Topic: JRemote, a new native iOS remote for JRiver Media Center (Read 301711 times)

ounal · « **Reply #250 on:** April 04, 2012, 10:17:45 am »

Patrick, I aggree, but for classical music, "artists" AND "albums" would do a better job. Besides, the other points (1 and 3) also do matter for me.

Regards

rjm · « **Reply #251 on:** April 04, 2012, 10:39:53 am »

Please make JRemote respect the MC sorting option "Ignore articles (a, an, the)".

<edit>

The sorting problem occurs when the number of items is large enough to cause grouping by first letter. If the number of items is small, then the "Ignore articles" option is properly respected.

pcstockton · « **Reply #252 on:** April 04, 2012, 04:55:13 pm »

Yes. Ignore articles has never worked perfectly.

At this point it is treating them as a "blank" This makes all of "The" bands show up at the beginning of "T". UNTIL you get to "The Tx" (x being a variable). Then it gets even wonkier. I can see how it is sorting but no clue why.

-patrick

Otis Foster · « **Reply #253 on:** April 04, 2012, 05:06:18 pm »

ounal

On your 3rd point, have you considered using a pdf-to-Word converter and inserting the script in Notes? It displays nicely as metadata while the file is playing.

zootsuit

Lespaul · « **Reply #254 on:** April 04, 2012, 08:14:19 pm »

Hi guys, sorry for the late replies, I have been really busy with the latest version lately. I personally think this a big improvement from the current version.

It was sent to apple for review 2 minutes ago, should be out in a few days.

Here are some of the new features/changes:

- iPad full retina support
- New and better search using JRiver`s fuzzy search
- Faster image download
- Images are now downloaded and displayed while scrolling
- Toggle sorting on indexed lists
- Choose default playmode
- Realtime volume slider with display
- Cancel loading of large lists
- Search metadata values by clicking on value

Fixes:
- Some animations were slow on iPad retina displays
- Mutiple optimizations and code changes to improve performance and stability
- Connection issues after first attempt failed.

The thumbnail display on the ipad2 is now super fast. The iPad3 version is still fast, but remember that every cover art needs to be downloaded as a 300*300 image. There are 24 of those images on a single screen, so it is a bit slower.

Image downloading and processing is now down on multiple threads, so that does help a lot.

I have removed the "preload images" feature in this version as its no longer needed as images are now displayed while scrolling. The main reason is that preloading was problematic. If the number of images was higher that the image cache allowed, some images would still miss cover after preloading.

I will read all your comments and suggestions later, but I need a break right now.

rjm · « **Reply #255 on:** April 04, 2012, 10:34:51 pm »

A well deserved break. You fit nicely with the JRiver work ethic and productivity.

ounal · « **Reply #256 on:** April 05, 2012, 02:26:05 am »

zootsuit

Thank you. Could you be more specific about inserting the script in Notes? Do you say that it is possible to view the pdf booklets over JRemote with iPad2? Like I said, I'm a bit unfamiliar to the software.

Thanks.

Zootsuit · « **Reply #257 on:** April 08, 2012, 12:27:16 pm »

Ounal

Scan the booklet, and then use a PDF-to-Word conversion program. Copy the Word doc and insert it in the Note field. I suppose there may be some limitation on the number of characters, but if so, I haven't found it.

Zootsuit

Zootsuit · « **Reply #258 on:** April 10, 2012, 03:16:54 am »

- Search metadata values by clicking on value

That will be interesting. I'm a heavy user of metadata, and the ability to search those fields opens up interesting possibilities.

Enjoy your break, lespaul

Lespaul · « **Reply #259 on:** April 14, 2012, 03:24:46 am »

Hi Guys, just want to give you an update on the next version.

Streaming to device, including Airplay support, background audio etc is 90% done. It seems to be working really well.
You just select a zone called "this device", and all playlists etc will be played on the device. All controls operate identically to when you are controlling MC.

Also, I`m doing some changes to the iPad layout, navigation and current covertart etc will be in a small bar on the left side, and there will be a small bar at the top with playback controls etc. This is more in line with other remotes and a better use of space on the iPad.
You will lose some space horizontally, but vertically it will be the same, since the bottom navbar will be removed.

Regarding "The, A" etc sorting, I will add this as a setting option as well.

cgf · « **Reply #260 on:** April 14, 2012, 06:26:35 am »

Excellent! You break was really short

rjm · « **Reply #261 on:** April 14, 2012, 08:23:46 am »

Wow. Airplay. Excellent!

Would you please try the video conversion options in MC? I could not get non-mp4 to play with WebGizmo. Curious if you think this is an MC problem. If yes, perhaps we can point JRiver in the right direction to fix.

)p( · « **Reply #262 on:** April 14, 2012, 11:26:39 am »

Quote from: rjm on April 14, 2012, 08:23:46 am

Wow. Airplay. Excellent!

Would you please try the video conversion options in MC? I could not get non-mp4 to play with WebGizmo. Curious if you think this is an MC problem. If yes, perhaps we can point JRiver in the right direction to fix.

I might be wrong but with larger video files I think at the moment its not really possible to stream them to the ipad efficiently. Jrmc needs to add some efficient on the fly conversion like the air video app does. That is my dream on the fly conversion with the compatibility and efficiency of air video all controlled from the far superior jrmc/jremote interface

sunfire7 · « **Reply #263 on:** April 14, 2012, 11:52:07 am »

Does this means you can send audio to an AirPort Express for example?

Lespaul · « **Reply #264 on:** April 14, 2012, 01:03:55 pm »

rjm, I have not got videos to stream natively in iOS, I forgot to mention that its currently only audio that works natively.
I have to admit I have not spent too much time on videos yet, but it definitely does not work out of the box.

May have to stream videos in a web view player, we will see.

sunfire7, Yes you can.

rjm · « **Reply #265 on:** April 14, 2012, 01:33:01 pm »

Lespaul, thanks. You probably are aware of this, but please try Air Video for a really nice implementation and proof that what we want is feasible.

multiblitz · « **Reply #266 on:** April 14, 2012, 05:56:52 pm »

i just downloaded the latestversion...many thanks for fixing the volume slider....nevertheless, on the ipad 3, i got quiet a bit of stability issues...app cancelled, shut it self down...or song not played..or takes forever to show the cover art....so, please continue to work on the stability before new features....please...

chirpp · « **Reply #267 on:** April 15, 2012, 12:06:30 am »

I love this product and love the support! I appreaciate all of the work.

I have 2 issues with the current version:
When I choose album option, it should display all albums similar to when I choose artist and get my list ofmatrists. However it appears to search for a bit then shows nothing and closes the program.
2- I was playing a bunch of tunes tonight and someone said "do you have rock lobster" . I ran the search icon, and it found it. But holding my finger on the song would not show the play options- add to play now, play next,etc. once I had my finger pressing the song I had no option other than to let go, which the started playing the song and stopped the currently playing song. Bummer.

Any thoughts?

Lespaul · « **Reply #268 on:** April 15, 2012, 04:44:09 am »

multiblitz, are you using a beta version of MC?
Someone reported that one of the latest betas would make JRemote very unstable, with images failing to load etc.
The latest version was tested with both iPad2 and iPad3 without any of those issues you report.

chirpp, your second issue is indeed a bug.

A couple of other issues to be aware of:
For the iPad version, there seems to be problems with iOS4, so I strongly recommend updating to iOS5.
The latest search functionality requires MC 17.

The next version will be more extensively tested before release.

rowens · « **Reply #269 on:** April 15, 2012, 10:36:06 am »

Hi Lespaul,

First -great app. I downloaded it yesterday and am using it on iPad with MC17.122.

I am having one issue, however, that I hope you can help me with. All of the cover art loads for the artist view, but on Now Playing there's no cover art. Any ideas?

Thanks!

davros · « **Reply #270 on:** April 16, 2012, 08:12:21 am »

hi, I just installed the new version of the app on my ipad2 and it launches...sits there for a few seconds, then closes.

I have MC17. I have removed the app and reinstalled it...but same result. the last version worked perfectly...

help, I rely on this app to play my music.

mantis07 · « **Reply #271 on:** April 16, 2012, 08:20:12 am »

great update Les!

I did notice one thing that could be fixed - when I search for an album and it's found, the results are listed with the songs not in track order - they appear randomly.

thanks
Tony

pcstockton · « **Reply #272 on:** April 16, 2012, 11:38:04 am »

LesPaul,

Thanks again for the continued, stellar support.

A few things for you after playing extensively over the weekend.

Firstly, I did not experience any crashes.

The meta data "links" only work on the iPad (this may already been known but I thought I would mention it).

The two sorting methods are strange. One (the original) has jump letters and the wonky "A, The" sorting. The other seems to eliminate the sorting issue but the jump letter, while shown, do not work. I am not sure what this new view is all about.

The other glitch I noticed was the meta-data on the iPad (new) not refreshing. If open when a new track started it did not refresh. Other time I went in and it was correct. Strange.

Thanks again!
Patrick

pcstockton · « **Reply #273 on:** April 19, 2012, 08:29:08 pm »

Can/does JRemote send out a WOL command?

thx,
Patrick

rowens · « **Reply #274 on:** April 21, 2012, 09:48:57 am »

Quote from: a.diabelli on January 31, 2012, 09:08:39 am

I'm experimenting a problem using JRiver in this config:

"Server 1" used as library server
"PC 2" connect directly to the hi-fi sytem using "Server 1" as library server

Both of them are in the last stable version (17.0.068)...

I connect JRemote to PC 2 and I'm able to navigate the whole library and use the app without any problem, except in playing now where the screen doesn't show the cover art (all the other infos are displayed correctly...)
Since I've introduced the new HW configuration and the JRiver SW upgrade at the same time I don't know if it's a problem of the JRiver upgrade or a JRemote bug... Any help?

Thanks,
Marco
(Sorry for my not so good english!)

Marco - did you ever resolve this? I have the same configuration and i'm having the same issue with no cover art on the Playing Now screen (MC17.122).

Thanks!

elpadre31 · « **Reply #275 on:** April 23, 2012, 03:44:58 am »

Quote from: davros on April 16, 2012, 08:12:21 am

hi, I just installed the new version of the app on my ipad2 and it launches...sits there for a few seconds, then closes.

I have MC17. I have removed the app and reinstalled it...but same result. the last version worked perfectly...

help, I rely on this app to play my music.

Hello,
Excuse my English, but i'm French.
Thank you for you app, it's very nice !
But i'm exactly in the same situation than "davros" on my iphone 3GS

Thank you for your job !

datdude · « **Reply #276 on:** April 23, 2012, 08:45:55 pm »

Hi I'm noticing that JRemote overrides the volume for Media Center rather than adjusting based on what the Media Center is set to.

Meaning if I change the volume in JRemote and then later change the volume in Media Center through another method (doesn't matter how), accessing the Playing Now Screen of JRemote forces Media Center to adjust its volume again, rather than adjust the volume slider to match what Media Center was changed to.

Mathsg · « **Reply #277 on:** April 24, 2012, 12:03:19 am »

Quote from: elpadre31 on April 23, 2012, 03:44:58 am

Hello,
Excuse my English, but i'm French.
Thank you for you app, it's very nice !
But i'm exactly in the same situation than "davros" on my iphone 3GS

Thank you for your job !

And I have also the same problem as "davros" and "elpadre31". How do we solve it?

a.diabelli · « **Reply #278 on:** April 24, 2012, 12:12:59 am »

Quote from: rowens on April 21, 2012, 09:48:57 am

Marco - did you ever resolve this? I have the same configuration and i'm having the same issue with no cover art on the Playing Now screen (MC17.122).

Thanks!

No, I'm still stuck with it, I was hoping it'll be fixed with this version but nothing is changed...

Lespaul · « **Reply #279 on:** April 24, 2012, 02:37:59 am »

Hey, guys , there is indeed a problem with iOS4 in this release. The next version will be out next week with fixes and the new streaming features.

pcstockton, there will be a WOL command in the next version, located on a dedicated view for each connection.
The other sorting method will give you an unsorted view, useful when you are looking at latest albums etc. The index is not supposed to show, and is fixed.

nickba · « **Reply #280 on:** April 24, 2012, 05:16:59 am »

Lespaul,

First, excelent job!!

I don´t know if anyone already suggested that, but I think it is very important:
On the Iphone, when displaying the "Now Playing" Screen, it should display the selected zone.

pcstockton · « **Reply #281 on:** April 24, 2012, 08:56:59 am »

Quote from: nickba on April 24, 2012, 05:16:59 am

First, excelent job!!

On the Iphone, when displaying the "Now Playing" Screen, it should display the selected zone.

It does on mine. At least once you've played something to somewhere other than the "default" zone.

But you might be right that upon first opening it doesn't. I have done a fair amount of playing the wrong thing in the wrong place.

I agree, if it doesn't already, that it should always show the name of the zone if there is more than one.

Cheers!
Patrick

Magog · « **Reply #282 on:** April 24, 2012, 11:47:59 am »

Excuse my english, i'm from Québec
I just bought jremote Ipad.
You have the best remote I've had, and I have seven different remote.
JRemote is almost the most compleat.
I have a little problem ....... when I go to Audio --- Album --- and I click on the album he released 's only a couple of song titles, ...... . where is the other songs??
If I go to artist, same thing ----- one or two song. on a few other album everything is ok
If I go through research.... I found the album and all the songs appear.
thank you
Question? The songs that we select to play, can we create a playlist and save it??? in a futur??? last update??
Congratulation, very nice remote, i'm very happy, and I will talk about you on our forum 'quebec audio'

nickba · « **Reply #283 on:** April 24, 2012, 12:22:01 pm »

Quote from: pcstockton on April 24, 2012, 08:56:59 am

It does on mine. At least once you've played something to somewhere other than the "default" zone.

But you might be right that upon first opening it doesn't. I have done a fair amount of playing the wrong thing in the wrong place.

I agree, if it doesn't already, that it should always show the name of the zone if there is more than one.

Cheers!
Patrick

That's s what I mean: when you open it first time it doesn't show the current zone. Seems to be a bug. It really should always show the current zone.

glynor · « **Reply #284 on:** April 25, 2012, 08:48:49 am »

Quote from: nickba on April 24, 2012, 12:22:01 pm

That's s what I mean: when you open it first time it doesn't show the current zone.

Agreed. That would be handy.

glynor · « **Reply #285 on:** April 27, 2012, 05:22:46 pm »

Can I just say...

I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so SO excited to try this out when the new build hits the App Store. Les Paul, you rock sir.

nickba · « **Reply #286 on:** April 28, 2012, 06:21:55 pm »

Lespaul,

There are 2 more little bugs:

1) The previous track icon and the next track icon should be |<< and >>| and not << and >>

2) It is very important to have a STOP button, because when you have linked zones and one of the linked zones is also used as a single zone, if this single zone is in pause mode, we can´t play in the linked zone!!! I don´t know if it is easy to understand. Here is an example:

Suppose you have 4 zones:
zone1
zone2
zone3
all_zones(zone1, zone2 and zone3 linked)

If you play and pause on zone1 and after that you decide to play on all_zones, you need to stop the zone1 first, otherwise MC will not play on all_zones.

moophone · « **Reply #287 on:** May 04, 2012, 09:58:46 am »

Any update on when (if) you expect custom views will be added? I'd like to be able to see album year in my list, and have better customization options for how the data is presented

pcstockton · « **Reply #288 on:** May 04, 2012, 12:23:44 pm »

This isn't really a bug, but I thought you might want to fix it. The "Back Arrow" at the top left when you enter and album is blank. I think it should read "Artists" maybe? There might be a few other places where the label is not showing.

Of course this could all be by design.

Thanks again for the best app ever. I have 3 other friends using it as well!!! We are all loving it and eager to use for streaming remotely.

One question on that front.... Will you have control over the bitrate when streaming? MC has hidden settings for trancoding in this method. Only using Library Server or DLNA can you change transcoding settings.

I think the default for any streaming done outside of DLNA defaults to 128 kbps which is unlistenable. Some might have problems with 320. Maybe 256 is a good middle ground? Is there any way it could be user selectable?

Cheers!
Patrick

davros · « **Reply #289 on:** May 06, 2012, 07:31:16 am »

Quote from: Lespaul on April 24, 2012, 02:37:59 am

Hey, guys , there is indeed a problem with iOS4 in this release....

I rely on this app to run my home audio and have not been able to launch it since the last update 1.95 on 11 April.

glynor · « **Reply #290 on:** May 06, 2012, 11:41:22 am »

Quote from: davros on May 06, 2012, 07:31:16 am

I rely on this app to run my home audio and have not been able to launch it since the last update 1.95 on 11 April.

That's too bad. I think it is helpful that lespaul says he intends to keep supporting iOS4 for the time being though.

JimH · « **Reply #291 on:** May 06, 2012, 01:13:35 pm »

I removed some off topic comments.

hulkss · « **Reply #292 on:** May 07, 2012, 12:09:16 am »

Just used JRemote on iPad3, very nice.
Thanks, makes the home theater experience great!

Lespaul · « **Reply #293 on:** May 07, 2012, 02:56:53 am »

Hi Guys, I will release the new version this week with streaming support and bug fixes, as well as some interface polish.
The reason It has taken this long is that I rewrote much of the code regarding playback. This was to support the new streaming features as well as in
preparation for a later release where play control etc will be always visible from the main screen.

I`m really sorry for those running iOS4 with the current release, at least that bug is fixed in the latest one.

Regarding streaming, Its currently streaming in 128kbs, I will see if one can change that in MC.
I agree that 128 kbs is not enough for some people.

I will also make sure that the current zone is visible right from the start. As some have mentioned It`s currently only visible after you select a new zone.

Other small additions in this release:
- Wake on lan commands are now sent to computer when connecting.
- Two new settings, "keep screen on" and "ignore sort articles(a,an,the)".

Lespaul · « **Reply #294 on:** May 07, 2012, 03:00:30 am »

Quote from: datdude on April 23, 2012, 08:45:55 pm

Hi I'm noticing that JRemote overrides the volume for Media Center rather than adjusting based on what the Media Center is set to.

Meaning if I change the volume in JRemote and then later change the volume in Media Center through another method (doesn't matter how), accessing the Playing Now Screen of JRemote forces Media Center to adjust its volume again, rather than adjust the volume slider to match what Media Center was changed to.

Hi datdude, thank you for reporting this. I will investigate it, It should not update the volume control unless you move it.

pcstockton · « **Reply #295 on:** May 07, 2012, 10:23:42 am »

SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks LesPaul!

Zootsuit · « **Reply #296 on:** May 08, 2012, 07:16:18 pm »

Lespaul, am very grateful for the hard work and excellent program. Still a few glitches (I run iOS 5).

When I enter a search term, the program hunts for a few seconds, then turns up a blank page that never populates. Some other fields like genre load normally. The album field goes into a long search but turns nothing up.

The search function would be very important for me. The only differentiating factor I can think of is that I have a huge library, 350k files. But why would that result in a blank page? Is the program simply balking at a search of that magnitude? When I search by artist, I get immediate results.

BTW, Media Center itself has no problem with the library. The search function in the latest build responds almost immediately.

moophone · « **Reply #297 on:** May 11, 2012, 12:10:32 pm »

Cool looking forward to the interface polish and keep screen on option.

I've asked before, and I do apologize for repeating myself, but are you planning to add custom view support into a future release? I find the default album, artists etc views limited and don't really capture the power of what JRiver is all about (custom views into a database configured to be whatever you want them to be). things like new releases from specific folders, change the way the data is displayed adding or removing columns, etc.

Quote from: Lespaul on May 07, 2012, 02:56:53 am

Hi Guys, I will release the new version this week with streaming support and bug fixes, as well as some interface polish.
The reason It has taken this long is that I rewrote much of the code regarding playback. This was to support the new streaming features as well as in
preparation for a later release where play control etc will be always visible from the main screen.

I`m really sorry for those running iOS4 with the current release, at least that bug is fixed in the latest one.

Regarding streaming, Its currently streaming in 128kbs, I will see if one can change that in MC.
I agree that 128 kbs is not enough for some people.

I will also make sure that the current zone is visible right from the start. As some have mentioned It`s currently only visible after you select a new zone.

Other small additions in this release:
- Wake on lan commands are now sent to computer when connecting.
- Two new settings, "keep screen on" and "ignore sort articles(a,an,the)".

horse · « **Reply #298 on:** May 12, 2012, 11:41:03 pm »

Lespaul,

Dude!! I have been using Webremote on an iPad since the iPad first came out. Been an MC user since version 12 at least and I must say, using your remote with MC17 is very slick and fast. You have done an awesome job of balancing form and function. (function without form means I alone can use it, form without function means it doesn't do what I need and is hence useless)
I have various audio zones setup of the main server piping music throughout the house and have customized my views and this just works great!
I have to be honest, it is not often I buy an app for this much without trying out a "lite" version (not an option in this case), but based on the feedback in this thread from many users whose views I greatly respect, it was worth a try, and well worth the cash!
Thanks for the great work and no idea why it took me so long to try this out.

Lespaul · « **Reply #299 on:** May 14, 2012, 03:24:44 am »

Hi Horse, thank you for the nice feedback:)

moophone:
yes, I am planning to add more customization to the app. This will most likely only apply to the ipad version, since the iPhone version is pretty limited in space.
I can`t promise a date as to when this will be available, since my time is limited and there are more pressing features that need to be developed.

The next version will focus mainly on the iPad interface. Now that you can stream to the device, there is more need than ever for some interface additions, like play controls, cover art, zone switching etc always available from the main interface. I have some ideas for how to implement this without wasting too much space.

The new version has been submitted to the app store and is waiting for approval.
I just want to comment on a few changes:
- On the iPhone i have added a stop button. Because of this I have moved the zone and metadata button to the detail view. (The one you see if you tap on the cover art)
- Streaming in this release is limited to audio. The quality of the stream is limited to 128kbs . I have currently found no way to stream in higher quality.
Video streaming will be available in the next release.

On a final note, future releases may be limited to iOS5. It is quite restrictive to support older versions.

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: JRemote, a new native iOS remote for JRiver Media Center (Read 301711 times)