Like countless others before me, either my music library has gotten too large for iTunes, or I'm just starting to demand more out of iTunes, and it cannot deliver. So I decided to give alternate music managers a try. I doing so, I dug into the trial version of Media Center to see what it could offer me. I've come up with a few compliments, questions, and problems with Media Center 17.
Thinks I like:
A1. The audio path and control of the audio stream in unequaled. JRiver Media Center should be the bar that other PC music players should be measured against. Bit perfect reproduction is actually possible in MC playback. The amount of control is incredible.
A2. I absolutely love the database handling. The ability to create new fields and define those fields, then filter and sort off those custom fields is outstanding. No other program I have tried does this - you get a paltry 5 custom fields to play around with.
A3. The expression engine is very powerful. I like how dynamic playlists can be resolved down to basic expressions. (Smartlists - I like how everyone tries to rename dynamic playlists, when all they are are saved searches/database filters). The amount of structure available for file renaming is mind-boggling. The expression engine in Media Center borders on a scripting language.
Questions I have:
I am really dependent on file automation and playlisting. All my music is enjoyed through playlists.
B1. When creating Smartlists in the wizard, there is no OR logic either overall or between criteria. This isn't really an issue because I can build an expression to acheive waht I want, but it wouldn't be easier to include this in the wizard for quicker playlist creation?
B2. There is no current playlist [Playlist] variable for file path expressions. I have a few playlists that sync with external usb drives. I few flash drives, and a 2.5" external drive. The music synced on these drives would be ans follows:
[Playlist]\counter(1) - [Artist] - [Name]\
This would ensure that each playlist would be played back in the order Media Center determined. I have a couple flash drives that I use in my car and my daughter has a cheap mp3 player/flash drive that is incompatible with static playlist files (i.e. .m3u, .pls).
Issues:
C1. Unfortunately nothing is perfect, and MC is no exception. I'm sure you heard this one hundred thousand times, but the lack of complete iPod and iPhone compatibility is crippling your software. I completely understand the frustration with Apple over this, and I feel the same way - it's one of the main reasons I'm moving away from iTunes. My opinion still remains: Apple makes the best portable media players on the market today. Mostly because of saturation, compatibility, and ease of use (hardware, not software). Sure, iPods and iPhones have plenty of faults. I have both an 5th Gen iPod Nano and an iPhone 4S. Neither syncs correctly in Media Center. I know you state you don't support them, but other software makers have managed to accomplish some sort of usability (Mediamonkey).
Closing:
Overall MC17 has really impressed me. I would probably purchase and switch to MC17 if I could get B2 resolved, since right now there is no way for me to get playlists onto portable devices to my satisfaction. If B2 was resolved, it would negate C1 being an issue.
Also, please don't let this thread die a horrible death. It is stated in a sticky thread this is a support forum. And this is a support issue. I'm really tired of posting on forums with pre-sales problems/feedback and not getting a response. That is a quick way to convince me NOT to buy Media Center 17. (Don't anyone take this the wrong way. I completely understand developers busy schedules. I'm talking weeks, not days).
