I don't know why the original thread was locked, but after reading the replies, it's clear J River will be steadfastly sticking to YADB, which is fine for them I suppose, but not fine for those of us who don't want to spend forever entering data just to cope with our collection of more obscure music. I am happy to do it when I have some free time, but I am not going to do it for the thousands of CD's I have in my collection I just know aren't listed.
While some may enjoy their N-Sync, Eminem, and Jennifer Lopez CD's, which I am certain are all well-listed, my more eclectic collection is certainly not.
CDDB has far more extensive (and accurate) listings, and after exploring their own web page, they have a large selection of listed players which still support CDDB (ironically, Media Jukebox is still listed). So I question whether or not all of the major players have dropped out of CDDB. While I don't agree with some of the onerous requirements some have mentioned about signing contracts with Gracenote, the reason they can get away with it is because they have a product that excels above the rest. Of course I support the development of a competitive database system, but for a product I faithfully support with my registration dollars, I expect more.
In fact, the recent push to introducing video and other features into Media Jukebox is IMHO going to turn this into Bloatware (a-la Real Player). I need a player that will handle all aspects of my audio needs, and that means the ability to provide CD information without a hassle. If I wanted a hassle, I'll use one of the free players. I don't need or care about video - there are lots of mature products out there that already handle that just fine.
Software developers seem to think that users won't be happy unless more and more and more is pushed into a product (Real Player is an absolutely perfect example of this). Those who wanted those features could have run Real Jukebox. Most didn't and stuck with what worked just fine. The same is true, at least for me, with Media Jukebox. I -need- CDDB far, far, FAR more than support for video. I guarantee you I'll be irritated everytime I put a CD in that YADB doesn't recognize... but gosh darn I can watch Jerry Springer on my CD player software. Oooh.
Unfortunately, I am shopping for a new player that can handle what I need, and I'll sleep fine at nights coping with the fact it won't let me watch QVC.