RoonServer is exactly that “hidden” service.
There is a Roon API already.
My guess is that your problems are mostly arising from have a massively enlarged DPI setting on Windows (we know about the issue, but it’s low priority for us to fix the splash screen) and a crap internet connection (TIDAL/radio issues).
I used mConnect briefly to experiment with MQA before I had even considered Roon.
I really did not like it at all. I moved back to using Lumin (on one of my systems) and Kazoo on my main system (much better) as soon as I could. However, Roon was a complete relevation as soon as I installed it.
Obviously, we have very different requirements when it comes to a music UI. I voted with my wallet and chose Roon over mConnect or any of the alternatives. You can obviously do the same if you chose to do so.
If you’re using Roon for three years why you didn’t purchase the lifetime subscription for just $450? I did a free evaluation for a week and decided that it is good enough for me and purchased the lifetime license. The only question is what will be happen when Roon Labs will go out of business?
It was answered five years ago:
I have lifetime licences for roon, PLEX and mConnectHD. all work very well. All I’m saying is roon isn’t that much of a ‘cut above the rest’ considering the price and market aims.
My $.02 - you can address the tone of the OP if you’d like, I don’t have a problem with doing so. But let’s not pretend there are not significant areas of the UI that just have never really worked well and need a major update of some sort. Scrolling direction and aesthetics aside, there are things that just plain don’t work well.
Roon has some fantastic features. But a beautiful luxury vehicle that has leaks in the roof can be annoying to drive occasionally. Lovely on sunny days, but at some point, it’s gonna rain, and that roof leak is gonna annoy.
If I am not paid for $500 lifetime, I still pay $700 for now.
I would welcome something like this.
The Roon UI is perfectly fine with me and I not a fan of lyrics, metadata and all of these other photos.
I like my own album art and metadata. I use Roon really for only 2 reasons. 1 is fidelity. I love the sound output and tweaks available. For me this is a complete feature set. The second is the networking to multiple locations in my house with the onscreen displays. This feature set is also complete for me.
If there was a version with other reduced functions that did not require an internet connect and these dog gone constant updates, I would really like that.
–MD
If you dont need that, why do you use Roon??? Sounds as if Excel is good enough four your purposes.
I stated that in 1 and 2. Dah…
–MD
No. sounds all the same. Whether I play something thru Roon or whatever. Makes no difference. Source is key.
The only reason to use Roon is rich metadata, recognition of (classical) compositions, pictures of artists, composers etc.
No not quite. The fidelity is Roon is awesome with the upsampling and also MQA.
–MD
MQA is a marketing fad. But thats OT. Still fine if you like it.
Let me just say that since I am old school that I listen to my music and do not watch my music.
–MD
This thread brings up many exciting points I’ve never read before in this forum! I appreciate the passion! Thanks everyone!
The Plex dlna server works fine. The Plexamp music player started bit perfect but then reverted to 44.1 downsampling. Devs don’t care as bit perfect is secondary to cross platform compatibility. If you want dlna go JRiver with JRemote for bit perfect remote access and an ugly hard to use UI. Roon just works for the audiophile and I’m sure remote access will happen when they feel it can provide the same user experience.
Oh dear, thats like going from the early 2000’s to the late 80’s.
Well,
I only listen to the music I like and I owe a copy of the music I love. It’s also my way of supporting my beloved artists (and to some extend the industry).
As I can possibly like only a tiny bit of the music catalog, I hardly listen to 1-2 new albums per month, so having a subscription to a music service is useless to me. I don’t have one and I will probably never will.
I put my digital musical library on HD roughly 15 years ago. Using a UI like the LMS was more than enough to me, as I know well all my library. I find that most DLNA software are clumsy and boring, so I stayed with LMS until I could find something that brings some added value : Roon.
So, to come to the point :
Is Roon UI perfect ? I honestly don’t care, it is the best for my needs, that’s all I care for.
Is Roon UI good enough for it’s price ? No doubt it is. And not just for its UI.
Is Roon overpriced for its added value (to me) ? Definitely not, it’s quite comparable to similar software.
Same here. I mostly purchase High Res digital downloads. I still purchase CDs only when I cannot find it for download. Usually the CDs are used but with Roon it sounds absolutely awesome especially if I upsample.
The Roon UI is ok for me because when I rip I provide my own metadata, album art and the digital downloads come with it embedded.
–MD
I think the user interface is a matter of personal preference. For me, the current Roon interface works well and I don’t need or want any changes. I mostly use my laptop as my control device and it works well.
I use Roon to stream Tidal and Qobuz using a Roon Nucleus. I have ethernet to the Nucleus and an Oppo 203 with HDMI to a Bose system. It sounds great and works perfectly. I have no delays, buffering, stuttering, or any other problems.
As far as price, that too is an individual issue, IMHO. I think Roon is a good value at $120 per year. I opted for a lifetime at $500 just before the price increase. I wanted to guard against possible price increases for the annual subscription.
I am a very loyal customer, not only for Roon but for most other things I pay for. If I buy something and it meets my expectations, I say so. Since buying the Nucleus and getting everything wired with ethernet, Roon has met or exceeded all of my expectations.
As far as others who have issues, I suggest you enter a request in the “Support” forum.