UltraSonic - Subsonic Client for Windows

[archrival]

Greetings,

I have been working on a Subsonic client for Windows utilizing WPF and Microsoft .NET 4.5. Thanks to async/await, the implementation was relatively straightforward. Please give it a try and provide feedback, feature requests, bugs, etc. I plan to implement as many REST API calls as possible. In addition, I plan on adding Twitter, Facebook and MusicBrainz support at some point in the future. This is a fairly stable client and most of the features I'd want are available. If you see something broken or something you would like me to add, feel free to let me know. I'm usually very amenable.

Features:

Index/Artist selection
Artist filtering
Album context menu with Album List features
Album/Track downloads
Starred albums
Chat support
Now playing support
Dynamic starred track "playlist" support
Playlist saving
Playlist deletion
Drag and drop for playlist track reordering
Playlist shuffle
Playlist repeat
Album art
Playback buttons in Taskbar
Client side max bitrate setting
Proxy support
Disk caching/direct streaming
User information
Rating support for albums and songs

Known issues:

Sorting the playlist can cause issues
Please see the Issues list on GitHub for bugs and pending features.

Requirements:

Subsonic or equivalent server supporting Subsonic REST API version 1.4 or greater.
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5

The .NET 4.5 requirement effectively limits this to Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows 8, Windows 2012 or higher.

Downloads:
UltraSonic Downloads on Dropbox
UltraSonic Downloads on GitHub (Older releases)
UltraSonic Source on GitHub

Installation:
Extract the archive to a directory of your choosing.
Execute UltraSonic.exe

Screen Shots:

PlayingWithContextMenu.png

PlaylistsTab.png

SocialTab.png

[archrival]

Hmm, this has been here for almost 3 weeks with nearly 200 views and yet no responses. Is there interest in this application? Was there any particular reason for only having 12 downloads? I have theories, but I would love some feedback. I have uploaded a new version with an overhaul of the UI and most of the features I would call must haves are in there now. Please give it a download and try it out. Thanks!

[daneren2005]

I think most people are either going to use subsonic via the web interface when on desktops or via the apps when on mobile devices. I personally am interested in a good windows client, I just use ssl so until that feature is fixed there is no point in even bothering.

[hakko]

First of all, thanks for sharing your work with the rest of the world! I appreciate that, and that you make the source code available.

For me personally, I haven't tried it as I've added extra functionality to the old web interface that I wouldn't want to lose (plus I'm mostly using a Mac or some *ix system). I guess most people need something extra to take the step to a new client.. be it something aesthetic, speed, integration with a local library, spotify or whatever. Maybe Twitter/Facebook/MusicBrainz like you're writing. Just something that makes it stand out, that people have been looking for.

People interested in Windows clients might also already be used to this: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=8772

I hope you keep working on it, when you've built the client that has everything you've been looking for, other people will definitely enjoy it too!

[archrival]

I had been using SubAir because it is simplistic enough to play music, but not really intrusive. I've tried all of the other Windows clients and I've been unimpressed, particularly with SubWiji. It is just way too slow and cumbersome for my tastes. I believe I've created a lightweight and responsive application, hopefully someone can try it out and give me feedback. My goal with writing this application is to get to playing music quickly. I'm not going for some flashy interface, I need functionality. Think something like foobar.

I've been developing this for a little over a month. I have a feature set in my mind that I'd like to hit, but I'm also trying to make usable releases as I go. At this point I'm not really doing anything above and beyond what is capable from the REST API, however, I welcome feature requests and bug reports.

[archrival]

I think most people are either going to use subsonic via the web interface when on desktops or via the apps when on mobile devices. I personally am interested in a good windows client, I just use ssl so until that feature is fixed there is no point in even bothering.

SSL works great. In fact, I use it personally. I've even added an SSL validation check and you can trust the certificate from within the application. They only thing that doesn't work is handing off the stream directly to MediaElement. As long as you have Use Disk Cache enabled you will have no problems with SSL. Hopefully I can find a solution.

[daneren2005]

I think most people are either going to use subsonic via the web interface when on desktops or via the apps when on mobile devices. I personally am interested in a good windows client, I just use ssl so until that feature is fixed there is no point in even bothering.

SSL works great. In fact, I use it personally. I've even added an SSL validation check and you can trust the certificate from within the application. They only thing that doesn't work is handing off the stream directly to MediaElement. As long as you have Use Disk Cache enabled you will have no problems with SSL. Hopefully I can find a solution.

Ah ok, then I will have to give it a try. I thought the known issues part meant that streaming at all didn't work. If I have to wait for a full file to download then that is a deal breaker for me. But if it's only pure streaming which is broken then that is less of an issue. It looks good so I will definitely have to give it a try.

[GJ51]

Hmm, this has been here for almost 3 weeks with nearly 200 views and yet no responses. Is there interest in this application? Was there any particular reason for only having 12 downloads? I have theories, but I would love some feedback. I have uploaded a new version with an overhaul of the UI and most of the features I would call must haves are in there now. Please give it a download and try it out. Thanks!

Sorry. This is the first I've noticed your post. I'm currently running several sites already that incude standard Subsonic, Madsonic, and Music Cabinet. I'll give Ultrasonic a test run soon when I get a chance to allocate some resources for it.

I think the big thing that a lot of us are waitin/looking for in a new version of Subsonic is HTML5 integration and use for video, especially in the apps. Feature-wise most of it is pretty well covered in the mods I currently use, but I'll certainly give Ultrasonic a closer look now that I know it's here.

[archrival]

Sorry. This is the first I've noticed your post. I'm currently running several sites already that incude standard Subsonic, Madsonic, and Music Cabinet. I'll give Ultrasonic a test run soon when I get a chance to allocate some resources for it.

I think the big thing that a lot of us are waitin/looking for in a new version of Subsonic is HTML5 integration and use for video, especially in the apps. Feature-wise most of it is pretty well covered in the mods I currently use, but I'll certainly give Ultrasonic a closer look now that I know it's here.

For me, the web interface can be really slow, which is another reason why I decided to write my own client. HTML5 may be better though. I don't have any videos on my server, but I've considered adding video support as well.

[mjeppo]

Hi, I tried Ultrasonic today, but there seems to be an issue displaying tracks when using folder format "artist - album" in the main folder of music. No tracks are displayed...
When the folder is in this format: "Artist\Artist - Album" the albums within the folder are displayed in the "Albums" section, and I when I select an album, the tracks are displayed.
Is this a known issue?

[archrival]

Hi, I tried Ultrasonic today, but there seems to be an issue displaying tracks when using folder format "artist - album" in the main folder of music. No tracks are displayed...
When the folder is in this format: "Artist\Artist - Album" the albums within the folder are displayed in the "Albums" section, and I when I select an album, the tracks are displayed.
Is this a known issue?

You're right, it wasn't working. I just uploaded a new version UltraSonic_20121201_0003.7z which resolves the problem. Try it out.

[daneren2005]

Just after a quick check, I have two things:
1) Where is the now playing list?
2) Are you doing long IO in the main thread? There are times like when I first added a bunch of stuff to the playlist and everything stopped for 10-15 seconds.

[archrival]

Just after a quick check, I have two things:
1) Where is the now playing list?
2) Are you doing long IO in the main thread? There are times like when I first added a bunch of stuff to the playlist and everything stopped for 10-15 seconds.

1. The now playing list is under the social tab, I'm trying to resolve an issue where it only starts updating once you've clicked "Refresh" on the context menu.
2. How many items were you adding? I can try to reproduce.

[daneren2005]

Just after a quick check, I have two things:
1) Where is the now playing list?
2) Are you doing long IO in the main thread? There are times like when I first added a bunch of stuff to the playlist and everything stopped for 10-15 seconds.

1. The now playing list is under the social tab, I'm trying to resolve an issue where it only starts updating once you've clicked "Refresh" on the context menu.
2. How many items were you adding? I can try to reproduce.

I just played one album, then added another album right after and it froze for a few seconds. To be more specific it was Linken Park Hybrid Theory, then Meteora.

[ggibby]

Hey archrival,

This is all happening on a Win7 box with 4GB, 1.8GHz on cable modem.

I installed .NET 4.5, ran the Ultrasonic.exe as Administrator,
set the server details, Saved,
then tried to alter the Search settings and got the error I've captured and Attached.

Closed the app, now restarted.
The Saved playlists are listed, but without details.
Double-clicking on the playlists has no effect.
Also, Search is not returning results.
When I navigate to an artist and click on the 'Play' icon in the right panel, nothing happens.


I have a large collection - is there an initial load time?
There shouldn't be.

-G