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Author Topic: Why did you choose JRiver?  (Read 244808 times)

nickycousin

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #250 on: October 14, 2017, 08:46:13 am »

been using windows media player / center since vista i became a tester for new versions but they hated 3rd party add on and made it basic it worked well but was left behind with no new features and the growing codecs and decoders it was being left behind. i originally used to have a my cd and dvd collection as iso and used to mount images to play for exceptional playback downside was space and hard drive size with this i looked for an alternative and alternative formats i decided at the time mp3 and avi was my way forward after decoding cd after cd and dvd after dvd it was painfully hard in media centre having to manually type information. so i looked again and found JRiver Media Center 16.0.100 Retail imported all my cd collection and dvd collection and it went crazy everything mixed up and renamed. i was thinking my years manually typing in to media player had been a waste of time but as if by magic it started to come together now i had along time to fix what JRiver Media Center 16.0.100 Retail never and over time really enjoyed JRiver Media Center 16.0.100 Retail so never wanted to upgrade.

Last December was my birthday my uncle brought me MediaCenter220095 i installed and let it do its magic :) all i can say is jriver have been busy with updates and tweaks and would like to say the programmers are superb the forum is magic and helpful and MediaCenter220095 is awesome.

I know 23 is out now and will upgrade soon but I'm 100% a jriver fan and would 100% recommend to music or film buffs :)
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YOUARENUMBER6

Audio Adrenaline

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #251 on: October 22, 2017, 11:36:37 pm »

 The reason I went to jriver is when microsoft started to shut down its tv tuner support and other things  I really wanted a better replacement I did my research and saw all the positive reviews for JRiver and I could not believe the sound quality improvement I got for such a small investment. My gear is only mid range  it made a huge improvement!  Best media program ever :-)
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bean_counter

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #252 on: November 07, 2017, 10:42:37 am »

 - Audio quality above all. 
 - Ease of set-up/stability. I haven't really been in the guts of a system since the heyday of MSDOS 3.1, and I don't have the patience or time to dig too deep.  Constantly tinkering with freeware isn't in my audio system objectives, I have little enough time to listen as it is.
 - Forum / support.  I can usually figure out issues in the forum content.
 - Business model - it has created a stable company that supports and improves its product over time.  Nobody likes paying for version updates, but the updates provide value, support the company and honestly are really cheap in the audiophool world

Not a real fan of the library system, but it's still probably the best out there.  And I've never used the video.
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antenna

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #253 on: December 11, 2017, 11:09:34 pm »

...
So help me out.  Why did you choose JRiver?
...

In no particular order:
  • audio quality
  • library management (i.e., a real database "behind the scenes" with an extremely usable interface)
  • reliability, a.k.a., it just works
  • flexibility of configuration, e.g., media center server and media center client, plus all the other access and control options I've not yet explored
  • also does video
  • depth and usefulness of features
  • it's fun to explore new features I can use
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antenna

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #254 on: December 22, 2017, 09:08:21 pm »

I don't know if I am allowed to reply to my own message here, but I wanted to add one important item that I missed in my original message...


That is the intuitive nature of Theater View.

A friend was visiting earlier this week and Media Center was active.  OK, I was showing it off.   :)

At one point, while MC was in theater view, I just gave the remote (a regular Inteset remote) to my friend.  Well he started using Media Center Theater View quite easily.  No special programming on the remote, no instructions to my friend, he just used the usual arrow keys and selection keys as he thought they should work.

He had no problems navigating and finding the music he wanted to listen to.

Kudos to those who brought the Theater View to the fore.  And thanks!
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Gwilson

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #255 on: December 24, 2017, 03:49:22 pm »

I love the links - added one for lyrics. Using the Wiki link for the artist provides hours of entertaining reading while listening.   And I bring up tagging all the time to see composer.
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chris13

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #256 on: January 04, 2018, 04:18:14 am »

- Sound quality
- Library Management (customize views, library fields, expression language, tagging possibilities etc.)
- Possibility to sync handhelds
- Helpful forum
- Rich feature set!

Really, i don't know any software in this segment which provides a comparable all in one package.

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1maynard

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #257 on: January 07, 2018, 09:13:46 am »

For me it was the ease of getting it up and running. I downloaded it, went through the set up and in no time I was watching live OTA TV. I imported my library's and now can watch all of my DVD copies and recorded TV shows.

I am now working on getting all of my music imported and tagged. So far the only issues I have had was when I upgraded my HTPC to Win 10. I ended up having to reinstall MC to get it to work. [Thanks to  RoderickGI for his help and advice.]

I was a user of Kodi for a few years and was very tired of all of the issues, error messages, constant lock ups  and a very unfriendly user forum. Seemed like I had to reinstall it every six weeks to keep it working. The people on here seem like they really want to help new users.

The wife was not sure that she wanted to learn a new system but she caught on very quickly and likes its ease of use. I showed her how I could now play music on my phone using Gizmo she now wants me to add Gizmo to her android tablet and phone so she can take her music with her.

I am using the free trial and plan on buying soon as well as JRemote.  Another thing I like the way that standard view and theatre view are separated. Less confusion for a new user. My wife has no desire to get into organizing library's, importing or tagging so this works out best for us.

I have MC set up upon start up yo go directly to Theatre View so the user can than decide if they want to watch TV, or view a movie etc.

I have been studying the Wiki and there is just so much that can be done to customize MC. Thanks to all for providing a great product.
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jb82

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #258 on: January 19, 2018, 04:16:28 pm »

The DB capability is amazing. With a few commands under your belt it cleverly leads to immense flexibility in displaying and sorting media in just about every way imaginable. This is great when you want ultimate control over things others may not be bothered about (e.g. bonus material, easily automating imports etc.)

It makes achieving perfect audio and best possible video reproduction about as easy as it could be. First time I've actually been able to view all my video media and been confident the experience matches and exceeds a good DVD or BR player taking clocking issues into account.

And.. The hope that things can be improved (theatre view) with gentle persuasion (theatre view) because with minor tweaks (theatre view) some things could be better (theatre view) :-)
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bg

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #259 on: January 28, 2018, 12:17:39 pm »

JRiver Windows my go to from way back with occasional updated versions along way. Always used JRiver strictly for audio file play/control. Purchased Mac version after adding a Macbook Pro to my stable.
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Boerd

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #260 on: January 31, 2018, 11:49:23 am »

For the VST container + iTunes+++ functionality
IF a plugin is coded to be resizable you can resize it in JRiver MC. Icing on the cake.
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Chrisb12

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #261 on: February 01, 2018, 10:06:09 am »

I choose JRiver as it was recomended by HiFi Choice as the best for Audio and have not been disappointed. Also tried Foobar and Winamp.
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flac.rules

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #262 on: February 02, 2018, 08:53:41 am »

It's not the only reason I chose it, but the large flexibility is an important reason, illustrated by it solving my problem, and saving me from buying a new amp here:

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,114228.0.html
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rbjozzi

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #263 on: February 02, 2018, 10:24:02 pm »

Hi Guys

This is my first post. Why did I choose JRiver? A few years ago I wondered if I could digitise my record and CD collection. Knowing absolutely nothing about the subject I scoured the Net and learned. I chanced on JRiver one day and have been using it ever since, despite my son trying to lure me over to Plex ugh! JRiver does it better. IMHO.
I had a Hafler 100 pre amp doing nothing and an old Luxman TT plus a good quality Pioneer cassette deck all connected to an ancient EMac and using Vinyl Studio for file capture.
Works OK for me, I'm 78 and a bit hard of hearing so the quality produced is sufficient and iI am happy with it. Plays back through an 80s Hafler amp and pre amp and a couple of Cabasse Clippers. I have over 10,000 files now both sound and video and still going.

Cheers
Robin
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Bigbootz2

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #264 on: February 05, 2018, 09:00:11 am »

As it seems to play mostly everything although I had issues with two CD's I had ripped to my PC using Itunes.
I was using Itunes for years for mostly my imported CD's and Itunes purchases.. All that software ever did was give me headaches and stress. I tried JRiver and it seems to do everything I was able to do on Itunes but better and has various options for listening to music or video files. it is the best media player I tried yet..also Itunes updates...almost every time I updated, my playlists would still be there but I would go in and some tracks would disappear....Apple and Itunes = unreliability...Itunes also wanted to update almost every week. I also bought an Iphone and returned it as it crashed and frozen on me on first use (it was brand new in a box from 02)...my Sony phones have never done this in all the years I used sony phones....so overall I wanted away from Apple products and software...and even getting everything I purchased from Itunes was difficult to get as I had DRM on some of the music I purchased...even getting all those tracks without the DRM taken me nearly 3 months...and that is with using Itunes match...so Itunes didn't go without a fight and gave me issues right up until the end...that is the main reason I was looking for a new media player.  I googled, found JRiver, did the trial and had to buy. For some one who listens to everything from a high end cinema AV receiver and Speakers JRiver seemed to be perfect for me and still does...but as I said I did have issues playing two CD's but I put that down to echoes from the trouble I had with Itunes which I had used to import those CD's initially..


P.S I am aware there will probably people who use Iphones but I  had a bad experience with their products and software and on top of that my friend has just sent back her third IPhone in total as they had nothing but problems with it...like not being able to get on line, yet I am sitting next to her with my sony phone with super fast internet. Then the Iphone not ringing every time someone calls...so from my experience and my  friends who will never get an iphone again...so yep from my experience and what I have seen apple = unreliability and headaches.
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The Big Labinski

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #265 on: March 02, 2018, 03:31:15 am »

What a fair deal.
I bought today the license for MC24 – the upgrade price is incredible fair. Especially, as we can use the same license for several computer machines.
I´m using MC just for listening music – at the end MC 20 would be more than enough for me. But I like to support JRiver for such a great work. I bought and will buy any new version.
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BillT

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #266 on: March 03, 2018, 02:35:40 am »

Have to agree that it's not a simple program to use or to find instructions for, but it's infinitely better than iTunes!

It's easy to convert file formats (when you know how). Select the files(s) you want to convert then go to the Tools menu and select Advanced Tools/Convert Format. that brings up a dialogue box with various options including ALAC.
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mattkhan

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #267 on: March 03, 2018, 02:52:40 am »

I wanted some way to copy all my multitudinous CD but seem to have chosen the FLAC (sp?) version and cannot use those with iTunes, and cannot find out if there is a quick way to convert them to AFLAC (sp?) or if I need to extract them all over again
https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Convert_Format
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struth

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #268 on: March 04, 2018, 03:18:50 am »

This is a good question. I started with media centre many years ago; not sure which version but maybe 15 or 16. I am a member and mod of an audio forum and we recently had a thread similar to this.
I use jriver as it is regularly improved, does most things audio very well, and sounds great with the right equipment. the competition is strong, no doubt, and many prefer the likes of roon endpoint via say an rpi. i have a rpi and although it is very good, jriver imo beats it, and is more flexible. great for headphones too as you can tailor it to suit the cans etc. looking forward to 24, and usually buy a new version as i like to show my support to the makers as this is a very good value product.
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Packer

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #269 on: March 09, 2018, 04:48:27 pm »

It's kind of a Swiss knife for music lovers. Great piece of software!
1- Sound quality
2- Designed to bitstream well
3- DSD
4- Plays everything
5- Server library management - keep your music in one place, choose when and how to listen
6- J Remote App - listen to your music from everywhere
7- DLNA management
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danluba

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #270 on: March 09, 2018, 04:59:53 pm »

There were two things I was looking for when I found JRiver:

  • A flexible GUI that had both a list-style interface and a nice, customizable showcase-style one.
  • A media server with internet streaming capability and an iOS version

The JRiver GUI is the best out there by a mile. The four display modes feel like they were made just for me. The streaming is also excellent.

When I found JRiver, the other aspect that sold me (as if I wasn't sold already) was:

  • The library management and cataloging capabilities

... which answered a requirement I hadn't had the audacity to set. They are truly outstanding and I still get excited about them, many years later.

Since purchasing and using JRiver for an extended period, the other major thing that stands out for me is:

  • The extensive DSP and routing options

... which have gotten me out of a tight spot on a few occasions.
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kgosfm

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #271 on: March 10, 2018, 12:41:36 pm »

way, way back, I used MusicMatch Jukebox.  Loved it.  Then, they went belly up.  At that point, I started looking for an equivalent replacement.  Looked at lots of media players, and they all were lacking in one way or another.  I then found JRiver MC 15.  It was everything I wanted, and more.  Now on MC23, and eagerly awaiting MC24.  Keep up the good work, folks.
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bronzguy

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #272 on: March 20, 2018, 12:58:47 pm »

JRiver is the best bang for the buck choice -
Great sound quality
Library
Streaming ease
File conversions
Plays just about anything

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cutedaddy

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #273 on: March 22, 2018, 07:40:31 pm »

1. Works w/the three major OS's (although i later found out we need some workarounds for android);
2. Plays all major file types;
3. Plenty of audio quality settings;
4. Good interoperability with a great variety of hardware peripherals (DAC's, Wifi Tx/Rx, Raspberry, etc.)
5. Each device can interact w/each other device;
6. Almost each device in your network can be either server/client/streamer/renderer depending on your need at any moment;
7. Private cloud-like facilities for on the move operation;
8. No recurring fees, only additional fees when additional 'products' are delivered (we don't like monthly bills!).
9. JRiver seems a serious party on this market, where everything keeps changing at ever increasing speeds. This gives me the confidence that my investment (in time and effort i mean!!) will turn out to be worthwhile for some time to come.

Probably still forgetting some items.
So, are there no alternatives that also offer these benefits? Sure, when you look around it seems there are plenty that offer (almost) the same, even at little or no cost.

So my reply to that is: i don't believe in free lunches. Number 9. is an important factor there.
In addition, number 8. is almost as good as a no cost option. I rather pay a fair price when what i get in return is well worth it.

Tx for your patient presence on this forum, gtz from Amsterdam.
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mwhals

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #274 on: March 27, 2018, 08:20:40 pm »

It was between JRiver and Sonic Studio. Sonic Studio's interface was horrible. JRiver's works great. As a result, I went with JRiver.
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sirkus

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #275 on: March 29, 2018, 01:07:31 pm »

The flexibility, the quality and the serious look of its audio engine. More simply, at that time, I was looking for a media center with multi-channels VSTs support and it was (it's?) the only one.

Same flexibility, quality and serious look of the video engine with quality customisable codecs and filters well integrated by default.

Then I discovered the scripting for display, DLNA configurations, Zones, etc... I am impressed by the possibilities.

In short, flexibility while it remains solid out of the box.
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EfeTe

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #276 on: March 29, 2018, 01:53:54 pm »

Have left all others (iTunes, A+, Roon, Foobar) behind and now use JRiver alone. Well the Windows and the IOS version.
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rpalmer68

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #277 on: April 15, 2018, 04:19:10 pm »

I started with MC back with Version 10 because:

- Easy setup of Direct Show codecs/filters
- DVB-T support
- Excellent tagging and database manipulation
- Theater View
- Zones
- The AMAZING support via this forum from very supportive users (and developers of course)!



Richard

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igor

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #278 on: April 16, 2018, 01:23:32 pm »

The sound in the 24 version became simply chic, very dynamic and scrolled in space, just super!
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brureid

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #279 on: April 19, 2018, 08:35:37 pm »

Hands Down - Sound quality
- Library Management (customize views, library fields, expression language, Renaming, Organizing, tagging possibilities etc.)
- Possibility to sync handhelds
- Helpful forum
- Rich feature set!
- Fantastic Smartlist/Randomizing
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Dekyon

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #280 on: May 07, 2018, 02:44:24 pm »

After the real "death" of Total Media Theater I search for a good software that can play 3D bluray without problems. So that's it! And I found JRiver really fantastic and full of LOT of things I can do to see movies better than ever.
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1970Goat

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #281 on: May 25, 2018, 09:13:10 pm »

Why I like   no love MC      Simply!   it deliever everything that real network real player (back in the day) rather now Real One, Windows media player,, and WinAmp does but with so much more  versatility of all the rest MC is just the "GTO" of Player and everyone else is Looking at Their Tail Lights. All diff formats - sound quality - plugins - steaming  - routers - heck even tv -  it's Just the Best  Bang Bang for the Buck  don't believe me watch any Blue Ray, video, heck even go to Amazon, or even google If u like youTube MC got ya covered this is it one stop shopping and you can even play your fav Song video or whatever  if your system has the horse power you can have it all while gaming. I'm telling you over the few years I have brought them all.  MC is the Real Deal   absolutely the Best Bang for the Buck.   and Support is Just simply amazing.  personally I have open at least  dozen windows with action from games to watching videos never once did my music miss a beat I was in a zone and Thanks to MC I was above the call of duty on my gaming. Just when you think these guys can't step up their game.    Blam!     Instance steaming and deals with radio station u heard about but couldn't get to. heck u got a fav station u got the option to add it to your fav. The Folks At JRiver are no Joke. As innovatively as these folks they set the standards in Performance and Quality workmanship.  And No I have no stock in this company,I don't get a kick back, nor do I receive any other Perks. No association what so ever.  and I Pay what everyone else pays. then why ?  Because I'm trying to help u save time money and effort. if your an apple die hard yelp your covered and Linux and Mac folks yea you guess it your covered to. FYI I use to be a Linux guy. so yea I'm an android dude as well. Just trying to let any and all no   from my experience. Best Bamg For The Buck. is at "J-Rivers Media Center". And Yes I Have been grooving to music and playing two games at the same time that I'm typing this .Why I like MC comment.     And that's all I got today say about that. 
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dejanm

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #282 on: May 31, 2018, 02:38:37 am »

- Usability
- Ability to easily setup and play DSD
- Sound quality
- Same player for Win10 and Mac OS
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Len_Lekx

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #283 on: June 02, 2018, 10:08:58 am »

I was trying out MediaPortal when I came across JRiver MC.  MP was unable to recognize and use my AverMedia capture card for connecting to my STB tuner.

I also like the fact that MC uses multiple sources for TV and Movie metadata - I was able to get the correct info for several shows that MP either messed up or missed.

I haven't tried out all of the features yet - but what I have used impresses me.
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adrixadrix

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #284 on: August 24, 2018, 11:03:22 am »

This one is easy:

1. Fun to use
2. Fun to setup
3. Plays ALL multimedia files
4. Library Management is marvellous
5. Theatre View for use with HTPC is flawless
6. did I say FUN?
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alb

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #285 on: September 03, 2018, 08:42:53 pm »

I first thought of using JRiver to handle Movies & TV Shows...but I was going to leave all of my music alone on MediaMonkey.  I know, right?  I needed to have a theater view for the house and Kodi started giving me problem after problem, so I figured I'd try this 30-Day evaluation with JRiver.  Now, I've decided to migrate my music library in JRiver for one stop shopping.  My music library was about 130,000 songs (Lots of Bootleg concerts for my favorite bands) and I spent months getting it into shape with MM. 

Migrating my music to JRiver has been a miserably slow process, but it's mostly my fault.  One reason I decided to use JRiver for music was for the .cue/.flac (or .ape or .wv, etc) support.  MediaMonkey doesn't support that natively and I feel like crying when I think of how many .flac files I had to split with CUE Tools so MM could work with the individual tracks - it's the only way it knows how, natively.  I recently learned there was a custom script that would load .cue files, but by time I learned about that I had already made the decision to go with JRiver for my music too.  And we all know there are no takesy backsies allowed.  ;D

I'm starting to come around to the way JRiver works, but there are a lot of things I don't care for and/or have not gotten used to.  Also, I have read so many posts on this forum here and elsewhere and people are talking about how powerful JRiver is and how you can do so much...but unfortunately, I can't seem to find any examples of these wonderful possibilities.  I was hoping to find some videos on YouTube for Mid-Skilled and Advanced-Skilled usage of JRiver.  The only videos I found were 15 minute videos explaining how to import music files or some other very basic functions that most people would have no trouble figuring out in 5 or 10 minutes.

I do believe that in time I will come to love JRiver.  I know that it's hard to make major software switches.  15 years of MediaMonkey usage in a bit different than 15 weeks of JRiver.
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JimH

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #286 on: September 04, 2018, 05:44:08 am »

Split a reply to Cataloguing Fun
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carlismysecondname

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #287 on: October 04, 2018, 10:47:10 pm »

It was the VST support. Without the VST support I would have never bought something like JRiver. There's already a gazillion other free music players out there. Bought a couple of VST plugins years ago, and while Foobar2000 could run them it doesn't have something like WDM which JRiver has (as far as I know). I can watch Youtube or Netflix movies and have the sound processed through the plugins. I don't have to use Spotify's (or whatever player's) basic -- or non-existent -- equalizer. Well, for just basic equalizer use, I could use miniDSP for almost all my setups... but VSTs are so much more convenient and no new hardware needed. I remember trying Dirac (standalone without JRiver) but wasn't entirely happy with the sound so I'm sticking with my VSTs. Native video, photo, streaming and other features just happened to be extras I didn't care about AT FIRST as I originally just used "audio mode" exclusively for some time. I can't say JRiver is better for photos than other programs like ACDsee or Lightroom, but at least its very functional. There's always room for improvement in those other areas. In terms of just pure audio, JRiver is quite close to absolutely perfect.
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Joaquindapark

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #288 on: October 28, 2018, 08:33:58 pm »

My brother spent tens of thousands on a very nice hi res music system. The Id seemed to me to be a cost effective high res music server. And it came loaded with MC.
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kombat30d

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #289 on: November 03, 2018, 06:33:04 am »

I choose JRiver because I was and am very picky about how my media is displayed.  My music collection is expansive and so is my other media.  I have an 8 disk (expandable to 12 disks) Snology NAS that currently has 37 TB, only 17TB is free right now, and it is full of nothing but movies, music, tv shows and everything.  And YES I also subscribe to Netflix and the like but they don't have everything and I do not feel like subscribing to 18 different places just to watch an old Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode back to back with the latest Avenger's movie right after listing to a couple hours of Indi rock.  I can do all of that with a couple clicks of JRiver and on EVERY TV IN THE HOUSE!  And I have a lot of tv's!

I can choose the media art that is displayed, I can add additional info to the movies like a movie counter so I know exactly which movie I have and each movie can have its own independent identifier.  I can rate the movies according to how I like the movie instead of how others like the movies.  I can even make a play list for myself making binge watching more fun!  Say on Halloween for instance, I can set up a playlist for all day to watch all of the Halloween movies in order OR I can watch just the classics, first Halloween, first Friday The 13th, first Chucky etc, and I don't have to click on anything, just let it run.  Once it's set it's set.

I researched all of this before joining way back in the day and I have been a loyal customer ever since.  NO one else has the system JRiver has and I have tried a lot of them.  Believe me on this. 
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Graham Hitchcox

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #290 on: November 05, 2018, 09:26:03 pm »

My brother spent tens of thousands on a very nice hi res music system. The Id seemed to me to be a cost effective high res music server. And it came loaded with MC.

1. JRemote
2. Multiple platforms, Mac in particular
3. DSD playback

In that order. ;)
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Brumel

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #291 on: December 17, 2018, 12:28:26 pm »

To sum it up.
1)Recommended by HiFi mags.
2)Sound quality. Plays native DSD through Asio that my IFI iDSD supports.
After I got the trial version and downloaded it to my Asus Vivo Mini I discovered some other features.
3)Simplicity.
4)Loads of user-ability and boxes to tick. Easy to omit files and formats. Gapless and various fade out options.
5)Plays entire albums that my Network player Denon DNP-730AE has great pain with.

I couldn't be bothered with video codec hell.
I've used a good number of decent Media players including VLC, RealPlayer, MediaMonkey, Plex and Kodi. Started out as a PC-user and as storage became cheaper it was evident that PC could render music almost up to CD-player standard if one could kill that HD/fan/processor that always seems to work overtime.
Lap-tops and more noiseless processors made that possible.

I wanted flac so I got Media Monkey in 2010 to rip my cd's and stored them on a Qnap NAS.

Then I ditched my Vista PC and went over to MAC. Snow Leopard was clearly better than Windows 7 when it came to sound-quality.

I have 3 Macs now and I like the simple Midi window where you select output.

However Hi-res music has arrived. I'm a regular buyer of HDtracks and it came with a downloader from JRiver.
Since I have many HDtracks albums I thought they would benefit from MC 24 so I went out and bought a Windows 10 PC. And the first program I downloaded apart from the anti-virus was MC 24.

Now my old Vista PC is almost derelict and no longer supported. But the music collection is alive.
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adamh222

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #292 on: January 03, 2019, 09:16:52 am »

Dearest JRiver, why did I choose you? Let me count the ways.

1. Originally because it played .ape files.
2. Music Library Cataloging - I prefer my digital music library to be organized and uniform - I love that I can F6 incoming music and easily format to my preference.
3. Because iTunes.  Used it initially with the purchase of an apple product and hated the lack of custom functionality.
4. Because of this support forum.
5. I'm in love with JimH (hint: I'm right behind you)
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zxsix

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #293 on: January 15, 2019, 06:43:16 pm »

It's been 10 years, but these were or are the top items in no particular order:
  • flac audio
  • library server.  I play to a copy of MC at work and JRemote in the car.
  • Theater view
  • Easy use of bluray rips with ROHQ that just works
  • It's a REAL database, not an xml file or collection of flat files
  • Multi-zone audio playback.  I don't join zones, but there are 5 zones that I could be playing something at any given time.
  • Transcode flac to mp3 to sync to portable devices
  • The power of expressions and customizable database fields
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livingondogfood

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #294 on: January 28, 2019, 11:37:45 am »

there was an evolution.
at first I used what came with windows, then moved to MusicMatch, that died and I also started hearing about hi-res.
so I did some research (and bought a DAC and amplifier) and there was basically foobar and JRiver, that was around v.20. I bought v.21 and was so happy with the sound quality, how customizable it is and it did all I needed eliminating other software (burning/ripping).
I think it's a fantastic program so I've stayed with it, upgrading every year. love the x64 version :)
I stick with what meets my needs and I really like, so why waste time looking around. JRiver does it!
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biblio

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #295 on: February 14, 2019, 08:26:50 pm »

Audio Tagging. The tagging interface is hands down the best on the market of anything I've used. I don't even actually use MC for playback yet on my desktop but i still bought a full linux licence just to keep tagging.

My next step is to make sure i can sync play history between my MC servers / rhythmbox / ampache. I have about 14 years of music history which i sync between rhythmbox and ampache using SQL/Python/tsv files. This is all automated so I need the same thing to actually be present on MC when i go back and forth.

There are perl tools on the forums i need to work on but haven't had time to start.
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Teddyboy

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #296 on: March 05, 2019, 10:18:08 pm »

I stumbled across HTPCs on avsforum, and started learning about the various software platforms along with the hardware to support the application(s). I built my first HTPC using a Kanam HT200B case, gigabyte LGA775 motherboard, dual core pentium, dual tuner capture card p, and IR blasters for my two cable set top boxes! I was going to use SageTV, and I even bought license for it. Then shortly after that I came across XP Windows Media Center. Back then the only way you could get it was on a OEM system builders disc. I was hooked.

They used to have a monthly computer show at The Scottish Rite Center here in San Diego. First part of 2005 I bought the disc with some other hardware there and at another place called PCAlchemy through thier website. I put it all together installed XP Media center, and I was off to the races.

Shortly after that I discovered MyMovies. I used it mostly for cataloging because at that time hardrives where pretty expensive. Anyone remember that Nividia DVD codec you had to buy separately? I used to just stick a disc in the dvdrom to rip my CDs to MP3s, and Media Center would do the rest. I was shielded by a lot of the complexity of tagging and organization. I’ve been using Windows Media Center up until very recently with TMT.

Which brings me to JRiver Media Center. What do I like about it? The number one thing for me is the built in player for DVDs and Blu-Rays. It does playback with menus! Everything I’ve thrown at it plays with out a problem. The picture is great, and I don’t have to be concerned about codecs! It just works. I like theatre view, and I can pick different skins though I’m rather fond of MetroX. Unlike PowerDVD there’s no special command that I have to use to force it to close to give up focus to get back to media center.

It would be nice if we had a actual application for creating theatre view skins like SageTV had with Sage studio.

I’ve never really been a big audio enthusiast, but now that I’m discovering what JRiver can do. I want to better organize and re-rip my CDs 1:1 now. SACDs! I had no idea you could play them. The tagging and organization is great, and I’ve just barely scratched the surface. I like the ability to pick only the formats you are interested in.

Zones, and there is so much more. It’s not an easy application, but little by little I’m getting the hang of it. Now I want to run out and buy a DAC, receiver, and speakers. I haven’t owned a receiver in over 20 years!
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Skyx

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #297 on: March 10, 2019, 01:18:33 pm »

I just ditched Kodi that I've been using in conjunction with MPC Videoplayer.
JRiver is not an easy app though... getting through customization is a major task that requires a LOT of reading ;-)
However, iso support, HD Sound support, Harmony remote usability out of the box and not the least MadVR and custom filter support along with the fabulous Theater UI, is for me the reason I chose JRiver.

BR
Sky
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gj_1970

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #298 on: March 17, 2019, 01:35:56 am »

I like jriver because of it's feature to move bass to subwoofer which no other player like Kodi or vlc had.
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ferrarabrainpan

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Re: Why did you choose JRiver?
« Reply #299 on: March 20, 2019, 02:32:19 pm »

Initially chose this great program for DSD playback after purchasing a new stereo system and deciding to upgrade my digital music library from iTunes and MP3 to uncompressed and high-res audio. The learning curve was a bit challenging but the flexibility of MC24 is amazing in terms of library management, file playback and processing, and depth of features and functions. I've got separate outboard DACs (one handles DSD and my main DAC does not) and a range of channel formats and with MC24 I can choose how to downmix or downsample when necessary and create zones for different file types, create multiple library views. I'm sure I've barely scratched the surface of what this software does but I can't think of a reason to consider any other media player than JRiver, my most worthy software investment for sure.
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