Scale.
It is good you are thinking along those lines. Done with care, with WMC gone and iTunes possibly in critical care, MC could see another big growth spurt. But growth has to be done carefully.
And ... I'm 74 1/2, going on 75.
So only another decade or so running JRiver in you.
Hire people to run your household and look after you, so that you can look after JRiver.
It's either sell, partner with someone, or convince Hendrik to run it.
Selling wouldn't be hard, but with such an eclectic group, holding the vibe together may be difficult. Although I suspect there would be plenty of wealthy users who may take it on and let it run pretty hands-off, which may work.
I appreciate the candour in your answers Jim.
I'm not sure what you mean.
Of course, MC is a closed source commercial application. But it doesn't feel like it much of the time. Some points.
DirectShow was always the realm of tinkerers, who would try different filters and tweak them no end to get the best possible result.
Adoption of madVR and LAV, both free utilities for end-users who still tweak them no end Incorporating them into MC reinforces the above.
MC is highly configurable, and much of that configurability is provided via programmer-like tools, such as the Expression Language.
The contrast between a fully commercial application, such as PowerDVD, and MC is huge. Fully commercial means locked down, which MC is definitely not.
I sort of see MC as sitting in the middle between the likes of PowerDVD and Kodi, on a spectrum of openness.
The development process works much like open source applications I have and still use. Small shop, request a change, if it is a good idea and would benefit everyone, it gets done.
The forum also operates much like an open-source application. Users get help with their installation and environment, rather than direction to a FAQ that tells them nothing.
So, as I said, it is the feel of JRiver and MC. I think those idiosyncracies probably contribute as well!