Feature description:
I’ve spent a lot of time with Ampache and Subsonic-based servers, but was always frustrated by bugs and the difficulties of configuring and maintaining them - especially for access beyond my internal LAN.
I finally found J River Media Center, and it addressed all those issues. It’s very flexible, supports high-res playback, is easy to install and configure, and can handle very large music libraries. J River also offers built-in ‘Media Network’ functionality for secure access and streaming over the internet without messing with Dynamic DNS, SSL certificates, manual port forwarding, etc. Although J River isn’t free, it isn’t expensive and is one of the few products worth every penny.
However, IMHO J River’s weakness is its limited client support. They offer a free client called Gizmo, but it’s pretty basic in both form and function and the UI clearly shows its age. There’s also a paid client called JRemote that’s a bit better than Gizmo in most ways, but doesn’t receive enough development to be worth paying for. Finally, you can access the media server via a standard Web browser. Note that none of these support Android Auto.
I’ve found only one 3rd-party paid client for J River, called ‘MO 4Media’. Like the others, it has a pretty ugly UI and basic functionality. However, its big advantage is support for Android Auto, which is essential for me since a large % of my listening time is in the car and/or via a smartphone with good earbuds.
I give this background to suggest that there’s a large and unsatisfied base of J River users like me. I’m sure many of us would be eager for a new client like Symfonium that offers a much nicer UI, solid Android Auto support, and functionality that goes way beyond the basics (i.e., more than simply searching, selecting, and playing albums from your library).
Is supporting the J River server something you might consider? I know that J River offers an API for this purpose, and they might even provide some help and guidance if needed?
Problem solved:
The combo of Symfonium and J River would be a compelling solution for users that want a great client interface both within and outside of the LAN (including Android Auto), plus a solid and well-tested commercial music server that’s very easy to set up and use - there’s no need to restructure your music naming or file & disk layout, and once configured, it pretty much runs on autopilot.
Brought benefits:
The big benefit is for less-technical users to be able to enjoy their music with all the functionality of Symfonium - at home, in the car, or mobile - without all the knowledge and effort needed to install, configure, and maintain a Subsonic, Ampache, or similar server.
Other application solutions:
Covered above…
Specially when you compare with the price of Symfonium. (They even sell bad Android clients at 10$ …)