JRiver Media Center Reviewed (in Miniature)
It has been awhile since we took a good long look at JRiver Media Center. Our own Andrew van Til spent some time with the Version 17 beta back in October and even in early form found a lot to like, but with the MC17 release now past and with all of the uncertainity surrounding the ultimate future of Windows Media Center, there has never been a better time to spend some time surveying the HTPC frontend landscape. JRiver Media Center got its start as a music player for audiophiles, and the developers have remained true to those roots over the years, but the program has blossomed into a full-featured media center along the way. If your new to JRiver, or just want an idea of what to expect before downloading a trial copy, then perhaps a little review is in order.
One reason this article has taken a while to come out is that I have done extensive double blind testing to prove that the immense improvement in Audio Quality I was hearing using J River wasn’t just down to placebo effect of it being something new. That testing has shown that I , and others, can clearly hear and identify when JRMC is being used to play back music as opposed to Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center or even VLC.