New n-Stream app is here
Posted by: LeeTom on 22 September 2014
Absolutely not - for my needs and wants. We bought the NDS primarily on sound quality. A part of the attraction was because it could easily be controlled over WiFi using an iPad. I would say, from my perspective that the NDS is now more difficult to control using an iPad. nStream badly needed a makeover. It's got it, and how the new look chimes will always be subjective,. But when is it going to be on par with its predecessor for ease of use and functionality, let alone ahead of it?
"Are we there yet?" remains moot. "Have we got out of reverse yet?" seems to be the more relevant enquiry. Some of us have met some of the people who are working on the app. We know they are all top people and greatly liked. There's nothing personal about criticising what they have managed to come up with within the brief and resources they were given, if it doesn't work properly. It doesn't seem like they have been adequately resourced.
@other graeme. There is also "play now" option on the top right options "..." menu. It plays the whole album starting at track 1 (or is supposed to, the bug means it starts at track 2). Tapping track 1 to play the album from the beginning is the workaround until this is fixed
Easier just to tap track one anyway - why bother with the 'menu' as it only offers one option ie 'Play Now'?
Also, the small book icon top right above the '...' seems inactive?
Thanks
G
Naim Unitiqute 2 , Nap 100 with Netgear ReadyNAS Duo V2, iPad Mini with IOS 8 and Virgin Superhub
Running all latest firmware and software updates.
Since the release of the new Naim app I have had problems connecting to my UPnP server on my ReadyNAS unless its set in UPnP compatibility mode. But whilst using the app in UPnP compatibility mode resolves the connection issue I have just noticed that some of my albums track listings are not displaying correctly. Only a handful of tracks are displayed where there may be up to 100 under the same album title. This seems to be the case especially with box sets that I have ripped to WAV and compiled under the same album title. (eg: John Coltrane's Heavyweight Champion or Miles Davis Complete Prestige Recordings).
The odd thing about this is that it only seems to happen when the app is set in UPnP compatibility mode. When I deselect this (and the app eventually connects to the UPnP server, the tracklists are complete and correct.
Any ideas why this could be happening?
@other graeme. There is also "play now" option on the top right options "..." menu. It plays the whole album starting at track 1 (or is supposed to, the bug means it starts at track 2). Tapping track 1 to play the album from the beginning is the workaround until this is fixed
Easier just to tap track one anyway - why bother with the 'menu' as it only offers one option ie 'Play Now'?
Also, the small book icon top right above the '...' seems inactive?
Thanks
G
One of the best features of the app was to be able to browse in Album view and select to play a whole album by tapping and holding on the album cover for a couple of seconds and selecting "play now" without having to leave the Album view, and then to choose another album to the play queue. Now doing this will start playback of the album from track 2.
Did anyone else have problems with playlists in the upgrade? My playlists are there but no songs will work.
Cheers
Yes, I don't use the playlist functionlity much and had failed to notice this problem till now. I get the message "...cannot be found on the server..." for all tracks in the list.
Dr Po, Mr DQ,
same problem for me: none of my playlists (which are still there) are playable anymore. "...cannot be found on the server..."
Chris Bell has the same problem (see his post from today) and we both use a NAS from Synology.
Just wondering: do you use a Synology NAS?
Bert originally posted:
"Dr Po, Mr DQ,
same problem for me: none of my playlists (which are still there) are playable anymore. "...cannot be found on the server..."
Chris Bell has the same problem (see his post from today) and we both use a NAS from Synology.
Just wondering: do you use a Synology NAS"?
Hi Bert,
I have not identified any problems with my playlists - they are there and I can play tracks from them using the new Naim app.
I use a Synology DS212 NAS.
I do however, experience the issue of albums starting at track 2, unless I specifically ask for track 1 to be played.
A good compromise might be something like play track, play from this track, add to queue, add to playlist. I'm scratching my head here but I'm sure I've seen functionality like this or close to it before. Can't remember where.... I have vague recollections of a volume control and battery indicator too, but I was probably dreaming.
Yes I would like the following back:
Play from this track, add to playlist. It was there before and proved to be very useful!
I used "Play From" frequently. But hey, the interface looks so slick now, does it really matter that the functionality has gone? We shouldn't be stuck in the past.
Here's a fab feature, not new but a consequence of the new functionality. Last night I played an album which was recorded at a comparatively low DR which facilitated the addition of a bit of volume. First thing this morning I want to play something that I know will blast out. How do I adjust the volume before I play it? Of course! The remote. Why didn't I think of that? Oh the joys of the modern era. No more reliance on just an iPad to operate the NDS. How blessed we are.
Regards alan
I apologise for my rant. Thank you Alan. I've just made sure it works for me and indeed it does. Perfectly usable if not immediately obvious.
On my system I now appear to be out of the Playlist wilderness. Even after a network shutdown yesterday and a couple of hub reboots, my lists are visible and intact. QNAP-410 here and all my wired devices have fixed IPs..
Didn't think we were ranting, just sharing "how I use the new app" experiences, Harry!
in that spirit, I also offer that "play album from this track" is the default behaviour when you touch a track name in the album track list. This feels quite natural to me whether for track one or a favorite further down the list. In the pop-up menu, from the three dots, I get the other useful but more specialized options to play only the single track ("play now") or to build it into the queue ("queue first / last") or playlist.
As I don't use playlists in the app, I can't comment on that family of issues...I have a few (manually created) playlists on my UPNP server volume, but none in the app (or the naim devices themselves, if that's where they are stored...although I guess that's unlikely).
Regards, alan
Hi Bert,
I have not identified any problems with my playlists - they are there and I can play tracks from them using the new Naim app.
I use a Synology DS212 NAS.
I do however, experience the issue of albums starting at track 2, unless I specifically ask for track 1 to be played.
Mr Hmack,
thanks for letting me know. Do you also have the latest DSM5.0 software on your DS212?
Yes the 'start playing with track no.2" issue is simply a bug in the app itself, and have been picked up by TJ from Naim already. Looking forward to rev. 4.2!
"play album from this track" is the default behaviour when you touch a track name in the album track list. This feels quite natural to me whether for track one or a favorite further down the list.
Also a good point.
I use the new app to stream from my Synology NAS to my Uniti2 (all firmware etc at latest versions). I don't seem to suffer from most of the oddities, or at least do not use the app in such a way as to exhibit them. So I have been feeling somewhat smug.
Of course, such smugness could not continue indefinitely. One feature of the old app which was useful to me was the ability to see album covers when browsing in folder view, which the new app doesn't seem to support. Any one else having the same problem?
Regards,
Vlad.
Yes Allen, that's a good point too. It seems that backwards is the new forward. We invest significant time reminding ourselves and each other that different doesn't necessarily equal better, but maybe we're wrong after all?
I like (ie I'm used to!) clicking to select: click on the UPnP server, go there; click on albums, go there... My expectation is that clicking on the last element after drilling through a tree would mean "go". I wouldn't want a pop up "do you want to clear the existing queue and play this track" dialog box...but I understand those who might.
Maybe, and it's a small maybe for me and my habits!, I'd like some track info to be displayed when I click on the name, with options to play now or to play from here now. Better might be a configuration option to select between such behaviours...but hey, it's a remote control app and the IR remote doesn't ask if you really meant to press go!
(I think we could have a similar dialog / brainstorming session on how a "browse before switching" feature could be implemented for those who wish to poke around and choose a radio station or alternate streaming source while listening, for example, to a UPNP queue... the reverse of what we have now where we can surf the upnp services while listening to an iRadio feed).
Regards, alan
"play album from this track" is the default behaviour when you touch a track name in the album track list. This feels quite natural to me whether for track one or a favorite further down the list.
Also a good point.
Yes, but as I have also ranted earlier, just by touching that track, your current now playing queue gets replaced by the new queue containing that album. That touch is just as easily done erroneously, if you are not familiar with the app (e.g. family members, guest etc)
That has got to be wrong.
I agree completely on this one - its bloody annoying when you've spent thirty minutes cueing tracks only to press by accident and lose them and it is counter intuitive even if you didn't use N Stream
Of course, such smugness could not continue indefinitely. One feature of the old app which was useful to me was the ability to see album covers when browsing in folder view, which the new app doesn't seem to support. Any one else having the same problem?
I believe that such is the role of the server, not the app. That said, if it was working for you with the old app and not the new one, something is amiss. See if clearing the UPnP cache of the app helps, reinstalling it, etc.
Of course, such smugness could not continue indefinitely. One feature of the old app which was useful to me was the ability to see album covers when browsing in folder view, which the new app doesn't seem to support. Any one else having the same problem?
I believe that such is the role of the server, not the app. That said, if it was working for you with the old app and not the new one, something is amiss. See if clearing the UPnP cache of the app helps, reinstalling it, etc.
I can see the album covers when browsing In folder view from either my Unitiserve or QNAP NAS.
Strange that you could in nStream and now you can't.
Hopefully Bart's suggestion will work for you.
Of course, such smugness could not continue indefinitely. One feature of the old app which was useful to me was the ability to see album covers when browsing in folder view, which the new app doesn't seem to support. Any one else having the same problem?
I believe that such is the role of the server, not the app. That said, if it was working for you with the old app and not the new one, something is amiss. See if clearing the UPnP cache of the app helps, reinstalling it, etc.
I can see the album covers when browsing In folder view from either my Unitiserve or QNAP NAS.
Strange that you could in nStream and now you can't.
Hopefully Bart's suggestion will work for you.
Maybe I don't understand "folder view," but with the uServe as the server I don't believe there is a "folder view." You can view by Artist, Album, Genre, Newest, etc. -- but not by folder, right?
Of course, such smugness could not continue indefinitely. One feature of the old app which was useful to me was the ability to see album covers when browsing in folder view, which the new app doesn't seem to support. Any one else having the same problem?
I believe that such is the role of the server, not the app. That said, if it was working for you with the old app and not the new one, something is amiss. See if clearing the UPnP cache of the app helps, reinstalling it, etc.
Thanks, Bart. I've tried that without success.
It did work in the old app & works fine when looking at any other view than the folder one.
Regards,
Vlad
Of course, such smugness could not continue indefinitely. One feature of the old app which was useful to me was the ability to see album covers when browsing in folder view, which the new app doesn't seem to support. Any one else having the same problem?
I believe that such is the role of the server, not the app. That said, if it was working for you with the old app and not the new one, something is amiss. See if clearing the UPnP cache of the app helps, reinstalling it, etc.
I can see the album covers when browsing In folder view from either my Unitiserve or QNAP NAS.
Strange that you could in nStream and now you can't.
Hopefully Bart's suggestion will work for you.
Maybe I don't understand "folder view," but with the uServe as the server I don't believe there is a "folder view." You can view by Artist, Album, Genre, Newest, etc. -- but not by folder, right?
Thanks, Guys.
To clarify, if I select UPNP as input in the new Naim app, I can chose my server (Synology NAS, in my case), then I can choose from the shares on my NAS (Music, Photo, Video which were made on setting up the NAS: the latter two are empty), selecting Music gives me 15 viewing options:
By Folder
All Music
Playlist
Smart Playlist
By Artist
By Genre
By Album
Artist/Album
By Album Artist
Genre/Artist/Album
Genre/Artist
Composer/Album
Year/Artist/Album
Recently Added
Internet Radio
Of these, by far the most used by me is By Folder and By Album Artist.
Selecting By Album Artist, gives the expected and then choosing the artist gives me the option of All Music if I have more than one album by that artist together with each of the albums. In the case of the individual albums, I see a thumbnail of the album cover. So far, so good.
On the other hand, if I choose By Folder, I get the Music sub-folder shares I set up on the NAS originally - Audiophile downloads, Classical, Downloads, Jazz, Low res downloads, Pop/Rock/Blues/Country/Folk etc and Playlists. These are the destination folders when using dBpoweramp to rip. Choosing one of these e.g. Puccini, Giacomo, gives me the list of albums ripped to this folder but no thumbnails - which makes choosing one of three versions of Madama Butterfly that little bit more awkward! I'm sure the old version used to display the thumbnails!
It's not a massive problem, just that the old app worked pretty much as I expected.
Regards,
Vlad
Selecting By Album Artist, gives the expected and then choosing the artist gives me the option of All Music if I have more than one album by that artist together with each of the albums. In the case of the individual albums, I see a thumbnail of the album cover. So far, so good.
On the other hand, if I choose By Folder, I get the Music sub-folder shares I set up on the NAS originally - Audiophile downloads, Classical, Downloads, Jazz, Low res downloads, Pop/Rock/Blues/Country/Folk etc and Playlists. These are the destination folders when using dBpoweramp to rip. Choosing one of these e.g. Puccini, Giacomo, gives me the list of albums ripped to this folder but no thumbnails - which makes choosing one of three versions of Madama Butterfly that little bit more awkward! I'm sure the old version used to display the thumbnails!
It's not a massive problem, just that the old app worked pretty much as I expected.
Regards,
Vlad
I have a Synology NAS also, but use a less sophisticated folder structure under my "music" share: one album per folder, named as artist-title(year).
Using minimserver i see see the thumbnail at folder level then again when I go into the folder with the track list. Using plex or the native music station, I get a blank, generic folder icon at the folder level and the thumbnail is only visible once I drill into the folder and can see the tracks. Same holds for Twonky running on an older iOmega ix2-200.
Hope me this confirms your experience, but know it doesn't solve your problem.
Regards alan
I wonder if using a (temporary) playlist to build and save a carefully constructed evening of listening would be more in line with the app design than using the (comparatively fragile) queue? At least that way if you jumped to a new track by mistake, I assume you could re-launch the robust playlist as the queue and continue adding tracks or whatever. I had the impression from a previous post from TJ that the queue and playlists, while related, are intended for precisely these two different browse-and-play modes. That's certainly the state of mind I bring to the party!
Regards alan
Selecting By Album Artist, gives the expected and then choosing the artist gives me the option of All Music if I have more than one album by that artist together with each of the albums. In the case of the individual albums, I see a thumbnail of the album cover. So far, so good.
On the other hand, if I choose By Folder, I get the Music sub-folder shares I set up on the NAS originally - Audiophile downloads, Classical, Downloads, Jazz, Low res downloads, Pop/Rock/Blues/Country/Folk etc and Playlists. These are the destination folders when using dBpoweramp to rip. Choosing one of these e.g. Puccini, Giacomo, gives me the list of albums ripped to this folder but no thumbnails - which makes choosing one of three versions of Madama Butterfly that little bit more awkward! I'm sure the old version used to display the thumbnails!
It's not a massive problem, just that the old app worked pretty much as I expected.
Regards,
Vlad
I have a Synology NAS also, but use a less sophisticated folder structure under my "music" share: one album per folder, named as artist-title(year).
Using minimserver i see see the thumbnail at folder level then again when I go into the folder with the track list. Using plex or the native music station, I get a blank, generic folder icon at the folder level and the thumbnail is only visible once I drill into the folder and can see the tracks. Same holds for Twonky running on an older iOmega ix2-200.
Hope me this confirms your experience, but know it doesn't solve your problem.
Regards alan
Thanks, Alan.
I've over 5,000 CD albums ripped to my NAS, so anything that makes them easier to find and identify is very welcome. As much as I like the new app (and I do, BTW), I miss that one feature of the old one.
I like to have all albums by an artist as sub-folders of the same folder - it just makes sense to me! If I browse sub-folders on the NAS using Windows Explorer (Win 7), I see thumbnails. If I use the Synology app, I see thumbnails in folder view. If I browse by album artist on the new app, I see the thumbnails. But not when browsing by folder, damn it!
Regards,
Vlad