound server like the ones they use in silent raves, or rollerskating clubs!

Piping

I imagine the method to do this might be to use an app to decode the media file to a pipe which bluealsa reads and sends to each device connected with unique asound.rc configuration ... . What's involved in that ... ? Anyone have any ideas how to go about developing such code. It seems there should be a very simple solution.

[BarryK]

This is an interesting read:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/question ... rs-at-once

It says that you need to buy a multi-streaming dongle.

But, above link also mentions a new BT standard:

https://thenextweb.com/news/bluetooths- ... le-devices

[wiak]

I was able to stream one stream to several bluetooth connected devices as follows, but I was a bit confused if that was the 'sort' of thing you were looking to do:

"Stream audio to different speakers/devices"
viewtopic.php?p=24575#p24575

EDIT: On re-reading above I was only using one bluetooth device (the other was direct connected laptop speaker), though maybe more than one bluetooth could also be made to work - but, yes, sorry - was different and I don't know.

[stemsee]

Thanks @ Barry K & wiak

Bluetooth LE standard since 2020, but not yet impemented on linux. The race is on. I am going to experiment a bit but I'm already 70 % of the way there, just need a simple bit of code to channel sound stream from one player to bluealsa, which I already am able to trick into connecting to multiple bluetooth sound devices. It's on the 'tip of my tongue', so to speak.

I need to figure out how to start several instances of vlc, all listening to a pipe for which file to play, and use smpte to sync playback ... that would be the simplest. Best would be to make a 'plug' or pipe for bluealsa to send one stream to many devices.