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[MGD_King]

After purchasing MJ 8.0.394 in March, and after updating twice, and after lurking into this forum wanting to say something that's on my mind but instead keeping my mouth shut, it's time I said my piece.

First, I would like to say that I love MJ 8.0.xxx!!! It's everything that I've ever wanted in a media player. But what bugs the hell out of me is the fact that not even a month after I purchased it, MC 9 was released, and all I was offered was a discounted price!? I feel I should have been offered a free upgrade. I understand JRiver is in the business to make money, but to me, they stuck it to a consumer. Will I buy another product from JRiver? Well, read on.

I love the idea that JRiver has of having a forum where users can interact with the developers/powers that be in the company. However, I don't like the fact that when asked about MJ8.0.xxx, a tech or an admin replies with "I haven't used MJ for months so I don't know" or "upgrade (read as purchase ) MC 9." What kind of support is that? That's not support, that's sales, and correct me if I'm wrong, you sold me MJ 8, and that's the support I would like to get. Will I buy another product from JRiver? Well, read on!

MJ 8.0.xxx rocks! No question about it!!! I can't imagine using anything else, nor do I want to. It does everything that I've always wanted in a media program, and then some. However, it's got some quirks that I'd like to address. For starters, I've learned to STOP playing a media file before closing MJ 8.0.xxx because if I don't, I get an error message from XP stating that it needs to send info to Microsoft about the crash yadda yadda yadda. Any idea as to why? I've tried three versions (8.0.394/398/399) and even a clean install of XP, still does it, no matter if I'm playing an MP3 file, a wav file, or even an audio CD. Weird, I know, but it's something that I've learned to deal with.

Secondly, why is every MP3 that I rip able to play on my machine just great no matter what audio program I try, but everyone else who tries to read my files can't open them? I suspect it's something in the MP3 codec, but I could be wrong because I'm not a technician, nor have I upgraded to MC 9. I can tell you that my car CD/MP3 player plays the files fine, but my room mate can't read them unless he opens the MP3 files in Sonic Foundry's SoundForge, and then re-saves the file which really defeats the purpose, doesn't it? And it's not only his machine because I have the same problem on my machine at work. However, if I install the free version of MJ 8.0.xxx on my work machine, I can play files that I've ripped just fine. So again, I think it's the MP3 codec, but I'm not 100% sure. And after ripping almost 500 of my CDs, I'm left scratching my head. Do I want a fix for it? Sure, I'd love one, but what I would really like is a straight-forward answer as to why this happens.

Other than that, I praise the product. I recommend it to everyone I know. I love the way that it catalogs, how it finds the CD information and cover art, the visual displays, the skins, all of it. It's just those little things that drive me up the wall. And the part that makes me the most furious? After spending some time typing out this message, the page told me that it had expired!!! I think that my patience with JRiver's Media Jukebox 8.0.xxx has, too. If JRiver would make some changes and address issues with a product, then yeah, maybe I would purchase another product from JRiver, but it will be awhile.

Jason Noble

And for those that are wondering, here's my system info:

Media Jukebox PLUS 8.0.399
Install Path: C:\Media Jukebox\

CPU: AMD Athlon 2099 MHz MMX
Memory: Total - 1048 MB, Free - 775 MB
OS: Microsoft Windows XP  Workstation 5.1 Service Pack 1 (Build 2600)

Internet Explorer: 6.0.2800.1106
ComCtl32.dll: 6.00.2800.1106
Shlwapi.dll: 6.00.2800.1106
Shell32.dll: 6.00.2800.1106
wnaspi32.dll: Internal ASPI Layer

[KingSparta]

MC9 has been for sale since like sep of last year (when it was in beta).

users who bought befor dec 2nd-3rd 2002 got a free upgrade to MC9.

[MGD_King]

Thanks for answering that question. What about the MP3's only playing on my machine or another machine with MJ? Or the crashing problem?

[xen-uno]

MGD > However, I don't like the fact that when asked about MJ8.0.xxx, a tech or an admin replies with "I haven't used MJ for months so I don't know" or "upgrade (read as purchase ) MC 9"

I'd agree with that...but I don't know what other package out there has the capabilities of MJ8 for $25, so what kind of support should one expect for that? Interact works out quite well for 99% of MJ/MC users.

Mufasa said it best...

"Everything exists together in a delicate balance. As a user, you need to understand that balance, and respect all the versions -- from the withering v8 to the leaping v9"

10^-27

edit: I would suggest backing up your library/license...uninstalling MJ...reboot...re-install latest version...restoring license/library

[rocketsauce]

What about the MP3's only playing on my machine or another machine with MJ?

That's very odd. The encoder in MJ is based on the LAME MP3 encoder, which is pretty common. What settings are you using to encode your MP3s and what software are you and your roommate using that won't playback the MP3s?

Rob

[KingSparta]

Thanks for answering that question. What about the MP3's only playing on my machine or another machine with MJ? Or the crashing problem?

never had that problem but mp3's if i am not mistaken if burned with musicmatch or real and the option to secure them is turned on then they will not play on another computer.

to test this, rip a CD to MP3 then take that to another device.

i never had a problem with MJ8 when i used it.

About crashes i don't know, i never had a problem

[MGD_King]

When ripping MP3's, I use 192 bit rate and they rip nice and fast (around 20x speed) and the playback is fantastic. I can take those MP3's, burn them to CD, and play them fine in my car's Pioneer indash MP3 player. I can then take that same CD to my room mate's machine and he will try to open them in Microsoft's Media Player 9, and it won't open. He can, however, open them in Sonic Foundry's Sound Forge or even Winamp and play them fine. In fact, if he opens Winamp and updates the tag info, then he can play them fine in MP9. Could it have something to do with tagging?

[KingSparta]

in MJ8 there are some tags that are not standard id3v2 tags. in MC9 this taging was droped and mc9 uses standard tags in the id3v2 tag frame.

if you take the same mp3's remove the id3v2 tags then try playing it on your friends computer in media player 9 you will then know.

[MGD_King]

Sparta, I'll give that a try when I get home tonight and let you know the results. Thanks for the direction.

[rocketsauce]

Also, is it possible that you have the copy protection features of WMP turned on and it doesn't want to play the files ripped with MJ because they were ripped without copy protection?

However, KingSparta is probably correct about the non-standard tags being the problem.

Rob

[MGD_King]

It was the tagging info that was causing that! Is there a tagging plugin or a fix for that without having to buy MC 9?

[KingSparta]

Is there a tagging plugin or a fix for that without having to buy MC 9?

delete all id3v2 tags.

or

Buy MC9

or

re-write all id3v2 tags with something like dr tag, then in mj8 you must turn off the write to id3v2 tags any update will write back to the id3v2 and put you back in the same boat.