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[JimH]

As jmone pointed out recently, a lot of the reviews of JRiver for Android on the Play Store, well, sort of stink.

Apology
I'm sorry.  I apologize.  It was my fault.  Brad did a great job, but I was so excited at the technical accomplishment of porting MC to Android and giving it an interface that worked on a phone, that I jumped the gun and released it too soon.

Then the early reviews branded it and more piled on.

If you enjoy reading about train wrecks,
here's the page on the Play Store.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jriver.mediacenter

Refund Offer
If you bought it and are disappointed, please send proof of purchase to me.  I'm jimh at jriver.  I'll arrange a $10 refund.

The Play Store has its own mechanism for cancelling a purchase, but it has a very short time window.

Critique
Now if you're not completely finished with JRiver for Android,  you could help us by trying to point out the general areas that are still lacking.

Our current priority is the crash reports.  We think we've fixed most of them, but I know there are more.

One caveat.  It isn't JRiver Media Center and it won't be unless Android makes the leap to being a good Desktop OS.  We don't have the screen space to do good tagging, for example.

[Awesome Donkey]

The *only* three annoyances I have with JRiver for Android is...

1) Thumbnails aren't cached so they're constantly 'rebuilding' or reloading if you change pages (I keep items limited to 24 items per page instead of the default 200) which makes the constant reloading of thumbnails is pretty annoying. This is probably by far the biggest issue I have with JRiver for Android (and Panel in general).

2) Lack of a list view. Right now Panel has a thumbnail view, which is nice, but I particularly don't like thumbnail views, I like list views. JRemote has a toggle to display a list view or the default thumbnail view. Is this something that could be done within Panel (and have that setting save so you don't have to redo it)?

3) You can't remove things from the library. For whatever reason, JRiver for Android kept picking up .wav files used by Hangouts as notification sounds, and kept importing them without any way of removing items from the library. This really isn't an issue for me anymore, since I uninstalled Hangouts from the phone.

Other than those three things, JRiver for Android is a pretty solid audio player. I suspect a lot of users are waiting for full Android TV support along with video support before seriously considering the app for use, which makes sense. Also I've noticed that some users confuse JRiver for Android as a remote app to control a server like JRemote and Gizmo.

At least being able to not have the app constantly reload thumbnails would be a major improvement in my book.

[MikeO]

I assumed that I could use it as an Android player using my MC library

I have a MyGica streamer that does both Audio and Video, it has Kodi built in but it’s not too good to me

Being able to play my library would be a big plus, I’m happy to leave the $10 where it is to help development of it

[JimH]

I assumed that I could use it as an Android player using my MC library built in but it’s not too good to me

Panel can do that.  We'll also get it working in JRiver for Android.

Being able to play my library would be a big plus, I’m happy to leave the $10 where it is to help development of it

Thanks!

[RoderickGI]

Your link to the Play Store train wreck doesn't work. This one probably does: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jriver.mediacenter&hl=en-GB
Or this for American folk: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jriver.mediacenter

The US$10 price is just play money for the fun of testing JRiver for Android, but thanks for the offer of a refund. I'll keep the App myself. You keep the money.


My first and most important request is to have JRiver for Android act as a MC Client, so that it can pull media from my MC Server.

My next request would be to ensure that JRiver for Android appears on MC Servers as a Zone to play to. Sure, that should work now, but it doesn't from my Workstation. I just tested my HTPC and it fails in the same way. This could be an environment issue on my end, but I have no tools to diagnose this. Bingo SSDP running on the phone sees JRiver for Android Generic DLNA and MC Library Servers on the same phone (plus the Workstation and HTPC servers), while the Workstation and HTPC do not see JRiver for Android. I can play from JRiver for Android to my Workstation and HTPC, as JRiver for Android sees the Workstation and HTPC installations of MC. I guess the request here is for more robustness in the discovery or Dynamic Zone display processes in the MC ecosystem.

My next request would be to provide something like Auto Import configuration in JRiver for Android, so it doesn't just search everywhere. Please provide some intelligence in this, because navigating Android folders sucks. This must support Internal memory and additional memory, such as MicroSD cards. (As per AD request.)

Also, allow the removal of media files from the JRiver for Android Library, much as in a Windows installation. i.e. Removal or Removal and Deletion. (AS per AD request.)


My "Use Case" for JRiver for Android still isn't decided. I suspect JRemote2 will remove some of the need. But the above changes would allow me to use JRiver for Android as a test installation for DLNA and network issues, for which I currently use the very reliable BubbleUPnP.

[JimH]

Thanks.  I think I've fixed the link.

If Bingo sees the servers on your phone, then I think they're working.

Here's another pro (Mike Noe) who had a similar problem:
https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,122953.msg851509.html#msg851509

I think you know port 1900 has to be open in your firewall on your workstation.

[biblio]

I'm not going to refund i don't generally buy much on android but i'm fine with what this player is.

my issues are:
* other players can take over from jriver when connecting to bluetooth. (vlc, dsub, etc) even if it's open.
* remembering songs can sometimes take me back to 2 car trips ago so i skip to get to where i was.
* other than the play button i'd like a shuffle all button to just shuffle my tracks. (https://png.icons8.com/office/1600/shuffle)
* library folder selection so i can skip other places.

I only care about music playback so being able to enable/disable buttons/services would be good. even just some more options to choose from. i would like to just be able to load the player, keep it in my notifications and play in my car.

I sync my playlists with dsub right now so it doesn't need much more to be okay for me.

[RoderickGI]

I think you know port 1900 has to be open in your firewall on your workstation.

Yep. MC on the Workstation sees the broadcast SSDP packets from the phone on port 1900. It also sees the DLNA requests from the phone for DeviceDescription, AVTransport and RenderingControl events. I've just noticed that it doesn't see the ConnectionManager/scpd.xml GET requests. It does see those from my TV acting as a DLNA Renderer. So that is something for me to investigate.

Of course, as the JRiver for Android usually sees the Workstation, those events are logical. It is just that the Workstation doesn't see the JRiver for Android instance.

Mind you the "Play to" field in JRiver for Android is now coming up empty, without even the default "Player" value, and I can't even play local files. A reboot of the phone, with the Workstation firewall off, didn't even fix that. Bingo SSDP still sees the phone, TV, and Workstation instance of MC. These are the sorts of issues I am referring to when I talk about the robustness of the discovery or Dynamic Zone display processes, although in this case the issue extends to local resources as JRiver for Android has completely lost all Zone information.

It is a Beta product, but this level of failure is a bit frustrating.

[audunth]

I bought it, tried it and got a refund on Google Play because it imported a lot of audio files I didn't want and I couldn't find or play the files I wanted to play.

Found out later it uses the default music folder on Android, which means the library will be contaminated every time an app decides to put audio files in there. So when manual import and the ability to select different import folders and of course delete unwanted files from the library is in place, I'll buy it again. For now, I have to use other music players to play the files I want to play.

[rec head]

I paid for the Android app just to show support for the effort. I still haven't used it in any meaningful way because it doesn't fit my needs. Once it can act as a client and support video I'll be all over it. It also doesn't support NAS storage on my Shield so I can't even play with it for audio.

[thezone]

I paid for the Android app just to show support for the effort. I still haven't used it in any meaningful way because it doesn't fit my needs. Once it can act as a client and support video I'll be all over it. It also doesn't support NAS storage on my Shield so I can't even play with it for audio.

This. I would rather you keep the money and keep development rolling. Having an ad and BS-free streaming app on my phone that didn't hound me to sign up for monthly fees is worth the wait! For me mostly BT reconnection is sketchy compared to other apps on my phone.

[Museum]

First of all: you have to sort out the problem of importing files: I can't Import my music (on a mini sd-card) since the last three versions. There must be a tool for the library to select the import-folder using the android folder structure. I have tried to use JRiver for Android on a 10 Inch Car device running Android 8.01  - definitly more space than on an usual phone and easier to handle. I believe, this market segment is growing in the future especially with the digital output to a car amplifier which my unit have. A second wish is to be able to control JRiver by a phone or tablet sitting in the back of my Recreation Vehicle. The announcement of JRiver for Android was essential to get rid of my PC in the car - so please get this app working ! The inbuild Music Player works and was finding wherever my music files are.

[wer]

What I need is basically JRemote, but that works on Android TV.  Android TV devices are becoming more popular (Sony, Hisense) but it specifically has to be Android TV compatible.  Just android for phone compatibility is not enough.

That being said, as others have pointed out, using it to access and playback audio/video/images from an existing network-accessible MC library is the most important thing.  It needs to automagically convert audio and video formats so that "play to this device" just works. It should use the existing view structures (or JRemote view structures) on the remote library.

Ideally, it would act as a playback zone for that remote copy of MC, with good audio synchronization.

It would be great to have the theater view interface running on Android TV.  I would buy that today.

Perhaps all of this will be delivered by JRemote2 for Android (assuming it runs on Android TV and is available through the play store for ATV) but since essentially zero has been said about that product, I'm discussing this here.

And it needs to be sold on a non-subscription non-expiring basis.

I think porting the MC playback engine to Android is a laudable technical achievement, but not actually as useful as a beautifully implemented JRemote for Android/AndroidTV.

Thanks...

[nataru]

I'm finding it really hard to use this when poweramp exists. The best thing about poweramp is its layout, its beautiful, especially how the album art looks.

My suggestion, increase album art severely or make an option so that it fits through most of the screen. Also I don't like that when you press on a track, it gives you a bunch of options on how to play the track(Play file, Play all, Play with play doctor), instead of having the track play instantly.

I don't use any of the network stuffs.

If this includes all or most of JRiver for windows sorting options, like last played, random, etc, and allow several views for them, it would become my to go player. (and also obviously improve the now playing screen with bigger album art options).

[wig]

Thanks for the thread, Jim. Like others, I'll be keeping the app and hoping for future improvements.

I've been a daily user of JRiver for Android for several months, usually during drive time in my car. I also occasionally use it to play music for friends. Here's my feedback:

• For me, Play Doctor is killer feature, and the main reason I use it over other music apps.
• Clicking 4-5 levels deep into the interface to start playback is a challenge when I'm driving and under-caffeinated. Please, please give a top level option to start a new listening session. Initiating a Play Doctor session would be my preference. I'm not really interested in Cloudplay or Radio JRiver as the solution.
• As much as I'd like to tag, edit playlists, etc, I'm fine with the app as just a client
• Most of the music on my phone has been downloaded from Amazon Music app. When you do add MC Library connectivity, I'd love the ability to download albums from my library in the same manner.

[rec head]

It would be great to have the theater view interface running on Android TV.  I would buy that today.

Thanks...

Have you checked it out running on Android TV? I think the interface is basically the same as the interface on my Shield. I think its pretty good and very usable with a remote.

[JimH]

Thanks for the thread, Jim. Like others, I'll be keeping the app and hoping for future improvements.

Thanks.

I've been a daily user of JRiver for Android for several months, usually during drive time in my car. I also occasionally use it to play music for friends. Here's my feedback:

• For me, Play Doctor is killer feature, and the main reason I use it over other music apps.
• Clicking 4-5 levels deep into the interface to start playback is a challenge when I'm driving and under-caffeinated. Please, please give a top level option to start a new listening
  session. Initiating a Play Doctor session would be my preference. I'm not really interested in Cloudplay or Radio JRiver as the solution.

If you pause playback, you can resume it by using the Play button in Playing Now.  Car Radio buttons might also help. 

What other way can you think of to solve this problem?

[wig]

Thanks.If you pause playback, you can resume it by using the Play button in Playing Now.  Car Radio buttons might also help. 

What other way can you think of to solve this problem?

I have problems resuming play in JRiver Android when connected to bluetooth; not sure if that's unique to me. Starting a new session is usually the solution.

Top level Car Radio buttons would be great!

[RoderickGI]

Also I don't like that when you press on a track, it gives you a bunch of options on how to play the track(Play file, Play all, Play with play doctor), instead of having the track play instantly.

I don't like this either.

I would prefer "tap to play" and "long hold" to give all the options.

Even better, have a setting for what a tap should do. i.e. Either Play, or Play All, or maybe even start Play Doctor based on the file tapped.

[biblio]

I don't like this either.

I would prefer "tap to play" and "long hold" to give all the options.

Even better, have a setting for what a tap should do. i.e. Either Play, or Play All, or maybe even start Play Doctor based on the file tapped.

long hold is something i do regularly after updates to see if it does anything different.