# Play Audio Files and Streams with WAM Bridge

> Stream local files, internet radio, and any FFmpeg-compatible source to your Samsung WAM speaker using the WAM Bridge CLI.

WAM Bridge streams audio by encoding it through FFmpeg, serving the result via a local HTTP endpoint, and starting playback on the speaker using Samsung's `SetUrlPlayback` API. All sources (local files, Ogg, HLS, HTTPS streams) are proxied through the local server; WAM Bridge never hands a remote URL directly to the speaker.

## Basic playback

```powershell
# By saved device alias
wambridge "D:\Music\track.opus" --device M5 --volume 3

# By IP address
wambridge "D:\Music\track.opus" --speaker 192.168.1.50

# Internet stream
wambridge "https://example.net/radio-stream" --speaker 192.168.1.50

# Ogg file
wambridge "D:\Music\track.ogg" --speaker 192.168.1.50
```

When exactly one speaker is discovered on the LAN, you can omit `--speaker` or `--device`.

## Probe a speaker before playing

```powershell
wambridge --speaker 192.168.1.50 --probe
wambridge --device M5 --probe
```

`--probe` checks connectivity and prints the speaker's current status without starting playback.

## Output format

WAM Bridge defaults to FLAC encoding. Use MP3 if FLAC is unstable on a particular firmware revision:

```powershell
wambridge "D:\Music\track.opus" --speaker 192.168.1.50 --format mp3
```

| Format | Notes |
| --- | --- |
| `flac` | Default. Validated on physical M5 (SPK-WAM550). |
| `mp3` | Fallback for firmware that has trouble with FLAC. |
| `wav` | Validated in testing; larger pipe throughput. |

## Volume

The Shape M5 uses raw API volume steps `0` to `30`. Model-aware percentage conversion is not yet implemented, so treat all volume arguments as raw steps.

```powershell
# Set playback volume
wambridge "D:\Music\track.opus" --device M5 --volume 3

# Set only the startup ceiling, preserve quieter current volume
wambridge "D:\Music\track.opus" --device M5 --max-start-volume 3
```

<Warning>
  Old WAM firmware can jump to a high volume when switching sources. WAM Bridge mutes the speaker, starts the stream with 1.5 seconds of silence, and applies your volume after decoding begins. Always set `--volume` to a cautious value (3 is approximately 10%).
</Warning>

## How the local stream works

- The stream uses HTTP/1.0 without chunked transfer for compatibility with old firmware.
- The URL contains a random session token and exists only for the duration of the command.
- `SetUrlPlayback` may freeze certain firmware revisions if the stream body is not recognized as audio. WAM Bridge exposes only FFmpeg output and returns `404` for all other paths.
- Use WAM Bridge only on a trusted LAN. The local stream is plain HTTP and its random session token is carried in the URL; the token prevents accidental reuse but is not an access-control boundary against a malicious device that can observe local network traffic.
- Do not expose the bridge HTTP port or port `55001` to the internet.

## Latency

Pause, stop, and skip carry PCM pipeline latency because they act through the PCM path. The host buffer with `buffer_extra=0` is approximately 1.9 seconds. Setting `hardware_volume=1` routes volume control directly to the speaker instead, which responds in about one second.

<Tip>
  If you need more responsive volume control, enable `hardware_volume=1` in your configuration. See the foobar2000 plugin guide for the full configuration reference.
</Tip>