Topic: Where We're Going Next (Read 32741 times)

RhinoBanga · « **Reply #50 on:** October 13, 2011, 01:37:56 pm »

Hi Matt, yeah major things have been happening in my life; so much so that I am moving to Houston on the 28th of next month

I looked at the streaming stuff ages ago and found it very lacking; hence utilising subsonic. I'll take another look now to see how it's moved on.

RhinoBanga · « **Reply #51 on:** October 13, 2011, 01:48:24 pm »

OK ... I guess I should have clarified that when I said streaming I was talking about web based streaming, and not utilising a 3rd party app like gizmo.

Does MC offer anything like subsonics web based library utilisation/playback other than WebPlay?

JimH · « **Reply #52 on:** October 13, 2011, 01:58:57 pm »

Hi Jamie,
If it's a new job, someone's very lucky. If you get anywhere near Minneapolis, please stop by.

Jim

Matt · « **Reply #53 on:** October 13, 2011, 02:56:27 pm »

Quote from: RhinoBanga on October 13, 2011, 01:48:24 pm

OK ... I guess I should have clarified that when I said streaming I was talking about web based streaming, and not utilising a 3rd party app like gizmo.

Gizmo is written by us, so it's not really "3rd party."

Quote

Does MC offer anything like subsonics web based library utilisation/playback other than WebPlay?

WebPlay and WebRemote if you want a browser. Library Server client or Gizmo if you want a richer experience.

newsposter · « **Reply #54 on:** October 14, 2011, 02:20:04 pm »

To the 'center of the universe' concept; I'd like to see direct support for things like SiriusXM modules and AM/FM/HD tuner sticks (USB).

Not everything is 'streaming' and not everyone is connected.

wer · « **Reply #55 on:** October 20, 2011, 10:18:01 am »

I'd like to say that MrHaugen's comments on Theater View were right on the money. I don't have access to the thread that discussion has been split off to, but I wanted to voice my support.

Better metadata retrieval and blu-ray-menu support are welcome additions, but in terms of Standard view and the database/audio-engine/ripping and file handling, MC is already way ahead of all competitors.

It's only in Theater View (and the skinning thereof, which I have examined) that MC has a serious deficiency. And from an HTPC perspective and MC's presence in the living room, the 10-foot interface is all-important.

I won't go on more about this here -- I'm sure the issue will be explored in the other thread.

BryanC · « **Reply #56 on:** October 20, 2011, 10:47:00 am »

Will Carnac and improved metadata support be a shared concept?

For example, say I have imported a movie file: M:/Movies/Back to the Future II/Back to the Future II.mkv

Will Carnac and/or the new metadata engine be able to parse the filename to figure out the title of the movie and then utilize the internet to fill fields that are not present in naming structure (year, director, cast, etc.?)

Will there be metadata scraping of artwork and other "goodies?"

drmimosa · « **Reply #57 on:** October 20, 2011, 11:20:13 am »

Quote from: jgreen on October 11, 2011, 06:39:42 pm

TV as a "concept": How can MC help me sit and stare at video where ever I find it (internet, hard drive, OTA, cable), in a way that makes me think I'm just running the channels on my remote? One minute I may want to watch Laverne and Shirley reruns, the next I might want to watch a yootoob video of a chearleader and a donkey, for example. JRiver's way out front in this concept already, but I say it's time to step on it til it squeaks!

TV as a "concept" -- great idea! This has been brewing on the boards over the last year in MC, I remember some very interesting ideas coming up in March when Matt proposed an overhaul of the Theater View video menus, and the development so far has been great. TV as a "concept" is changing fast, and part of the challenge is finding a common method to organize and present huge variety of sources that now provide video entertainment: broadcast, cable, netflix, amazon instant video, blockbuster, hulu, youtube, etc.

MC is ahead of the curve here; Theater view ties together Netflix, local content, TV, Youtube and Hulu in a user-friendly couch-accessible interface. That said, some features are better than others. I would love to see Youtube interface developed, it's such a HUGE source of music and entertainment but very difficult to navigate in the current interface. For example, lot of the menus (favorites, most viewed) are useless - nobody wants to see Charlie Bit My Finger or History of Dance or Laughing Swedish baby again, but these pull up in 2 or 3 of the menus.

Does the Youtube API give any room to introduce more functionality? For example, bookmarks, channels subscriptions, Google accounts, one-button offline save, similar videos?

Any plans to introduce Amazon Instant Video?

Thanks as always for your time and great product, great to see these topics on the public boards - count on my upgrade to the MC 17 beta next week!

robydago · « **Reply #58 on:** October 20, 2011, 01:48:58 pm »

Quote from: JimH on October 05, 2011, 06:31:29 am

gvanbrunt posts split to Image Handling

link off limits to mortals...

gtgray · « **Reply #59 on:** October 20, 2011, 04:44:01 pm »

I am so glad to hear about grid based guides in theater view.

flac.rules · « **Reply #60 on:** October 20, 2011, 05:26:05 pm »

Unfortantly not so many of the suggested focus points are that important to me, but I will try to suggest some areas I feel should be focused on, I will try to keep it as general as possible, while porviding examples for clarity.:

As Mr Haugen Mentions : Theatre-view-skinning.

- More flexible server-setup: the server-client setup is working pretty well, but not perfect, for instance its not possible to add many server libraries to a client. Just a general move towards more flexibility.

- A bit more feature-rich Gizmo, Gizmo is nice but could need some improvement, adding custom mcc-commands into gizmo is an example. My point is that it as of today is doing more or less the same as a normal remote, when it could do more.

- Event-based system, like the remote setup, just more flexible being able to make commands like "on event A, do action B". I now i have been nagging alot about this lately, and people don't seem to be that interested, but I still think its a great direction.

imugli · « **Reply #61 on:** October 20, 2011, 05:32:32 pm »

This "Integrating online media sources" thing is the big ticket item IMO.

I'd like to see online music integrated, but also (and I've posted it elsewhere) integration of IPTV streams as TV channels, so that I can allocate channel numbers to them and access them via remote or via the guide (though there would probably be no data for them unless someone found a way to scrape it from somewhere).

If we're thinking *BIG* picture and taking this even further, a "Suggestion" feature.

For example, If I have x movie in my collection, or have recorded y movie from TV, MC could recommend similar movies or programs but those recommendations would come from both local content and internet services like Hulu or Netflix.

Same would go for Music (and give you guys the opportunity to push Performer Media center).

One step further again, then, would be "you watched this movie so you may like the music from that movie. Here it is..." either in my collection or available from an online service.

JustinChase · « **Reply #62 on:** October 20, 2011, 06:01:36 pm »

Quote from: Elvis133 on October 20, 2011, 05:26:05 pm

- More flexible server-setup: the server-client setup is working pretty well, but not perfect, for instance its not possible to add many server libraries to a client. Just a general move towards more flexibility.

- A bit more feature-rich Gizmo, Gizmo is nice but could need some improvement, adding custom mcc-commands into gizmo is an example. My point is that it as of today is doing more or less the same as a normal remote, when it could do more.

- Event-based system, like the remote setup, just more flexible being able to make commands like "on event A, do action B". I now i have been nagging alot about this lately, and people don't seem to be that interested, but I still think its a great direction.

I am very interested in this.

I've written out some (very long) posts about network ability/functionality, and may take the time to attempt to simplify those thoughts, and perhaps make it visual. one day.

I'm very interested in using Gizmo to browse to content I want to consume, then upon selection, I want it to power on my receiver to the correct zone, turn on the TV if the content includes images or video and to set the zone volume (for the Patio zone outside) for me. Ideally, upon beginning navigation for content, it would send the magic packets necessary to wake both the machine running the server side of MC and the (unRAID/NAS/WHS) server so the disks are spun up and ready when I make a selection.

I suppose this should be extended to allowing all sorts of control (x-10?) to allow dimming of lights and drawing of shades and more.

I'm excited to see where this road wonders for another version

JimH · « **Reply #63 on:** October 20, 2011, 06:31:44 pm »

Quote

Ideally, upon beginning navigation for content, it would send the magic packets necessary to wake both the machine running the server side of MC and the (unRAID/NAS/WHS) server so the disks are spun up and ready when I make a selection.

Wake on Lan is already in Gizmo. See the topic on the wiki for details.

lhwidget · « **Reply #64 on:** October 20, 2011, 06:33:58 pm »

Another vote for TV card support, primarily:

1) Server/client architecture, DVR = multiple cards in a server
2) Clients able to use tuners in cards on server for live TV or to view recorded TV
3) EPG with easily selection of shows to record. For a series on a particular channel at least (maybe as simple as right click and select);
a) All episodes
b) All new episodes
c) Record this episode
4) Support for current hybrid tuner cards and the newer Ceton type cable-card tuners
5) FM tuner support (at least live local radio)?

With Sage gone & Beyond TV starting to get too long in the tooth, this seems like a great time to step in and basically control this market segment.

I'd prefer to see different support paths for DVR and web-based video, then drop live TV when/if it dies...

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #65 on:** October 20, 2011, 09:40:45 pm »

ability to have multiple genres, artists. so when we sync with our devices genres/artists will be correct.

Thumbnails for ebooks, comics

better meta data/auto tagging build in via plugins IE...musicbrainz, Autometa for movies

Way to change libraries from theaterview

Password protect our libraries

thumbnails / viewer for ebooks, comics

Theaterview - http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=55597.0

An option to view our youtube trailers that we have been adding to our tags

Osho · « **Reply #66 on:** October 21, 2011, 02:11:55 am »

Quote from: Matt on October 13, 2011, 01:16:43 pm

And have you tried Library Server and/or Gizmo? I think we're ahead of Subsonic, but please provide specifics if there are things lacking for you.

I wasn't asked but I will add my 2 cents anyways

. Especially because, I have been using both Library Server and Gizmo (on Android phone and tablet) and Subsonic for over 6+ months. I have used both solutions heavily for different kinds of audio and video content.

There are many things that Library Server and Gizmo do better than Subsonic:

Completely integrated audio, images and video playback in one app. In Subsonic, audio is in the app but video takes you to browser where the controls of the flash player are horrible. By the way, flash player controls are horrible for Gizmo as well - looks like designed for mouse but not fat fingers. But, Gizmo has the player well integrated in the app itself.
Much better support for browsing and views etc. Subsonic requires a well-maintained directory structure to browse with. Yuck.
Image support, slideshow etc. in Subsonic is very weak in my experience.
Library Server Video conversion uses RO on Server PC with audio normalization - this actually makes video audible at the right volumes on the phone/tablet. Subsonic's video conversion often leaves audio volume level too low to be useful

If you haven't already gotten it, I am a big fan of Gizmo and we use it as the only solution for media streaming when at home connected via Wi-Fi.

Now, this said, I am still 'unfortunately stuck' with Subsonic because it does 2 things really well:

Subsonic works much better with inconsistent and poor network connectivity. When on road, sometimes you have 3G - which switches to 4G and back to 3G and so on.. Sometimes, you have strong signal and sometimes really poor signal. Subsonic handles this very nicely for both audio and video.
- For audio, it downloads the entire playlist whenever there is good bandwidth availability. So, a song doesn't stop playing just because my car entered a bad reception area while I am driving.
- For video, it allows user to pick which bit-rate one would like to watch - with choices from 300kbps to 5000kbps. I typically select 500kbps with bad 3G, 800kbps with good 3G, 1200 kbps with bad 4G, 1500 kbps with good 4g, 3000kbps with remote Wi-Fi and 5000kbps with at-home Wi-Fi. It is amazing how well Subsonic works in video playback in all of these cases.
Video conversion quality is user selectable and is actually usable when not connected via Wi-Fi. With 3G, one can set it to 800kbps - good quality. With 4G, one can set it to around 1500kbps - excellent quality. Gizmo, even with strong 4G signal, pauses too much for even 720p video viewing (let alone 1080p). Gizmo is completely unusable for video watching on 3G.

So, whenever I am away from home, I can't use Gizmo reliably. I would love for Gizmo to be my only solution for media streaming though.

Thanks,
Osho

HTPC4ME · « **Reply #67 on:** October 21, 2011, 02:29:01 am »

great points Osho, ive noticed these things as well w/ gizmo, never tired subsonic. but i do like the fact it downloads whole playlists so that songs dont skip when reception is lost. i loose reception alot as well, leaving me to turn back on the radio stations.
+1

WeeHappyPixie · « **Reply #68 on:** October 21, 2011, 03:42:56 am »

I know this will probably be low on the list as it is mainly a UK only system and there are many more important things to do in MC17 but would support for FreeSat HD be possible. This is a free to air digital satellite system used in the UK and based on the DVB-S and DVB-S2 specs. It reads some additional data from the down feeds for channel numbers.

John

Tolga · « **Reply #69 on:** October 21, 2011, 04:14:27 am »

My two cents (sorry I won't have time to read most prior discussion, which just become visible to me)

MC should go cloud. I don't care about this too much personally but this sounds like the next big thing.

Gizmo et. al are great for advanced users, but having a server at home is not for everyone. Integration with Amazon Mp3 or Google Music would be great (their UIs suck big time), but if they do not have API, you may want to start your own service. Wouldn't it be nice to access MC and your music over any browser? Since music hosting is costly, maybe JRiver could host the databases while the music is hosted elsewhere (Amazon/Google/DropBox etc.). I see win win for multiple parties here, you should investigate aggressively.

I am still unsatisfied about MC abilities for file structure organization, but I will person about it another time. MC should be at least as powerful as microsoft explorer (multiple windows etc)

There is still for UI improvements. I.e. Crome like tab behavior (moveable tabs etc.) would improve my life a lot. I am imagining a single database with multiple simultaneous view windows.

Better organization for playlists. This would be the killer improvement for me and probably for other DJs. I want to organize playlists as easily as I organize media files. For example, I want to tag playlists and access them through regular views.

I have more specific thoughts about these, I can clarify more, if any sounds interesting. Write me personally, since I am on the road and cannot follow the board very closely.

Vincent Kars · « **Reply #70 on:** October 21, 2011, 10:20:26 am »

I’m still missing a couple of options I had in WMP

The ability to select a couple of tracks and do a configurable database lookup.
This includes a dialog to match the tracks in the library with the tracks found.
Better support for tagging classical music (AMG)

The other is of course support for multiple values especially in artist and genre

PeeBee · « **Reply #71 on:** October 21, 2011, 11:52:56 am »

Upgraded without problems, also license update and payment no problems! Perfect!

Gizmo for iPad I would like

audunth · « **Reply #72 on:** October 21, 2011, 12:00:51 pm »

Quote from: nevcairiel on September 26, 2011, 07:48:42 am

Unless any of the operations in MC are actually memory constrained (which i don't really see right now, but i only know/use a fraction of the functionality it offers), i don't see 64bit offering any advantages, TBH.
It sounds good to people that don't know any better, but what else?

MC doesn't need much memory. I've been running MC for years (HD video and audio) with only 1 GB RAM in my HTPC. Upgraded to 4 GB just a couple of months ago, and there's absolutely no difference in MC. Got the extra memory to play games. It might make a difference for those with very large libraries.

Quote from: Matt

Audio engine as a soundcard driver (for use in any program)

Great news, been waiting a long time for this!! That means I can even input the sound from my Sat receiver and run it through MC, right? Any estimate on when this function can be available?

flac.rules · « **Reply #73 on:** October 21, 2011, 12:30:37 pm »

Quote from: JustinChase on October 20, 2011, 06:01:36 pm

I suppose this should be extended to allowing all sorts of control (x-10?) to allow dimming of lights and drawing of shades and more.

I'm excited to see where this road wonders for another version

Yeah, an event-based system cold be extended to general home-control later if its a success, however it aslo is a useful feature on its on right. Thats why i like that direction, seful, and maybe the start of something big.

flac.rules · « **Reply #74 on:** October 21, 2011, 12:31:52 pm »

Quote from: Tolga on October 21, 2011, 04:14:27 am

Better organization for playlists. This would be the killer improvement for me and probably for other DJs. I want to organize playlists as easily as I organize media files. For example, I want to tag playlists and access them through regular views.

I have more specific thoughts about these, I can clarify more, if any sounds interesting. Write me personally, since I am on the road and cannot follow the board very closely.

Yeah, this is also something I would like, but it might not be "broad" enough to plot out a general direction for development?

cybernetics · « **Reply #75 on:** October 21, 2011, 01:11:12 pm »

It would be better if there is a separate photo of an artist like a group shot or something in place of random album covers in the "artist" library field...
and same in the theater view..

It would make it look really really cool...

Matt · « **Reply #76 on:** October 21, 2011, 01:12:07 pm »

Quote from: cybernetics on October 21, 2011, 01:11:12 pm

It would be better if there is a separate photo of an artist like a group shot or something in place of random album covers in the "artist" library field...
and same in the theater view..

Artist image support was added to v16.

You can get artist images from Last.fm from the Cover Art menu.

cybernetics · « **Reply #77 on:** October 21, 2011, 01:18:26 pm »

Quote from: Matt on October 21, 2011, 01:12:07 pm

Artist image support was added to v16.

You can get artist images from Last.fm from the Cover Art menu.

But I cant see any option like that in v16.. how to do it..
I was thinking if there was an option to add any artist image like one stored in the hard disk...

cybernetics · « **Reply #78 on:** October 21, 2011, 01:22:12 pm »

yeah got that option but is there an option to add any other image

pahunt · « **Reply #79 on:** October 21, 2011, 02:09:20 pm »

Quote from: WeeHappyPixie on October 21, 2011, 03:42:56 am

I know this will probably be low on the list as it is mainly a UK only system and there are many more important things to do in MC17 but would support for FreeSat HD be possible. This is a free to air digital satellite system used in the UK and based on the DVB-S and DVB-S2 specs. It reads some additional data from the down feeds for channel numbers.

John

On a similar topic DVB-T2 support would be great as in the UK we have some free to air HD channels that use it. The lack of support for this is the only thing forcing me to still use WMC.

Mars · « **Reply #80 on:** October 21, 2011, 07:32:46 pm »

What about the ability of accessing and managing the library (Importing, Tagging, Renaming, Dragging'n Dropping, ...) simultaneously from any PC at home (or outside home)?

Maybe with an actual Client - Server system, with full control of the Data Base from the client side based on User/Permissions policies . Just like in many companies' systems, where DDBB are stored in the Server, usually located in a separate room and only manipulated by the IT's for maintenance, and data are introduced and accessed from the client work stations. I would reproduce the same scheme at Home, with my HTPC being the Server, hidden in a cabinet by the TV, even without physical keyboard or mouse, where Data Base would be stored and managed from the rest of the Client devices (Laptops, PC's, Tablets, Phones...).

Or maybe with a Web interface (call it WebTag as an addition to WebPlay and WebRemote) also based on User/Permissions policies, with the ability of editing the Data Base (Importing, Tagging, Renaming, ...) from any other device.

tls62dk · « **Reply #81 on:** October 22, 2011, 07:09:04 am »

Support for dvb-c tuners. I have a HDHomeRun network tuner receiving dvb-c tv. Today I have to watch and record tv in Windows Media Center. I can watch the recorded tv in MC (in better quality), but would love to be able to ditch WMC and only use MC.

TLS

Sandy B Ridge · « **Reply #82 on:** October 22, 2011, 03:57:56 pm »

OMG,

I go away for a couple of weeks (to an internet free forest in France!) and look what happens - MC17 beta arrives!

Love the new grid EPG.

+1 for DVB-S/S2 support.

As previously stated I'm happy to test any builds for you (I gather it is something difficult to debug in Minneapolis!)

SBR

igzabether · « **Reply #83 on:** October 22, 2011, 08:23:26 pm »

Quote from: JimH on September 20, 2011, 06:04:46 pm

4. iPod/iPhone sync
5. iPhone/iPad version of Gizmo

yes! yes! yes! i really dislike itunes, so if you could replace it for me, i would love you!

also, i love Gizmo on my android work phone. i'm REALLY ready for the iPhone version!

thanks and keep up the great work!
-igzabether

jolo · « **Reply #84 on:** October 23, 2011, 12:13:52 am »

ANDROID Version ....PLEASE !!!!!

Jon

imugli · « **Reply #85 on:** October 23, 2011, 07:46:07 am »

Android version of what? Have you checked out Gizmo? Or do you mean an Android device local player?

In any case, what's with the large bold capital text?

MrHaugen · « **Reply #86 on:** October 24, 2011, 03:27:50 am »

These open source guys.... Always have to show off with flashy letters

I think he means a local Android Player, yes. Not a bad idea, but the way Gizmo works today it's not highly needed imo.

globetrotters1 · « **Reply #87 on:** October 24, 2011, 07:28:28 am »

A very nice list...

A full featured and really working library tag management from a client computer to the server is somehow still missing for me. The actual solution (which only works in parts) is not satisfying at all

The Theater View info panels on EVERY connected client should get updated correctly in real time please - finally

thanks

Mars · « **Reply #88 on:** October 24, 2011, 08:26:23 am »

Quote

A full featured and really working library tag management from a client computer to the server

"Feeding" the library from the client side has been widely demanded.

I guess database real time multi users updates must be difficult to implement. It may require an external database engine, such as PostgreSQL ?

JustinChase · « **Reply #89 on:** October 24, 2011, 10:16:57 am »

Quote from: Mars on October 24, 2011, 08:26:23 am

"Feeding" the library from the client side has been widely demanded.

I guess database real time multi users updates must be difficult to implement. It may require an external database engine, such as PostgreSQL ?

I'm not sure sure. I think if JRiver split the media management part off from the display infor aobut media part, they could handle all the various requests for client side control rather easily it seems.

if part of MC17 was made to know about and "manage and serve all physical media", but do nothing with presentation and customizing of metadata; and another part of MC17 was made to "display information about all media", and these 2 parts were created to work together internally, seamlessly, and we could have more than one part to "display information about all media", we could do whatever RE: client/server use.

Hopefully one day

JimH · « **Reply #90 on:** October 24, 2011, 10:25:10 am »

Please use a new thread for discussion.

jesseinsf · « **Reply #91 on:** October 24, 2011, 01:22:57 pm »

I just want to say that I just got "Stereophile magazine" to do a review on MC. They will soon make a review. I will post the email replies from their response. I hope this will push MC forward.

From John Atkinson:
Those of us at Stereophile who use computers for audio are almost all Mac users. However, Stereophile reviewer Erick Lichte uses MC and yes, perhaps a write up would be a good idea. I have copied Erick on this email.

I have also copied Michael Lavorgna, who edits our new on-line venture, AudioStream.com, which is devoted to getting the bets from computer audio.

Best - JA

From Michael Lavorgna:
Hi Jesse,

We're planning to cover all of the major media players and J RIver is certainly on the list. At this point, I cannot say exactly when this will happen but it is on the "must do" list.

Michael Lavorgna
Editor, AudioStream.com

From: Erick Lichte
Hello!

My upcoming review of the CEntrance Dacmini includes a longish mention of Media Center. Could I get an updated version and I could then follow up with a sidebar in part of an upcoming review? I'll pester Michael to give this a full review on his web site. I'm a big fan of the software (though I wish the organization of tracks and files was a little different). BTW, it was John Stronczer of Bel Canto that hipped me on to your company.

Cheers!

JimH · « **Reply #92 on:** October 24, 2011, 01:29:20 pm »

Thanks, Jesse. If you'll forward the e-mail from Erick, I'll send him a license. I'm jimh at jriver.

By the way, John Stronczer and Bel Canto are just a block away. We've become good friends.

I will split this to a new thread.

glynor · « **Reply #93 on:** October 24, 2011, 01:35:02 pm »

Jesse...

If you're friends with them, let them know that MC runs GREAT on a Mac in Parallels Desktop. Better performance than iTunes has natively. I don't think you get bit-perfect playback then (the Parallels virtual audio driver probably gets in the way of that), but who knows? Parallels 7 has some fancy new audio driver stuff I haven't checked out in detail yet.

harrydr · « **Reply #94 on:** October 25, 2011, 01:35:46 pm »

I wish u could include some duplicates finder a in for example used in Helium 8.
Also ms Access database to more easy put fields and others.
More easy network access to use some tv player as WD tv Live or others.

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: Where We're Going Next (Read 32741 times)