I see the writing on the wall. I think we all do. For years now outlets for physical media have become increasing rare. I really think that Hi Res downloads will become the method of choice for obtaining music in the future, both stereo and multichannel. I decided it was time. So I took the plunge into PC based audio universe and purchased a QNAP server/NAS with the intention of using it in conjunction with JRiver Media Center, of which I’ve read a lot of good things in the audio related corners of the web. This thread is an effort to document how a 40 year audio veteran with very limited experience with home networks makes his way in the new frontier of network connected digital music servers. I hope it answers some of my questions, as well as offering guidance to those who follow this path in the future.
The NAS is a QNAP 451+ upgraded to 8GB RAM. Right now, it is loaded with two 4TB Western Digital Red HDs configured as RAID 1. This leaves me with two empty bays to expand the total storage in the future. You can also buy expansion modules for this unit. The QNAP device is somewhat unique because it includes a quad core Intel processor and an HDMI port. You can plug in a USB mouse and keyboard and use it as a functional PC with a large amount of attached storage capacity. The embedded OS is Linux based. It includes the option to load a variety of applications for backups, virtualization, surveillance, etc. But its primary market strategy seems to be aimed at the home entertainment enthusiast. It even comes bundled with its own remote for set top control. QNAP and JRiver have recently announced support for their associated products.
Here is a link to the QNAP product if anyone is interested.
https://www.qnap.com/i/en/product/model.php?II=196
This seemed like a perfect product to use for my initiation into the media server arena. I’ve only been at it for a week or so now. Well, it’s not perfect, but it is moving along. Progress is somewhat slowed by the fact that I am starting out with no prior experience with NAS storage, home servers, or JRiver. To go one step further, I am going about this without having an audio processor with an HDMI input with which to judge the result (I’m in the market for a new Pre/Pro though). I have the QNAP plugged into one of the HDMI inputs of my LG plasma monitor.
So what they don’t mention in the marketing hype is the fact that the version of JRiver MC that loads onto the QNAP has no 10 foot interface to control JRiver. Theatre View is not available on JRiver for QNAP and as yet, I have not found a decent 10 foot view to use. Even if there were one, it really cant be controlled with the small remote bundled with the system. This often leaves you standing 2 feet from the monitor with a USB mouse and keyboard as you maneuver through the software. Not a good situation for me.
When I inquired about this at JRiver , the support group suggested using JRiver Tremote. This is a method that uses two copies of JRiver , one on the server and another on a “client”. The client can be any of several types of connected devices. In my case, it is my wifi connected laptop (maybe a tablet in the future). The client links to the server library and controls playback of the server. The server display only shows what is being played. It does not reproduce what is shown on the client screen. This works reasonably well. There still is no 10 foot interface, but there is full control of JRiver from my couch potato spot with a GUI I can actually read and easily operate. Also, to continue doing this once the 30 day Jriver trial period runs out, I will need to purchase a master license instead of a less expensive Linux one to allow installation on my Windows based laptop as well. Maybe $25 bucks or so. Not a big deal, but a fully functional JRiver interface out of the box was what I thought I was getting. So buyer beware. There are a lot of other aps available for the QNAP. I have not explored them. I do not know if they also offer only limited functionality.
Another option might be to set up a windows based virtual machine on the QNAP, which it purports to be capable of. I haven’t looked into this yet. For me it would require purchasing a valid copy of Windows. I’m not familiar with any other OS.
Oh, lest we forget the “Turn off” bug. JRiver has been aware of this for only a couple of weeks, and I believe they are working on a fix. Here it is in a nutshell: If you reboot the QNAP NAS, JRiver will no longer load. You have to reinstall it on the QNAP server. It’s an issue… especially for a system that is being set up for the first time. But I’m not worried yet. After spending some time on the JRiver interact support forum I have to say the company is very responsive to its users and seems to have a history of addressing problems like this in a timely manner, not to mention the continual improvements and functionality they impart to their product. Other than that there have only been a few instances where I would try to play back an album I had just loaded into the library directory and got some other album coming out. I think it just needed more time to update the library and it got a bit wonky when it was rushed. It’s nothing that a restart of the software couldn’t fix.
I have been getting into what I consider the fun part of this endeavor and have begun the process, of setting up my multimedia directory. I got a copy of DVD extractor for DVD-As and a copy of ISOtoDSD for my SACD ISO conversions.
This leads me to my first couple of questions. I found out that JRiver supports direct playback of ISO files. I had read that most of you were converting to your SACD ISO files to DSF files for playback. Is there any advantage to making that conversion as opposed to letting JRiver handle the ISOs directly? I did use the ISOtoDSD software. It has some limitation on where to build your output files, but it does the job. It’s also free and the only way I have found to make a DSD to DSF conversion so far. As yet, I see no advantage to making the conversion for use with JRiver. Remember though I haven’t been able to do a real evaluation of the audible difference, if any.
I am less than 50 albums into this process. I’m wondering if I shouldn’t start categorizing files in a more intelligent way. Maybe a directory for SACD, another for DVDA conversions, another for RB CD, etc. In spite of the availability of JRiver’s smart lists, the method I’m using now of creating a directory for each separate album and dropping everything into a single “Multimedia” directory is at odds with my audiophile OCD. What file hierarchy works best for you? And where does JRiver get stuff like cover art for the albums? Is it embedded in the files themselves? Over time it just seems to appear.
DVD extractor seems to do what its supposed to well enough, although it can be slow process with high res 5.1 tracks. I’m ripping the MLP layer of DVD-As to 24/96 Flac files. I haven’t attempted any video, DVD-V or DTS yet. Is it wise to rip the stereo and multichannel titles to different directories?
So as I’ve been building this library I’ve been checking on the sound part the only way I have right now, that being HDMI into my flat screen TV. To my surprise everything I’ve tried plays through. Even the SACD ISO files play. A stereo ISO comes out as stereo while a multi channel ISO produces only the front L/R channels (I assume). So what is decoding the SACD stream? I assume JRiver is transcoding the output to something the TV can handle? I’m glad, because it allows me to play verify the audio throughput of the system. I know there is an audio setup screen where output mode can be selected and this will probably need to be changed once the server gets connected to a Pre/Pro.
That’s my entry in this journal for now. If you have any suggestions or comments, please jump in the conversation. I’d like to hear your thoughts and any help would be greatly appreciated.
The NAS is a QNAP 451+ upgraded to 8GB RAM. Right now, it is loaded with two 4TB Western Digital Red HDs configured as RAID 1. This leaves me with two empty bays to expand the total storage in the future. You can also buy expansion modules for this unit. The QNAP device is somewhat unique because it includes a quad core Intel processor and an HDMI port. You can plug in a USB mouse and keyboard and use it as a functional PC with a large amount of attached storage capacity. The embedded OS is Linux based. It includes the option to load a variety of applications for backups, virtualization, surveillance, etc. But its primary market strategy seems to be aimed at the home entertainment enthusiast. It even comes bundled with its own remote for set top control. QNAP and JRiver have recently announced support for their associated products.
Here is a link to the QNAP product if anyone is interested.
https://www.qnap.com/i/en/product/model.php?II=196
This seemed like a perfect product to use for my initiation into the media server arena. I’ve only been at it for a week or so now. Well, it’s not perfect, but it is moving along. Progress is somewhat slowed by the fact that I am starting out with no prior experience with NAS storage, home servers, or JRiver. To go one step further, I am going about this without having an audio processor with an HDMI input with which to judge the result (I’m in the market for a new Pre/Pro though). I have the QNAP plugged into one of the HDMI inputs of my LG plasma monitor.
So what they don’t mention in the marketing hype is the fact that the version of JRiver MC that loads onto the QNAP has no 10 foot interface to control JRiver. Theatre View is not available on JRiver for QNAP and as yet, I have not found a decent 10 foot view to use. Even if there were one, it really cant be controlled with the small remote bundled with the system. This often leaves you standing 2 feet from the monitor with a USB mouse and keyboard as you maneuver through the software. Not a good situation for me.
When I inquired about this at JRiver , the support group suggested using JRiver Tremote. This is a method that uses two copies of JRiver , one on the server and another on a “client”. The client can be any of several types of connected devices. In my case, it is my wifi connected laptop (maybe a tablet in the future). The client links to the server library and controls playback of the server. The server display only shows what is being played. It does not reproduce what is shown on the client screen. This works reasonably well. There still is no 10 foot interface, but there is full control of JRiver from my couch potato spot with a GUI I can actually read and easily operate. Also, to continue doing this once the 30 day Jriver trial period runs out, I will need to purchase a master license instead of a less expensive Linux one to allow installation on my Windows based laptop as well. Maybe $25 bucks or so. Not a big deal, but a fully functional JRiver interface out of the box was what I thought I was getting. So buyer beware. There are a lot of other aps available for the QNAP. I have not explored them. I do not know if they also offer only limited functionality.
Another option might be to set up a windows based virtual machine on the QNAP, which it purports to be capable of. I haven’t looked into this yet. For me it would require purchasing a valid copy of Windows. I’m not familiar with any other OS.
Oh, lest we forget the “Turn off” bug. JRiver has been aware of this for only a couple of weeks, and I believe they are working on a fix. Here it is in a nutshell: If you reboot the QNAP NAS, JRiver will no longer load. You have to reinstall it on the QNAP server. It’s an issue… especially for a system that is being set up for the first time. But I’m not worried yet. After spending some time on the JRiver interact support forum I have to say the company is very responsive to its users and seems to have a history of addressing problems like this in a timely manner, not to mention the continual improvements and functionality they impart to their product. Other than that there have only been a few instances where I would try to play back an album I had just loaded into the library directory and got some other album coming out. I think it just needed more time to update the library and it got a bit wonky when it was rushed. It’s nothing that a restart of the software couldn’t fix.
I have been getting into what I consider the fun part of this endeavor and have begun the process, of setting up my multimedia directory. I got a copy of DVD extractor for DVD-As and a copy of ISOtoDSD for my SACD ISO conversions.
This leads me to my first couple of questions. I found out that JRiver supports direct playback of ISO files. I had read that most of you were converting to your SACD ISO files to DSF files for playback. Is there any advantage to making that conversion as opposed to letting JRiver handle the ISOs directly? I did use the ISOtoDSD software. It has some limitation on where to build your output files, but it does the job. It’s also free and the only way I have found to make a DSD to DSF conversion so far. As yet, I see no advantage to making the conversion for use with JRiver. Remember though I haven’t been able to do a real evaluation of the audible difference, if any.
I am less than 50 albums into this process. I’m wondering if I shouldn’t start categorizing files in a more intelligent way. Maybe a directory for SACD, another for DVDA conversions, another for RB CD, etc. In spite of the availability of JRiver’s smart lists, the method I’m using now of creating a directory for each separate album and dropping everything into a single “Multimedia” directory is at odds with my audiophile OCD. What file hierarchy works best for you? And where does JRiver get stuff like cover art for the albums? Is it embedded in the files themselves? Over time it just seems to appear.
DVD extractor seems to do what its supposed to well enough, although it can be slow process with high res 5.1 tracks. I’m ripping the MLP layer of DVD-As to 24/96 Flac files. I haven’t attempted any video, DVD-V or DTS yet. Is it wise to rip the stereo and multichannel titles to different directories?
So as I’ve been building this library I’ve been checking on the sound part the only way I have right now, that being HDMI into my flat screen TV. To my surprise everything I’ve tried plays through. Even the SACD ISO files play. A stereo ISO comes out as stereo while a multi channel ISO produces only the front L/R channels (I assume). So what is decoding the SACD stream? I assume JRiver is transcoding the output to something the TV can handle? I’m glad, because it allows me to play verify the audio throughput of the system. I know there is an audio setup screen where output mode can be selected and this will probably need to be changed once the server gets connected to a Pre/Pro.
That’s my entry in this journal for now. If you have any suggestions or comments, please jump in the conversation. I’d like to hear your thoughts and any help would be greatly appreciated.