Roon control tablet (Roon hardware)

After spending the last hour trying to find the correct .apk files to “force” my Kindle to run Roon Remote, I realized this is a fantastic idea. Brilliant!

You, Roon, NEED to make this piece of hardware. A screen size roughly 8 x 6 (or a bit larger). It will self-stand landscape or portrait. It’s lightweight (for tossing) with a no-frills appearance that screams “simplicity”. Why you ask? Well…

You can offer premium support. Stuff we won’t (or can’t) see on our iPhones. Everything from video to sliding graphics, scrolling lyrics, album info not normally found in your default set of metadata. Something we can dedicate to our listening area, that only runs Roon Remote (no email, no web browsers…), and frees up our mobile devices (if we chose to leave the room/house with them).

This is really a fantastic idea. One piece of hardware would solve the “should I or shouldn’t I?” question when many of us are on the fence trying to decide on a trial, annual or lifetime subscription. You are certifying vendors building the hardware, but you are sorely missing an opportunity here. An up-sell at a fair price.

Let’s add something else: License Amazon’s Echo speech recognition. My Echo collects dust… but when I do use it, I’m always (okey, often) impressed at the ability for the Echo to understand me, my wife and my kids. Control zones, volume and naturally, music selection. Hmm… what else could you do? Voice recognition to add music to playlists? Create playlists? Share playlists between “Roon TaskMaster” in various rooms?

Please add me to the list of buyers. I’ll take serial number 0000001.

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That is kind of an exhausting article: https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/get-google-play-on-fire-tablet

Perhaps Roon could just put the app in the Amazon App Store? Prolly some bureaucracy to deal with there.

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And it doesn’t work on my Kindle. The battle continues between Google Play and Amazon’s license of the Android OS. It’s ridiculous.

Neil, I got a new Fire HD 8 today, along with the charging dock for it. Working fine as a Roon remote. Here’s what I did, for future reference:

  1. Charge it up, using the supplied charger.

  2. Installed a software update, which brought the system up to version 5.6.2. Apparently this is necessary, as it wouldn’t charge in the dock until I did this.

  3. Disable Alexa and (somewhere) Show Mode.

  4. Download the Roon APK directly from Roon: http://download.roonlabs.com/builds/RoonMobile.apk. There is apparently no need to mess around with the Google Play store.

  5. Change the API of the tablet as described in http://www.androidbeat.com/2015/07/how-to-change-dpi-of-android-device-without-root/. I set it to 189, which is correct, and will make Roon run in landscape mode.

  6. Go into Settings > Device Options> Developer Options, and turn on “Stay Awake”, which will prevent the lock screen from coming up when it’s in the charging dock.

  7. Put the charging backplate on it (from the Dock box).

  8. Open up the “Docs” app on the tablet, and find the Roon API file downloaded earlier. Double-tap to install it. After it installs, “OPEN” it. Roon will open up and ask you which core to use. Tell it. You’re good to go.

  9. Plug in the Dock, and put the tablet in the Dock to charge.

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Yes! A dedicated Roon remote would be fantastic, there are plenty reasons to make one. Mid tier hardware would be fine with me as long as it feels quality and has a high res sharp display.

This works great for those who are willing to play around at startup but doesn’t compare to the smooth usage of a high (or even mid tier) piece of dedicated equipment that solely runs Roon remote. The full fire range of screens are also low res by today’s standard of mobile device and it shows. I think this idea will devide people between wanting functional and wanting luxury and there is nothing wrong with either.

No get to Foxconn (or whoever) Roon and strike a deal haha.

Thanks Bill. However, I had no intention of buying a new Kindle Fire. If I was to buy new, I’d buy something that was known to be compatible with Roon Remote… Cheers.

It’s definitely not as nice as Roon remote on an iPad Pro, but it works fine for a device in the living room that’s ready to be grabbed to change things. And a bird in the hand…

Yeah, an iPad Pro with the Logitech charging stand takes a bit less fussing.

I’ve been using the Fire7 as a remote for a couple of weeks now and generally I’m disappointed.

Mainly it’s the Roon remote functionality: Roon seems to consider it as a phone and will only run in portrait mode. It does, occaisionally, if one picks it up in landscape, try to switch to that mode, but then locks up with a statement of insufficient resolution!

The software seems nowhere near as nice as on the iPhone/iPad, just feels rough and unfinished by comparison, but it does work.

The other big deal is battery life which is abysmal - sort of defeats the object of having a table top control if one has to leap up and find it on the charger or to charge it as often as is necessary.

The search continues!

I’d say the 7 is a touch too small, tho you can change the DPI, that forces it to tablet mode. It’s worth getting the 8, that’s what I run, again, you do have to force the DPI, but you can find instructions on the forum if you search for fire hd8.

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It’s the Fire 7. I run Roon on a Samsung Tab S2 and it is fantastic.

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The table-top charging dock is nice for this. I’ve got a Fire HD 8 set up (see my notes above in the thread) so it’s always on in the charging dock (I like the Albums display), which sits on the coffee table in front of the couch. Always fully charged. Just pick it up to do something. You do have to remember to put it back in on the stand when you’re done with it.

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@Bill_Janssen, I just ordered the 8 and a dock, i’ll check out your instrcutions and see how we do!

Thanks for the headsup.

Cheers

Hi @Bill_Janssen, I’m struggling at these satges:

Change the API of the tablet as described in http://www.androidbeat.com/2015/07/how-to-change-dpi-of-android-device-without-root/ 3. I set it to 189, which is correct, and will make Roon run in landscape mode.

Go into Settings > Device Options> Developer Options, and turn on “Stay Awake”, which will prevent the lock screen from coming up when it’s in the charging dock.

I can’t see how to get developer options to show, and set developer mode.

Do the files exist for a mac?

Cheers

Ah! Yes, the Fire, being Amazon, which is at war with Google, is slightly different. To get developer mode, you have to open the settings, then “Device Options”, then scroll down to “Serial Number”, and (I’m not kidding here) tap 7 times on the serial number. At the sixth tap, you’ll see a message like, “you’re one tap away from enabling developer mode”, and the seventh tap will add the “Developer Options” menu item just below “Serial Number”.

Thanks @Bill_Janssen.

I cracked it and have it running.

Much better than the 7, but I’m thinking maybe still too small. We shall see how ‘she who must be obeyed’ likes it.

Appreciate your help.

Cheers

Graham

Yes, it is a bit tiny. The 10" would presumably be bigger. :slight_smile: The odd thing is, in “Albums” view, I see 10 albums, but on my 10.5" iPad, I see only 8. The Roon remote software seems to be making this determination.

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as long as it is no iPad two

All done! The Fire8 setup is OK, but you do need enough confidence to be able to play with treminal and a bit of digging is necessary to find the appropriate equivalent hacks and ways in to the OS of choice (both on the tablet, and on your notebook).

Works, lets see what Ms Jody has to say…