Also, I think it would be best for me to add the music to the HDD, AFTER I setup all the settings in the app the way I want them.
I plan to create a few watched folders, so I can then just add music to the watched folders, and have Roon automatically recognize them.
Which brings me to another question: Has RoonLabs tested the limit of how many watched folders one can create? That would be great to know, so one can plan ahead.
I should probably figure out SMB, since I’ve been reading here, that it’s the easiest way to add music… Have never tried it.
When connecting external self-powered HDD via USB, does it make a difference the order one powers up the system?
For example: Should I connect the HDD via USB; power up the HDD; power up the Nucleus+; power up the amplifier (Devialet). In this order? (I will continue the Devialet discussion in the Devialet section of this community).
I would power the USB Drive on first. Then the computer. That way I can guarantee the OS will be able to access the HD during boot.
As for the DEV and the Nucleus, it depends on how they are connected. Assuming you are connecting via ethernet then, not really. If USB, I’d have the Dev on already before starting the Nucleus.
I have at least 10. Would you be planning on more than that? Just make sure that all watched storage locations are independent and that there are no overlaps. For example, don’t make a folder called JAZZ a watched folder, AND make a Mile Davis folder under Jazz also a different Watched folder. This will result in duplicates.
Personally, I setup the hard drive and copy music to it while connected to another PC. Then just move the drive over to the NUC. Otherwise, you are copying all the files over the network; which, depending on the network and amount of files could be a long copy.
It’s totally okay to add your watched folders after setting everything else up. You can do this by going to Settings > Storage at any time.
Generally, there is no limit here and it will depend on the number of locations that you have. We recommend choosing a top-level folder that contains all of your music for a particular storage location. If you have any specific ideas about how you’d like to set up your folders just let us know!
If your music is stored on a USB drive there will be no need to do this, but if you have music stored elsewhere on the network you’d also like to add you can read more about doing so here:
Regarding the watched folders:
My idea is to create one main independent top-level folder (right after the disk letter. the very first folder), for general, and favorite artists, where I can simply search by artist; etc.
Then, I want to create several more independent top-level folders, for specific genres, but not many. Right now, I know for sure two genre top-level folders I will have, but in the future maybe I’ll add more genre top-level folders, but only a few.
Where the increment of top-level folders will occur, is in top-level folders for specific music labels. Normally, music labels tend to keep a specific mood. So I want these moods available at the touch of a button, with bookmarks (other top-level folders will have it’s own bookmarks, too).
All this on 1 HDD (for now.)
Has Roon Labs noticed people having problems because of the amount of top level folders? These folders will also have bookmarks. Is there a limit on the amount of bookmarks?
I’ll continue later. But, right now I don’t have time.
You can focus by label and then set a bookmark. I would not do it by storage folders.
I use Storage Folders to turn on/off season music, like Christmas or Halloween. Or, multi-channel High Res. Or, all of my Spouse’s music. Stuff, that I don’t want all the time in the general library.
There aren’t any specific problems that we are aware of with many watched folder, but we don’t regularly test in configurations with a large number of these folders. As a general best-practice we recommend consolidating watched folders whenever possible, but there are no specific known issues and the top-level folders you want to add should be fine.
One thing I’d suggest, though, is that top-level folders by labels isn’t entirely necessary. You can select individual labels in Roon and create bookmarks for these labels for easy access, which doesn’t require separate watched folder.
If you have any other questions about this just let us know!
Interesting. So as to not bloat and slow down Roon in the long term when libraries start to get large?
Niccccccccce.
How effective is collecting music by Label+bookmark, withing Roon, without using separate watched folders for it?
I do not know if the Labels are in tags in the music…(maybe they are, but it’s not something I’ve dealt with).
Do I have to make sure Labels for each release, are in tags in the music, before adding music to Roon; …or are Labels magically available in each release?
Does Roon have a problem finding Labels, that for example: have not been added to Discogs dot com? I’m not sure, but it’s possible that I could be collecting at some time, a Label that is not available in popular websites like this one mentioned here? I’m just wondering how Roon would react to cases like this.
If creating individual bookmarks for each Label that I want to keep separate, is the recommended solution, then I will have stilllotsof bookmarks. Will this bloat; slow down Roon?
My idea of doing it by separate watched folders for each Label, is because I don’t want to deal later with music that I have not being able to be found by Label withing Roon.
If this will not be a problem, then I guess it would look something like this, in the HDD:
top-level watched folder: “Music” (maybe not actual name, idk)
^sub-folder: “Label”
^and then each Label in it’s own folder, at same level, inside first sub-folder (as seen above) called “Label”.
Something like that, I think.
What I’m hoping to achieve with having a bookmark for each Label, is that when looking at a Label bookmark, I want to be able to browse the Label releases that I have, not by artist, but by release. For example, lets say an actual music Label is called Catalog. The first release for this Label has a catalog number: CAT1. Second release: CAT2. An so forth. I want to be able to browse these releases in the order they have been released by the Label. When organizing releases for Labels in my computer, I keep for a lot of cases, the catalog number in the folder name of the release, like this for example: [CAT1] Insect - pooping (1900). So, that consists of [catalog number] artist - release name (year of release). In other Label collection cases, instead of putting [catalog number] first in the name, I put the actual release date, like this: 1900.02.29. The point being, that in a computer, I can look at it, ordered alphabetically, because the number in either case, start with the lowest number, and increases, therefore albums are forced to be organized that way, either by the latest release, or by the first release. In Bandcamp, for example, it’s similar but they showcase their releases, starting at the top with the latest release, instead of their first release. But that’s because Bandcamp it’s not a computer, and they want people to look at their latest relases first, which makes sense, otherwise people would have to always scroll to the bottom of the page to look at the latest releases. The point is, that when it’s comes to Label, it’s always organized. Either starting by first, of by the latest release.
Is there a way that I can know if Roon will be able to find the Label, before I add the music to Roon? In case it’s a rare Label, etc. idk.
Ok, that was long. Sorry. I’m just trying to explain what I hope to achieve within Roon. I’m sure you understand.
So, that’s for individual Label bookmarks.
Bare in mind, that I’ve never used Roon in my life. I’ve seen it in pictures; brief seconds in video reviews… that’s it.
Ok, to the next:
The other two top-level watched folders that I mentioned in the first comments a couple of days ago, that I said were going to be for specific genres.
So, a bookmarked top-level watched folder for a genre, is different than a bookmark for a Label. For a genre, I want to browse this bookmark by artist. Then, I pick an artist; look at it’s releases that I have; select a release; listen.
This is what I’m hoping to achieve with Genre-specific bookmarks, from top-level watched folders.
So you can understand why I want to do these Genres as top-level watched folders: The Genres for the two watched folders are: Martial Industrial, and Neofolk. If you investigate music from these genres, you’ll notice that the actual genres used to describe these type of releases, not always, and a lot of times, do not use these actual phrases, as the genre. Therefore, music will just get lost within other phrased genres, if I don’t put them in separate watched folders. I think. I’m not an expert of Roon.
Ok, that’s my insight for you Roon Team, for today.
Thank you for reading, and look forward to more great responses.
But, will turning off watched folders help Roon with users that have large libraries? I’ve read that once libraries get to a certain size, Roon starts to struggle. Turning off watched folders sounds sounds like something that helps Roon, in that case, since libraries in turned off watched folders won’t be available to Roon, until turned back on? I’m just saying. It’s sounds like something that helps in that regard. I wouldn’t know.
By the way, my large reply above in previous post, was to see if I could get feedback, to see if that is something I can achieve with Roon. Like I said, I’ve never used Roon, before.
