Roon vs Dlna

[Phorize]

Hello. I’ve seen this issue covered to some degree but still have some questions. I currently stream my flac collection with mini dlna on Debian running on a pc engines apu c4 board. So far this has been a perfectly reliable way of doing it. From system administration point of view it is in line with best practice and is certainly more secure than off the most consumer off the shelf nas systems (occurs to me at this stage that audio enthusiasts don’t usually consider the security of the internet capable devices that they spend a fortune on). In audio terms my Allo Digione Signature plays nicely with dlna, not withstanding the clunkyness of dlna library browsing(if only Volumio could index dlna). My question is this, if I don’t use proprietary codecs or transcode things on the fly, does raat offer any advantages over dlna beyond the opportunity to have a much nicer content browsing experience?

 

[March Audio]

From memory Roon are dead against DLNA.

Quick search and I have found a link explaining why they have contempt for it.

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/whats-wrong-with-upnp/2101/3

Personally regardless of the issues they cite I would still use Roon as it is simply the best music player software out there, functionality and usability.

 

[BillG]

If you don't like the less than user friendly experience of your current setup, might I suggest Emby?

https://emby.media/download.html

Even its freeware version is highly functional - the only features missing from that, as opposed to the paid, are the ability of remote streaming from outside one's local network, and the ability to download files to client devices.

https://emby.media/about.html

I just happen to be using right now, chillaxin' on the bed, and streaming to Chromecast from my PC; I'll include some screen shots below of the client running on an Android tablet:







P. S. I personally consider Roon to be overpriced ($500USD) for what it does, and I use a combination of MusicBee (freeware) for local playback (it has a DLNA server plug-in available, but it's a little buggy) and Emby (freeware edition - paid $120USD, if I recall correctly) for streaming to various devices around my home...

 

[hvbias]

Personally regardless of the issues they cite I would still use Roon as it is simply the best music player software out there, functionality and usability.

I've yet to see anyone that listens to a lot (or primarily) classical music say this

I am willing to give them another try from a couple of years ago if anyone has a persuasive argument.

 

[jhwalker]

I've yet to see anyone that listens to a lot (or primarily) classical music say this

I am willing to give them another try from a couple of years ago if anyone has a persuasive argument.

I listen almost exclusively to classical music, and have used Roon since the day it first arrived in beta. Have never had any problems with it, but I also am VERY exacting with my metadata / tagging. I tag all my files using iTunes (believe it or not) and have never had any issues with Roon whatsoever.

 

[Joachim Herbert]

Jazz and classical here. Love roon. Great software that is improved release by release. Used jriver before, still do for tagging.

 

[DuxServit]

If you just want to enjoy music and don’t want the hassle of installing various pieces of freebie software, then Roon is the way to go.

 

[captain paranoia]

and don’t want the hassle of installing various pieces of freebie software, then Roon is the way to go.

Just the hassle of installing Roon, then...?

 

[watchnerd]

Jazz and classical here. Love roon. Great software that is improved release by release. Used jriver before, still do for tagging.

Ditto, mostly classical and jazz.

Roon is fine for me.

You just have to learn how to use searching instead of file structures.

 

[hvbias]

I listen almost exclusively to classical music, and have used Roon since the day it first arrived in beta. Have never had any problems with it, but I also am VERY exacting with my metadata / tagging. I tag all my files using iTunes (believe it or not) and have never had any issues with Roon whatsoever.

Roughly how many albums/performances? I am coming up on 4000 CDs with some like the Beethoven piano sonatas I have over 10 complete cycles and 20+ CDs of the late sonatas. Is the search good enough for things like that?

Edit: side question- have they added multi channel support for active digital crossovers?

 

[Phorize]

[/QUOTE]Quick search and I have found a link explaining why they have contempt for it.

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/whats-wrong-with-upnp/2101/3

Personally regardless of the issues they cite I would still use Roon as it is simply the best music player software out there, functionality and usability.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the link. So the main issues that they have with dlna is that it forces end point producers to use a limited set of codecs/pay licence fees and it has a fairly horrible user experience. I guess I really only use flac so this doesn’t impact me. The user experience bit I do get-but if that was the only benefit I’m not sure I would be bothered to change things, especially as the sonics seem likely to be the same as dlna. Roon does look slick though.

 

[Phorize]

If you don't like the less than user friendly experience of your current setup, might I suggest Emby?

https://emby.media/download.html

Even its freeware version is highly functional - the only features missing from that, as opposed to the paid, are the ability of remote streaming from outside one's local network, and the ability to download files to client devices.

https://emby.media/about.html

I just happen to be using right now, chillaxin' on the bed, and streaming to Chromecast from my PC; I'll include some screen shots below of the client running on an Android tablet:

View attachment 26750

View attachment 26747
View attachment 26748
View attachment 26749

P. S. I personally consider Roon to be overpriced ($500USD) for what it does, and I use a combination of MusicBee (freeware) for local playback (it has a DLNA server plug-in available, but it's a little buggy) and Emby (freeware edition - paid $120USD, if I recall correctly) for streaming to various devices around my home...

Emby looks interesting-nice to see freebsd support. ZFS is as good as it gets for media storage.

 

[March Audio]

Thanks for linking to that post. So it seems that there are three reasons to use Roon.

1) Easier to live with proprietary codecs for the user/easier life for endpoint manufacturer.

2) Better if users dac clock is less capable than their


Thanks for the link. So the main issues that they have with dlna is that it forces end point producers to use a limited set of codecs/pay licence fees and it has a fairly horrible user experience. I guess I really only use flac so this doesn’t impact me. The user experience bit I do get-but if that was the only benefit I’m not sure I would be bothered to change things, especially as the sonics seem likely to be the same as dlna. Roon does look slick though.

One of the major reasons to use Roon is the integration of Tidal or Qobuz. Combined with the meta data, information and links to other similar and related music and artists it allows you to effortlessly explore new music. It's not just a good media player. It has a free trial BTW.

 

[Soniclife]

The user experience bit I do get-but if that was the only benefit I’m not sure I would be bothered to change things, especially as the sonics seem likely to be the same as dlna. Roon does look slick though.

It's all about the user experience, the sound should be the same from any competent player. Only you can decide if you like a player's user experience, and if so what that's worth to you. At the end of my 3 month trial I paid, could not face going back to what I was using before.

 

[DuxServit]

Just the hassle of installing Roon, then...?

Well, you gotta install 1 piece of software (Roon). Easy, no hassle (on a Mac). Also easy on Win7Pro.

I initially signed on to a 1 year deal just give Roon a good try for 6 months. After 6 months I “upgraded” to the lifetime. They honored the remaining 6 months.

I also have been using Audirvana and JRiver for several years now.

 

[captain paranoia]

Well, you gotta install 1 piece of software (Roon). Easy, no hassle (on a Mac). Also easy on Win7Pro.

My point was that other players I've used are also one piece of software, and easy to install, so I was puzzled as to how Roon was different. It seems that it isn't.

 

[DuxServit]

My point was that other players I've used are also one piece of software, and easy to install, so I was puzzled as to how Roon was different. It seems that it isn't.

One reason I even tried a Roon Server was the ability to add multiple endpoint devices within the network, and also have bridging capability. Audirvana certainly could not do this a couple of years ago. Ditto for JRiver.

 

[jhwalker]

Roughly how many albums/performances? I am coming up on 4000 CDs with some like the Beethoven piano sonatas I have over 10 complete cycles and 20+ CDs of the late sonatas. Is the search good enough for things like that?

Edit: side question- have they added multi channel support for active digital crossovers?

7,250 albums here. Search works pretty much 100% in that it finds anything you've tagged.

 

[Sal1950]

I just happen to be using right now, chillaxin' on the bed,

"Chillaxin" I love it!

 

[watchnerd]

"Chillaxin" I love it!

Is that word new to you, Sal?

First Urban Dictionary entry way back in 2003:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Chillax