Control Point enquiry

[paulM]

I'd like to ask some advice from the more IT literate forum members about alternative control points. I have been using Linn Kinsky exclusively since I bought my first digital streamer as it has satisfied most of my needs and I have been comfortable with it.

The only gripe that I have with Kinsky is the 1000 track limitation to it's playlist. I have wanted to compile longer playlists than 1000 for a long time but especially since upgrading to the full version of Minimserver and having the replaygain capability.

So my question is, is there a control point out there that I can move to that will allow larger playlists? My ideal would be to set my entire library onto random play but anything that increases the minimum from 1000 would be a move forward.

[simoncn]

If you have an Android device, BubbleUPnP is an excellent control point and can do random play from your entire library.

[paulM]

I don't have an android device at the moment, but it will be worth my while getting one if it's a way of getting my entire library to random play. Thanks for the pointer.

[simoncn]

Before you spend money on this, it would be good to hear from someone with a large library who can confirm this works.

Edit: I tried this on a test library containing about 50000 tracks. I added all these items to the BubbleUPnP playlist using Shuffle play. This took less than a minute and the result was a playlist containing all the items sorted in an apparently random order. This seems to provide good evidence that it works.

[stefano_mbp]

On iOS you can use MConnect Player, start from Minimserver tracks then set random play and start to play.
With my library, 138000 tracks more or less, it took 2/3 minutes to load all the tracks.
You can try with MConnect Player Lite that is free

[bubbleguuum]

The most effective way to play random tracks of the whole Library in BubbleUPnP is:

- the 'Random tracks' folder at the root of the Library tab
- In the Now Playing tab, the '3 dot menu > Shuffle Library' feature which makes it possible to play random tracks or albums
without knowing them in advance and without populating the Playlist tab (aka the playback queue).

[paulM]

Mission accomplished. My streamer is playing randomly from the entire library as I type. I installed MConnect Player Lite onto one of my i-pads and even with my limited knowledge of these things, was up and running in no time. So thanks for the pointer Stefano.

I dare say that MConnect Player will do a lot more than I have used it for so far, but my first impressions are good and as far as I can see, it is providing exactly what I want.

In the longer term, I must confess that I am curious to try Bubble (it seems to be very popular with this forum's users) and given that my i-pads are getting on a bit, the time may be right for a new tablet device. So thanks also to Simon. I hope to try Bubble in the near future.

[lyapounov]

I have tried almost all control points.

I always return to Lumin; for me the best by far. Now available on Mac M1 as well as Android

[simbun]

I think it depends if you're using a phone or a tablet and your feelings about blank space.

Lumin feels like it's designed for a tablet because it tries to fill up all the space, even if that means presenting duplicate in place of relevant information.
It's at its worst in Album track view (where it essentially treats it as a playlist), where for every track it shows the album name, genre and release date (which for 99% of people will be the same throughout the album) meaning that on a phone the track artist information is really restricted.
   
Compare that to BubbleUPnP which presents the Album information in the header section and track artist information next to the track.
   

On a tablet however the BubbleUPnP display can look really sparse as it only displays the relevant information.

I do like that Lumin shows larger MinimServer index icons, but then it overlays a folder icon on top.
   

If it could clear away some of the clutter, at least when it's being used on a phone, I think it could be a good alternative - although I still don't like that it holds and presents it's own indexes.

[RSJ]

I wish there were a Windows version of Bubble. Kazoo on Windows is a very inferior control point.