Qobuz subscriptions have albums that contain tracks that are disabled for streaming playback. Those tracks can be streamed from Qobuz by purchasing that album, and the Qobuz App or DLNA Control App can stream those tracks.
If you access the purchased album in a DLNA control app (LINN App, LUMIN App, BubbleUPnP/DLNA), the disabled tracks will appear and can be streamed from Qobuz.
With Roon, when accessing a purchased album, the invalid tracks are ignored and not displayed, so they cannot be streamed from Qobuz.
You might say that you can download the purchased albums and add them to your local library. But that would take up space in your local storage. And I don’t want to go to the trouble of downloading them locally when I can just buy them and stream them.
Can you please improve Roon so that these purchased tracks can be displayed and streamed?
Why can’t Roon do what the DLNA control apps in general do?
Roon itself is very versatile, but it lacks many functions and features that are commonplace in DLNA environments and general PC playback apps (e.g. Audirvana), not just this issue.
Screenshots
1st: Qobuz App before purchase. Tracks that need to be purchased are grayed out.
2nd: Qobuz App after purchase, the grayed-out tracks are enabled.
3rd: BubbleUPnP/DLNA App. All tracks are enabled for streaming after purchase.
4th: Roon. After purchasing, these tracks is still ignored and not displayed.
I think you are mistaken here. All tracks on an album purchased from Qobuz can be played via Roon without issue, even if some tracks are unavailable in the streaming version.
Your last screenshot is displaying the streamed version of the album, and not the purchased version that you presumably have added to your local library - it shows the “+” icon, and is also showing the Qobuz version.
You say:
You might say that you can download the purchased albums and add them to your local library. But that would take up space in your local storage. And I don’t want to go to the trouble of downloading them locally when I can just buy them and stream them.
Well, sorry, but that’s the only way that you will get to hear the “unavailable” tracks on an album that is being streamed from Qobuz. It’s a licensing issue imposed on Qobuz by the record label, and Roon Labs cannot bypass this.
Although I understand the point you are trying to make with your request, I would advise you to download the albums you are purchasing.
I’ve only recently started buying music from Qobuz, but I did notice that after completing my purchase Qobuz encourages met to download the music and even indicates that it might not be available for download at a later time. Presumably, if their agreement with a label ends, they will no longer have the track available for streaming or download.
I thought people purchased albums and music files so they could own them. I certainly would not purchase music simply for the privilege of streaming it. I would immediately download the files to my Roon library and back them up somewhere else.
Of course I back up, but I back up to cloud storage what I don’t need locally.
If I purchase “unavailable” tracks from Qobuz, why can I play it in the Qobuz app and DLNA via streaming, but not in Roon? This is what I am referring to in this topic.
I see 2 versions of that album in Roon. A 96/24 and a 44/16 version. Which version did you purchase? Can you click the version tab of the album in Roon? Maybe you are able to play the other version?
There may be some geographical licensing issues involved here. Where are you located? I’m in the Netherlands, and even though I have just purchased this album, my Qobuz app is still displaying some tracks as unavailable:
Thank you for your comments.
I am not looking for a workaround.
And the “download and play from local storage if purchased” is not what I am referring to in this topic.
The unavailable tracks purchased from Qobuz can be streamed using the Qobuz application or DLNA control application.
However, Roon cannot stream purchased unavailable tracks because they are not displayed.
Why is it that other apps and DLNA can play the tracks, but not Roon?
This is my question and request for improvement.
I am also in the Netherlands.
I think the reason it is still grayed out after purchase is probably the cache of the Qobuz app.
Try restarting the Qobuz app or clearing the cache.
It is natural for Roon to recognize the sound sources in local storage.
My problem is that Roon cannot stream purchased unavailable tracks from Qobuz.
With DLNA playback using DLNA control apps such as BubbleUPnP, I can stream purchased unavailable tracks from Qobuz, not from local storage.
Is the account I purchased on Qobuz the same as the account I am logged into on the Qobuz app?
If you purchased by same account but it is still unavailable, please take a moment and check. Please let us know the result.
Additions
Audirvana can also stream “unavailable” tracks purchased from Qobuz as well.
Only Roon cannot stream purchased “unavailable” tracks from Qobuz.
I believe that Qobuz have introduced a new version of their app. I uninstalled the Qobuz app from my PC and downloaded the latest version to reinstall, and now indeed, for Purchased albums, all tracks are now visible and playable in the app.
So that would explain why you can now play all the tracks in the app and via DLNA.
However, this does not mean that Roon Labs will be able to add this feature, since they are connected to the universal streaming service of Qobuz, not to each subscriber’s individual library.
By all means, let’s leave the Feature Suggestion here, but I suspect that the chances of Roon Labs addressing it are very remote indeed.
I for one will continue to purchase and download my albums from Qobuz.
Makes sense to me.
In DLNA applications and Audirvana, there is a Purchased item when you log into Qobuz, but not in Roon.
I don’t think it is technically difficult, since other applications are able to support it, but I took it as difficult to incorporate it into Roon’s existing structure.
It may not be a priority, but I hope that it will be supported in the future.
It is up to each user whether or not to download and listen locally. I am not going to discuss that.
It was important that people understand that this issue exists in Roon.
