Windows 10, I7 processor, 32Gb RAM, music files are on a stand-alone hard drive
Networking Gear & Setup Details
Netgear high speed router
Connected Audio Devices
Connection is via HDMI to a Roon-ready Trinnov Altitude 16 surround processor
Number of Tracks in Library
30,000 tracks (I really don’t know)
Description of Issue
Intermittent operation. It may work, it may not. Last night it was working, then suddenly sounded as if toy instruments were playing a hundred yards away. Some recordings exhibit many dropouts, the next one doesn’t.
Also, Roon Remote on my IPad struggles to find the core and usually will not function. It does occasionally, then loses the core, may find it again briefly - or not. My IPad is a month old up to date in firmware and operates other apps on the network et al just fine. I only have one network, and I am sitting ten feet from the router.
I have some other frustrations, but let’s get this thing working first.
I am currently listening to music but don’t know how long that may last.
I have recordings with bit rates anywhere from 44.1 kHz through 768 kHz (not many of the latter but plenty of 96, 176.4, 192, and 384). I have many multi-channel recordings in .dsf format, including 3.1, 4.0, 5.0, and 5.1. When Roon is working, it does play them. The problem is getting Roon and Roon Remote to work.
The question confuses me. The computer where the core resides is connected to the Internet either via ethernet or wi-fi (not sure which; there is an ethernet connection), but the audio/video signal is connected to the Trinnov via HDMI. How would the Trinnov function without a direct connection to the computer?
The Altitude16 is a Roon Ready device, so should be connected to your home network using an Ethernet cable. It doesn’t need a direct connection to the Roon Server (your Windows PC) since Roon works over the network.
Likewise, your Windows PC should also use a wired (Ethernet) network connection. Ideally, both devices network cables should connect to the same router or switch.
1 Like
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
15
Amazing machine!
What @Martin_Webster said. Disconnect that HDMI cable, and instead, connect the Trinnov to the Netgear router or network switch with an Ethernet cable. Should work better; the HDMI output from a Windows computer is compromised by all kinds of other convenience and/or efficiency hacks.
1 Like
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
16
I have to say, it troubles me that you’ve had problems getting the iPad to “see” the Core. That suggests there is some additional networking problem in your setup, either with WiFi (what the iPad uses to connect to the router), in the networking configuration of the Windows computer, or perhaps in the router configuration.
The Trinnov is always connected to the network via ethernet. That’s how I get firmware updates and how Trinnov techs can log into my machine. I don’t comprehend why you are saying I should disconnect the HDMI connection to the Trinnov. Where would the audio path be?
My IPad operates the Trinnov just fine wirelessly, connects to the network easily, and has unlimited access to the Internet. I am just as befuddled with that as your first comment.
The audio is being fed via the ethernet. It’s all 1s and 0s (digital signal). You’re essentially trying to feed it twice (the HDMI functions the same way, but is way more tempermental).There’s no “sound signal”. It’s not akin to two tin cans connected by a string. ; ) I have no idea if having them both plugged in is causing weirdness, but it can’t hurt to go to just the ethernet.
This is what the DAC (Digital → Analog Converter) in your Trinnov does. It takes the 1s and 0s and turns them into sound.
That is an entirely new concept to me. I will try it. However, that test will have to wait. In the course of messing around today I noted that Norton Security told me I had twelve out-of-date drivers, so I told it to go ahead and load new ones. HUGE mistake. Since then, the computer is flashing one blue screen of death after another, dying, rebooting, dying, etc., all this presumably having nothing whatever to do with Roon. One frustration after another.
Honestly, a lot of this sounds like the system you have your Core on might be a little…messy. The computer you have your Core running on, ideally, shouldn’t be doing anything but serving as the Core. It shouldn’t be a home PC you use for other things. So you shouldn’t need to run system/memory intensive processes in the background like Norton Security which is sure to cause hiccups when it decides to start digging around in your system periodically.
Honestly, it sounds as if you’re trying to sell me Roon’s core product. My computer is a dedicated music server, but it still has Internet access and therefore should be protected against viruses and hackers. The driver updates were largely to programs common to every Windows computer.
I don’t think that’s the case, but I think windows would be my least favorite, least preferred OS choice to run roon server on.
I used to use windows for work/dev stuff, but for home/music/movies/photos, I’ve been a mac user forever. And I’ve found that a mac mini is the perfect non-roon-product core.
Ok, maybe I’m trying to sell you a mac mini.
But my mini is a 2012 and it works perfectly. (So, you don’t need to spend much to get a great roon server.)
While I am waiting for a solution to my core residency, might I change the subject and ask if it is possible to modify metadata on Roon? It is easy on JRiver but I haven’t seen how to do it on Roon. Genres import with values all over the map, and I can’t create a coherent - by my standards - library. I want to be able to find easily any recording without keying in a search.
Do your files have the GENRE you want in the metadata tags? If so, in Roon import settings, simply tick the option to prefer your own tags for GENRE. That’s what I do, as I want my GENRES to be exactly what I assigned rather than what Roon thinks they should be.
edit: actually, in settings I choose to prefer my own tags for ALBUM ARTIST, ARTIST, ALBUM, GENRE
