1: it is an offer to become a beta tester when new enhancements are added in the future.
2: it is a reaction to the level of issues that appear to be occurring with Roon 1.3. Thankfully I have had no major issues but there seems to be a lot of people with issues which leads me to question whether there is enough variety in set ups of beta testers. Also beta testers tend to be the people who can ssh into raspberry pi etc. maybe a lesser level of competency among beta testers would show up more of the issues that will occur before release rather than after.
The main issue perhaps is that there was just too much in 1.3. It has been said that future upgrades will be more incremental and happen sooner rather than in the big bang of 1.3, that seems like a good idea.
Of course, when the only method of support is on the website perhaps the plethora of issues is not actually as excessive as it might appear and is quite possibly a much smaller percentage of users, again than as it appears.
I agree with your sentiments. I am one of those who has an IT background and can SSH into RPis, has a basic level of Linux capability etc. I was just thinking the other day that many of those who are reporting problems are those who just want to use the product and have little interest in troubleshooting and/or the ability to troubleshoot on their own. So the point is I agree some level of “idiot testing” (not meant to be derogatory to anyone) is required.
I think 1.3 has gone off without many issues given the number of new features. Most of the problems users have experienced have been relatively easily resolved. Unless I’ve missed things I don’t think there have been many bug reports based on user feedback post 1.3 go live.
Beta testing minor releases is not so difficult but the likes of a major release would be a challenge due to things like the iOS releases where so much changed that even the mobile controllers would not work without some additional effort .
My guess is there are some here (myself included) that would step up in a heart beat, and help with the bulk of whats needed to be tested…even if that meant some focusing on things that are more likely to be niche type features as not everyone needs or wants to have so many options.
Being a hardware guy I like to tinker with lots of different DAC’s and installs (Mac,PC/NAS etc) plus a bunch of other endpoints like Rpi and other bridge installations.
I’m sure the Roon guys know who here is a potential beta tester candidate based on their participation here, but it never hurts to stick your hand up if you are up for it
Ssince 1.3 I am without ROON, 1.3 war released just one week after purchasing lifetime.
Problem: Sonore UPnP Bridge 1.0.6 and 1.0.9 does not yet work with ROON 1.3 (was working before with ROON 1.2), therefore I clearly encourage to have more beta testers next time!
[quote=“fschmeis, post:6, topic:20510”]
Sonore UPnP Bridge 1.0.6 and 1.0.9 does not yet work with ROON 1.3 (was working before with ROON 1.2), therefore I clearly encourage to have more beta testers next time!
[/quote]Sonore UPnP Bridge is a downstream product that has nothing to do Roon. It may well be that changes are required on the the Sonore side of the equation.
Nevertheless Sonore is listed as a partner of ROON (please refer to https://roonlabs.com/partners.html) and therefore when a new ROON version is released from a customer point of view I expect that somebody has tested it upfront
That’s a bit harsh, as I said in my opening post, my experience has been trouble free, certainly not a beta test.
I’m not trying to provoke, I just think if your first experience of the Roon forum was the last 7 days you’d think it a very buggy piece of software which it isn’t.
Hindsight seems to suggest Roon at least need some more Sonicorbiter / Sonore beta testers.
Considering the competition Roon is a wonderful achievement but as a major user and lifer I just want it to go from strength to strength.
The Sonore Upnp bridge is still a beta version so you are already a beta tester there. Roon has explained elsewhere why the canno support all sorts of beta products such as beta versions of iOS etc.
Also just because Sonore is a partner does not mean they support all there products and little side projects. The bridge is clearly a limited functionality project that does not support all Roon functionality or all Upnp devices. Perhaps some of this should be explained more clearly especially as Sonore have rolled out the beta on this website.
I don’t know how ROON works with their partners, but what I would expect from customer perspective: Provide the partners upfront information about new versions (what will change) as well as release candidates to do some testing before release of new ROON versions; can be that ROON is already doing that, in this case it would be the obligation of the partner to take care of changes in RAAT
Motivation / Background: Sonore UPnP Bridge 1.0.6 was working well with ROON 1.2 (at least I was quite happy) and neither Sonore UPnP Bridge 1.0.6 nor 1.0.9 works with ROON 1.3 (at least in conjunction with LINN streamer, have no info about other kit)
Sorry but you are missing the point here, SONORE is a partner of ROON and they provide you with RAAT that is fully supported by both companies, and works perfectly with Roon 1.3
The Sonore UPnP Bridge that you mention is considered a BETA project by SONORE and afaik there is nothing to do with Roon.
Sounds like a good idea in theory. But my hunch is a bigger beta team would not only mean Roon needing more staff to manage them and the feedback, but I’d imagine it would lead to slower releases.
Also, to have zero issues reported on a community forum after such a major release would probably require almost the entire user base to be beta testers.
You, I, and many others thankfully had zero issues. I’m sure there were bugs that snuck through, but my guess is a lot of the issues are people’s network topology, and the bewildering array of PC/Linux hardware and Linux OS versions, as well as exotic DACs, and devices that are supported without the manufacturers assistance.
More than anything though it’s most likely the sheer volume of features and enhancements for 1.3.
Of course, only Roon know how many beta testers they have and how many they think work best …
We are planning for much shorter and smaller releases in the future.
We have quite a few alpha testers right now, and occasionally pull new people in. Managing alpha testers is a job in itself, so we don’t like to grow this list much.
