Offline caching of select content from my local library.
Offline caching of select content from my local AND online library.
Realtime access to my Core and the local library.
Realtime access to my Core and the full library, online as well as “local” media.
0voters
If you care to comment, do you see that it’s necessary to be able to make chnages to your library while on the move/offline? Such as album editing, building playlists, adding new online music where applicable?
In case of cached content should you be able to select resolution of the cached media? A few DSD albums easily eats a dozen gigabytes…
For what it’s worth, i see the Offline Caching of my local library as the desired function. I don’t need to be able to manipulate my library on the move. A function to decrease the resolution of files while caching would be nice, but not crucial.
However, if i were inclined to the realtime access, i’d likely assume that library management would be possible when outside of my local network.
Roon provides “rich metadata”, I imagine “Roon Mobile” would mean remote access to this metadata, not your music files (which would probably come from tidal or qobuz anyway). I don’t need it.
Why can’t we have both realtime and caching. Plex does this method and it works well. You can choose to sync media locally if it’s your own material or stream it if you have decent mobile data plan. You can’t offline any streaming content in any app as it’s not allowed by any of the studios l, unless via the services own apps and heavily encrypted. So you will only be able to cache your own owned music. It will always have to be always online for streaming services.
I want one unified library and music management UI across all devices,I have 2 mobile and 3 DAPs, once I got new music I have to copy 5 times plus Roon Core to enjoy them all, and 512GB SD card already full, many music I can’t bring them on the road, many unique music (especially DSD) not available from Tidal and Qobuz, even I can bring my core to travel, can’t setup at hotel with hotel WiFi. And remove and transporting Roon Core can be risky that lost or damaging the storage and hardware.
With powerful computer today, transcode HiRes into 16/44 lossless on the fly should be easy, and 5G network able to Stream 4K video but no Roon?
We will all have different usage sets but if I have access to Roon on the move I would like to be able to use the DSP settings on my core as I have various ones set up for headphones and to negate some of my hearing loss.
Ideally if it is possible I’d like all the functionality that I currently have on my iphone at home in Dublin also on my Iphone in my hotel room in Syracuse.
Roughly, feature equivalence with Plex/Plexamp plus whatever Roon can add to that. I care less about metadata and reviews and more about being able to play music.
You need to clean up the poll options. Some options are unclear. Others are impossible.
Starting with the latter issue, offline caching of Tidal and Qobuz encrypted offline content is a pipe dream. The very same limitation as importing Apple Music encrypted offline content into Roon. That capacity understandably is limited to their respective apps. As such, eliminate the current second option.
Moving on to the former issue, why is “local” in quotes in the fourth option but not in the other options? Is there some difference? Is “local” in reference to the Roon core or the mobile device?
Realistically and clearly, these are the three Roon mobile possibilities:
No realtime remote access to Roon core. Offline caching of Roon core selected library (Storage only) for mobile reference and mobile playback.
This option is similar to what the iTunes/iPod paradigm started two decades ago and what streaming services offer with their encrypted offline content in order to reduce or eliminate mobile data usage.
Realtime remote access to Roon core and entire library (Storage, Tidal, Qobuz) for mobile reference but without mobile playback ability.
This option may not be very popular. However, some users just want to be able to review what media they already have while out seeking additional media.
Realtime remote access to Roon core and entire library (Storage, Tidal, Qobuz) for mobile reference and mobile playback.
This option is likely to be the most popular and is the current fourth option with greater clarity.
It also could be expanded into a further option regarding transcoding and/or DSP. Some users may want, for example, transcoding to AAC or MP3 in order to reduce mobile data usage. Roon currently lacks this transcoding ability. Similarly, some users may want Roon’s full DSP features, such as convolution or DSD upsampling, for office or second home locations where mobile data usage concerns are nil.
I’d be happy with the ability to use Roon mobile just to stream from Qobuz or TIDAL, using my library, playlists etc.with Roon Radio, and play history and queue synchronised with the core.
Offline would be a bonus, but only if play history is reflected in core. Otherwise, there’s little gain and I may just as well continue to use the Qobuz app.
Very simply I was just hoping that I’d open the roon app anywhere and have same functionality I do at home. Output would most likely just be my phone, but I don’t want to have to switch to native Qobuz on the go. Would also be nice to still have access to my local library.
I may be the odd one out because library editing on the phone is most important to me. I can stream music with the Qobuz app, but I don’t want to have to write notes about necessary edits so that I can apply them at home.
I’m not so sure about that. If you look at how your Roon Core handle online content based on network traffic this indicates that Roon can cache the current song and replay from memory/cache. But i’m guessing here, and the options are more like a wish list.
By local media, with or without quotes, i mean media locally available to your Roon Core. I don’t think i need to elaborate any further?
What kind of mobile editing? Roon already has made concessions, too many concessions toward small screens.
Roon’s responsibility and legacy should be as the last and greatest local music library management and playback app – in the listening room where larger screens rule.
After Roon, it is game over. No serious competitors will be forthcoming in the future. Native streaming apps will take over.
Changing credits mostly. If phone is no deal, tablet is fine as well. The question posed was which mobile feature would help Roon users. Mobile metadata editing is mine, otherwise I have no need for Roon mobile, and that’s fine too. I was answering the question.
Today, with Apple Music, I can both stream my collection in real-time and I can cache it for off-line use (e.g. air travel). I can also change streaming/download options, with respect to file size/resolution. The Apple Music app for iOS is a case study in usability, IMO.
Additionally, I can edit my Apple Music library (update meta data, add/remove anything) and it instantly reflects to my library. In other words, my desktop library syncs these changes whenever I run the MacBook app.
Here’s another thing missing from the poll: robust playback with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (which Apple Music supports flawlessly and TIDAL supports miserably, which should give you a hint of the support issues Roon has in store).
Without all of the above, Roon Mobile is sub-par to the point where the juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
Honestly, if there was a reasonable way for me to bridge lossless Apple Music to my 2-channel and head-fi rigs, I might be done with everything else. For now, I am maintaining two libraries and have been for a decade.
Personally, all I want is my playlists available to play on my mobile in my car where I spand a lot of time.
I only maintain playlists in roon since I’ve had it and it has all my music available either local or via tidal.
I simply don’t have the time to build playlists across different platforms - I barely scrape by with roon.
If roon were able to send the playlists back into Tidal that would be a solve but afaik it doesn’t.
The other solve needed is for roon to be able to be remotely turned off - if I leave it running in the house and hit the car with Tidal then tidal keeps dropping and I can’t do anything about it - I even bought a family plan stupidly thinking that would allow multiple use of the login but no…
Indeed I want one unify Ui as I stay at home, just access to my home library, playlist and favorites accessible when away, and audio sources stream from Tidal or Qobuz still acceptable.
Once we leave the home, the Roon app have zero function, I want more from Roon App!
The best way to answer the question is by beginning to analyze the three main categories of Roon users. I would guess they are as follows:
Exclusive (or mainly) users of streaming services (I would assume mainly Qobuz in Europe, in the US I don’t know), who use Roon at home as a sort of high-end Airplay mostly for the RAAT features (roon ready on high-end audiophile devices and/or PCs linked to such devices, multi-room ecc.) which the mainstream services do not possess;
Exclusive (or mainly) users of very large local libraries, who use Roon as a sort of high end Itunes and for search;
Mixed users of streaming services and manageable local libraries <500gb. They use Roon at home for the high end RAAT and Itunes features and syncronize their local library with their iphone via Itunes and use it on the go via itunes/apple music.
This list is not suposed to be exhaustive, but I should think we should not overburden Roon with expectations on everything: there will always be issues that are better taken care of by either the mainstream services (playlists) or the even more specialized softwares (tagging ecc,).
Getting back to the three categories:
These people do not really need a Roon Remote: the Qobuz app works just brilliantly on the road (and although I have never used the Tidal app I assume it works as well, if not another reaon to switch to Qobuz);
The only way to solve the problem of those people would be a genuine remote access from outside, sort of Plex-style, but I think we all know the security and stability issues which that creates; I honestly do not believe that there is any significant demand for such a service any more;
This leaves the third category, where an apparently seamless app would resolve all current needs. Rather than being constrained on the go to use the Qobuz/Tidal app for streaming and Itunes/Apple Music for the local library synchronized between the PC and the Iphone, a new “remote” Roon app integrating those two features would create the same environment to which you are used at home. Just think about in the car: at the moment Carplay has very good Qobuz and Apple Music integrations, tomorrow you would have in Carplay one single Roon integration for local and streaming content just as at home. Technically it should be rather straight-forward, as it just replicates the same integration procedure done in the PC. BTW, this seamless integration exercise is exactly the trick with which Apple hooked the whole planet on its products.
Said all that: Roon appears to me at the moment a brilliant idea in need of some refocussing. It had started out as a combination of very high-end Airplay with very high-end Itunes, and it was extremely well executed. However, the competition has not slept: while Roon went for high-end audiophile product integration (Nucleus) which by definition is a very small niche market, the main competition (Apple Play and Apple Itunes) went for content integration (Apple Music).
It is time for Roon to become a high end integrated Apple Play/Apple Itunes/Apple Music, and there are just two simple steps to take: full merger with Qobuz to “own“ the contents and implementation of a “remote” app along the lines above. Roon’s main assets are RAAT and a very slick UO, Qobuz has the content and a very well functioning app. Perfect marriage!