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[dcwebman]

I have to add my 2 cents. I can't believe it's been almost 20 years since I started using Media Center with MC 11. I needed it back then to catalog and organize my large (to me) MP3 collection. There wasn't a better tool back then. Even though I finished organizing MP3s way back, I continue to buy the new version every year as it continues to be the best in playing and organizing music. I dabbled in the theatre feature, but I sure wish I had gotten more into photo organizing back then. I tried multiple programs over the years for organizing photos but those programs came and are now gone. Now I have a ton of photos I wish I had added to MC to organize. Since I just retired, perhaps I'll have the time to make that happen. Keep up the great work!

[antenna]

OK, I just added a new reason to why I chose JRiver, though I have to admit at the time I did not know this reason existed.

But, as of this afternoon, now I do.

Wake on LAN.

It was a surprise to me.

My desktop MC server had been shut down for maintenance reasons.

I was also working working on the MC client PC for those same maintenance reasons (a.k.a., Patch Tuesday).

I have the MC client PC version of Windows configured to boot into MC client and start up in theater mode.

But the MC server was powered down, or at least I thought it was.  When I went to the desktop PC, I noticed it was booting up.

I knew I had enabled WoL for other reasons, so it was no surprise to me that it would boot up by itself.

What was the surprise, though not really a surprise, but more of a smiling recognition of what has been designed into MC.  That the MC client sent a WoL packet to it's configured server.

Poking around in the Wiki, I found an entry that pointed to some decade+ old comments here.

So, succinctly, if the MC client is configured to connect to a MC server, and it sees no response from that server, it issues a network-based ~wake up-call~ to the server.


Excellent stuff, that is...

Thank-you to the developers.

 

[avid]

I originally selected MC (version 8 IIRC) for my HTPC project in March 2003 to play music. Other players were chosen for video and TV as that side of things wasn't really supported then in MC. The main reasons for the selection at that time were its flexibility in library organization and its ability to be remotely controlled (by Girder - remember that??).

Over the last 20 years the project has evolved enormously, and has been the sole entertainment system at home for all that time. And MC has remained as the core player for music. And I am just embarking on major re-work to move to Linux and to transfer the responsibility for the video and TV functionality into MC (ditching Zoom Player and DVBViewer).

The things that keep me with MC remain unchanged: its flexibility in library organization and its ability to be remotely controlled (now via the very rich MCWS API). And of course the reliability and output quality is superb and matches the capabilities of modern display and audio hardware.

[antenna]

From the 31.0.36 announcement...

2. NEW: Added "Shuffle Albums" to the shuffle menu to keep albums in track order but shuffle the collection of albums.


Whoa.

I have been doing that manually (and to be honest, outside of JRiver with VLC).

OK, it, specifically, is not a reason why I chose JRiver back years (decades?) ago when I switched from iTunes....

But if you give me a little latitude, this type of continual improvement (and, in this case, I do not use "improvement" lightly) is a reason why I chose JRiver.

Good stuff.

thx.

[NickA]

Hi Jim,

A great question; I chose it back in 2013 because it could:

• play Hi-res audio files;
• handle FLAC;
• playback "bit perfect" on USB devices like the Centrance DacPort and Chord Electronics Hugo; not always easy on Windows;
• allow me to pick music and make a queue/playlist in a way that made sense to me, no hassle;
• handle changes in sample rates without full range white noise or crashing the app/device; could add tracks to Playing Now with abandon;
• play tunes the whole time I had guests over and have music without interruption or distraction; it just worked compared to the alternatives.

However the clincher was it sounded better, with my gear, in my room, to my ears than the alternatives I tried at the time. Perhaps how it worked with the USB devices I had; the other solutions seemed more strident and less effortless.

I also think it's reasonably priced and like it's available on multiple platforms. I have picked up most versions since the original MC19 I started with, thanks for a great product.

Cheers, Nick

[zustang]

Complete flexibility in cataloguing, indexing and browsing your media library, the way you want it, not in limited ways that are dictated by the software that you're using.  That is the precise reason that I found MC.  Now that I'm here, I find the audio processing invaluable (esp the output format bit) and the ability to switch between different settings and output devices for different purposes .

That was the thing for me. That ability for indexing, genres, details, searching, artists, albums.

[MediaMongrel]

I initially came because it was highly regarded by the audiophile community.  But why have I stayed, and how would I market it, now that I've learned what it entails?

1.  Control.
For anyone who likes to dig-in, setup, organize, customize, tweak, etc... customized just for YOU. We are a hands-on, do-it-yourself, detail-oriented group who won't give-up so easily.

2.  One-stop Media Hub aka Collector's Paradise 
I came for the audio, but eventually realized I could do for my video and image collections the same thing, and more... all controlled via handheld remote!

3.  Quality. 
Audio and video representations are top-notch.  Image handling is good too... but last I checked, it can get tripped-up on embedded colour profiles.

4.  Support. 
This software remains HIGHLY relevant as the years pass, never going out of date.  Never being neglected.  Consistently updated and finessed.

5.  Sticky. 
There's a learning curve.  It's an investment of time.  Once up and running smoothly... and seeing progress further made... there is little incentive for me to look elsewhere and start all over with a similarly complex alternative.

6.  Price. 
The value proposition is unbeatable... corporate greed is clearly not an issue here.

Thanks for an overall amazing product!   

[OopsieDaisy]

Quite simple for me.  I have a library of some 4500 CDs, quite a few movies, and I record numerous tv programs for later listening.  Then Windows Media Center shut down.  So on Feb. 21, 2015, I found and installed Media Center 20 - and have been happy doing so annually ever since.

[HTPC4ME]

Well written MediaMongrel  (facts..Thumbs_Up)

I initially came because it was highly regarded by the audiophile community.  But why have I stayed, and how would I market it, now that I've learned what it entails?

1.  Control.
For anyone who likes to dig-in, setup, organize, customize, tweak, etc... customized just for YOU. We are a hands-on, do-it-yourself, detail-oriented group who won't give-up so easily.

2.  One-stop Media Hub aka Collector's Paradise 
I came for the audio, but eventually realized I could do for my video and image collections the same thing, and more... all controlled via handheld remote!

3.  Quality. 
Audio and video representations are top-notch.  Image handling is good too... but last I checked, it can get tripped-up on embedded colour profiles.

4.  Support. 
This software remains HIGHLY relevant as the years pass, never going out of date.  Never being neglected.  Consistently updated and finessed.

5.  Sticky. 
There's a learning curve.  It's an investment of time.  Once up and running smoothly... and seeing progress further made... there is little incentive for me to look elsewhere and start all over with a similarly complex alternative.

6.  Price. 
The value proposition is unbeatable... corporate greed is clearly not an issue here.

Thanks for an overall amazing product!   

[atc98092]

My reason was simple. I had been using Windows Media Center as my OTA recording tool for years. It had a grid that only showed movies being broadcast during the next two weeks, which was all I was looking for. When WMC was shut down in Windows 10, I needed a good replacement. Everything I found did not have the ability to only show movies, until I found JRiver. The terrific staff here helped me build a custom Movie Guide for the UI, and it's everything I wanted done. More than five years later it continues to provide exactly what I needed, as well as the ability to record a few TV series that we are interested in.

So, not only a great product, but fantastic user support. It really makes JRiver MC a no-brainer for my home theater. I now use a HDHomeRun 4K Flex as my tuner, so I'm prepared for ATSC 3.0, as long as DRM doesn't make a mess of things (like it appears to be doing...).