Android as Roon Endpoint? - new feature: bit perfect

[ahofer]

This seems worth a bump:

ARC bit-perfect in Android phone! [To External USB-DAC]

Hey guys @Roon, good job! Finally bit-perfect output to external USB-DAC, both PCM and DSD There’s one more thing… Most external USB-DACs with built-in headphone amp do not have a physical volume control, for example AK-HC2, they rely on manufacturer app to control the hardware volume...

community.roonlabs.com

I know we have other threads, but I don't think this should be buried. I think it means I can use my old Android tablets as a Roon endpoint.

(I mean, there was a way, but this is easier)

 

[VintageFlanker]

That is cool... But for now, I still don't get the purpose of two separate apps: Roon Remote (to control Roon) and Roon ARC (to act as a standalone player, even on the go). Why these two apps are not merged as one, already?

 

[ahofer]

Fair point, but if I can open up an app, and have a tablet-screen streamer, that's cool. I wonder if you can still control it from a separate Roon instance, tho?

 

[dadregga]

That is cool... But for now, I still don't get the purpose of two separate apps: Roon Remote (to control Roon) and Roon ARC (to act as a standalone player, even on the go). Why these two apps are not merged as one, already?

Because they're for two completely different, highly-specific purposes, and merging them into one would result in a harder-to-use experience overall. That's why they split them to begin with - originally they were all mashed into the Remote (and still are - you can still stream to your phone from the Remote app), and it sucked.

 

[VintageFlanker]

(and still are - you can still stream to your phone from the Remote app)

You cannot on the go. That's the all point of Roon 2.0.

merging them into one would result in a harder-to-use experience overall.

I still have a hard time understanding why it could be the case.
Local network? Direct access to Roon Core. You stream to whatever your DAC, Roon Endpoint, Roon Ready streamer, or your smartphone audio out. Done.
On the go? Previous access to Roon Core. You just select your phone audio out. Done.
What would be so hard to use here?

Having two different apps is a harder-to-use experience to me.

 

[dadregga]

You cannot on the go. That's the all point of Roon 2.0.

Yep! Unless you used a VPN into your home network, which is what I did.

The networking concerns are totally different for remote vs local streaming. The client implementation is totally different. The dynamic transcoding stuff is entirely different.

You could bloat the main app's transcoding and networking stack, purely for the remote, mobile use case, or you could have an app specialized for the remote use case.

As a software engineer, it makes perfect sense to me why the did this, and I would have done the same - different problem, different context - different app.

I still have a hard time understanding why it could be the case.
Local network? Direct access to Roon Core. You stream to whatever your DAC, Roon Endpoint, Roon Ready streamer, or your smartphone audio out. Done.
On the go? Previous access to Roon Core. You just select your phone audio out. Done.

Remote networking, adaptive bandwith usage, dynamic, network-quality-dependent transcoding - all that is completely different for a remote, mobile streaming solution.

Like I said - you can emulate the exact setup you describe by setting up a VPN to your home network and using Roon Remote. It's OK, but it fundamentally fails to work as seamlessly as ARC does, because it's built on different assumptions - assumptions which don't hold true on mobile, mobile networks, or varying degrees of connectivity and network speed. Which is why ARC exists. Fundamentally different problem, fundamentally different app.

What would be so hard to use here?

Having two different apps is a harder-to-use experience to me.

Why? Are you using both at the same time? They're pointing at the same library/server.

 

[VintageFlanker]

Are you using both at the same time?

Not often, but it happens. Usually, Remote for my main system, but also ARC when I chill at home with my BT headphones.

 

[mSpot]

I still don't get the purpose of two separate apps: Roon Remote (to control Roon) and Roon ARC (to act as a standalone player, even on the go). Why these two apps are not merged as one, already?

From the user's perspective, it absolutely makes sense that there should only be a single app. Imagine if Spotify and Spotify Connect were separate apps.

I suspect that they created the ARC app separately because it was the quickest way to bring it to market. Combining the apps would require some amount of redesign. The existing Roon Remote app is fully functioning and stable, and I can understand that they might want to leave it alone for now. Perhaps they may combine the two apps in the future.