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[Gatherum]

I speak as a user who loves the JRiver Media Center and what it is capable of. It's definitely the best all-around piece of media software ever conceived.

However, lately, I have been moving my video playback over to a setup involving my PlayStation 3 used in conjunction with the PS3 Media Server, mostly for the latter's video transcoding and remuxing features not found in any other DLNA server that I know of, including JRiver's media server. That said, while I am no longer making much use of MC's video section, I still regard Media Center as absolutely necessary for its extensive audiophile options, its DSP studio capabilities and Last.fm integration in particular. So I decided to try downloading Media Jukebox, and it looks promising, but I've noticed that those same DSP effects aren't there.

So, I propose a middle-ground: why not develop, update, and release an audiophile variant of MJ, perhaps paid, but obviously cheaper than MC, that includes MC's audiophile features while also retaining MJ in its current state as a free option? I think that this would very much please audiophiles who have less of an interest in video playback. Maybe it could coincide with the hypothetical release of Media Center 18?

Thanks for listening.

[Matt]

PS3 video improvements are coming soon.

Or you can disable features in Options > General > Features if you want audio-only.

[Gatherum]

Well yes, I am aware of that, and I have done so, but the point I'm trying to make is that, if you're an audiophile, and want those features, you have to pay the full price of MC in order to get them, along with a lot of other features that you're not going to use.

[Matt]

I think the price would go up if we made an audiophile-only product.  Competing audiophile software is quite a bit more expensive than Media Center.

It might be a good idea, but we don't currently have any plans to do this.

[Gatherum]

Should I start up a petition?

[Gatherum]

While I do not have anything more to say on this matter per se, given the announcement of MC18, I would simply like to revive this thread for discussion just in case there is interest in this idea from anyone here but myself. I'm willing to upgrade to MC18 no problem if there isn't much hope for this in the near future, but if there is any hope at all, I suppose you need verifiable demand beyond a single user. If anyone has anything to add, I'd be appreciative.

By the way, upon re-reading my post, I should probably clarify that when I suggested an "audiophile variant," I wasn't necessarily suggesting anything beyond the inclusion of MC's current audiophile features (in particular, the DSP Studio and the integration with external services such as Last.fm) in a new version of MJ. So perhaps it would have been more appropriate of me to suggest an "enhanced variant of MJ" rather than an "audiophile variant." I consider myself to be, at best, an audiophile-in-training in that I cannot be satisfied and comfortable with anything other than lossless audio files (if available), particularly FLAC, that I must have at least a 5.1 surround sound system that can output in each of the various formats (Dolby PLII, DTS, etc), and tend to enjoy messing around with the various room effects and correction in order to gain what I perceive to be the best possible listening experience with what I have. I'm not necessarily learned in all of the little intricacies or even where to look and what to look for in audiophile equipment. To put it simply, I'm only suggesting a supported version of MJ with the extent of MC's present audio capabilities. Whether or not that will eventually grow into a full-fledged audiophile product is up to you guys.

Again, thank you for listening.