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Roon 1.8 Fall 2021 Release – Art Director as a new web-based tool for Valence

The latest version of the software from Roon Labs LLC., which is now available as Roon 1.8 Build 880 as Roon 1.8 Fall 2021 Release, comes up with a number of quite exciting innovations and some detail improvements.

Roon 1.8 Fall 2021 Release, the latest version of the media management and hi-res audio multi-room streaming software is now available. Once again, the software forge Roon Labs LLC. not only fixes various bugs and optimises some details with this release, Roon 1.8 Build 880, the actual name of the current version, also brings some interesting innovations.

First and foremost, there are possibilities for users to directly access the “intelligence” of Roon, the so-called Valence Technology, which has formed the backbone of the software for quite some time.

Art Director as a new web-based tool

Roon Labs LLC. is talking about a series of web-based tools that will be introduced in the future. The declared goal of these tools is that all users can contribute their expertise to Valence, the cloud-based data system that represents the “intelligence” of the software solution. Ultimately, all users should benefit from this input.

The first such web-based tool can be found in the form of the new Art Director in Roon 1.8 Build 880, which is a solution for editing artists’ photos. As is well known, the Roon software not only decorates cover artwork, but also photos of the artists and composers, the software provides information such as biographies and links to other artists, so that one can navigate from album to album, from artist to artist, and explore one’s own media library anew.

Foto © Roon Labs LLC. | Roon 1.8 Fall 2021 Release
Foto © Roon Labs LLC. | Roon 1.8 Fall 2021 Release

For many, even very many artists, good photos are available, but for many musicians or composers, only very small photos are available, sometimes none at all. This is exactly where the new Art Director comes in, because from now on you will find a small icon directly in the artist overview, which can be used to call up the web-based Art Director.

Everyone benefits from better-looking artist photos and band logos, according to the software company. That’s why they developed Art Director, the first in a series of web-based tools that give Roon users control over how artist images are displayed in Roon. With Art Director, users can adjust the positioning of artist photos, upload their own band logos and images, and vote on favourites. In this way, every user helps the entire Roon community to ultimately make perfect artist images possible for everyone.

So one should not compare this function with the one that was already offered, namely the individual customisation of photos for one’s own media library. Ultimately, it is the community that decides which photo of an artist is actually used as a representation for everyone.

The prerequisite is, and this should not be concealed, that you register on the linked Valance page with your user name and password.

Of course, one can still select any photos for one’s own media library, which will remain limited to one’s own media library alone.

Playlists curated by Roon for TIDAL and Qobuz can also be viewed directly in Roon
Roon Labs LLC. has been working with various artists for some time to create editorial content, but also playlists on specific genres or topics. Until now, these playlists were only available on TIDAL and Qobuz and were not viewable in Roon. In the latest version Roon 1.8 Build 880, everything curated by the music team of Roon Labs LLC. can now be accessed directly from the home screen, and on both streaming platforms.

Foto © Roon Labs LLC. | Roon 1.8 Fall 2021 Release
Foto © Roon Labs LLC. | Roon 1.8 Fall 2021 Release

Smarter Search

Once again, the developers have taken on the search function of Roon, although this has already worked very well so far, to emphasise this clearly. But, they saw and still see room for improvement, so Roon 1.8 Build 880 should deliver even more accurate results. For Roon Labs LLC., search is a very important topic, and its optimisation has already been advanced this year, but this point will also be at the top of the priority list in the coming year, according to the promise of the software forge.

Rock-solid streaming

With the new version, Roon’s buffering and caching infrastructure for the playback of streaming content has been completely revised. The new implementation is designed to be less demanding of network and internet connection interaction, making streaming music both more stable and less intensive for the Roon Core, he said. This, he said, should minimise any interruptions in playback from TIDAL and Qobuz, and also allow people with slower internet connections and networks to enjoy trouble-free playback.

Improved Database Integrity Monitoring

With Roon 1.8 Build 880, the focus is once again on the database that the Roon Core builds up, which in principle includes all information about one’s own media library. Depending on the size of the media library, this can take on quite large proportions, whereby errors in the internal processing of the database by the Roon Core cannot be completely ruled out. Such problems should now be detected on-the-fly in order to be able to import a – hopefully available – back-up in time.

Long list of detail improvements and bug fixes

Roon Labs LLC. lists a very, very long list of further improvements and bug fixes, which the Roon 1.8 Fall 2021 release brings with it. The optimisations cover almost all areas of the software as well as the controllers for mobile devices.

The update is available immediately for Apple macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux and Roon OS. The new apps for Apple iOS and Google Android are also said to have already been submitted to the operators of the respective app stores and will thus be available soon.

Likewise, Roon Bridge 1.8 Build 880 is now available for Microsoft Windows, Roon OS and Linux.

The update should take place automatically anyway, or a corresponding notice will be displayed the next time the software is started.

Getting to the point

Roon Labs LLC. now presents the next major update of the media management and multi-room audio streaming software Roon, whereby the now available Roon 1.8 Fall 2021 release presents itself as Roon 1.8 Build 880. The list of detail improvements and bug fixes is very long, with some features such as the new Art Director standing out in particular. Many will also be pleased with the once again improved search, as well as the optimisation of the actual streaming engine, which should now ensure trouble-free playback even with slower network and internet connections.

PRODUCTROON
PriceUS$ 9.99 per month with annual billing
US$ 12.99 per month with monthly billing
US$ $699.99 Lifetime Licence
BrandROON
ManufacturerRoon Labs LLC.
Distribution AustriaAudio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH
Distribution GermanyDynaudio Germany GmbH
More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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