INTERACT FORUM

More => Old Versions => JRiver Media Center 19 for Mac => Topic started by: dgw on March 17, 2014, 07:31:07 am

Title: MC18 vs MC19
Post by: dgw on March 17, 2014, 07:31:07 am
I am still using MC18 last build on a partition on MacBook Pro 2.66 Ghz Intel Core i7, two cores, 8Gb Ram and HD changed now to SSD. And using Mytek Stereo 192 Dac. Sounds good, especially since changing to SSD. Currently running OSX10.6.8 - Snow Leopard - because it is easier to tweak but could easily upgrade to Mavericks or Mountain Lion if needed. I have several DSD album downloads and would like to hear what they sound like on River compared with currently used players for DSD which do not sound that great via my Mac. I bought a license for MC19 as soon as it was announced but have never downloaded it and never tried it.
Questions please ( always concerning on Mac ) :
1. Is audio on MC19 now as good as MC18 ?
2. If audio on MC19 is not now as good as MC19, when do you think it will reach that point ?
3. Is MC19 expected to eventually be better audio than MC18 ?
4. What is optimum OSX version needed to run MC19 using DSD, and does DSD now sound as it should or are you still improving it ?
5. Do you find running MC18 on Mountain Lion or Mavericks gives audio improvements over using Snow Leopard ?

Thanks very much for replies - i will then hopefully be in a position to judge whether to run MC19 in tandem with MC18 and whether to change the OSX.
Title: Re: MC18 vs MC19
Post by: MrC on March 17, 2014, 11:30:51 am
You can try MC19 to best judge for yourself.  Otherwise, its like asking if it is cold enough that you should wear a jacket.

See the release notes for a list of changes since MC18:

   http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes_MC19_Mac (http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Release_Notes_MC19_Mac)
Title: Re: MC18 vs MC19
Post by: dgw on March 18, 2014, 01:05:18 pm
Totally unhelpful answer but never mind I will try again to get some info I cannot find on the website :
The latest version of MC19 runs on Mavericks only. ( 10.9 )
Is there a version of MC19 that runs on Snow Leopard ( 10.6 ) or Mountain Lion ( 10.8 ) and if so please be so kind as to advise the download link.

Kindly note : this has nothing to do with the weather, the climate or clothing and is hopefully easy to understand.
Title: Re: MC18 vs MC19
Post by: glynor on March 18, 2014, 03:17:53 pm
The latest version of MC19 runs on Mavericks only. ( 10.9 )

Not correct at all.

MC19 runs on 10.6.8.
Requires an Intel CPU, and 10.7+ is preferred.  More info:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Installation_%26_Removal#System_Requirements

All features may not be available on all OSes, as usual.  In particular, the Integer playback mode requires Mavericks, because that is something enabled by Mavericks APIs.

Is there a version of MC19 that runs on Snow Leopard ( 10.6 ) or Mountain Lion ( 10.8 ) and if so please be so kind as to advise the download link.

Yes.  The regular download will work.

Totally unhelpful answer

How??  He told you that you could try it to answer your own questions, and referred you to a list of changes since MC18.  What's the problem with that?  You never made it clear that you were confused over installation requirements.  You just said "I own it, but didn't try it".

That seemed like you were too lazy to do your own legwork, and wanted one of us to figure stuff out for you (and stuff which is entirely subjective, to boot).

So his response was entirely reasonable: Try it yourself, buddy.   ::)

Not sure what the issue is... If you want to see if there is better performance or features or whatever on Mavericks, use an external drive and boot to that, so you keep your existing SL install untouched.  OSX is so easy to clone and boot to external disks... There's just no excuse.
Title: Re: MC18 vs MC19
Post by: MrC on March 18, 2014, 06:02:54 pm
I sure didn't mean to be unhelpful or rude; sorry if it came off that way.

I guess I don't really understand asking others if something sounds better to them, so that I can then decide if it will sound better to me, if I can easily listen first hand myself.  But I suppose you don't have all the different OS versions setup to test, so I can understand why you're asking.

It might be that your base assumption is invalid (MC18 audio is "better" than that on MC19), so really, its probably best to do the install of MC19 and give it a critical listen.  MC19 is likely to be as good as, but probably better than MC18, since 19 is just more features and bug fixes from the stale MC18.
Title: Re: MC18 vs MC19
Post by: bplexico on March 18, 2014, 06:51:02 pm
As someone who used MC 18 extensively and has been using MC 19 for a long time, I would state that from my perspective that the move from 18 to 19 was well worth it, IMHO.

Barr
Title: Re: MC18 vs MC19
Post by: glynor on March 19, 2014, 08:49:05 am
I'm very sorry that you found my reply "unacceptably rude".  I did not intend offense, I was trying to explain where MrC was coming from (and he also surely did not intend offense).

I'd also like to point out that you've been immediately offended by two of the most helpful (and generally least aggressive) users here on Interact (not to toot my own horn, but I think most people would agree with that statement).  So I suspect that perhaps you might need to adjust your "filters" and try to give people here the benefit of the doubt.  Most times, here at least, people are sincere and not trying to be rude or aggressive.  To be clear, neither MrC or I work for JRiver.  We are users like you who are donating our time freely.

I admit, I was exasperated by your response to MrC's well-reasoned original response, and that certainly came through in my reply.  Again, I apologize and meant no personal offense.

As far as your original questions, I believe they've been asked and answered to the best of our ability.  Whether something "sounds good" is an entirely subjective query and it is not possible to provide a definitive answer to your query.  Both MC18 and MC19 have bit-perfect output, and utilize the same underlying technology with incremental improvements.  There are some new features in MC19, which are addressed to some degree in the link MrC provided and other information easily found on this forum.

Especially since MC19 will run on OSX 10.6.8, and since you said you already own a license, I'd stand by the suggestion that you try it and evaluate it yourself.  If you want to avoid messing with your existing OSX installation (which is understandable) then Carbon Copy Cloner (http://www.bombich.com/) and an external USB hard drive (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1948) make it extremely easy to copy your existing installation over to another disk, which you can boot and upgrade to 10.9 without impacting your original installation.

Please don't hesitate to ask if you have additional questions that we can answer, but also please bear in mind that it is very difficult to read "tone" in forum posts properly, and try to give responders the benefit of the doubt (at least until they very clearly cross the line, upon which time action will be taken).  Thanks.
Title: Re: MC18 vs MC19
Post by: JimH on March 19, 2014, 09:01:31 am
I don't think anyone was rude.  The original question could have been answered by the poster by trying MC19.  That's what MrC recommended.  When dgw didn't like it, glynor backed up MrC's advice.  I would, too.

So now that we're over that ....

dgw, please try it and report back.  Once you've got it running to your satisfaction, you can uninstall MC18.  Don't try to keep and use both.