INTERACT FORUM
More => Old Versions => JRiver Media Center 25 for Windows => Topic started by: JimH on January 25, 2019, 06:16:48 pm
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This is just a brainstorming thread. What are the big picture ideas we should pay attention to?
I'm going to pour cold water on a couple of them.
Tidal or Qobuz or other streaming services. They're financially unstable and we can't rely on them. Sorry.
MQA -- Solution in pursuit of a problem.
My big picture thoughts include:
Android -- it's gaining steam and won't just be an OS for phones or tablets.
Touch screen -- everything we do should work with touch screens.
Security -- MC communications should be completely secure.
Streaming -- Radio JRiver, Radio Paradise, and similar
Metadata -- Making online lookup easier
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How about Apple CarPlay / Android Auto apps so we can stream our JRiver music collections on the road. Panel, as it currently exists, isn't a good answer here as Apple CarPlay, at least, doesn't support using a web browser. I'm not very familiar with how an app gets certified for these 2 car based systems, but other music streaming apps from Tidal, Spotify, SiriusXM, and others are available on Apple CarPlay.
On a similar note, come up with a more robust streaming solution with better buffering and more robust recovery that works well with a 4G cell connection when driving through areas with less than optimal service. I've found that when using JRemote or Panel in my car, it works quite well until I hit an area with less than optimal service at which point it pretty much throws in the towel. It's usually an exercise in frustration to get going again at that point. I've got Gigabit FIOS at the house, the JRiver system has a Gigabit connection to the router (I'm using a Ubiquiti router and HP ProCurve switches), and everything works great when I'm home so I'm pretty confident the problem isn't with my home network infrastructure, but rather in how JRemote recovers from glitches in the connectivity. When driving in the same areas, the other streaming apps I use seem to generally recover gracefully from temporary blips in connectivity.
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Integrated Support for more than just DLNA: Lots of the newer devices support Chromecast / Google Home, Airplay, Spotify Connect, Alexa etc
- MC is unable to nativly see these devices.
- Use of third party tools (BubbleUPnP, TuneBlade, HiFy all provide various bridges) but it adds a layer of complexity that is hard to manage
- Would be OK if it was a collaboration with the existing tool providers and that support became a paid Plug-In for MC.
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I agree completely with jmone. Chromecast & Airplay support would be killer. I use Apple for mobile, so I'll speak to that.
An Apple TV can act as an Airplay receiver: from your mobile device you can cast audio/video/apps to the AppleTV. There are 3rd party software products that provide this Airplay receiver capability to Windows PCs, but it would be killer to have this built into MC, since it controls the HTPC.
Some receivers (Yamaha, Denon, and others) have limited Airplay receiver support, meaning your mobile device can cast audio only. But it's the video support they lack, and the video support that's killer.
You could instantly throw pictures from your phone up to your HTPC screen, without syncing. You can cast video from apps you have on your mobile device (Like HBO Go or AmazonVideo).
So it would be a huge win to have full Airplay Receiver (audio/video/photo/screen) support (and the Chromecast equivalent) built into MC.
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What I would like to see in the versions:
Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support. I'm spending a lot of my time driving and the current solution are not satisfactory
Chromecast support
A binding for openHAB
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Could I suggest looking at a simplied internet radio interface. I know I can add a internet radio station as a playlist (this is how I added a link to BBC 6 Music before I could go into BBC world service on the streaming page and switch in that app to 6 music) but it would be great to be able to set up favorite station for easier access .
Currently it seems If I want to say access say Absolute Radio through MC I seem to onlty to be able by going in to BBC world service and then as the BBC app is actually the Radio Player app searching for Absolute Radio there which is fiddily to put it likely
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A Theater View Client on Android TV.
I know that I would be responsible for the purchase of at least 3 more copies of the Android version.
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AAC-HE audio encoding for streaming to Panel (and?) JRemote, etc.
This should be a number one priority for your mobile focused updates.
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We plan to support both AAC and Opus for streaming in the future. However, most likely only AAC-LC at first, since AAC-HE encoders are not easily available without added licensing costs.
But the vast majority of recent mobile devices support Opus already today, which can easily match AAC in quality.
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Since a few years I'd like to see Airplay (2) support. I would like to be able to
1. play from MC/JRemote to Airplay clients
2. play from Airplay clients to MC (and to JRemote?)
And I would like to see
3. a more macOS-like "MC for Mac" experience (I won't go into detail, lots of things can be found by searching the forums)
4. iOS integration of JRemote.
5. Feature parity across OS's (not completely possible though, e.g. madVR)
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Purchased your Android App already to support it and like that you are pursuing Chrome.
MC is for the PC and is amazing.
Need clients and portals to tap into it on as many screens as possible.
What would it take to get working apps on Fire TV or Roku?
These are what most people are using, not HTPCs and Rasperry Pi.
I look at Plex and am envious, as its' apps are beautiful, modern and everywhere.
JRemote is a wonderful example of using the power and incredible customization of MC and presenting it in a modern looking, easy to use form on a device that people actually use.
(Want The MC android app to look and work like it except for local storage.)
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Would love Chromecast support.
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Better metadata tools and resources to help manage large media collections.
Saw lyrics look-up coming in 25, will be great as long as it will write the data to the lyrics field.
Saw related artist coming!
So Excited!
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My big picture thoughts include:
Android -- it's gaining steam and won't just be an OS for phones or tablets.
Touch screen -- everything we do should work with touch screens.
Security -- MC communications should be completely secure.
Streaming -- Radio JRiver, Radio Paradise, and similar
Metadata -- Making online lookup easier
I agree with all of those.
Touchscreen development seems to have been on pause for the last 2 years. I use touch screen all the time with MC in standard view and would like to see it further developed.
I would change Security to Security/Privacy. It seems people are waking up to how creepy and weird person data collection has become. Embracing fully offline compatibility can be a selling feature. I would like to see a menu or options section that can download all of the online components that MC uses so MC isn't broken when using offline.
Metadata for albums scraped from MusicBrainz would be awesome.
I would add Podcasts to the list. Podcasts are taking off lately and MC already has pretty good support for them, but I would like to see some attention given to MC's Podcast features/interface.
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On the Metadata side: http://chapterdb.org/# has chapter names for Videos (in MC you currently get Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc instead of 1 A New World 00:00:00, 2 You are not in Kansas anymore 00:06:17.9608888 etc). They have an API (I use it for Swag of Tools).
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Streaming:
- Some love for podcasts would be appreciated. Namely ability to play/download and see subscribed feed when there is no local copy (yet) of the file. It is possible in Standard View so why not make it work also in Theater View and JRemote/Panel.
- Support for more protocols for playback. Chromecast etc from MC itself.
- "Seamless" playback switching from different devices. Say I'm listening to audiobook, album or playing video from my smart phone and come home and want to continue it easily on my home stereos / TV
Security
- Secure connection for JRemote is a must to make it safer to use.
Metadata
- Not only automatically collecting valid metadata but ability to use and show it. Example: in TheaterView I'm on movie details view with actors in it. Now I want to select an actor and see all movies I have where he/she plays. Same for composers and that kind of multi value fields. That would be doable with current navigation system I think as linking with basic fields already works. Visualizing artist bio / album info / Series info etc grouped data might be harder to implement with current navigation
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With the shift to 4k panels it might be a good idea to add a super HQ madVR profile for beefy GPUs (say, beyond a gtx 1050 ti or 1060) using NGU or super XBR upsampling.
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I've removed some rambling posts. Please be brief and try to focus on the big picture.
Sound quality discussions are for another time or place. They can get absurdly subjective and contentious very quickly. We believe we provide the best quality sound possible.
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To be honest.. There's actually not really that many if any real important features missing. Just improvements to UI and 3rd party renderers.
1. Chromecast as a zone (both audio and video)
2. If your not doing an overhaul of TheatreView (which seems unlikely given how many years we've asked for this) how about at least improving movie overlays when you bring up bottom overlay in display view with coverart and media info (ie 1080P H264 DTS-HDMA 7.1 PG and rating with movie cover artwork) AND player transport controls.
3. Better Youtube integration
The very basic text based overlay has served well but is way behind the times. TheatreView, for all it's quirks is still good enough (just), but overlays surely arent.
As a desktop, the standard view interface on MC is still unrivalled in every department as is metadata and library management.
It's the 10 foot interface that needs the work along with 3rd party renderers (Chromecast and other hardware based non DLNA devices) and youtube that I believe would attract the most new customers. You have everything else well and truly covered and in my opinion, most of the previous "Big Picture" threads have only tinkered around the edges.
I'd like to see you tackle one big thing this year and I don't mind which, but it needs to be big enough to justify a significant focus on development to the benefit of a majority of users, not just corner case users.
Please stop TV and PVR development, and focus on some polish on a big ticket item. 95% of my friends and work colleagues do not watch TV anymore. The younger demographic is closer to 99%. Most of us use TV based streaming or media library device interfaces all the time and MC's interface is well and truly falling behind.
I've now resorted to using another front end and using MC as a server and playback engine only.
I only use MC as an external player in my main theatre room as external playback engine and every other device in the house now doesnt use MC at all. and I love MC. That should tell you something. :-\
PS. I'd pay you more money for a completely separate front end 10 foot interface App compatible with MC and keep traditional MC as a server. (but please not Panel as front end, it needs to be packaged as an App)
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First - I also echo the request to improve YouTube integration.
Also, and don't jump on me for a "dumb" idea... I fall within the group of users that are die-hard fans, loyal supporters but technically just good enough to cause trouble but feel like I am missing 50% of JRiver capability because it requires customization. So here is my big picture idea (more on the support side):
One of JRiver's great strengths (I think) is its expert community. For some of us that occasionally struggle with modifications or customization - set up a live chat feature that would enable users to work with a core set of approved "Admins" or super users to get help or get something modified. As a feature of this, allow for users to share screens and give temporary control to the expert. This could work for many requests but of course not all.
When you research similar products or read through other community forums, the one complaint I see mentioned a lot is the learning curve of JRiver... the customization side. The product has come a long way in that area but I think there is still a certain level of intimidation that keeps some people away.
Food for thought... not necessarily a fully baked idea but wanted to throw it out there.
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First - I also echo the request to improve YouTube integration.
Also, and don't jump on me for a "dumb" idea... I fall within the group of users that are die-hard fans, loyal supporters but technically just good enough to cause trouble but feel like I am missing 50% of JRiver capability because it requires customization. So here is my big picture idea (more on the support side):
One of JRiver's great strengths (I think) is its expert community. For some of us that occasionally struggle with modifications or customization - set up a live chat feature that would enable users to work with a core set of approved "Admins" or super users to get help or get something modified. As a feature of this, allow for users to share screens and give temporary control to the expert. This could work for many requests but of course not all.
When you research similar products or read through other community forums, the one complaint I see mentioned a lot is the learning curve of JRiver... the customization side. The product has come a long way in that area but I think there is still a certain level of intimidation that keeps some people away.
Food for thought... not necessarily a fully baked idea but wanted to throw it out there.
This could go hand-in-hand with a built-in web-based VNC server for easy remote access to standard view.
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There's more to casting than Chromecast. :) (Although Chromeacast started with 'DIAL')
Please also look at DIAL 'DIscovery And Launch'. Work's on modern TVs (apparently) and Roku. . .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_and_Launch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_and_Launch)
http://www.dial-multiscreen.org/details-for-developers (http://www.dial-multiscreen.org/details-for-developers)
https://www.howtogeek.com/215791/use-your-tv%E2%80%99s-hidden-%E2%80%9Cdial%E2%80%9D-feature-to-cast-netflix-and-youtube-without-a-chromecast/ (https://www.howtogeek.com/215791/use-your-tv%E2%80%99s-hidden-%E2%80%9Cdial%E2%80%9D-feature-to-cast-netflix-and-youtube-without-a-chromecast/)
Spike
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Support for VR headsets. With your stated mission of "Any media, anytime, anywhere. Deliver highest quality whenever possible." I think this is a big opportunity for you as the current video players are... lacking.
Integrated Amazon Echo/Google home device support.
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One of JRiver's great strengths (I think) is its expert community. For some of us that occasionally struggle with modifications or customization - set up a live chat feature that would enable users to work with a core set of approved "Admins" or super users to get help or get something modified. As a feature of this, allow for users to share screens and give temporary control to the expert. This could work for many requests but of course not all.
That is called Paid Support.
Maybe JRiver could facilitate matching users who need help with users who have the skills to help, and then an arrangement is worked out between the two. But that type of support is a whole magnitude of frustration above the simple and arms length Forum support provided. As a regular commentator, I would expect payment for that level of support. It wouldn't be cheap. It requires infrastructure, and investment, such as licenced copies of Teamviewer or similar. It also implies accountability, whether paid or not, particularly if you are running remote access sessions.
There are sites where their sole business is matching "Experts" to users who need help. I've never found one that had JRiver experts on it though.
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Interesting that this is my first post and I am probably one of the earliest adopters of JRiver when it was in the low single digit versions.
With that, I will be the first guy to opt in for a much larger annual/version rate to support the always tremendous development that comes from these cats. It is almost an insurmountable task for a small group like JRiver to do what they have already done so well all this time. I get that there are features that we would love but the tasks of coding and certifications is just ridiculous. It's RD costs are staggering nevertheless having a feasibility issue to determine if the input brings a profitable output for those efforts.
If the fine folks at JRiver ever want to think about having an upper tear shot at some of those desired upper-end features, I would be the first guy to jump in at a $100 plus version. I wouldn't think about that twice. I too would like to see a few others and a more robust Apple Play integration would be awesome but at the end of the day, JRiver Media is still and will remain so as my go-to playback and output product regardless of the haves vs. wants. At the end of the same day, I want my audio to sound exceptional and it does just that so Ill hold out for a feature here or there but i'd pay out the Wazoo for it too!
Keep up the good work guys! ;D
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JRiver Theater View on Android TV (nVidia Shield TV) would be fantastic. Managed from the desktop version and then Android TV app client just connects to the shared library.
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For movies and TV shows is difficult for me to come back to use an HTPC as a renderer device. Although HTPCs with JRiver are very powerful and customizable machines, I get the service I need from small boxes in more friendly way, with fast interfaces, and wit 99% of features I could need (from video rendering perspective), and many of them are also cheaper alternatives.
If JRiver would develop a client version (in the video rendering arena) for android/Linux small boxes with a friendly UI fully usable with a remote, it could become a serious contender. However, competition is already though in those environments. Not sure which could offer JRiver that other ones already don't. Maybe you can find some unique and really valuable features by many users which aren't well solved.or aren't found in the rivals.
As server+library manager JRiver is still a really good option. However I do miss a full remote library/server managment through JRiver clients or through web interfaces. Headless server isn't an option to fully manage a JRiver server.
I also miss better tutorial/help in the product itself to get advantage of most powerful and unique features without spending hours in forum or wiki.
And... IMHO the UI needs a revamp.
Thanks for your time.
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A Theater View Client on Android TV.
I know that I would be responsible for the purchase of at least 3 more copies of the Android version.
+1
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I can permanently change the volume level of a track or album by using DSP when converting file format in library tools but the result is random (though usually 0.0 db). It would be nice to have the option to select a specific R128 Volume Level - most imported albums have a higher level.
PS I have mentioned it before but could you stop highlighting the edges of thumbnails in the main desktop view - images in 'view first file' do not have this highlighting.
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Much of the work I have done over the years in managing a Media Center library has been dealing with the creation of custom tags and complex categorization systems to work around certain UI behaviors etc.
Modern media platforms have none of this; search is the way that you interact with your media library.
Media Center's search function is basic, and limited to the current view. (it has also become very slow on my system now, and there are no tools to diagnose this)
Search should become the main interface for Media Center, not a static library.
Rich search results and context-aware actions for those results is the way forward.
- If I search for an album name, selecting it plays the album.
- If I search for a TV series, it picks up where I last left it, and queues up the rest of the series.
- If I search for a director or actor it will take me to a list of their movies etc.
If I subscribe to Spotify, I can play any song or album in seconds. If I subscribe to Netflix, the same is true for TV shows and movies.
If I buy Media Center, I'm setting myself up to become a librarian.
Now I absolutely understand that there are people who want to deal with this, and I'm not saying that browsing should disappear - there are times when it's still useful. But it's becoming less and less appealing as time goes on, as everything else moves towards search-based interfaces.
Search should become the primary interface, with browsing/management having less of a priority.
This is particularly bothersome on mobile clients.
Management of views for Gizmo/DLNA clients or Theater View is even more frustrating than normal view management is. It takes far longer to set up and test a view for them.
This would not only be a modern interface for Media Center, it's also how you build a touch-friendly interface.
Moving to a search-based UI may help alleviate many of the issues that Panel currently suffers from as well (being very slow for manual browsing).
The subtitle renderer needs work.
It cannot handle complex subtitles, so it ends up covering the screen in garbage and dropping frames whenever a subtitle is displayed.
Every other media player that I have tried - even free iOS clients (since video playback has been broken in JRemote for years now) - has had no issue rendering these subtitles correctly.
The entire way that Zones are handled needs completely overhauled, but you clearly think that it's fine, since the solution to many of Media Center's problems is "add more zones!" as if that isn't making things worse.
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Media Center's search function is basic, and limited to the current view. (it has also become very slow on my system now, and there are no tools to diagnose this)
How many files are in your library? I thought even 50,000, 100,000 and more files still yielded extremely fast search results. My library is tiny compared to many at under 10,000 files and it's almost real time as I type my search term.
Global variables slow things down massively as far as I have read. Do you use those in views?
Brian.
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You may be using custom views with expressions that slow things down.
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Yeah, that's odd as with my library of over 100,000 music files in FLAC and DSF search is very quick, in many cases near instantaneous.
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How many files are in your library? I thought even 50,000, 100,000 and more files still yielded extremely fast search results. My library is tiny compared to many at under 10,000 files and it's almost real time as I type my search term.
Global variables slow things down massively as far as I have read. Do you use those in views?
Brian.
Around 200,000 files. I have just culled a lot to see if it improves things.
I am not sure if I'm using global variables in my expressions, but I did start work on simplifying/recreating some of my views to see if it would help.
But this is part of the problem: there's nothing in Media Center that I am aware of which gives me an idea of what is slowing things down. I just have to guess.
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Why don't you set up a test library and use the stock views?
You could also try backing up your views and deleting them.
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Apple TV client.
Android TV client
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto clients
that about covers my family’s needs.
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In theater view: an intelligent sorting function for movies.
Movies are shown in alphabetic order. Has anyone seen the sorting of caleidoscope software? If you focus on a specific movie, it automatically positions „similar“ movies around. That is a cool feature, based on the tags.
Kind of playdoctor for movies.
That would even make the limitations of the theater view acceptable ;D
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I'm going to pour cold water on a couple of them.
Tidal or Qobuz or other streaming services. They're financially unstable and we can't rely on them. Sorry.
True enough. Hard for me to imagine that the market can sustain both Tidal and Qobuz. BUT they have a following of sorts, and competitive software player does integrate with. I find them invaluable for auditioning music before purchase or for music that I only expect to listen to once or twice.
With all due respect, however, isn't the real obstacle the licensing fees that the streaming services demand? I recognize that MC has a lot of capability for the price, and I suspect your price can't be sustained with streaming fees included. Nevertheless there is workaround available to Windows users via WDM that is not available to Mac users such as me. I don't think that's fair, and I don't think its unreasonable to ask for your team to look at some kind of Mac workaround.
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WDM is a Windows-only driver, in fact WDM stands for Windows Driver Model. I'm not sure how viable an equivalent on Mac and Linux would be - if I had to guess, it's likely not simple to do.
And it isn't as simple as licensing fees. Do a search of some of the old Tidal threads from a few years back, JRiver actually had working Tidal integration but had to pull it when Tidal demanded (if I recall correctly) some say in the UI aspect, which JRiver wasn't willing to give (again, as far as I recall, I'm sure Jim can refresh our memories if I'm wrong which I could be). Nonetheless what happened, that whole experience just wasted time and money for JRiver, so that's why they're resistant in integrating another streaming service like Qobuz which honestly may not (and likely will not if history has anything to say about it) be around in the long run.
I'm honestly surprised Tidal is still around. I would've assumed it would've either gone under or was sold to a bigger company (e.g. Apple) by now.
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WDM is a Windows-only driver, in fact WDM stands for Windows Driver Model. I'm not sure how viable an equivalent on Mac and Linux would be - if I had to guess, it's likely not simple to do.
Given how much easier it is to create a loopback device on Linux (dunno about osx), i very much doubt this is a hard thing to do (also no faffing around with driver signing requirements either)
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I'd just like some way to use a TV directly as a client device, maybe using the built-in Roku app as a bridge if necessary. I don't want to have to mount a PC or PI on the wall under the TV.
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Does the TV support DLNA? Most new TV's do.
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I've removed some rambling posts. Please be brief and try to focus on the big picture.
Sound quality discussions are for another time or place. They can get absurdly subjective and contentious very quickly. We believe we provide the best quality sound possible.
I really like the recommendation engine and the quality of the playlists built by Spotify
Only if JRiver could connect and read these playlists.
Not interested in WDM solution as I (still) want JRiver be my home application.
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JRemote for Windows, for users of netbooks and SurfacePros.
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JRemote for Windows, for users of netbooks and SurfacePros.
Don't think that'll ever happen. Windows' market share is simply too low to invest development resources into a more-or-less dead platform. I'm mainly referring to Modern/UWP apps, of course. On those non-ARM CPU systems you can also just run the full Media Center app as a client and use that as a remote... or there's always Panel. :)
Then again, there is a UWP version of MO 4Media for Windows 10 available here: https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,119267.0.html
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I really like the recommendation engine and the quality of the playlists built by Spotify
Only if JRiver could connect and read these playlists.
Not interested in WDM solution as I (still) want JRiver be my home application.
Have you tried Play Doctor?
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Give some attention to the IMAGES leg of MC's tripod. Such as:
1. Store in-file image tags in the major format of today, used by Adobe tools including Lightroom and PhotoShop. Essentially this means proper slashes (forward or back) and delimiters, likely not difficult to implement. (I'm no fan of Adobe but they have essentially defined this, with widespread support, after years of rambling formats used by various brands and apps. Adobe has a document that defines the tag format that is now industry-standard.
2. Strive to integrate uploading/downloading/syncing with the twin 800-pound gorillas of "serious" online photos storage, SmugMug and Flickr. They are now owned by the same company so perhaps this can be a do-it-once-forever task. A variety of photo apps have this integration (most popular might be Adobe Lightroom), but not MC, which used to integrate with some now-obsolete services. This isn't quite the same as MC's Export to, since it requires proper tag formatting AND two-way sync.
PS: SmugMug has said MC's tag storage has "wrong" slashes and delimiters, so MC tagged photos uploaded to SmugMug end up with mangled tags that can't be used for selection and display.
PPS: I stress "serious" online storage because what MC needs to tweak is narrow, no reason to deal with all the brain-dead "kids" photo storage: Google Photos, Apple, Amazon, Instagram and others do not support real tags. They are mainly for phone camera uploads that use AI to determine what is in each photo and organize accordingly, in a proprietary database, not actual photo tags. Perhaps simplistic AI organizing is useful for those who want family Christmas pictures to be defined as having a traditional tree, or family vacations defined as involving boating, or family history defined as people with the same faces. And photos of horses, mountains, and ....what? Not one of them can find my carefully scanned ancient photos of Irish family and homesteads, or old school friends seen rarely, or orchestras involving (only) my family, or events where few faces are recognizable, but I know exactly what it is to tag appropriately. Only real tags, applied by a human (me) can properly provide keywords, captions, locations, dates.
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-CarPlay client.
-More "mac-like" interface for Mac version.
-Visual routing of channels for managing inputs/outputs.
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I know streaming is a focus area for you, but I still think it is way more complicated to use than it needs to be.
I'd love to have a front-end for many streaming / catch-up TV services so all programs from many companies are available in one menu structure. I currently jump between BBC iPlayer, all4, nowtv and Amazon prime. I've not subscribed to more because my wife complains she can't find anything. Several of these also stream live, so a smart TV guide that allows you to go back in time would also be brilliant, like the youview or freeview+ systems here in the UK.
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Split UI Suggestions (https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,121413.msg839390.html#msg839390)
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A couple things spring to mind:
- Better Android apps/support
- Integration with a metadata provider like Allmusic. I'd love discoverability and metadata integration within MC. I'd be willing to pay more for it.
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- Integration with a metadata provider like Allmusic. I'd love discoverability and metadata integration within MC. I'd be willing to pay more for it.
If you haven't done so, try the links in the upper right corner of Playing Now:
Amazon AMG Google Images Wiki YouTube
Please be specific about what they are missing.
- Better Android apps/support
Can you expand on that?
On Android, we have Gizmo and JRiver for Android. Panel also works.
There are third party apps.
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If you haven't done so, try the links in the upper right corner of Playing Now:
Amazon AMG Google Images Wiki YouTube
Please be specific about what they are missing.
Can you expand on that?
On Android, we have Gizmo and JRiver for Android. Panel also works.
There are third party apps.
The links are just that- links to pages from those sites for the album/artist I have selected. I am looking for the ability to search or setup playlists in my library based on metadata from Allmusic (etc). For example, I'd like to search my library for Rick Rubin or Laura Mvula and have it return all albums/tracks that those people were involved with (as producer, guest artist, session musician, etc.). Adding all of the possible credits for each track in one's library would be a massive undertaking- but services like AllMusic already catalog such info. If MC could match the music from my library with the entries from their database and search their database and return results in my library that would be pretty amazing. As I intimated, I would expect this to cost more money (perhaps a lots more). I can currently do this with Roon, but I'd rather not have two different music players. I know this is a big ask.
As for Android, let me first make it clear that I am happy user of MC and have been paying for it and upgrades for several years now. That said, when you compare the JRiver Android apps to say the Android Plex client or a music player like Poweramp they are lacking in functionality and stability. Local and remote are split across the Gizmo and JRiver app, the JRiver app itself has limited format support (opus is missing in particular) and way too basic an interface, Gizmo hasn't been updated in years (and doesn't seem to like Android Q). As Android was listed as a possible focus in the OP, I thought I would pile on. A single JRiver Android app that could serve as a great player of music on the local device as well as connect to my JRiver Media Server (and show me my custom views, etc) would be very nice- and again, something I would pay extra for. My focus is on the phone level, but I would think this might apply to other Android platforms as well.
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2. If your not doing an overhaul of TheatreView (which seems unlikely given how many years we've asked for this) how about at least improving movie overlays when you bring up bottom overlay in display view with coverart and media info (ie 1080P H264 DTS-HDMA 7.1 PG and rating with movie cover artwork) AND player transport controls.
+1
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With the growing prevalence of 4K displays combined with 1080p source content, I think it would be good to retest some of the NGU profiles in madVR.
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Any chance of chromecast and airplay support as functional zones?
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Hi everyone! ;D
I'm not going to get into a bunch of background because Jim asked to keep this concise, but I'll say this much: I use Plex for mobile video playback, and MC for all home and computer based playback. My daughter (who is 8, I know) is effectively an expert at navigating the entire Home Theater UI on our TV. She uses Plex on her iPad constantly, and uses JRemote for music. Both apps hit her Parental Controls implemented time limits every day. I'm posting this because I told my daughter I'd ask, and this seemed like the perfect thread in which to put this. If you'd like more background, point me to another thread and I'd be happy to expound in my typical style.
The thing I would like to see more than anything, blue-sky oriented, is simple but complicated: Fix video playback on JRemote (for iOS).
To switch from Plex to JRemote, I'd need:
- When I tap play on a video file in my library and it opens, I must be able to fast-forward and rewind to different locations in the file (within a few seconds of playback starting) via the slider and via 20 sec back/30 sec forward buttons. This is table-stakes. I can't use it the way it behaves for me now.
- Bookmarking support that works and resumes where you left off. Ideally, inter-operates with MC on the desktop's system so if I stop on the TV and then open my iPad and play the same file, it resumes.
- Reliable, somewhat fault-tolerant streaming over the WAN to mobile clients "in the field".
- Offline file playback support. Minimum would be for a way to manually select and download files, and then manually manage/delete the downloads on a file-by-file basis. That is basically what my daughter uses in Plex (though it has some limited and annoying auto-downloading support). An ideal solution would let me select playlists and then JRemote would use the background update API to update itself in the middle of the night while her iPad is plugged in on the nightstand. But, I'd take manual and relatively rudimentary, honestly.
That's what I, and Anika, need more than anything else. No other product currently provides a great experience for us who still want to have our own content libraries, and I think there's a market opportunity. Plex is kind-of there for video, but is really annoying in many ways where MC shines. MC is fantastic for audio on mobile (though my last point I really want for audio too), but is effectively unusable for us for video.
Thanks for listening!
PS. I would pay a subscription for this. I pay Plex $40 per year. Obligatory reference (https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/264/241/9e9.gif).
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I'll add to that, do the same for JRemote for Android, and bring it up to equivalency to the iOS version, and I'll buy it.
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Regarding glynor's very good post (with which I agree completely):
There's a PC/Mac/IOS app that I've been using for years called AirVideo HD.
It works very reliably and smoothly, and does 100% of what glynor wants. They've got streaming down pat.
Maybe JRiver should just buy them...
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- Offline file playback support. Minimum would be for a way to manually select and download files, and then manually manage/delete the downloads on a file-by-file basis. That is basically what my daughter uses in Plex (though it has some limited and annoying auto-downloading support). An ideal solution would let me select playlists and then JRemote would use the background update API to update itself in the middle of the night while her iPad is plugged in on the nightstand.
New app for iOS MO 4Media (not affiliated with JRiver) supposed to be able to do download for offline playback ... and it is subscription base
I downloaded it but have not given it try yet
I run Plex myself just for this (lifetime membership) and only for this
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I'll add to that, do the same for JRemote for Android, and bring it up to equivalency to the iOS version, and I'll buy it.
People keep saying that but never elaborate what that actually means.
In any case, I've been working on JRemote for Android to bring it into 2019, watch out for early beta testing and feedback gathering soon-ish, so we can figure out what those "equivalency" things primarily are. :)
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Still waiting on SSA/ASS subtitles to be able to watch anime on MC
tried converting those to SRT ... whatta mess unless willing spend days to clean that mess
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In any case, I've been working on JRemote for Android to bring it into 2019, watch out for early beta testing and feedback gathering soon-ish
This is great!
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People keep saying that but never elaborate what that actually means.
In any case, I've been working on JRemote for Android to bring it into 2019, watch out for early beta testing and feedback gathering soon-ish, so we can figure out what those "equivalency" things primarily are. :)
Fix the POSIX date display
Add "View Extras"
Fix the random crashes when reordering or editing "playing now" or playlists
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Fix the POSIX date display
Add "View Extras"
Yep, plenty has been said and also concrete things like this during the years. At least I haven't bothered to spend my time to report anything about JRemote anymore as it was said to have no new development.
So it was great news that Hendrik's has been working with that now and also with the OSD in the main program
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Fix the POSIX date display
Add "View Extras"
Fix the random crashes when reordering or editing "playing now" or playlists
Save those for the upcoming JRemote feedback threads later this summer, otherwise it'll just get lost. :)
Still some groundwork to cover before its ready to show and get feedback on.
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At least I haven't bothered to spend my time to report anything about JRemote anymore as it was said to have no new development.
For the record, we've not said that.
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Still waiting on SSA/ASS subtitles to be able to watch anime on MC
We're still planning to do this. Should hopefully be not that much longer, possibly in August.
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In any case, I've been working on JRemote for Android to bring it into 2019, watch out for early beta testing and feedback gathering soon-ish, so we can figure out what those "equivalency" things primarily are. :)
Excellent. If Glynor's requests make it into the update, even better. 8)
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We're still planning to do this. Should hopefully be not that much longer, possibly in August.
Yessssss ... SSA/ASS prepared to be integrated !!!
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For the record, we've not said that.
Well you have rejected all the feature /glitch fix ideas during the years by saying that you are satisfied with JRemote and that nothing is planned for it. Last update for android is from early 2016.
Anyway glad that something is now happening in there also. Hopefully also secure connection like in Panel is implemented so VPN is not needed anymore to be safe.
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Well you have rejected all the feature /glitch fix ideas during the years by saying that you are satisfied with JRemote and that nothing is planned for it.
For the record again, I don't think we've ever "rejected" anything or said we're "satisfied". We just have more requests than it's possible to fulfill.
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2. If your not doing an overhaul of TheatreView (which seems unlikely given how many years we've asked for this) how about at least improving movie overlays when you bring up bottom overlay in display view with coverart and media info (ie 1080P H264 DTS-HDMA 7.1 PG and rating with movie cover artwork)
I would love this too. I mainly use JRM for watching movies and series. All works great, but I would love a bit more modern feel. Fine tune it so to say.
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Subitles Issue I'd like to bump this particular statement up the chain if possible. I've just recently started using 24 and playing with 25 (had 22 and 23 in day-to-day) and both exhibit this behavior. Initially i thought it was my old television, but now I've seen the same behavior on a 2019 TV and a 2018 projector. I am happy with all the other changes, but this one is troublesome.
The subtitle renderer needs work.
It cannot handle complex subtitles, so it ends up covering the screen in garbage and dropping frames whenever a subtitle is displayed.
Every other media player that I have tried - even free iOS clients (since video playback has been broken in JRemote for years now) - has had no issue rendering these subtitles correctly.
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Subitles Issue I'd like to bump this particular statement up the chain if possible. I've just recently started using 24 and playing with 25 (had 22 and 23 in day-to-day) and both exhibit this behavior. Initially i thought it was my old television, but now I've seen the same behavior on a 2019 TV and a 2018 projector. I am happy with all the other changes, but this one is troublesome.
i believe they are working on it ... expected update is in August (see Hendrick comments earlier)... finger crossed :)
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People keep saying that but never elaborate what that actually means.
In any case, I've been working on JRemote for Android to bring it into 2019, watch out for early beta testing and feedback gathering soon-ish, so we can figure out what those "equivalency" things primarily are. :)
Good to know that you are making plans to improve JRemote for Android.
It needs external video playback capability .similar to what MO4media has.
I used vlc for Android,
This vlc has excellent bookmarking.
The vlc features could be built in to JRemote directly.
I hope a reworked JRemote and JRiver for Android will also have Android TV gui, so that we can install directly on the Sony Android tvd.
Also we need a very intuitive theater is remote control.
There was a theater view remote when JRemote was first introduced, I do not know why it was removed.
I recently purchased Sony Xperia 1, would love to test JRemote and or JRiver for Android..
I hope uhd playback will be improved so that we can enjoy 4k with no buffering.
The 4k buffering stopping, pausing etc has been going on since 2017,
My three new servers for Ubuntu and Android Oses hopefully will be ready soon.
As of yesterday I just fitted the Butterfinger server with Nvidia 2080 super.
The Goliathlinux server will have Nvidia 2080ti very soon.
In conclusion, two servers and a new Sony Xperia 1 Will be ready for use in testing.
I am just a couple of days away from ordering the next batch of Nvidia 2080 super and the rtx 2080ti.
Thanks for updating MC suite of software.
George.
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Hopefully also secure connection like in Panel is implemented so VPN is not needed anymore to be safe.
You can do this with a reverse proxy.
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You can do this with a reverse proxy.
Thanks. Not too familiar with reverse proxies but how does it help if JRemote can't establish SSL connection? MC server already have option to use SSL if client can do it. I think that otherwise it will use insecure connection (with password/username unencrypted) if the port is open to internet, right?
Anyway it's not too nice for users to have to setup and maintain extra network configuration if acceptable security level can be implemented also to client side (especially when it is already done with panel and MC in client mode so the implementation knowledge is there)
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My suggestions for theater view:
1) Make a good touch UI skin for theater view that isn't as sluggish on my dell venue 8 that I will be re-purposing for jriver.. also make it more like the metro/modern UI. I would do it myself but I have been so fried from a lot of stress lately.
2) Have a touch mode kinda like how audio only mode is? only with larger scrollbars and flicking thru the lists instead of dragging the scrollbar on the right...
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As server+library manager JRiver is still a really good option. However I do miss a full remote library/server managment through JRiver clients or through web interfaces. Headless server isn't an option to fully manage a JRiver server.
+1
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I mentioned earlier in this thread that you should integrate MC with Amazon echo devices. This has come up multiple times by multiple people and the response is always something about them not supporting DLNA. While that may be true, they do have other ways of allowing you to stream music to their devices and a whole API built for it which I am not sure if the JRiver team is aware of (apologies if you are). Here is the link to information regarding their Music Skill API (https://developer.amazon.com/docs/music-skills/understand-the-music-skill-api.html).
While I am no programmer and don't really know for sure, I would think that you already have a lot of the framework in place to make this a fairly easy feature to implement. Plex (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NBB1INY) already has this capability (This is how I am currently doing it), as does my media Alexa (https://www.mymediaalexa.com/), as well as Emby (https://github.com/MediaBrowser/Wiki/wiki/Alexa#playback) and so does Kodi (https://lexigr.am/docs/what-is-koko.html).