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[DrMickey]

There are four reasons why I chose JRiver MediaCenter:
1. It is recommended by Stereophile for non-Apple product Hi-res playback (and its features have grown).
2. It isn't made by Apple.
3. It isn't iTunes.
4. The GUI and some of its features remind me of my favorite mp3 player back in the day: MusicMatch. I like to be able to see my entire library at a glance in one scrollable view.

[Mike Foran]

If your marketing team is having difficulty boiling down the complexities of what separates JRiver from the free (and paid) alternatives I would summarize what everyone has said here to a single word: Power. MC is powerful software on every level, and for the media enthusiasts that want their library to perform exceptionally, it's the best solution I have seen, bar none.

I was originally drawn to it from iTunes because I was tired of being frustrated by it's limited features. And with each passing version Apple seemed to be making it dumber, not smarter. I wanted better tagging and organizing options. I needed more tagging fields to properly sort an immense music library with smart playlists. I wanted it to play more formats. I wanted a server option that would allow my family to easily share from a single source of media for all our devices. And I didn't want to be locked into Apple's walled garden.

MC delivered on these features exceptionally, but it wasn't until I went beyond my immediate requirements that I realized how powerful the software really was. The amazing DSP options. The astounding video rendering engine. The superb JRemote add on that let you remote control using your tablet, and take your library on the road. Every time I said "I wonder if..." I found there was a way. I am still learning how to use some of the deep features of the software.

MC, however, isn't for everybody. Not everyone wants to deal with managing a large personal library. Many folks want something fast and easy like iTunes, Spotify or Pandora. MC makes them look like Go-Carts at NASCAR. MC is for the enthusiast that craves power, and it would be to them that you should directly market your wares.

[Arcturus]

Been using Media servers since XBMC was made for the XBOX, Went to Windows Media Center + Media browser for a while then to PLEX. I originally tested MC cause the VIS plugin I have from SoundSpectrum supported it.

The first thing I did was fall in love with the standard view.
Then I tried Gizmo and was sold on it. Not having a 10 foot interface and instead having a dual screen is so much more fun and quick to access my content. I always found those 10 feet interface pretty but for me only slowed down access to my content.

All the audio and video options were the icing on the cake and the practically maintenance free metascraping just sealed the deal.

I wish JRiver the best of luck and a long life cause I see nothing on the market that would be an acceptable replacement.

[HPSKI]

The very straightforward & intuitive way of organizing music files and building playlists. IMO better than anything currently available.  Indeed Media Center is the ONLY reason I run Parallels on my Mac. I love the ability to edit virtually all of my music, e.g. equalization, separation, etc. I am considering purchasing MC for Mac (so I can finally get rid of windows).

[Kukulcan]

1)Great internal volume for straight connection to DACs
2)true bit perfect and ASIO support
3)dsp and convolution engine, great for active speakers
4)integration with madvr
5)lots of features and settings personalizations

[Buckley Palmer]

1. Management of High quality audio (lossless)
2. Built-in file conversion capability that's easy to use.
3. I am only using for audio now, want to ultimately integrate this to multizone whole house music system, with use of iphones as remotes for audio control, think it can do it.
4. database management- I was getting to the point where I had multiple copies of same file all over the place causing repeats in syncing and playback...

[Golbeze]

Usability - I was using foobar2000 before, and I got sick of its interface. Not exactly the most user-friendly player out there.
Equalizer - Best-sounding EQ I've heard, boosting the bass doesn't make the sound as boomy as it does on most other EQ's I've used
Functionality - Has so many ways to tweak the player, but at the same time, is more user-friendly than foobar2000

I've used a bunch of other players out there, but each had some quirk that irked me; VLC tended to crash on me, and I just plain didn't like its interface, I hated foobar's interface and equalizer, Windows Media Player, well, the less said about it, the better. JRiver has most of the options I want, while also having a nice interface, so I decided to just give in and drop the money on a license.

[raj]

1 - database that handles large libraries and has a query language for advanced searches.
2 - generous licensing terms, awesome for people with multiple computers (like myself).
3 - good (and always improving) support for album art. I can always find a way to play my music files that sounds okay (to my ears and cheap speakers) but managing and viewing album art is key for me. I guess I'm just a visual type of guy.
4 - file rename/move/copy capabilities - these really help with organization!

[Stereojeff]

While I love much about JRiver including the high-resolution audio performance and the Theater View interface, the unique feature that drove me to purchase JRiver was the ability to feed two audio zones with programming stored on my hard drive.

Jeff

[corcorac]

I chose it because it plays DSD and I needed a way to play those before I get a DSD DAC. I don't have 1k to drop on a Sony DSD Desktop DAC right now, so I looked into players. I found JRiver and wasn't sure I liked it at first, then I kept using it and now I'm never going back. It's just worlds better than any competition I've used. (Audrivanna makes me want to cringe tbh, I really dislike the interface, but that's just me). Glad I found MC!!

[Gatherum]

Oh man...how long has it been...?
It's hard to remember, but I'm pretty sure I chose JRiver Media Centre 13 because it was the only jukebox media player I knew of that was capable of playing every file format in the known internet out of the box. If it couldn't, its DirectShow compliance ensured that it could be configured to do so regardless.

Since then, I have adopted, abandoned, and re-adopted the use of its various features, depending on my setup. Its UI and media management flexibility is the best out of any application of any type I have ever seen. I am known to be quite meticulous about databases and tree structure, almost to the point of alarming obsession. The fact that I can do this...

IfElse(IsEqual([Media Type],Audio),Music\[Album Artist (auto)]\IfElse(Math(IsEqual([Release Type],Compilation,)|IsEqual([Release Type],Full-length,)|IsEqual([Release Type],Live,)),Delimit([Release Type],/ Albums,),IsEqual([Release Type],Collaboration),Collaborative Albums,1,Delimit([Release Type],/s,))\If(IsEqual([Release Type],Compilation),/(FormatDate(yyyy-MM-dd)/),/(FormatDate([Original Date,0],yyyy-MM-dd)/)) [Album]Delimit(ListBuild(1,/, ,If(IsEqual([Version],Standard Edition,),,[Version]),If(IsEqual([Channels],2,5),[Channels]/ Channels,),IfElse(IsEqual([Date],[Original Date],),,IsEqual([Release Type],Compilation),,IsEqual([Version],Standard Edition,),,1,FormatDate(yyyy-MM-dd))),/),/ ()\If(IsEmpty([Disc #,0]),,Delimit([Disc #],,/Disc/ )),IsEqual([Media Type],Video),Videos\ListBuild(1,\,[Franchise,0],If(IsEqual([Franchise,0],[Series,0]),,[Series,0]),IfElse(!IsEmpty([Season Modifier,0]),If(Compare([Season Modifier,0],<=,9),Delimit([Season Modifier,0],,/Season 0),Delimit([Season Modifier,0],,/Season/ )),!IsEqual([Season,0],Specials),Delimit([Season,0],,/Season/ ))Delimit([Season Name,0],/),/ ()\If(!IsEmpty([Sequence,0]),If(Compare([Sequence,0],<=,9),Delimit([Sequence,0],/.,/0),Delimit([Sequence,0],/.,)),Delimit([Episode,0],.,))/ [Name,0]))

Delimit([Track #],.,) [Name]Delimit([Track Version,0],/),/ ()Delimit(IfElse(IsEqual([Date],[Original Date],),,IsEqual([Release Type],Compilation,),FormatDate([Original Date,0],yyyy-MM-dd),1,),/),/ ()

...and have it mean something and perform such a function as moving files around my HDD exactly as I want it performed without the player's reference to the file location breaking (I'm looking at you RealPlayer!) is absolutely amazing.

I love that I can add, customise, and remove library fields, some to add additional levels of categorisation, others for more comprehensive and defined sorting options.

Theatre View has been a godsend to me recently, with my entire home theatre system and its navigation being built around it. It was especially relevant when I bought my Panasonic TC-55VT60. The accompanying Gizmo app is simple and very easy to understand.

MadVR integration via Red October HQ has enabled me to achieve the best I possibly can in video playback. It took some tinkering and investigation, but I figured out just last night how to get it to deactivate deinterlacing for everything but my DVD rips, which, combined with fullscreen exclusive mode, granted a tremendous boost to performance while still allowing me to achieve Jinc3 on a system using an AMD Kaveri 7850-K APU, without a discreet GPU. You might think that such praise is directed more towards madVR, but it really does highlight JRiver's commitment to integrating, in any way they can, with the latest and greatest, all at a market-defying price point.

Speaking of Red October, its existence allowed me to finally be free of the use of codec packs, which were never good for stability at any rate. What a relief that was!

I join others in praising JRiver's business model and Interact forum. I love that I can talk directly to the developers, give feedback on features I want changed or added, and gain feedback from them and the community about whatever issues I have. I haven't always had all of my questions answered, but none of the above would have been possible without your help, and for that, I am deeply grateful.

...So grateful, in fact, that I feel guilty for using cracks to activate MC during my days as a teen with no income. It is not as if I have no conscience, but that doesn't often happen. I am proud to say today that I am a paying customer, and will never cease to be so for as long as I use this software. You have my apologies, and my thanks.

[biggin165]

I was just getting into ripping all of my CD's onto my computer and playing them through various device in my HT/Music center in the living room.  This included Music and video files I have three go pro units and record many of my fishing trips.  I want one software to control everything that also worked with DLNA devices without issues.  I also read reviews that it was a good software solution.

[slikvik]

I've been using this since Media Jukebox 6 or 7. Originally it was for one simple reason, I wanted a way of cataloguing (not ripping) my huge CD collection so I could search for tracks and then find the album and play it on my CD player! There was no other software at the time that would remember a disc's details and add it to a database just be inserting it.

That's the thing with software like JRiver, it's the little unique features that draw people to use it.

After that, and once I'd stopped being a snob about ripped music, I continued to use and upgrade MC because on the Monkey Audio support.

Then I moved heavily into HTPC and continued to upgrade MC because of TheatreView. Unfortunately, this was never quite as good as the competition, but by that point I couldn't live without the tagging features so I've been using MC and my library manager ever since.

I've since stopped buying CDs (and thus ripping music) and have concentrated far more on HTPC frontends so I'm afraid I haven't upgraded since MC19, but I ALWAYS come back to check on the new features being implemented!

Thanks for over 15 years of good service! 

[Osho]

My #1 reason is responsive and engaged software developers, who listens to customers and addresses their feature requests/bug reports.

Everything else (features, quality etc.) falls in place if you have that in place. That is the main reason I keep buying new versions of MC each and every year - even though I may not benefit from all the new features each year.

Osho

[Jay Fora]

Why did I install MC? The promise of greatly improved sound, even with very average speakers and no music system -only my computer - and the possibility of a working integrated video player. My needs are simple in that regard.
Why will I buy a license? The sound quality is truly wonderful, even with the speakers I have - I'm very happy The video works great. Tagging is somehow much easier, encouraging me to fix up my past slap-dash-this-is-too-tedious tagging sins of the past, so I can get the best out of MC's library capabilities. (something I found too tedious to bother with in other media players, and abandoned the library system altogether by just playing albums from computer file structure).
I have needed help as I have been finding my way around. I've only had a computer of my own for a few years, and am only just getting used to the 'forum' way of getting support for software. They all have different tones, and I am relieved and happy to discover how prompt, helpful, informative, friendly, and polite people are here. Not just to me...seems to be the general tone of the forum.
Oddly enough, and completely unexpected, it was Neutron music player, an android app - that taught me good sound was possible with average gear. It also incorporates it's own unique way of processing sound. So I started to seek out the possibility for Windows. Some may be miffed that I would even consider mentioning an android app, sound quality, and MC in the same way. Am just mentioning it in case it's helpful. Thanks to all who have made my inistallation of MC such a positive experience. Jay

 

[ronkupper]

DSP, audio related features and audio quality in general.
Using it as a pre/pro replacement drove my initial purchase decision and it is still the most important factor for me.

Some after the fact bonuses -
I absolutely adore the level of involvement and commitment from the developers and the community on this forum.
Seamless madVR integration is a huge plus.
Library and remote control options are great.

And it's your relentless constant improvements and upgrades that keeps me updating to newer versions.


 
 

[georgethesixth]

1. The satisfaction that you know you have a very good recent product.
2. The support : you pay for a product and you get support.

[CopperAnvil]

My reasons are quite simple. My first mp3 player years ago came with JRiver software that i loved. around 2003 i bought an iPod and used Itunes for years. Recently i built a new HTPC and i realized how much i hated Itunes dull gray uniform interface and i really really hated how many extra programs it installs and adds to startup in Windows. Even though Itunes worked perfectly it doesn't make it easy to customize it your way.

JRiver Media Center has way more options than it used to and a metric ton more options than Itunes.
Flac playback and a tv tuner were what i needed for my HTPC so i did research which lead me back to JRiver.

[jpu018]

Hi everybody

Well, to be honest, for a kind of overall good reputation, especially concerning audio quality : bit-perfect, many formats, 24/96... I'm a member of French HC forums, and many people spoke in favor of JRiver, there. I was also appealed by the Red October concept (some people may have fun crawling through LAV, MadVR and others, but ...).

Database capabilities look impressive, but I'll need time to master the whole thing.
I won't use DSP in the short range, because I'm just plugging my PC into a Denon AVR.

I'm a newcomer, I freshly bought an MC20 license, so, it's too early to say why I stayed :-)

[flight16]

Biggest reasons why I went with it initially:

- Completely flexible cataloging, tagging, browsing, and metadata management.  What others have said about being able to implement your own system instead of conforming to one.  Files go where I want them, have the tags I want (including custom fields), and I browse them in a view I want with the columns I want.
- An API I can use to automate tagging, playlist management, backup, and syncing. (I use the REST API on Mac)
- Openness.  Overlaps with other points on this list, but you give me an API and .XML export.  I will enjoy using MC for now, but who knows what the world will be like in another 20 years?  In the unfortunate case MC is no longer there, I can at least take that music and metadata on with me to my next platform.

Second biggest reasons:

- I can use my library remotely with the native app, no web interfaces!  I can connect to my library running on an old mac at home, from work!  And then do things like tweak tags, edit playlists, and everything.  Just like I'm at my home PC.
- Easy XML export of my entire library and metadata.  If my MC database ever becomes corrupt or something crazy happens, I know I have a copy of my metadata in XML that I could use to reconstruct whatever I need.  Sure, backups and whatnot, but after spending hours and days cataloging and tagging your library, it is just peace of mind to have all of that in a plain text, human readable format like XML should you ever need it.


Bonuses that seal the deal:

- JRiver remote is awesome.  It's rock solid and again lets me edit playlists and lets me efficiently browse my entire library.  I love the custom views (grid of artwork, list with artwork, list with no artwork).
- Transcoding to a directory (sync to folder).  I was using this to push all my media to Kodi media center for a while.
- Built-in DLNA server with detailed options so it actually WORKS with my picky TV from 2007.  I wasn't able to get any other server working.
- You have been around a while.  You actively update your software.  You're active on the forums.
- You are real people working in the USA.

[ErikN]

- It is the only supported software with stable, full-featured TV support

- It is the only product where TV, video, audio, picture, remote, etc. work out of the box -- no requirement to install other packages to get one or more features to work properly

- 10-foot interface is very responsive -- scrolling and transitions are consistently smooth/quick

MC stands out before accounting for tagging/rules, multi-user support, zones, etc.

[mouffy]

Allez, j'y vais de mon petit commentaire en français, pour les futurs utilisateurs qui arriveraient ici par hasard avec Google !

J'utilise JRiver mediacenter depuis la version 10 je crois (me souviens plus  ). C'est de loin le meilleurs logiciel pour ces fonctions pour au moins les raisons suivantes :

- stabilité, convivialité, multitude de paramétrages
- de loin le plus complet pour renommer, trier, classer, etc... gérer vos milliers de photos de familles, vidéos diverses, musiques facilement, rapidement, avec plein de traitements automatiques sur les noms, chemins de fichiers etc
- la lecture via le réseau sur mes lecteurs, le pilotage par téléphone, c'est du bonheur ! ça marche à tous les coups 
- l'incroyable gestion sonore

Il y a sûrement bien plus à dire, mais je manque d'idées là ... le prix de la licence est tout à fait raisonnable.

Merci et bonne continuation !

[A.K.]

I think it was anythingbutipod's review of mediacenters couple of years ago when I first read about JRiver Mediacenter. Few years passed and just out of curiosity I decided to give the little finger to the "devil" Downloaded MC19 trial version and immediately fell in love with it's eyecandy UI and features, especially when those features are so polished and work great. JRiver MC is way better than those other big players like Nero, Roxio et al. that just cram features for the sake of features without giving them much thought.

I still use foobar2000 for some minor tasks e.g. masstagging, file integrity checking, moving & renaming because I'm so used to them and they work great. Maybe it's time to dive deeper into MC21 capabilities...

[lohma004]

Great audio
Nice interface
Great tagging capability
MOST IMPORTANTLY: the ability to control "gapped" playback. I DJ and like having the ability to set an exact # of seconds between tracks. This is a fantastic feature!!!!

[Phil_C]

I have been using JRiver since version 17 and I run version 21 now.

JRiver has glowing endorsements from the audiophile media and community, such as computeraudiophile.com, including that it produces superior audio.

JRiver provides superior and quick technical assistance and answers to questions on the forum (no one does it better or faster).

Confidence that JRiver will just keep getting better and better thanks to active company support.

So many superior features and versatility compared to the competition.  Just too many to list. 

Met Matt at an audio show.  Could tell he was one of the good guys and a great geek! He is a great JRiver ambassador. 

[MarkyMark]

I have two main reasons for choosing JRiver Media Center and two "opportunities," one of which is merely a personal preference.

Favorites:
1. Most everyone on this thread said sound quality; I do as well. Noticeably better than others, such as WMP.
2. I only saw one other reply reference gapless payback, which I will go one step further and call it intelligent cross-fading. I HATE dead air, and this is possibly the best cross-fade I've heard, with minimal settings. Radio quality cross-fades excite me. (I live a sheltered life)
Yes, MC20 is my default media player. Quality plus. Well done, JRiver.

Mark

[prerich]

Primary reason - audio functionality!!! Secondary - Bluray functionality.

[polemides]

I somehow ended up on the website when I was searching for multi-zone playback software.  This was before ZoneSwitch, btw.  And the website make it look rad so I tried it.

Oh my.  Didn't I discover it could do so much more?  

Originally I needed a high-quality, second zone audio-only playback software.  And it needed to be light weight.  It ran in the background of WMC for my back porch speaker setup in my old house.  After cutting the cord from the local cable company (never again paying them a dime) I plugged in the trusty old SiliconDust HDHR and have been rocking clear QAM or antenna-based TV in every home since.  I needed something with a high WAF since I'm gone or deployed months at a time.  Also, we move every 2-3 years in the military, so I needed a setup that would transport well from rental house to rental house.  That's where a NAS and a very simple networking diagram came in.  

My wife was able to move in to a new house with two kids, plug the NAS into the router, and access the library from her computer.  Boom.  Instant win.

[softmachine]

With JRiver MC the most important attribute for me was the ability to catalog my entire library in the alpha-numeric convention I had set up long ago when I started rippings my vinyl, tape, cd and soft digital archive.  No other program could handle the 17,000 + LPs I threw at it in a timely fashion.  Media Monkey finally, and simply, gasped at the thought.  I  have tried them all and MC works best.

Add to that the sound quality via my DAC/audio setup or the handy DSP controls which tuned the listening arena and I felt I'd found the right product.  Moving on from there I discovered Gizmo (though I use EOS most of the time) and was able to take everything with me anywhere, including the same sonic quality.....plus the remote feature works well from the only chair parked in the the sweet spot when I'm hunkerd down.   

I have yet to use many of the features of MC...I don't tag too much besides rating, don't use DNLA features in my home, don't zone, don't smart, don't have it hooked to a TV....just started a video library, and don't use it for photos.  But, I'll tell you this:  it is entertaining studying all that it can do.  I'm a musician and coder and think it may be the best piece of application software I've ever used.

I visit Mlps. often and was disappointed that your office appears to be in a skyscraper on Washington with nowhere nearby to park or I would have stopped by to offer my kudos and see what cool swag you might have....I'm an MC lifer.
   

[Skullmonkee]

If your marketing team is having difficulty boiling down the complexities of what separates JRiver from the free (and paid) alternatives I would summarize what everyone has said here to a single word: Power. MC is powerful software on every level, and for the media enthusiasts that want their library to perform exceptionally, it's the best solution I have seen, bar none.

As above, and additionally:

Unlike a lot of users, i use MC exclusively for video, rather than audio (other than WMD driver).  I use MC mainly due to (in no particular order):

1) Red October HQ and combined video features - single most important thing to me is having the "best" sound and "best" video available, without having a bunch of additional installations and needing to get everything talking properly.

2) HTPC features - has all the features i want:  Other programs  like XBMC, MB (currently) look prettier but lack substance. I enjoy:
- Unsurpassed HQ audio/vidio
- easy bitstreaming
- Theatre view is lighting fast compared to my expereinece with others .
- Relatively few crashes or issues compared to others i've tried.
- Ability to "play there" is nice
- Ability to easily "re-tag" incorrect files

3) WMD Driver - i use Spotify predominantly, and i IMO this was the single best addition made to MC since i originally purchased it.  Additionally, i appreciate ASIO, Wasapi etc. etc.

4) It costs (reasonable) money, which in my experience with this particular program, means that things are actioned appropriately and that desirable user-requested features are usually implemented within relatively quick timelines.

[danrgleason]

For me the choices narrowed as I became more knowledgable of audio, and invested more in equipment.

My progression was Real Player, WinAmp, Monkey Audio Player, and then tried FooBar and went back to Monkey for couple years.

Then in 2007, I found JRiver on a post in Head-fi and it made a lot of sense.

It had the cataloging of Monkey and FooBar, plus better tagging and indexing then Monkey except it was the only program that did not crash on my now > 50K music files.

Once I upped my headphone rig from hundreds of dollars (headphones, dac, amp and cables) to thousands of dollars, the list of options that worked for me got narrower.

Although FooBar had ASIO support, the catalog and index functions (for playlists, and tagging) just were not mature at all and the program felt like unsupported freeware.

JRiver has always felt and operated like a quality software application (I am a software designer/developer by trade) and I have had the least amount of rustration with your app than any other.

I only use your app for Audio, and I only use it while programming (10 hours a day) and I get extremely irritated if a program is not functioning correctly.

So I guess my main reason is the reliability of the application with the acceptable amount of audio features I need to enjoy my music frustration-free.

BTW - I am listening to Amy Winehouse - At The BBC as I write this on my Audeze LCD2 headphones to Aphrodite29 Quad-Silver cable, balanced XLR to my fully discreet, balanced Audio-GD 10 watt headphone amp, connected to my balanced Audio-GD 32Bit Sabre DAC to my dedicated Media Center/SSD/Fan less PC to 32Bit/384K Audio-GD ASIO Driver to my sweet, sweet JRiver Media Center 20 software application which has ripped the Amy Winehouse CD I am enjoying now.

Just logged on to see how to pay for the upgrade to MC21. I have Master License for 20, and have bought each edition of MC since 14. I am extremely loyal to this product because of the effort put into it and although I do not use any other media sources except Audio now, I still appreciate the effort put in to make a great app nonetheless.

[redmodred]

I was originally using MS Media Player.  When I bought a new Sony Blu Ray player, model BDP S7200 it would Not play files served up by MS Media Player.  My older Sony Blu Ray BDP-780 & BDP-790 worked fine.  I tried to use Foo Bar, battled it for a few days, never could get it to play either.

Downloaded JRiver to test, it just worked out of the box.  Also found that Forcing the DLNA server to output PCM 16 bit fixed the issue I'd always had with MS Media player.  When I pushed music to the Sony (with it working just as a DLNA Render it also did PCM 16 bit, where as MS Media player always did MP3 mode).

Interface is Beautiful, with cover art and full resizing of that art......

Gizmo on mobile phone and Nook looks great and works perfectly.  Ah, MPDroid, and native "player" in my Bryston BDP-2 are ugly (no real cover art display).  And, have a ton of GUI issues making them very hard to use.  They have a number of things that work on a PC browser, but, not on Android devices.

Support forums provide solutions!  Contacting Sony and opening tickets on their BDP-7200 never got a resolution.  No work arounds.  No fixes to the issues identified in a software update for the player.

It plays WMA Lossless!  Also plays and Easily converts to just about any format.

[miklats]

I use MC because:

1. I have the possibility to play SACD Isos.

2. All the possibilities in connection with my Music Database. The tagging, the graphics etc..

3. Convolution

4. The Integration of my Movie database.

5. The Masterlicense. The possibility to install MC on a Raspberry Pi.

6. The Price

All the above points are my favorites.
There is constant improvement.

MC is simply a great product.

[bobkatz]

1) I chose JRiver primarily for the data and sonic integrity.

2) The ability to use convolution processing! Great!

3) The ability to insert a high quality stereo plugin for equalization.

[JustinChase]

It's really sad that I can't honestly remember much about the specifics of why I chose JRiver over the free alternatives.  I do remember there wasn't really much in the way of options when I started using JRiver.  I remember how powerful the database was, and how it allowed me to manage my music in ways that other programs couldn't (and still can't).  I think it was the only program that let me easily rip my CD's to a lossless format without having a college degree at the time.  I think I paid about $30 for the program way back then, which was more than I'd spent on any other software up to that point.  I've paid for upgrades to every version since, and still feel like I've not paid enough for the value I've received.

I started using MC before images or video were things that MC managed.  It was audio only when I first purchased.  I remember all the struggles of getting direct show filters to work right, and what a revelation it was when Red October was first released.  Good times!

Actually, out of curiosity, I just looked to see when I first registered, and I've been registered for nearly 13 years now, which is longer than JimH (which I can't believe, but seems to be accurate)!  Somewhat unsurprisingly, it seems Matt has been registered since his birth!

I've seen this program go thru so many great changes, I'm really thankful I discovered it when I did, and I still look at Interact pretty much daily, even if I don't post that often.

Keep up the good work guys!!

[Jonathan DA]

There are free alternatives?  No.  No, there aren't.

None of the free applications out there do what MC does -- a single AV "toolkit" that will do almost everything you need as an enthusiast/audiophile/videophile.

I originally came to MC in version 12 (or was it 11?) primarily because it offered a way to rip CDs to FLAC and play them back within a single application that had good cataloging and search (the panes view).

But other apps came along soon enough that did the same thing.  What ultimately locked me in to MC was multi-zone support with remote control via mobile apps.  Nothing else does that AND has DSP AND Video AND live TV with DVR.  My whole house AV system is built around JRiver. I even custom wired my house during construction specifically with JRiver multi-zone in mind.

To accomplish my goals with any other system would cost thousands of dollars more, and not be any easier to use or more stable in the end.

[mkloharry]

Number 1 use for me watching TV OTA Live, recording TV and playback of recorded TV. Then BluRay and MKV files.

[skjenzen]

The DSP options including convolver for FIR XO is a very strong point for JRiver. And this comes as an all in one solution. No need to download, install and integrate extra plugins. The WDM driver is also extremely handy.

And of course sound (and picture) quality is high - that is the prerequisite for all the rest to matter.

[jkauff]

I don't really need JRiver MC, but I continue to pay for it every year. Why?

It's the best media cataloging program available. I have a large collection of music, movies, and TV shows stored (and backed up) on 12TB of storage. MC handles all of them very well, including episode descriptions for my old Avengers shows, etc. The integration with IMDb for movie metadata is something I don't want to be without.

Additionally, when I'm using the catalog and want to play something, MC handles everything as well as my standalone programs. For many years I had an M-Audio Audiophile 192 sound card, and MC supported ASIO playback from it as well as any hi-res audio files I played.

I have a lot of media players. I've used foobar2000 since the beginning, and still use MPC-HC (with LAV and madVR) as my primary video player. I have PowerDVD and the Nero Blu-ray player for accessing extras on my discs. I tend to navigate directly to files and folders on my hard drives and right click to choose a player. I have a Smart TV for things like Netflix, and my TV is connected to my PC if I want to watch a movie on the TV instead of on my monitor. MPC-HC handles that arrangement just fine.

Still, I find MC indispensable enough to pay up every year. I don't use it for the TV features, the DLNA server, JRemote, or any of the other HTPC stuff, and I live alone in a small apartment so I don't need features like Zones. I like the fact that they're there, though, in case my needs change.

Most of all, I want to support the talented and supportive staff at JRiver and the great work they do. My annual upgrade costs me about as much as a good restaurant meal, so I don't at all mind the cost. Keep up the good work, folks, and I'll continue to stand behind you.

[grewterd]

It's been so long since the first version I purchased MC, it was v14 I think, that I can't really remember the version and exactly why I purchased it. (I just remember wondering years later, "Why did I use APE for all my files instead of FLAC until one day I reinstalled the old version of MC and realized it had no FLAC support, hehe). I do recall having a dream of a HTPC setup that would play my entire CD and DVD collection from a network storage device. Back then, there just wasn't anything with the power to do that except a full size PC with a hella video card (better than I had on my main system). So, that dream died.

Fast forward to 2010ish and it's revived and in full realization! Currently, I have two Intel NUC i5 systems with more than enough horsepower to do what I could not do then and they are so small, quiet and efficient that it's just mind boggling. Add to this FreeNAS/NAS4Free with massive NAS hard drives and I have the network storage I needed then.

When the upgrade discount came up for v21 I bit, fast. Later I upgraded to a universal license for my Ubuntu pleasure (my mac is dead, sniffle).

I mainly use MC for my music collection.  For bitperfect playback of my flac, DSD, hirez flac files, etc. to my Schiit stack, it's my go to.

I like MC a lot. I want to do more with it, I want to know HOW to do more with it. I'm grateful for the work put into it, and for the upgrade discount.

[MAPgeekdad]

I had a long talk with a sales and marketing person today.  It made me realize that I can't say clearly why people choose to purchase JRiver Media Center when there are so many free options.  What I said was that it:

1.  Plays everything.
2.  Works well with networks and remotes
3.  Has a nice ten foot interface (Theater View)
4.  Delivers high quality audio and video
5.  A great forum with a lot of engaged users

I said what I've said before, that we're trying to let you play any media, anytime, anywhere.

So help me out.  Why did you choose JRiver?

Edit -- for complaints, please use this thread.  I may move, remove, or edit anything off topic.

Currently, for me it is #4 "Delivers high quality audio and video".

The reason I chose MC initially was the ability to integrate with Russound CAV6.6 and send metadata to the keypads of my whole-house a/v system.

Thanks to hyslopc's plug-in discovered through AVSforum.

I've been with MC ever since (MC12 ?)

[DrKNo]

I work as a DJ on the side, around three gigs each month. I Use MC for library management and Serato DJ for playback in live situations. JRiver saves me about a day each month of work due to automatisms. That may be considerably higher with a more active DJ.

• Custom tags like genre, supergenre and Dj-Rating in conjunction with custom views allow me to automatically generate crates, which I use for track selection during gigs
• Filename management allows me to automatize putting files at their right place
• File Tagging interface allows me to quickly and correctly tag new Files before migrating them to the library
• Custom views allow me to keep a "chronology" of newly imported tracks, also extremly helpful during gigs (what's new?)

Seriously, MC has been better for my workflow than all other tools I use combined. I have infected a few of my colleagues, and they all say the same. Any DJ will profit from using JRiver if he climbs the initial barrier (getting to know MC).

Thinking of it: Serato offers built-in support for iTunes libraries (which I don't use). Maybe talk to them about including MC? I admit iTunes is a different beast in user numbers, but who knows.

[AlexS]

Because I like a bloody good arguement in the forums..

[JimH]

Bring it on.

[tlcmd]

Started back with Media Jukebox 7, upgraded to 8.400 and stayed there until y'aa came out with MC for Linux. Then upgraded both Windows and Linux. Took advantage of the deal on the master license. Like the whole program, palylists, smartlists, reliability, and being able to burn cd's and dvd's in both .wav and compressed music files.Do not care about the look, but am very partial to the ease of operation and the great response to problems on the forums.

[Glimmer]

I think the main advantage for me is that it works right out of the box.
No need to search for addons or tweaks.

It is pretty easy to use. Especially since it has some pretty advanced features.

It looks nice too. Everything is where it should be and if it isnt you can move it.

JRemote is a great cross platform remote.

[wer]

This was a great question, Jim, and I'm glad that you asked it and are still listening to the responses.

I suspect there are a couple of main types of users: those who are using it interactively in standard mode as their desktop media software, and those who are using it for an HTPC.  They are very different use cases and have different needs, and it's a testament to your product that its able to do both so well.

I use JRiver as my desktop software now too, but my main purpose, and the one for which I originally purchased it, was for HTPC use.

There are two and only two reasons why I bought it:
1. A good 10-foot interface
2. Flexible cataloging and views, so that the music (and video) can be organized and presented the way _I_ want it.

Those two things are absolutely essential, and it's surprising how many competitors don't excel in both.  Everything beyond those two things is gravy.

Lots of people like the DSP, or the wide format support, and things like that.  To me, they are nice but non-essential.  If I needed more sophisticated DSP than JRiver supplied, there are external devices you can buy to do whatever you need.  If you have content in the "wrong" format, you can always convert it.  Lots of things, you can work around if you have to...

But the 10-foot interface, and the flexible presentation are critical: if you don't have those for HTPC use, there is no substitute, and you're left out in the cold.

JRiver's organizational capability is unmatched.  Nothing else even come close.  The 10-foot interface is good.  (It could be improved, but it's pretty nice.)  Maintain focus on those two things, and you can't go wrong.

The commitment to audio and video quality, with your internal processing engine and inclusion of MadVR for video, is the icing on the cake.

Thanks for the great software!

[jvandemerwe]

I am using JRiver now for a couple of years and I am using a normal laptop HP DV6 with a 1Gb videocard with HDMI. I am streaming videos from a normal (not so fast) NAS (Readynas NV+ from Netgear) over a wireless connection. And with all other programs I used I had trouble with the performance of the video streaming (certainly the large Blurays) and I had great trouble getting DTS or DTS-HD to work properly.

Well long story short, JRiver Mediaplayer is playing everything as it should. Audio and video with great quality and with no performance flaws. For me there is not an alternative to this mediaplayer for this price that can compete with it.

[Blaine78]

Mainly for the Audio quality and Video playback is a huge bonus. Unfortunately something has changed in the bug fixing/builds/version since V19, as V20 and V21 just don't sound as good. In pure direct, no DSP volume etc, V19 best for audio quality with my .ape lossless library. subtle, but noticeable enough.

[dmast]

Very simple for me, and I don't think I saw my reason in previous posts.  I picked JRiver because it was the only media server/player software I could find that did not insist on re-sampling the file on its way to my amp.  Windows Media, VLC, MPC-HC all resample.

What's the big deal about resampling.  I CAN HEAR IT.  I have about 1500 songs in my library.  About half were from when I digitized my entire record collection, before I sold my turntable.  I digitized them at 192k/24b.  I am playing these files through my new Yamaha Aventage RX-A3040 receiver, which has (arguably) the world's best D/A converter, the ESS Technology ES9016 SABRE32 Ultra DAC.  This DAC is amazingly neutral and natural sounding, which means things like resampling are very audible.

The JRiver Media Center was the only product I could find that did an untouched pass through of these files.  Thanks JRiver!