JRiver Media Center for Windows

User Reviews

• a mixed bag -

  ueliueliJuly 27, 2017

  Pros

  many functions

  Cons

  Severe bugs might pop up after initial stable state. You might be left without solution to bugs. Talks about feigned workarounds in their forum.

  Summary

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• Great media player and streamer

  seabarryOctober 6, 2016

  Pros

  Great Sound Quality using numerous audio formats

  Cons

  Could be complicated to use

  Summary

  Great program for ripping, playing, and streaming digital music. I currently stream to x-box from a computer and have had no issues. Very good sound quality.

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• I reported a bug and their CEO called me a "smartass"

  gabycadaverJuly 8, 2016

  Pros

  Reasonably flexible database-style software for organizing and playing media files, audio files in particular.

  Cons

  - Use of DSP features when converting audiotracks or transferring them to a portable device can cause serious distortion. (That was the bug I reported.) - Software has several features that kind of work (sometimes) and kind of don't: For example, the "Sync Handheld" feature for copying audio files onto your phone or other portable device.

  Summary

  I use this software to organize and play my audio library. For that it works reasonably well, although I have doubts about the playback quality when using some of the features -- e.g., the various types of R128 volume leveling available in the settings. For organizing and playing video files I never found it particularly useful, and I have been using various versions of the software for well over ten years. Good old VLC has a cleaner, more user-friendly interface. That having been said, if you have a very large digital audio library in a variety of formats, then jriver media center may be a good option for you. Other reviewers claim that this is complex software and is only useful for tech geeks. I am enough of a techie that this does not bother me so much, and I am also extraordinarily patient. However, as mentioned above, after hours of tinkering with settings sometimes I find myself at the end of my wits, at which point my only recourse is to go to the user forum, which is not very helpful. Typically several jriver cheerleader users will tell you that you're not really having a problem -- that you're just stupid. Then the "beta testers" will chime in and say the same thing. Finally one or two ordinary users will comment and and say, "Yeah, I'm having the same problem you are." Then nothing happens. It's next to impossible to get the attention of the developers. I tried doing it with humor and got called a smartass. Humor doesn't work with them.

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• Only Good if you are a Computer Tech

  September 2, 2015

  Pros

  - Not many other options out there for a hard drive media center player and organizer. - At first, the interface looks like it has a lot of promise - Interesting organization for movies

  Cons

  - Impossible to fix problems unless you are a computer tech geek - There is no support even for paid subscriptions - Online forums will quickly take you into the bowels of JRiver and your computer settings -- don't go there if you don't know what you're doing - It takes over all media settings for your computer - I have spent hours trying to fix the JRiver volume levels on my Windows 7 computer (external speakers). The playback is impossibly quiet unless you crank the volume on the external device, which distorts volume and wrecks the experience. The online forums have about 20 different steps to check, none of which provides a real solution. - JRiver Media Center cannot simply alphabetize movies (psst: "A" and "The" are not used when you alphabetize stuff). So you will have a group of movies all alphabetized under "A" and "The." When you try to fix it manually, the software overrides your corrections if you have background info linked to an online movie dBase like IMDB.

  Summary

  I can only damn this program with faint praise -- i.e., there isn't much out there and this one kind of works. Sort of. Until you get frustrated with trying to find movies that are improperly alphabetized or you spend time fussing with the volume settings. Then you'll just give up, close JRiver and watch a movie via a browser instead. In a few months, you'll give JRiver another try. It's an infinite loop. If you are an inveterate computer program tinkerer, this is the software for you. If you just want to watch a movie that is on your computer hard drive, well, it might work. But getting it to work won't be an enjoyable experience. And once you get it set, the software will undo your corrections.

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• Have had for years

  Shedly1February 23, 2013

  Pros

  Probably the best music player out there. Good organizing options. Have not used much for htpc so do not know much about those capabilities other than playing movies on PC which, seriously, who wants to watch on a little screen. Has Last FM capabilities. DLNA streaming to media extenders supported.

  Cons

  Support provided on online forum. Kinda not what you would expect from paid software. New versions cost for every new revision. Some versions have been released buggy.

  Summary

  Overall very good software. Not a major player in the media player market but a good replacement for Media Center, but Media Center is free. Strengths with MP3's but does not support iPod or some other MP3 players.

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• The Best Kept Secret In The Industry

  DanVMDecember 15, 2012

  Pros

  The most feature rich product on the market. Incredible user forum. There's really nothing this media player can't do. Adheres to conventional standards, making use of and embedding data into the files themselves so they become portable with other products (as opposed to products like iTunes that use their own proprietary databases).

  Cons

  It's difficult to convince people to spend $50 on software when all they want to do is play a song, view a video, or display a photo. Some of the more powerful features are buried in options that, until you take some time to explore, you'll never know they are there.

  Summary

  I've tried many other media products but none could match the power of JRiver Media Center. For example, JRMC allows me to instantly launch a photo slide show of my son and his friends less the ex-girlfriends with non-Christmas, eclectic music with a beat-per-minute value greater than 150. It manages Podcasts, syncs with media players & phones, provides a "10 foot interface" for armchair viewing, and behaves as a server to other devices within and outside of a network.

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• Excellent, versatile media player for HTPC and audio.

  MatPKSeptember 13, 2012

  Pros

  Great audio quality with lots of useful settings Great home theater mode Remote control apps for iphone and android (and soon windows) User friendly interface Tidy interface but with many advanced options

  Cons

  The slideshow starts with newer photos and ends with older ones. Occasional crashes. No map mode for photos (yet)

  Summary

  I use it for more than 1 year for music on an external DAC and for video, photos playback on the PC and TV. It has all the features and options I need (apart from photo geotagging mode) but with the nice and tidy interface you can use perfectly well at default settings.

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• The most comprehensive media player software available.

  pwursoApril 15, 2012

  Pros

  Audiophile quality: Audio is bit perfect. This means that it can output your CDs, your HD audio (88.1 KHz, 176 KHz, and more), your DSD, and any other audio perfectly to your DAC. 64 bits of precision: Most high-end hardware uses 24-bit output, meaning the engine has an additional 240 dB of precision above the hardware's output. As a result, should you choose to use them, digital volume, room correction, and other audio functions are pristine. Supports WAV, AIFF, FLAC, APE, WMA Lossless, Apple Lossless, and WavPack. VST plug-in support. Video: Plays DVD and Blu-ray, streaming video from Netflix or Hulu, Youtube clips and movies, etc. MC can record TV in high definition, providing an alternative to cable TV.

  Cons

  There aren't any.

  Summary

  I've been using JRiver Media Center for several years now and it is unmatched in it's quality, versatility, performance, and robustness. If you're serious about audio or video entertainment, JRiver is king.

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• One of the few applications I find worthwhile to buy.

  lexhommeJanuary 28, 2012

  Pros

  A very good player and organizer that deals with a huge variety of media file types including audio (music), video, podcasts and photos. However, what really sets it apart for me is the great power and configurability it has in terms of its database. The few times I have used customer service, it has been responsive and helpful.

  Cons

  I think it is too complex for casual users -- but then, that's not who it is aimed at. For example, I recommend lots of software to members of my family, but I haven't recommened JRiver Media Center to them because their use of computers is too simplistic and they would be lost in it. To get the benefits, you need to spend time learning what it can do. It can be difficult to locate what I want in the online "manual" (a wiki), but they do have a good users' forum where you can get responses quickly.

  Summary

  For years, I tried out numerous other media players before I stumbled on JRiver Media Center (MC). I was originally looking only for a replacement for iTunes, which frustrated me in various ways. I have been using MC for a couple of years, and have recently upgraded to the new version 17. I periodically look at alternatives, but I have not found any that are worth switching to.

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