at the moment, my main roon interface is …PC.
but (obviously, i say) the main purpose of any roon installation should be a tablet, big enough to appreciate the “LP experience” which is the main purpose of roon (see homepage presentation…).
so, i think it’s quite incomprehensible. saying that staff only uses ipad… come on! i don’t expect that all the tablets are tested… but i think that main ones should: samsung and huawei.
a sentence like “we’ve heard from users that they are successfully running Roon on:” (referred to android tablet) is really unbelievable.
now, at the moment i only have the android app on a samsung mobile, and it’s quite buggy. i refer to the UI, and to the battery drain that make it almost unusable. but, definitively, i’m not going to buy an ipad…
also the sentence “Windows Tablets such as the Surface 3 and Surface 3 Pro” is quite … approximate. so, these are the only compatible windows tablets? can you be more precise about the actual OS and hardware requisites?
then… a tablet as a remote is nothing more then … a remote screen. so the only requirement should be some memory (for cache) and a screen with adequate resolution.
I tried the Android (Samsung) tablet a few years ago (not with Roon) and I always seemed to run into some issue, or software incompatibility. It’s no wonder Roon support staff uses ipads.
We have both iPhone, Samsung galaxy 9, iPad, Lenovo tablets and then some in terms devices in our household (apple, Android, windows) platforms - no issues at all using the devices as a remote. Check your settings in terms screen time-out which can drain the battery and also make sure your wifi router can cope with all the devices to avoid dropouts. I replaced both Netgear, Cisco etc routers with Ruckus unleased model and now have a very robust wifi system which means none of the remotes drop off the network.
My experience with the Samsung tablet was pre-Roon. It’s a few years old, and not as powerful as the newer models. Had a few buggy issues when using it and went back to the ipad.
That quote is on the same page where the minimum requirements for the Windows environment is given:
Windows 7+ (10 recommended)
OpenGL 3.0 support is required to run Roon.
Media Packs are required for Windows Server 2012 R1/R2, or Windows N/K/NK
If a Windows tablet (or PC) meets these requirements, it should work - but the whole point about Windows (and Android) is that it is used on hundreds, if not thousands, of different hardware products. It’s totally impractical for Roon Labs to test them all. So feedback from users in the forums on the devices they use is more than useful. For example, I’ve said a number of times that I use a Surface 3 and a Lenovo ThinkPad 10 (first generation) as Roon Remotes, and they work well.
hi @Geoff_Coupe,
maybe i’m wrong… but a windows tablet/phone is different from a windows PC with win7/win8/win10. it’s a different OS, working on a touch device. in fact, the quote is on the same page, but in a different section. but maybe i’m wrong, i have never used a windows tablet.
i agree that it’s not practical to test on every device on the market, and i don’t expect it. one point about android/windows… is that they are designed to work on … almost all devices. so, if an app works on a device with a OS, it will work on other similar devices. the only point is about minimal hardware requirements to have a decent experience (note: i’ve found out that on windows there is a minimum screen resolution required, but did not find a mention of it in the KB).
at the same time, i think that there should be some kind of control on major brands. or, in a weaker way:
-the android app has been developed by someone (not in roon staff, as they all have ipad). and it’s been developed on/for some device.
-it would be useful to know for which devices it is supposed to work, and which are their HW specs.
then, i agree that that the “community” can test on different devices, and report, that’s useful and a very common channel for information among users/buyers and so on. but it cannot be only that.
and i definitely think that the sentence “we’ve heard from users that they are successfully running Roon on:” is not very serious.
i don’t know. i have no problems with screen timeout with no other app. simply, when roon app is on, screen do not switch off. this has been reported in the forum, and i think that no answer has been given.
i don’t think i have problems with wifi connection. even though with roon app it is sometimes slow, and it gets lost from time to time.
BUT, my connection works perfectly with any other app, and it works perfectly with the app i use to control the logitech media server i used to use before roon. so, if there is a problem, i think it’s in roon app.
A Windows Tablet runs standard Windows - same as a PC. I’ve had Windows Tablets running Windows XP and Windows 7, but nowadays they will come with Windows 10. Many Windows laptops have touchscreens and some also pen support. Many are also convertible into the tablet form factor, either by detaching the keyboard, or folding the screen back over the keyboard.
Windows Phones are a slightly different story. There, the OS began as a completely different development to standard Windows. However, the last gasp of the Windows Phone (before Microsoft pulled the plug ) was Windows 10 Mobile - actually an edition of Windows 10.
With the current state of technology, Roon demands more than a web interface can provide for a Remote. As has been said:
The user interface is driven by a piece of technology that could be best described as a game engine. It supports fluid animations, and we are trying to keep the frame rate at 60 frames per second (fps), just like a game. It renders graphics using OpenGL and hardware acceleration, just like a game, too.
Yes, I have read that description before, but apart from the progress bar at the bottom, it is a very static interface and does not obviously scream ‘needs a game engine’. A web interface would unify the look and feel between different remote devices and reduce compatibility issues.
On my Galaxy 9 / Lenovo tablet just switch off screen or jump to another app say like Kodi remote - I don’t have any issues of battery drainage or timeouts. As I have two teenagers around the house (sometimes with friends) we have over 14 devices making use of wifi at any one time. So I configured the router to provide different bandwidths for different devices (AC/ 5g etc). And on top of this I have 24 Gigabyte switch box for ethernet distribution for various devices around the house. I think as long as one uses the latest OS/ Android/ Windows hardware & software platform together with having a network that suit your needs it should work seamlessly (with tinkering here and there).
Just got set-up with a ROCK. Thinking about a tablet for control from the listening position. I’d love the big iPad (12") but that’s out of my budget. My short list is: Samsung Tab A or Lenovo Tab4, both 10.1". Any opinions or other options I should consider?
I managed to score a Surface 4 for just over £400. Similar screen size to the big iPad but you get full Windows 10 and upgradeable storage with micro SD cards. 12 inch screen quality is fantastic for Roon and it operates either as a tablet or with a keyboard. Recently installed another instance of Roon for business trips plus an external USB DAC and more storage - I now have a fully mobile system when travelling. Recommended (even as a Mac user).
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