Topic: JRiver for Android -- $9.98 (Read 37200 times)

JimH · « **on:** October 30, 2018, 03:41:16 am »

JRiver for Android is a version of JRiver Media Center. It uses the highly regarded audio engine of Media Center, and can be used with remote control and remote access of audio files on Android. Video and images will not be initially supported.

JRiver for Android is intended for playback only, not management. All networking capabilities, such as Library Server and DLNA will be supported. MCWS is supported. FLAC and MP3 are the only local audio files supported at this time.

The visual interface is available only by using a remote control app such as Panel or Gizmo or JRemote. Panel is included in the Android app, so playback and control can be done on the phone or remotely.

Price: $9.98 initially.

jmone · « **Reply #1 on:** October 30, 2018, 04:06:07 am »

I'm...

Looking forward to seeing how this develops (esp for Android TV and Video over time).

herr_schneider · « **Reply #2 on:** October 30, 2018, 06:38:02 am »

Will this be covered by Master License?

JimH · « **Reply #3 on:** October 30, 2018, 06:39:55 am »

DrRob · « **Reply #4 on:** October 30, 2018, 08:06:25 am »

I currently use JRemote to manage JRiver on an Id . What would I use JRiver for Android for? Sorry for the confusion.

JustinChase · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2018, 09:48:23 am »

How exactly is this different from Gizmo? What does this do that Gizmo doesn't?

Gizmo does play video, so this seems less good.

~OHM~ · « **Reply #6 on:** October 30, 2018, 09:48:27 am »

Is there a free trial with this?

mattkhan · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2018, 10:08:04 am »

Most of the configuration for the audio engine is only available via the MC GUI (e.g. DSP studio). Will the MC server gain the ability to manage client config or will panel (and hence mcws) grow the ability to manage this?

JimH · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2018, 10:11:23 am »

Quote from: JustinChase on October 30, 2018, 09:48:23 am

How exactly is this different from Gizmo? What does this do that Gizmo doesn't?

Gizmo does play video, so this seems less good.

Gizmo is a remote control and remote player. It connects to MC running somewhere.

This is MC, just without the GUI. You'll use any remote to control it, but it can import and play audio.

If you use Panel on the same device, you'll effectively have MC running as an audio player on the Android. That's not possible to do at this time.

JimH · « **Reply #9 on:** October 30, 2018, 10:14:44 am »

Quote from: mattkhan on October 30, 2018, 10:08:04 am

Most of the configuration for the audio engine is only available via the MC GUI (e.g. DSP studio). Will the MC server gain the ability to manage client config or will panel (and hence mcws) grow the ability to manage this?

Panel will add some capabilities, mainly in the configuration area. This will also require adding capabilities to MCWS.

JimH · « **Reply #10 on:** October 30, 2018, 10:16:11 am »

Quote from: ~OHM~ on October 30, 2018, 09:48:27 am

Is there a free trial with this?

No. It's subject to Play Store rules.

mattkhan · « **Reply #11 on:** October 30, 2018, 10:17:54 am »

Quote from: JimH on October 30, 2018, 10:14:44 am

Panel will add some capabilities, mainly in the configuration area. This will also require adding capabilities to MCWS.

great, that will be useful.

Quote from: JimH on October 30, 2018, 10:11:23 am

This is MC, just without the GUI. You'll use any remote to control it, but it can import and play audio.

if it imports files, how will you manage that data without the MC UI? is it the same answer as above (i.e. panel will add features)?

JimH · « **Reply #12 on:** October 30, 2018, 10:18:46 am »

Quote from: DrRob on October 30, 2018, 08:06:25 am

I currently use JRemote to manage JRiver on an Id . What would I use JRiver for Android for? Sorry for the confusion.

For some audio playback, JRiver for Android, running on an old Android phone, might be a low cost alternative to an Id.

thecrow · « **Reply #13 on:** October 30, 2018, 02:13:26 pm »

Does this support native playback at high sample rates or is everything re-sampled through the Android audio system?

I have an old LG V10 phone running Nougat that has a nice ESS DAC chip but it only has native support from a couple of apps, everything else is limited to the Android audio system and 48k.

jmone · « **Reply #14 on:** October 30, 2018, 02:23:58 pm »

I've a LGV10 and LGV20 - nice phones.

thecrow · « **Reply #15 on:** October 30, 2018, 03:01:42 pm »

Quote from: jmone on October 30, 2018, 02:23:58 pm

I've a LGV10 and LGV20 - nice phones.

I think it was from one of your posts that I became aware that the V10 existed.

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,101444.0.html

Awesome Donkey · « **Reply #16 on:** October 31, 2018, 02:16:18 pm »

Wait... Panel is built-in? Meaning you don't need to open a web browser, and it's part of the app itself? And it supports gapless playback, yes?

Interesting... might (finally) be replacing my Android music player.

JimH · « **Reply #17 on:** October 31, 2018, 02:46:36 pm »

Hmm. How to explain ...

Panel is a web app, as you know. The new app we're building is native Android. It includes a web server that any browser can connec to, from anywhere. In the case most interesting to you, I think, Panel can run on the phone and talk to JRiver. How Panel gets started is still an open question. We might do it automatically when JRiver runs.

The experience should be as if you had a media player running on Android.

jmone · « **Reply #18 on:** October 31, 2018, 03:07:30 pm »

I'm pretty interested in this as a full MC App running on Android finally gives me In Sync Audio to my "
Build : Replacing an Traditional Home Intercom System with Tablets" as each will be a MC Zone and the newer Zone Sync should keep them all playing together! I can then "push" audio to some or all of the Android Devices.

jmone · « **Reply #19 on:** October 31, 2018, 03:20:52 pm »

Also, as it is a full MC instance, any Zone Aware MC App (MC, Remote etc) will be able to control playback. So (in addition to Panel) you could use a MC Remote on the Android itself to control playback on the MC Instance on the same device. .... if that all makes sense!

JimH · « **Reply #20 on:** October 31, 2018, 03:31:48 pm »

Quote from: jmone on October 31, 2018, 03:20:52 pm

Also, as it is a full MC instance, any Zone Aware MC App (MC, Remote etc) will be able to control playback. So (in addition to Panel) you could use a MC Remote on the Android itself to control playback on the MC Instance on the same device. .... it that all makes sense!

Correct.

mwillems · « **Reply #21 on:** October 31, 2018, 07:26:49 pm »

Quote from: jmone on October 31, 2018, 03:07:30 pm

I'm pretty interested in this as a full MC App running on Android finally gives me In Sync Audio to my "
Build : Replacing an Traditional Home Intercom System with Tablets" as each will be a MC Zone and the newer Zone Sync should keep them all playing together! I can then "push" audio to some or all of the Android Devices.

Oh that's very neat. I've been using an old android phone as a car entertainment system; this would allow me to remote control it via gizmo. Pretty cool.

rec head · « **Reply #22 on:** November 01, 2018, 09:06:36 am »

Quote from: jmone on October 31, 2018, 03:20:52 pm

Also, as it is a full MC instance, any Zone Aware MC App (MC, Remote etc) will be able to control playback. So (in addition to Panel) you could use a MC Remote on the Android itself to control playback on the MC Instance on the same device. .... it that all makes sense!

Not quite. How is it different than just a remote on my phone?

I'm in because I want to support the development but I really want video.

JimH · « **Reply #23 on:** November 01, 2018, 10:11:43 am »

Quote from: rec head on November 01, 2018, 09:06:36 am

Not quite. How is it different than just a remote on my phone?

Because a remote needs to talk to a server. JRiver for Android is such a server.

JimH · « **Reply #24 on:** November 04, 2018, 11:49:56 pm »

I made a mistake on the date for early release. It's corrected in the first post.

rec head · « **Reply #25 on:** November 05, 2018, 05:00:31 am »

Quote from: rec head on November 01, 2018, 09:06:36 am

Not quite. How is it different than just a remote on my phone?

I'm in because I want to support the development but I really want video.

I get it now. I really don't care about video serving but want an Android video player.

BryanC · « **Reply #26 on:** November 05, 2018, 02:43:07 pm »

I'm assuming that Gizmo or JRemote can connect to the local Library Server via the localhost, correct? Is this still accomplished via an access key?

I ask because I'd like to have a local media library available on my smartphone even without internet access. 400GB microSD cards rule!

JimH · « **Reply #27 on:** November 05, 2018, 04:08:32 pm »

It should behave exactly like MC running on any PC and Panel connecting to it from the same machine.

thezone · « **Reply #28 on:** November 06, 2018, 05:39:18 am »

Will this App be able to access JRiver radio stations?

carlismysecondname · « **Reply #29 on:** November 06, 2018, 11:58:53 am »

This is interesting. I have an android box (wired) in our family room with jremote installed. Unfortunately, I can't control what music it plays from using my iphone's jremote. Because of that, I still sometimes prefer to use my audioengine D2 wireless DAC/preamp to play music from the server downstairs to my family room zone upstairs. The audioengine D2 is great but sometimes interference is a problem from the nearby wifi router. If this works, I might no longer need to use it for sending wireless audio to the family room. Maybe even sell it... profit!

JimH · « **Reply #30 on:** November 06, 2018, 03:34:44 pm »

Quote from: thezone on November 06, 2018, 05:39:18 am

Will this App be able to access JRiver radio stations?

I think so.

BillT · « **Reply #31 on:** November 10, 2018, 02:22:38 am »

Quote from: JimH on October 30, 2018, 03:41:16 am

JRiver for Android is a headless version of JRiver Media Center.

I'm a little bit mystified.

The idea of the full JRiver interface on an Android device for use as a remote is interesting and attractive, as all the Android remote apps leave a lot to be desired, and the best ones are no longer in development, but as a server?

Android devices are portable with limited storage; apart from things like car systems it doesn't seem to have any value.

JimH · « **Reply #32 on:** November 10, 2018, 05:15:50 am »

Quote from: BillT on November 10, 2018, 02:22:38 am

I'm a little bit mystified.

The idea of the full JRiver interface on an Android device for use as a remote is interesting and attractive, as all the Android remote apps leave a lot to be desired, and the best ones are no longer in development, but as a server?

And as a renderer. You could use an old phone as you might use any other renderer.

Quote

Android devices are portable with limited storage; apart from things like car systems it doesn't seem to have any value.

You're thinking just of phones. Android is an OS and it's migrating to bigger devices.

And "limited storage" isn't quite accurate. I have a Note 9. It can be purchased with 512GB of memory and it has a microSD slot that accepts up to 512GB. So you have 1 TB of storage.
https://www.tomsguide.com/us/galaxy-note-9-specs-price,news-27763.html

That's 30,000 lossless files. In a year or two, that "phone" will be in a drawer. It's a very powerful computer that could be used for another purpose.

It may not make sense to you now, but we're trying to do the development now for where the market will be in a few years.

craigmcg · « **Reply #33 on:** November 11, 2018, 06:17:35 am »

We use a Nvidia shield TV in our bedroom so I can't wait for MC to be available on Android. I use Kodi now but I'd love to be able to use my MC library for music on the Shield.

To Jim's point about the use of phones and tablets going forward, at work I have learned that many of my younger (40s and under) colleagues may have laptops but they do almost everything on their phones. They complain that their laptops are slow because every time they turn them on (once a month or so) they have to do a bunch of updates. All this to say that while I may never rely on mobile devices to the degree that younger people do, having the full MC available on Android will be great. I'm probably doing something wrong but I haven't figured out how to use Gizmo to play FLAC as FLAC (not MP3) using my phone/Shield so this will be a significant step forward.

wig · « **Reply #34 on:** November 11, 2018, 08:23:04 am »

Hey Jim, looking forward to this.

I use Panel on my phone, but I don't use it much in my car because it won't autostart on bluetooth connect like other Android media players. Will JRiver for Android address this?

Old phones as renderers is a nice feature. Will this be a native solution, or will we still need to run DLNA software like Bubble?

JimH · « **Reply #35 on:** November 11, 2018, 09:02:39 am »

Quote from: wig on November 11, 2018, 08:23:04 am

Hey Jim, looking forward to this.

I use Panel on my phone, but I don't use it much in my car because it won't autostart on bluetooth connect like other Android media players. Will JRiver for Android address this?

Old phones as renderers is a nice feature. Will this be a native solution, or will we still need to run DLNA software like Bubble?

I'm not sure yet how it will behave with Bluetooth. We will look at this if it doesn't work.

MC includes DLNA, so another DLNA solution wouldn't be needed.

JimH · « **Reply #36 on:** November 12, 2018, 09:31:03 am »

Quote from: JimH on November 05, 2018, 04:08:32 pm

It should behave exactly like MC running on any PC and Panel connecting to it from the same machine.

It's working!

We have an APK (installation requires setting the flag for unknown sources for now).

I installed it on my phone.

I started a browser and typed localhost:52199. Panel started and found the music on my phone.

I had to check the option in Panel settings to play audio without conversion.

It plays. High fives all around!

We'll have a release shortly for the beta team. We have a long way to go to make this a finished product. It's primitive. But it works.

JimH · « **Reply #37 on:** November 12, 2018, 11:49:11 am »

Quote from: wig on November 11, 2018, 08:23:04 am

I use Panel on my phone, but I don't use it much in my car because it won't autostart on bluetooth connect like other Android media players. Will JRiver for Android address this?

I just tried this in my car and it works as expected.

Alex M · « **Reply #38 on:** November 12, 2018, 08:04:05 pm »

Quote from: thecrow on October 30, 2018, 02:13:26 pm

Does this support native playback at high sample rates or is everything re-sampled through the Android audio system?

This is a very important question.
Jim, will JRiver for Android play Hi-Res music through the device's DAC?
Many modern mobile platforms Qualcomm Snapdragon playback up to 192kHz / 24bit, and Android allows you to use it.

daveman · « **Reply #39 on:** November 12, 2018, 09:01:30 pm »

I am very interested but was Video. Any timeline for adding video support?

Alex M · « **Reply #40 on:** November 12, 2018, 10:18:10 pm »

Will JRiver for Android support Native DSD for compatible platforms such as Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (835)?

kdwykleingeld · « **Reply #41 on:** November 13, 2018, 12:47:35 pm »

Hi, great news, so can i assume that jriver mc will run as an app on my philips oled tv (which has an android based smart platform) providing me all video and music playback jriver functions ?

thanks koen

JimH · « **Reply #42 on:** November 13, 2018, 01:12:37 pm »

Quote from: daveman on November 12, 2018, 09:01:30 pm

I am very interested but was Video. Any timeline for adding video support?

We don't know yet.

JimH · « **Reply #43 on:** November 13, 2018, 01:13:07 pm »

Quote from: Alex M on November 12, 2018, 10:18:10 pm

Will JRiver for Android support Native DSD for compatible platforms such as Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 (835)?

Maybe.

JimH · « **Reply #44 on:** November 13, 2018, 01:14:38 pm »

Quote from: kdwykleingeld on November 13, 2018, 12:47:35 pm

Hi, great news, so can i assume that jriver mc will run as an app on my philips oled tv (which has an android based smart platform) providing me all video and music playback jriver functions ?

Maybe. It's not clear yet whether it will be installable on Android TV.

kdwykleingeld · « **Reply #45 on:** November 13, 2018, 01:19:29 pm »

hi, thanks, well, that would be really great since that would bring a real media player to the device (especially for playing video files fro my nas) .. although i am not sure how powerfull the "computer" parts of these smart tvs are ... that might be the bottle neck.. right ?

ps.. i am talking about a recent 2018 model btw

thanks koen

rec head · « **Reply #46 on:** November 13, 2018, 01:41:33 pm »

Quote from: kdwykleingeld on November 13, 2018, 12:47:35 pm

Hi, great news, so can i assume that jriver mc will run as an app on my philips oled tv (which has an android based smart platform) providing me all video and music playback jriver functions ?

thanks koen

Quote from: JimH on November 13, 2018, 01:14:38 pm

Maybe. It's not clear yet whether it will be installable on Android TV.

If I understand correctly this port to Android is the SERVER only right? The dream of an android player is still in the clouds. The server is not a big deal to me but an Android TV app would be awesome.

kdwykleingeld · « **Reply #47 on:** November 13, 2018, 01:45:01 pm »

reading the announcement i was thinking (dreaming?) on running jriver mc on my tv .. so indeed server side..

but it seems i misunderstand the announcement ..

an android app to control jriver (like we already have for a long time for sonos and bluesound) would also be great.. having a ios app would even be greater (for me)

reg koen

alank · « **Reply #48 on:** November 13, 2018, 01:59:26 pm »

Quote from: JimH on October 30, 2018, 10:16:11 am

No. It's subject to Play Store rules.

And Play Store is full of trial ware. I just finished checking out two products for two weeks, and then bought the fully licensed versions. The trials were fully featured, just limited to two weeks. All through Play Store.

JimH · « **Reply #49 on:** November 13, 2018, 02:03:17 pm »

Quote from: rec head on November 13, 2018, 01:41:33 pm

If I understand correctly this port to Android is the SERVER only right?

No. It's not just a server. It is all of JRiver Media Center but without a user interface. Panel is the interface. Effectively, it's a media player for Android. It also is a server -- just like MC is.

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Author Topic: JRiver for Android -- $9.98 (Read 37200 times)