Would you buy a software pre/pro?

[Littletycoon]

I also use JRiver for my 5.1 stereo/surround sound in conjunction with an OCTO Dac 8 Pro. Drawbacks are I can only use streaming services like Netflix, Tidal, Amazon Prime video and only use HDR since my Mele Quieter 3 only renders that and not HDR+ or Dolby Vision. Sound is excellent. I run PEQ, Dirac DLBD and Baach for Windows (for 2 channel stereo). The streaming services also only do Dolby Digital + and no Dolby True HD or Dolby Atmos, but I really no longer wanted to curate a library of vinyl, cd's, DVDs and Blue Ray disks and have a ginormous power hogging AVR receiver so, for me, it's a very good compromise. There has been some progress in Atmos on the PC in that you can decode Atmos if it's Apple content on an Apple Mac, but that is obviously not nearly enough.

BTW, JRiver is not $700, but, depending on the flavor of the license, $60-70, and it does most anything the front end of a 7.1 Surround sound receiver can do, and quite a bit more. Anyone who wants to tackle the steep learning curve will find it a stone cold bargain.

Jriver has very low WAF (UI sucks really big time), but they don't seem to appreciate the importance of WAF.

 

[101geo]

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Nope, nope and nope. I think many overestimate the average persons ability to navigate the inner workings of Linux. With minidsp, it's 3 or 4 clicks and your ready to go.

 

[Keith_W]

Jriver has very low WAF (UI sucks really big time), but they don't seem to appreciate the importance of WAF.

I have a love/hate relationship with JRiver.

Love: low price, and it does more things than any other player on the market. Except one, and it's a biggie.

Hate: the one thing it does not do is support streaming natively! The UI is ancient, and the dev team don't seem interested in overhauling it. Roon came along, got bought by Harman, and the Roon devs made millions. Meanwhile, the JRiver dev team are stuck in a tiny office coding bug fixes for peanuts.

I used to be a big JRiver fan. These days I am looking for a replacement. I will not use any subscription based software. I think I will be looking for a long time.

 

[voodooless]

Nope, nope and nope. I think many overestimate the average persons ability to navigate the inner workings of Linux. With minidsp, it's 3 or 4 clicks and your ready to go.

All of these would work just fine on Windows and Mac... If you don't want to put in any effort, then just spend the money on the MiniDSP...

 

[3ll3d00d]

Roon came along, got bought by Harman, and the Roon devs made millions. Meanwhile, the JRiver dev team are stuck in a tiny office coding bug fixes for peanuts.

The impression I get of roon is they have people complaining in the same way around their own set of bugs that don't get fixed for years. Meanwhile you have to pay 3-4x a year for the privilege of using it and not getting those bugs fixed. Bargain!

Ultimately for anyone wanting high quality audio with video support, there's basically no other options in one piece of software, the alternative is something much more complicated and likely involving multiple pieces of software with a DIY orchestration layer. It's probably why this thread comes around every 9-12 months with someone wanting a superset of all available functionality from commercial and DIY devices for not much money and having no ability to create the thing in question (which seems impossible anyway because hdcp and codec licensing is a thing )

 

[101geo]

All of these would work just fine on Windows and Mac... If you don't want to put in any effort, then just spend the money on the MiniDSP...

I do appreciate the answers but I have tried and there is a difference between effort and capability/knowledge. The fact that a misplaced comma, space or full stop can bring everything to a halt is not what I call user friendly especially to those who are not used to using computers in their everyday jobs/life. I can make you a bespoke pair of shoes that fit like a glove or build you a car to do sub 9 second quarters but Linux has defeated me on too many occasions for me to waste the little time I have left on this planet.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

I have used Jriver in place of a multichannel preamp for more than 10 years and it really can do everything that I need, especially with its facilitation of VST plug-ins. Once one achieves a stable setup, it (and the host) run 24/7 and updates install transparently.

I'll acknowledge the issues with their support but I have adapted to it. And, yes, to the on-screen presentation, as well. The need for substantial improvements in both do impede general acceptance, and while I would welcome that, its control and configuration option excede the constraints of hardware alternatives.

That said, if the OP can do better, I'm in.

What interface do you use for HDMI I/O, or do you not have a need for that?

 

[Dougey_Jones]

Nope, nope and nope. I think many overestimate the average persons ability to navigate the inner workings of Linux. With minidsp, it's 3 or 4 clicks and your ready to go.

At this point in my life, I'd rather spend $3,400 for a MiniDSP Tide16 and have all of these features in one box. Looking forward to Amir reviewing the Tide16, it'll probably be the first Pre/Pro I've bought in over a decade.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

What interface do you use for HDMI I/O, or do you not have a need for that?

The ones on the host PC.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

The ones on the host PC.

Ok, so you just use an HTPC with Jriver as a source. I've also been using an HTPC+NAS as a source and media server since the turn of the millennium, but that's not really what's being discussed here. Unless I'm misunderstanding, the OP wants to create software to use your HTPC as a Pre/Pro, and wants to leave the "hardware interface" up to the user..

So my question to all the yeasayers is, exactly what hardware interface are you guys talking about? Who makes a programmable HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 in/out board that connects to a PC so that this theoretical software can even do it's job? Half of the job of an AVR/AVP is video switching and HDCP handshakes. Even if you don't care about Atmos or object based audio, which I don't, how are we doing seamless video switching from the couch with this proposed solution?

And before anybody says it, from the research I've done, there are no current video cards that can accept an audio return channel from a TV, if you wanted to use the TV as the HDMI switcher like you would with a MiniDSP Flex HT.

 

[3ll3d00d]

So my question to all the yeasayers is, exactly what hardware interface are you guys talking about? Who makes a programmable HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 in/out board that connects to a PC so that this theoretical software can even do it's job? Half of the job of an AVR/AVP is video switching and HDCP handshakes. Even if you don't care about Atmos or object based audio, which I don't, how are we doing seamless video switching from the couch with this proposed solution?

Sources - hdfury - magewell pro 4k - ezcapture - jriver - audio interface - amps

ip controlled via home assistant as the remote

4k, 8 channel pcm or bitstream, HDR and frame rate auto switching handled fine

I think Atmos not possible for a live feed
No idea about earc, probably also impossible

Both are irrelevant to me in my main setup so I haven't researched them further

It's pretty seamless within the constraints of what it's supported

 

[Dougey_Jones]

Using a capture card as an HDMI input board is a really messy hack and doesn’t address HDCP. These solutions aren’t even 1/4 baked.

 

[welwynnick]

Ok, so you just use an HTPC with Jriver as a source. I've also been using an HTPC+NAS as a source and media server since the turn of the millennium, but that's not really what's being discussed here. Unless I'm misunderstanding, the OP wants to create software to use your HTPC as a Pre/Pro, and wants to leave the "hardware interface" up to the user..
So my question to all the yeasayers is, exactly what hardware interface are you guys talking about? Who makes a programmable HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 in/out board that connects to a PC so that this theoretical software can even do it's job? Half of the job of an AVR/AVP is video switching and HDCP handshakes. Even if you don't care about Atmos or object based audio, which I don't, how are we doing seamless video switching from the couch with this proposed solution?

There are several ways to do it with off-board sources. The best is probably an AudioPraise VanityPro, plus an AES/EBU PCIe card for the PC.

VanityPRO | Audiopraise

Multi-channel HDMI Digital Audio Extractor with DSD Processing

audiopraise.com

AES16e - Products - Lynx Studio Technology, Inc.

We engineer the finest tools to help audio professionals create even better sound.

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For Atmos material, it's discussed in this thread:

Possible solution for DTS/Dolby/Atmos+eARC+HDCP to AES/EBU - via Dante? (for Okto DAC8PRO etc)

I've been trying to find something similar to the Arvus HDMI-2A or H2-4D. Ultimately to see if consumer multichannel sources like blu ray players, Apple TVs etc could be sent from HDMI-/+eARC into the XLR AES digital inputs of an Okto DAC8 Pro while not having to fret about HDCP, support eARC...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Dougey_Jones]

People in here acting like video switching is a solved problem. If you wanted to use one source, and that source is a PC, sure you can get an Okto8 or FlexHT and do your thing.

 

[3ll3d00d]

Using a capture card as an HDMI input board is a really messy hack and doesn’t address HDCP. These solutions aren’t even 1/4 baked.

I guess I will have to go back to enjoying my 1/4 baked solution that has no hdcp or video switching problems then

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Ok, so you just use an HTPC with Jriver as a source. I've also been using an HTPC+NAS as a source and media server since the turn of the millennium, but that's not really what's being discussed here. Unless I'm misunderstanding, the OP wants to create software to use your HTPC as a Pre/Pro, and wants to leave the "hardware interface" up to the user..

Yup. My interest in any form of HTPC is only in the audio portion therein.