Hello, I am not requesting a specifics feature, I am rather looking for a solution and you can decide on the futures needed. Here are my comments - What I miss in Roon:
My father and me – we live in two different cities in Europe but we have one music collection that we build together. Can we connect and unite 2 or more sources (hard drives) if they are based in two remote locations. Still, if you treat this collection as two separate collections – can we merge or stack two accounts into one? It completely makes sense that you treat two locations of the same music collection as one, we live in a global world at the end.
I am in the train/airport etc. and I like to read some information around the music I have. Not to listen to songs, but just to read how artists are connected between each other, some upcoming concerts etc. Can I do that? Limiting the access to the application and to the content only to home based users is very strange. This is a real barrier for me, as i have more time to read when I travel compared to if I am at home with the family.
If there is a solution for #2 – then probably we will be able to find a solution also for the issue that the computer with the “main” installation should be always on in order for me to use the remote app.
The remote use would be fantastic, though I think the ability to play is also needed (perhaps initially via offline downloads)
Also, I agree a shared library on 2+ networks would be killer feature. It would be a clever evolution of sharing.
Perhaps in the pricing this would be 2 subscriptions or maybe a network licence.
I think for WAN type connections there would be the limitations in termsof not being able to stream out itunes and cd ripped purchases, but I dont see why streaming services like TIDAL could not be shared (as loong as all parties had a subscription)
I think if you had account stacking Roon themselves would potentially fall foul of copyright restrictions.
The easiest way for you and your father to share would be to set up folder replication for your respective collections (done outside of Roon). You’ll need to decide on a strategy to do this, but essentially both collections need to be internet facing and you’ll want to implement a VPN or something like SFTP for security.
This would also give you the advantage of a permanent off-site back up.
Then you just point your respective Roon license at your own local install, which is now a mirror of your collection and your father’s.
This would effectively give you a solution for #2, since you could use your VPN to connect your tablet/laptop on the move.
Remote use, with selected files saved on a laptop/cell phone, is already something they have in mind. But it’s not imminent as it’s a big job.
Merging two collections and using both from two different locations is an interesting idea, which I can see could be useful. Sooloos 1.0 had some capabilities for running a collection in two locations in parallel, so this was obviously something that @danny@enno and @brian thought was worth doing at that point. It fell away in 2.0 but I never asked whether that was because of copyright concerns or other issues. Or because simply not enough people were utilising what must have been a complex feature to implement (especially in those days).
If you are both running Roon Core on WIndows, then you could use OneDrive to sync your collections automatically. On each of your Roon Core machines, point Roon to the local synced copy of the OneDrive top folder of your music collection, and both machines should track the joint music collection automatically. Of course, your OneDrive has to be big enough to hold your music collection. If you’re using Office 365, then you should have 1TB to play with.
I am considering switching to using Roon but one of my main concerns has been how to allow me and my family to have access to the same library and experience from various computers (all Apple) and devices (iPhones, iPads, and even AppleTV) both when we are home and when we are out or traveling.
I would love to hear more about your plans for these features, how you expect the them to work, what we need to have in place so that they work seamlessly, and when you expect these capabilities to be released.
What you want will be possible with future versions of Roon. I can’t speak in detail about product plans that are not yet finalized. The big thing you will need is a powerful Roon Core machine. Make sure you get a Intel Core i5 machine for this.
Do you know when you expect to release this functionality; this year, Q1, H1?.. I am sure I am not alone in this, but to successfully adopt Roon in my household, I need to make sure it is usable for all family members and in all their devices, both and out of the home. I hope this will help solve that challenge.
Well, the answer will probably lie in one of the following possibilities;
copy the files to local storage for on the go usage.
Setup an open network stream from your house which has a lot of issues including not being user friendly to setup/maintain, may not be supported/allowed by your ISP, or security.
Cloud storage service where you have to store your music in the cloud and stream it down and would also function as a music library backup - Plex Beta is experimenting with something like that now.
A Hybrid of the above.
I"m betting that at some point there is going to be a UV like service for music like there is for films. You purchase music at Amazon but the purchase also counts with iTunes etc.
But what does “on the go” or mobile use really mean. I think it can mean very different use cases and the question then becomes which use cases does it make sense for Roon and its vision to accommodate and which to prioritize.
