I called this above. I do think now they have connect they want to maximise their own data and not spend on supporting other apps. Works for Spotify and Apple well. Evidence from the last 18 months doesn’t show the best relations with 3rd parties changing so much with little notice to them. They took a long time to role out the API to 3rd parties when they made the switch from the studio tier. Each vendor may well be on different contracts and each of these may expire and need renewing at different times. I can’t see the effort they have to do in sharing data with Roon not being of some cost to them either. Maybe the notice came after dev started we won’t know until it happens or doesn’t. If we see other 3rd parties going then it’s on the cards. It’s a waiting game I guess.
Roons comms are not the greatest for things like this. Remember there was just silence after both of Tidals recent changes. Let’s face it loosing one of the two service it has in the Western World is not something they want it advertise.
May all be, but I wouldn’t base it on someone saying that they don’t know. And in any case the conjecture needs to account for Roon working on this until literally days ago. I may be wrong but I don’t believe their contracts are that bad.
Maybe Roon should say something because this gets out of control.
Yes, an official announcement would be good anytime around now! I feel pretty bad for whats happened to Plexamp - they’ve been putting a tonne of work into it and this effectively renders it a toy that can only play local tracks.
I’m going to miss this a lot. Even though Roon’s integration into a single library is more seamless on paper, I found Plexamp way easier to use.
Mostly thought, Plexamp’s suggested playlists are so much better than Roon’s and their playlist builder tools (Sonic Sage and GPT etc) are so good for making playlists that cover lots of genre’s.
“Ending all third party integrations” and “We don’t have info on what deals they made with other services” seems contradictory.
Wouldn’t third-party integrations include Tidal Connect? Sounds unlikely. They just released Tidal Connect for Denon/Marantz.
Anyway, I tried Plexamp/Tidal for a while. It had some nice features, but it seemed like a work in progress that was never quite finished. Compared to roon, it’s like comparing a Corolla to a Lexus.
I also wonder if Plex was more trouble than they were worth in terms of revenue. I haven’t seen much torch and pitchfork uprising on the various forums over the news.
I think there’s more than meets the eye. Hopefully it doesn’t affect roon. At some point, though, roon and tidal may need to squelch any rumors and speculation.
3rd party is not connect that is their own application. They mean access their streams and data via 3rd party applications like Plex, Audivana, Roon etc. Marantz adding Connect may well be another sign of the demise of the old integrations and connect is the only way to interact with it. Spotify did the same when they brought out Connect. Only Sonos survived that as it likely their biggest users in the hardware market at the time.
I hope I am wrong, but the writings been on the wall for this for sometime if you look at how it’s been the last 18 months for Tidal.
I get change can be part of this fluid business, but Tidal integration was a large part of the Plexamp experience!
With that said I’ll persevere with this local library. I’ve found in the past there was a degree of repetition with Plexamp’s “radios”, but for smaller listening session/s (say 40 minutes) it’s just fine. Plexamp reliably works over cellular, a luxury that remains beyond my own Roon subscription.
If Tidal also drops Roon (admittedly PURE conjecture!) and I’m left with Tidal’s own discovery tools, then it will either be Roon/Qobuz or Tidal in isolation, and the latter is keener for price. Either way that will mean a real shake up for marginal users like myself.
Roon have been notorious for not announcing plans , time lines etc so as not to be held to them . Hence the absence of a feature road map etc
I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Being in the Southern Hemisphere (sorry Aus & NZ) Qobuz haven’t ventured so far south yet so I am definitely stuffed if that happens , lash ups and wires with Apple maybe ?
I’m wondering if this move has anything to do with the role out of Tidal’s royalty tracking feature for artists. Could it be that the current Tidal integration with Plex wasn’t giving Tidal reliable play history for royalties.
We won’t ever know?
We could speculate all day on this.
If services like Plex/PlexAmp lose features like Tidal, the competition with Roon diminishes and Roon may suffer as a consequence. No need for feature improvements if it’s the only option out there that integrates Tidal, and let’s not forget about Qobuz.
As for streamers having native Tidal support built in, my view is this isn’t worthwhile for Tidal if the streamer manufacturers put Tidal Connect in their products.
Sonos having inbuilt Tidal support is not a good example, as a Sonos user the last time I looked at using Sonos to play music from a streaming service, it’s wasn’t as good as the services own app.
The departure from Plex is likely contractual and cost related.
What ever the reason is, it’s quite possible this is a last minute decision with only a months notice being given to users.
Coincidentally, Spotify have cut off many users accessing it’s services via unauthorised means, could the labels be playing a part?.
I sub to Qobuz annual and use it as a means to fill library gaps, but I am closing those gaps by buying more and more music, so I have more control.
Music streaming generally is a basket case IMO, releases change, disappear, whole labels pull music, impossible to manage a library effectively like that.
I did know that hence my (sorry Aus and NZ) , but until recently it did look like they hadn’t discovered the equator. A menagerie lion running around the centre of the earth
