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