Roon 2.0 - Fluency for optimised translations into multiple languages

With the latest update for Roon 2.0 as well as Roon ARC, i.e. version Roon 2.015 or Roon ARC 1.0.36, a particularly remarkable new feature is introduced with Fluency, according to the promise of the software company Roon Labs LLC, which wants to optimise the media management and multi-room hi-res audio streaming software even better to the individual needs and demands of the customers. Fluency is intended to offer nothing less than the most exact possible translation of the most diverse content into the most diverse languages.

Fluency is therefore not simply a local translation of the software itself, as these have been available for a long time for the most diverse languages, but rather an extension that directly takes care of content.

Fluency for optimised translation of various contents

Fluency in Roon 2.0 and Roon ARC is a function that, from the point of view of Roon Labs LLC, is intended to increase the attractiveness of the software for users even further, as it allows content to be prepared even better for them.

All users are to benefit from the new function, regardless of their mother tongue.

Almost always designed in English

It is clear that, like almost every solution of this kind, Roon Labs LLC. also relies on databases for its software Roon 2.0 or Roon ARC, which essentially rely on English as the only language. This may seem perfect for a large number of current albums and music titles, as English is considered the dominant language in genres such as rock, pop, jazz and folk, but there are of course other genres, and especially other genres in which English is the great exception, such as classical music. Italian, French and also German dominate there.

This is exactly where Fluency in Roon 2.0 and Roon ARC should come in, as the software company Roon Labs LLC. states.

Besides more translated fields, one can now use Fluency to “inform” Roon about the languages one understands in order to prioritise them accordingly. This allows artist and album names in different languages to be displayed in a language the user understands, which should provide a more seamless experience for those who want to discover music from the global stage.

Foto © Roon Labs LLC. | Roon 2.0 and Roon ARC with Fluency

Intelligent translation instead of a crowbar

It is particularly important that translations actually make sense, as Roon Labs LLC. explicitly emphasises. For example, it is stated that one definitely does not want to see The Beatles or even worse The Doors as an artist’s name, but here The Beatles or The Doors is considered sensible. However, from a German-speaking point of view, for example, it is rather annoying when the Wiener Symphoniker is referred to as the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and no one in the German-speaking world will refer to the Wiener Staatsoper as the Vienna Opera, as is often the case in databases for ID3 tags. A symphony from Beethoven should be called Sinfonie, to be authentic, whereas the sonata from the baroque period would be correctly identified.

Of course, it is particularly exciting with languages that cannot be deciphered simply because of the characters, such as Japanese, although there is a great deal of corresponding music to be discovered. Roon 2.0 as well as Roon ARC should also assist the user here with Fluency and instead of 浜崎あゆみ simply show Ayumi Hamasaki as the name of the artist.

The function is supposed to be available in the simplest way possible; in addition to the actual language in which one wants to use the software itself, one can now add other languages in the programme’s settings that one is proficient in or in which one wants to have native content displayed. Even if you don’t speak Italian or French, you will be able to cope with it if the Orchestra de Paris or the Teatro alla Scala are shown as such.

Foto © Roon Labs LLC. | Roon 2.0 and Roon ARC with Fluency

Prices and availability

As always, the update for Roon 2.0 and Roon ARC is available to all subscribers free of charge. The updates are Roon 2.0 Build 1259 and Roon Server 2.0 Build 1259 as well as Roon ARC 1.0 Build 177. In addition, the apps Roon Remote 2.0 Build 1259 for Apple iOS and Google Android are of course also available.

Getting to the point

It is indeed an annoying problem that not only affects the media management and multi-room hi-res audio streaming software Roon by the software company Roon Labs LLC., but also almost all such tools and online services for music downloads and music streaming. All such services rely on databases or information that is predominantly in English, which leads to unusual, sometimes even bizarre results for content in other languages or especially in genres such as classical music. This is exactly what the latest versions of Roon 2.0 and Roon ARC are supposed to improve with Fluency, which ensures that content is presented in languages that the user understands.