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[JimH]

MC 14.0.69 introduced the store from the Performer service we've been running.  You can read about the service on the web page here:

www.performermc.com

You'll find the store in the tree on the left in MC.  It provides streaming of 30 second samples of 5,000,000 tracks at no charge or unlimited streaming of full tracks for $12.99/month.

We've spent a year shaking it down so we believe it's solid.

You'll need a U.S. address to subscribe.

[JimH]

If you would like to remove any of the stores, you can do so here:

Tools/Plug-in Manager/Store.

[mojave]

This is great! I wish the music was lossless, but I'm going to try it for now.

I just signed up for an account, but keep getting denied on login. I even received a new password and still can't login. Is there a problem on your end?

[StFeder]

[...]
You'll need a U.S. address to subscribe.

Am I not able to hear the 30 seconds of a song outside of U.S.? I was, when I tried Performer MC round a year ago. Or Am I missing something?

And the question I'm sure you knew it will be asked: will performer be opened for non-U.S. people? And does "adress" mean ip-adress or postual adress?

[jmone]

Quick Review
I know that "Performer" has been around for a year but as a MC user I never felt inclined to even try it.  Funny how including the option into MC make you go..."I'll give that a go".  Now that the DRM stuff has been fixed (thanks JohnT) I've had a bit of a play and here are my first impressions....

Pricing:  OK - I'm trialling the US$15.99 Portable Subscription plan gives me access to 4 Million Tracks in a streaming or WMA file (128kbs DRM Subscription Download).  You do not get access to music videos (apart from the 30-sec demo) as a part of the subscription (you have to buy them)
Given my/my families music listening habits I'd consider this the upper end as we just don't listen to that much in comparison to some.  The big draw card for me however is when my Teenagers say, "What...you don't have any "Kate Miller-Heidke" (Last day on Earth / Caught in the Crowd)" I can say "of course I do"….as it turns out on my first go to impress them with my new Multi Million Library, it does not seem to have Miller-Heidke.  In addition to the subscription you can also “buy” :

• US$0.99 per music track: 320kbs downloads that get integrated straight into your MC Library
• US$1.99 per Music Video:  Unlike the poor quality of the 30-sec clip, these ones look and sound OK  as well as being integrated straight into your MC Library, they are a WMV file with DRM.
• US$20 T-Shirt:  Nice Idea but I tried a few links to see what I’d get (“Green Day” got me no hits, and “Pink” got me heaps but nothing to do with the Singer).

Portable Device DRM Issues – I tried syncing a WMA DRM track to my WinMo 6.5 device from MC but got a “Device is not compatible with subscription tracks”.  I could also not sync the file from WinMediaPlayer and while I could sync the WMV it would not play with a “A digital rights management (DRM) error has occurred” from Windows Media Player on the WinMo device.

Other DRM Issues – I could play my subscription WMA tracks on other PC’s in the house, but when trying to play the WMV Video Clip on my HTPC, MC would just sit there saying “Acquiring Licence” (this bit seems to be fixed in V14.0.70)

Quality – My personal preference is to have everything in MC in a lossless / original format and then sync with device specific settings if necessary (eg MP3) so I was apprehensive of the “quality” used by the store.

• Music Tracks: 128K WMA Files were fine on my PC and while they did not sound as bad as I expected on my AV Equipment were clearly not the same quality as tracks from a CD
  
• Video Clips:  Approx 1.6mbps for video / 134kbps for audio in a 640x480 frame 23.976 fps (NTSC Film adaptation), again the quality is OK but not as good a what you would get from a Music Video DVD or even recorded from a OTA signal.
• Coverart:  Sorry to say but these are low res 200x200 (30kb) pics

Presentation – I like how the Performer Store is now a built in option in MC.  The navigation is OK but it is just different from the rest of how MC organises and presents available tracks.  No TheaterView or MC Radio options at this stage that I can see.

Conclusion - I’ll keep playing for now and would encourage everyone with an interest to take up the offer of a 14-Day trial….but for me it looks like I’ll still be buying CD’s as the convenience of access to a 4-Million track on-line library is let down by the same issues with many of these services….relatively poor quality encoding and DRM hassle I can just do without.

[JimH]

This is great! I wish the music was lossless, but I'm going to try it for now.

I just signed up for an account, but keep getting denied on login. I even received a new password and still can't login. Is there a problem on your end?

Try rebooting.

[JimH]

Portable Device DRM Issues – I tried syncing a WMA DRM track to my WinMo 6.5 device from MC but got a “Device is not compatible with subscription tracks”.  I could also not sync the file from WinMediaPlayer and while I could sync the WMV it would not play with a “A digital rights management (DRM) error has occurred” from Windows Media Player on the WinMo device.

Please start a new thread if you want to chase this.  Try changing the transfer mode in the settings for the device.  Try a track from any other service.  I'm guessing it's a device problem.

Other DRM Issues – I could play my subscription WMA tracks on other PC’s in the house, but when trying to play the WMV Video Clip on my HTPC, MC would just sit there saying “Acquiring Licence” (this bit seems to be fixed in V14.0.70)

There is a limit of 3 machines that can be registered to play any DRM content, and only one can play at a time.  That seems fair to me since it is a single subscription.

Quality – My personal preference is to have everything in MC in a lossless / original format and then sync with device specific settings if necessary (eg MP3) so I was apprehensive of the quality” used by the store.

• Music Tracks: 128K WMA Files were fine on my PC and while they did not sound as bad as I expected on my AV Equipment were clearly not the same quality as tracks from a CD
  
• Video Clips:  Approx 1.6mbps for video / 134kbps for audio in a 640x480 frame 23.976 fps (NTSC Film adaptation), again the quality is OK but not as good a what you would get from a Music Video DVD or even recorded from a OTA signal.
• Coverart:  Sorry to say but these are low res 200x200 (30kb) pics

Presentation – I like how the Performer Store is now a built in option in MC.  The navigation is OK but it is just different from the rest of how MC organises and presents available tracks.  No TheaterView or MC Radio options at this stage that I can see.

It isn't integrated with Theater View at all yet.  There are Artist Radio and Radio options.

Regarding quality, I think of this as a good way to trial music to see if I like it, and to explore similar artists.  Sometimes I'll buy an MP3, but if I want the entire album, I'll use the link to Amazon to buy a CD.

[rpalmer68]

It isn't integrated with Theater View at all yet.

Does this statement mean there ARE plans to do so??

[JimH]

I can't say anything you can rely on.  We're still thinking about this.

I'd like to add some ability to choose an artist or artists in my local library, then hear a radio station a mix of local and store tracks.  The interface for that is probably simple enough we could add it to Theater View.  Just an example of what might come first. 

Searching a 5,000,000 track library for what you want to play may not work well from Theater View.

[bunglemebaby]

Regarding quality, I think of this as a good way to trial music to see if I like it, and to explore similar artists.  Sometimes I'll buy an MP3, but if I want the entire album, I'll use the link to Amazon to buy a CD.

This was my thought for the service too, with the added bonus of a 5 million track deep jukebox for when I've got people over. Currently (do to present life situations), the pricing scheme won't really allow me to do this though. Are there any thoughts of a lower $/month with more limitations on download #'s, or will the current options pretty much stat as is? Just curious...

Searching a 5,000,000 track library for what you want to play may not work well from Theater View.

Not if you're using a wireless keyboard from the couch.

A few things I noticed immediately when trying out Performer:
1) The view doesn't seem to be customizable. I could add a date column, but it would be gone the next time I came back to it. No right-click options (understandable). It would be nice to at least have chosen columns stick though.
2) It lacks the recommendation/similarity system of most online music providers. I'm mostly used to eMusic, but I know iTunes has some of this too. I can't think of a glamorous way to add it in within the confines of the MC GUI, but personally, this is one of the things I love about online music. A recommendation/similarity system could also make a Theater View implementation more useful/fun.
3) Pretty deep selection of music. 5 million tracks is tough to wrap your noggin around until you see what's within that 5 million. I managed to find some stuff that I couldn't find anywhere outside of $50 imports through Amazon (couldn't even find it through dubious means). My searches certainly weren't exhaustive, but I was impressed.
4) Some albums aren't complete? I have no idea what this was about, but for one or two albums from one or two artists albums that have ~10 tracks only seemed to have 2-4 tracks. This seems like a bug from the content provider rather than a licensing thing or an MC bug, but who knows...

Anyway, looks pretty good and I like that it's implemented in a nice clean out of the way manner for those who aren't interested.

-JB

[mojave]

I rebooted this morning and now Performer works for me. I am very impressed with the variety available. Most of my searches found what I was looking for. This is great for listening in the office. I am able to listen to new songs/artists and also revisit old radio favorites that I never purchased.

If the songs are downloaded, can they be included in a Theaterview View?

[JimH]

If the songs are downloaded, can they be included in a Theaterview View?

Yes.  I think so.

[jmone]

If the songs are downloaded, can they be included in a Theaterview View?

Yes

I'd like to add some ability to choose an artist or artists in my local library, then hear a radio station a mix of local and store tracks.  The interface for that is probably simple enough we could add it to Theater View.  Just an example of what might come first.  

Sounds Good

Searching a 5,000,000 track library for what you want to play may not work well from Theater View.

The "Connected" area already provides Theater View Access to YouTube and Hulu both of which many millions of items....I'm do however understand that some thought needs to go into the organisation of Perfromer Store as personnaly I'm a "browser" over a "searcher" so the current presentation is not my cup of tea.

Regarding quality, I think of this as a good way to trial music to see if I like it, and to explore similar artists.

Maybe...but but as other posts have said this is seen as much more than a "preview" service...you have people over, put on Performer and stream.play some new stuff on your AV Equipment, then with only 128K it is going to suffer.  It's just a comment on my part as I assume you have no control over the quality you are allowed to stream but 256K would be nice.....

There is a limit of 3 machines that can be registered to play any DRM content, and only one can play at a time.  That seems fair to me since it is a single subscription.

I'm fine with this and FYI it works well with whatever the latest PC to play a track gets the account and with the other one losing access at that point.

Portable DRM Issues: Please start a new thread if you want to chase this.  Try changing the transfer mode in the settings for the device.  Try a track from any other service.  I'm guessing it's a device problem.

I was just esting and while I'm happy to help debug if you want but it is not something I'm personnal going to worry about