Short Description
Roon Extension to play random tracks or albumsDescription
Within the Roon Community there are quite regularly queries regarding the randomness of shuffle and the lack of the option to play random albums. After reading about this I asked myself the question if it can be done via the Roon API and I thought it was worth a try. This is what I ended up with, I hope it fills a gap.Just Random
The extension uses the Browse API to get access to the tracks and albums in your library and uses a random number generator to pick a random entry. This generator is all there is regarding selection. There is no functionality to prevent repetition of artists, or even repetition of songs, it is all defined by the randomness of the generator. As a bit of a gimmick I included the option to select the used generator, I am curious to know if users are starting to like one over the other.By using a random number generator only, you are going to hear artists that have a lot of tracks in your library more often than artists that only have a single album in your library (just to be clear).
For those who want to know more about the available generators, have a look at the JavaScript module I use:
Tracks and Albums
Besides playing random tracks it is also possible to play random albums. A random album is selected and played completely before a new random album is played. The complete album is added to the Queue and if shuffle is enabled on the queue then the tracks of the album will also be shuffled (according standard Roon behavior).The random mode can be configured per zone and the available options are:
- Off
- Tracks
- Albums
No need to feed
The Random Radio extension, sort of, competes with the standard Roon Radio functionality. I had to find a way to integrate it in the Roon UI, preventing that you have to go to the extension settings every time you want to play something random.To start random play for a zone that has the function enabled, you go to the Queue screen for that zone and turn Radio on. The radio button with toggle shortly to indicate that the request is received and Random Radio will start playing, it is not necessary to feed it with a song. While playing, you can stop the random mode by switching radio on again. It will again shortly toggle to give you some feedback and playback will stop when the queue is empty (i.e. at end of track or album).
After turning Random Radio off while still playing, you can turn on Roon Radio by switching radio on again. The switch will stay in the on position to indicate that Roon Radio will start after the queue has finished playing.
Besides explicitly starting Random Radio you can also just play some music and it will take over when the Queue becomes empty and Roon Radio is switched off.
Screenshots
Status:
Settings:
Availability
Random Radio can be installed via the Roon Extension Manager, it should appear in the list after the latest repository update has been pulled in by the auto update function.To learn more about the Roon Extension Manager, visit the Project Wiki or the Forum Post.
There is also a project page on GitHub. Manual installation takes the same steps as manual installation of the Alarm Clock extension.
Important notes!!
- Use this extension at your own risk!
- Make regular backups of your Roon database.
- This extension is in beta status, as is the API it depends on. This means that there can be small or even bigger issues!
- Using this extension requires some tinkering (as the forum category suggests), the recommended installation method is by using the Roon Extension Manager.
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