JRiver Media Center Review

Since the OP keeps deleting good threads, I figured I'd repost my review of JRiver and keep the discussion going...

I hate the fact that the Original Poster has the ability to delete threads...

I've been playing with Jriver on my new HTPC for the past couple of weeks.

Its very interesting, as it goes way beyond Windows Media Center or XBMC.

It serves several functions:

-Media Library

-Media Server

-Media Player and Streamer

-Theater Mode (10ft view mode)

-3rd party website access, Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, etc.

Media Library

Has amazing cataloging, tagging, sorting and filtering of all, and I mean all content. Audio, video, documents, pictures, etc. Can be backed up, accessed remotely, index NAS locations, and much more. Probably the most robust catalog I've seen in a long time. Can be used in a psuedo client / server config, so you can open a remote library on another install of MC.

Media Server

Full DLNA media server to hook up to DLNA devices and serve your media library with token based authentication, if you want it Can send media to many other devices / zones. Can be controlled remotely, via web server or API commands for each zone.

Media Player and Streamer

Capable of playing back Blu-ray natively from ISO or extracted path. Not sure if it can play Blu-ray directly from disc? Can play almost every other media format you can throw at it. Can also convert and stream content to other devices.

Theater Mode

Great full screen mode for HTPCs for playback of media library or other content, with full res up convert, color correction, audio streaming options / converting, etc.

Ultimately, for less than $50 US this is a heck of a solution. However, without Control4 integration (wink, wink) it is limited to what you can control outside of the control4 environment.

Will this program control a Sony EX7000 multichanger?

Yeh..Unfortunately somehow a previous thread on this topic disappeared. I don't want to know what happened. Or Why. Let's leave it at that.

Ok. So I agreed that this was one of the most exciting potential developments we had seen for a while

Here are my reason why:

JRiver is about to run on OSX (it is truley becoming multi-platform)

If it can run on OSX, maybe we might see an Apple DRM workaround for m4v files. Not possible *yet*..but maybe...

There is potential to run Thunderbolt drive array's for those who find NAS drives hard to network etc..

JRiver can integrate with MyMovies

MyMovies is now integrated very nicely with Control4

JRiver can handle HIREZ 24/192 and SACD (even surround) files

There are a myriad of other formats supported.

It's a paid for solution based in the US (this alone gives it support and potential)

James from DD showed interest. This is great because James has personal experience developing this sort of thing in the Control4 enviroment.

So *please* everyone. Can we get this back on track. Let's leave specific ideas and topic's to specific threads.

Cheers everyone and enjoy your Control4 systems and the forums..

The future J River media Center 18 OS X version is audio only solution, and is due at the end of the year.

I suspect the video will come later.

Here is a list of Thunderbolt devices that are coming out. Supposedly it will be about 100 devices at the end of the year.

1) http://www.areca.com.tw/products/thunderbolt.htm

2) http://www.storagenewsletter.com/news/systems/sans-digital-thunderbolt

3) http://www.lynxstudio.com/product_detail.asp?i=61

4) http://www.uaudio.com/apollo

5) https://thunderbolttechnology.net/sites/default/files/Thunderbolt-devices-computex.pdf

6) http://www.macworld.com/article/1166542/optical_cables_for_thunderbolt_ports_shipped_by_sumitomo.html

J river support with My Movies is for the collection management of my movies.

J river can handle up to 384kHz files. Here is a recent DAC that was tested by J River.

http://www.exasound.com/e18DAC/Features.aspx

Where do you find such high resolution files??

HD Tracks is mainly 96/24.

Id love to upgrade some of my library to better stuff. Especially since i'm working on a carputer project.

Where do you find such high resolution files??

1/ http://www.channelclassics.com/dsd.html

2/ http://audiogate.bluecoastrecords.com/

3/ Any SACD....see the threads on www.computeraudiophile.com

I've put a "friendly request" for a driver into the overpopulated AChow driver request queue

For those that know about programming stacks/queues I'd love it to be LIFO too, but he is a very busy man Mr Chow, and requests are coming thick and thin :cool:

The future J River media Center 18 OS X version is audio only solution, and is due at the end of the year.

I suspect the video will come later.

So what you are saying is, once JRiver can run on OSX, and then they add video playback capability, the hope is that a user will be able to set JRiver playback to Quicktime for mv4's. And given Quicktime is an OSX based program, the plan is to then get JRiver playing DRM.mv4's that way...

So in effect all JRiver is doing is replacing itunes as the media library. Everything else should be sweet, because you are still using OSX, and a mac to playback the AppleDRM..

Is that what you are hinting at?..

I don't see why that is illegal, or circumvents AppleDRM... Like there is no reason why it would be illegal to run a different media library on OSX is there?.. The 64Billion dollar question is will Apple allow this to happen, or will they produce some sort of block on it. It's going to be interesting to see how this develops, and what Apple does... I mean I thought Apple have always argued that it's the Studio's that want the DRM.. so this is going to be *very* interesting to follow..

It will be up to JRiver to hold their nerve and fight this out in the courts if Apple starts playing funny buggers..

Sooner or later the penny will drop as to Apple's *real* motives..

Will Apple let JRiver run on OSX?

Will Apple let JRiver video run on OSX?

Will Apple let JRiver video played back thru Apple's very own quicktime player run AppleDRM video on OSX..?

The anti-competitve lawyers will need to follow this very carefully..