Is it the case that one must have rp4 for and control Roon core with Windows surface dial.
Well, it won’t work directly. Something’s needed.
I didn’t think you needed to have rp4 and an SD flash card with a roodial on the latest version of core, but maybe I misunderstood…
If there’s been a change with the latest version, I cannot say because I have not tried it lately. However, unless someone else jumps in with that info, I can try it on Tuesday when I get back.
I believe you’re asking about a product called rooExtend. rooExtend is a collection of licensable Roon extensions - you install rooExtend on a Pi and purchase licenses for the capabilities you want to enable (and some capabilities, though not dial control) are free. Surface Dial support is one of the extensions. There’s also a turnkey hardware option available.
The relevant threads are:
If you want to go the turnkey hardware route, instead of a Pi, that information is here: