I mentioned in another post that when MOG was cancelled, I decided to move to RDio, at least for the summer.  However, Spotify had a buy one month, get two free deal, so I jumped on board to try it out for a few months.

Now that I have been using it for over a month, I am really starting to like this service.  It will actual bump Rdio off the top of the mountain by the end of the summer if Rdio hasn't converted their files to 320k by then.  As with all of these services, they promise features are coming, but don't say when.  For all I know, it could take years for Rdio to convert.  By that time, Apple may have done something more interesting with Beats Music and move it up the list of contenders.  

Well,  now that I am leaning toward Spotify, I wanted to give a few reasons why:

1.  320k audio for premium subscribers
2.  Fantastic third party apps
3.  Desktop app
4.  iPad app
5. Exclusive deals

The 320k audio puts it on par with Google and Beats.  It also puts it ahead of Rdio and Rhapsody.  This is a main consideration in the fall/winter when I do a lot more listening on my main systems.  

For me, a desktop app is an important feature.  For one thing, the Roomie Remote app on my iPhone can launch a desktop app automatically.  It can't easily do that with a web address (actually, I am not sure if it is even possible).  Secondly, web browser apps are usually short in features.  The Spotify Desktop app has a section called "Apps" that isn't on their other platforms.  This "App" section is one of my favorite features of Spotify.  A description of a few of the apps and how they work below:

a.  BlueNote - This app has a history of jazz built right into Spotify.  You can click on playlists, explore artists, explore time periods, and playlists.  It has biographies of artists and albums.   I had a monthly subscription to BlueNote at one time, but the service was missing too many albums.  Pairing it with Spotify actually fills in a lot of blanks.   Needless to say, if you are a jazz fan, this app alone is worth the price of admission.

b.  Jazzify - Staying on the subject of jazz, Jazzify takes a similar approach as the BlueNote app, but has a larger database because it isn't concentrated on the BlueNote label.  It allows you to pull up artists by decades, chose by instrument, choose by style, etc..  Unlike BlueNote which has albums and playlists, it seems to be oriented only around playlists.  

c. Classify/Bluesify - Very similar to Jazzify....which is to say that they are terrific  ways to explore these genres and sub-genres.  In the Classical genre, the Decca app is amazing, as well.

d.  Hard& Heavy is a rock and roll app similar to the "Jazzify" app.  Not sure why they didn't call it "Rockify".   

d.  Last.fm - I have been on this site for a long, long time.  It takes your past music listening choices and makes new similar suggestions.

e. Moodagent sets up playlists based on your mood.  

f.  There are several more and the apps you would use would depend on your individual taste.  

The above are all inside the desktop app.  However, there are also apps that you can use on an iPhone that I like.  My favorite would be "Remoteless".  You download a program to your Windows/Mac computer and download the iOS/Android app to your device.   This allows you to remotely control Spotify on the desktop with a mobile device.  Below is one of the screens from their website:

Notice (pic to left) that the Apps built into the Spotify Desktop app aren't available, but you can access features like Playlists and Starred tracks with Spotify Premium according to the Remoteless website.  

I mainly use the Remoteless app to search for artists and albums on Spotify and play them back on my main system that is attached to a mac mini.  

However, if you notice, Airfoil is built right into the Remoteless app.  I have discussed the Airfoil app in the past, but to give a quick summary, it will send all audio from your computer to Airplay devices (Apple TV, Airport Express, Airplay built into third party receivers/speakers).  The upside to using this over iOS via Airplay is the ability to send audio from Spotify to multiple Airplay devices simultaneously.  

There is also a cool app called SSRadio that uses your Spotify account to set up playlists for popular genres.  It is similar to the music stations on SiriusXM and for many of the stations they actually have the SiriusXM counterpart in parenthesis to make the transition easier.  I have only used the app for a week, but I really like it.  I have been using Sirius or XM for several years and the downside has always been the compression in the audio signal that they use.  This offers similar channels using Spotfy's 320k high quality format.

There are also apps like Djay that only work with Spotify and iTunes that are innovative and unique.  A short demonstration for their Youtube account is below:

The other thing that Spotify has is a lot more exclusive deals than the other services.  For example, they had Led Zeppelin and Metallica signed to exclusive deals.  With the comparable services having a similar number of tracks, these exclusive deals are a separator that they have over the competition.

As you can see, this service currently has a lot of unique characteristics.  I have read that Spotify plans to discontinue some of its  desktop features, so if that happens, they could lose one of their competitive advantages.   For me, the desktop app is the main separator between Spotify and Beats/Google.  Google is also missing a native iPad app which just seems lazy to me.   Anyway,  in the current market, they are neck and neck with Rdio.    I wrote about the reasons I prefer Rdio in another post, but at the end of the summer, my current plan is to switch to Spotify if Rdio hasn't completed their file conversion to 320k.  

As I have mentioned, I have a 2010 Mac Mini in my office that feeds two separate systems.   I have the mini placed in my office and I have it feeding the office display with DVI and I also have a long HDMI cable feeding a Denon receiver in my living room. 

I guess the strange part of my system is that the Denon receiver in the living room feeds two systems (it routes HDMI back into my office), as well.  This makes it possible to use the Mac Mini in both rooms and every component in my main entertainment system in my living room and office.

I started looking into a way to easily control XBMC (software for watching movies, listening to music, and a lot more) from my living room via a remote app.   I already have a few ways to take over the computer with the iPad and apps that make the iPad into a mac keyboard (Rowmote Pro).  These are both great approaches, but I wanted something more embedded into the overall system.  In other words, I wanted something with "activities"/macros that could make it easy to hit one button and  have my TV turn on and go to the correct input, then my receiver turns on and goes to the correct input, and finally the XBMC remote pops up on the screen.

When I started looking into this, I ran across a site called EverythingiCafe that had a great description of how they use their Mac Mini and an introduction to Roomie Remote. 

I looked into Roomie a little more and found that it might fit my needs for XBMC in my living room and a lot more.  However, I will probably have to build my system around it over the next few months since it starts getting costly with each add on.  The current pricing for what I have already purchased:

1.  Roomie Remote app -$9.99 - This allows you to control two devices in one room.  
2.  Home Theater Pack - $19.99 - This expands to unlimited devices in unlimited rooms.

So, I am already in for $30 and I will have to change settings on my mini to get it to work the way I want.  When my mini's screensaver comes on, or my mini goes to sleep, the app will no longer control XBMC.  I have to use the Rowmote Pro app to move the curser around to wake up the mini so I can control it with Roomie again.   Not ideal.

That being said, I discovered other uses for the app that I had not anticipated when I initially started researching.  Right now, my Denon receiver, Roku, and Directv Genie can all be controlled via the Roomie app via IP control.  This means they are all connected to my network and available for the Roomie to control (Not all internet devices work this way.  For example, I can't control my AppleTVs this way).   

One issue I have had with sharing Directv from my living room into my office is that I am using my Denon receiver's second HDMI output for the office setup.  For some reason, my receiver has an issue using both HDMI outputs at the same time, so I have to go into the Denon's webpage and change the output to HDMI 2 manually.  I also have to manually route audio to my TV rather than my amp via the Denon web control.  With Roomie, I have set up an "activity" to make these changes automatically when I want to watch Directv.  I also set up my main system to put these settings back when I want to use HDMI 1 and the amp/speakers in my living room via Roomie.

Now that I can use Roku and Directv in my office using Roomie, I am starting to think I want to use some of their other features to get everything working perfectly.  The downside is that this starts to get expensive very quickly.  Here is the breakdown of what I need to have everything working in my Office and living room (I would also like to add some of this to my bedroom, but that will be a while down the road):

-Roomie Remote Agent - $19.99 - This will make it possible to control the Mac Mini and bring it out of sleep/screensaver mode and launch applications.   It says it will also control the mouse on the Mac.  

-Agent Management Pack -  9..99 - I think I will also need this to make Roomie Remote Agent work.  It is not really clear on their website, but their in app purchase makes it sound like this is a required add on, too.  I will have to research it a bit more.  

-Global Cache IP2IR - $91 - This is a box that plugs into a router via ethernet and has IR blasters that will control IR only devices (AppleTV, Samsung TV, etc.. in my setup) .  

Roomie Service Subscription - $16.99 per year - this gives you access to IR codes that you will need to control those IR devices.   This is the one thing about the service that worries me a bit.  What happens if they go out of business?  I am stuck with trying to find another app that will do this or I could be dead in the water.   Vanishing tech is an issue with all small tech services like this, but I will probably risk it.

So, if you are keeping up, adding everything above will have me all set for my office and living room.  However, the add-ons start getting pretty expensive.  I would also need to spend another $91 for another blaster if I wanted the same setup in the bedroom.  However, I rarely use that system, so I am not sure I will ever add it.  Also, the Roomie can handle some security cameras and home automation devices, so you can even expand on what I mentioned above.

Also, I should mention that this system is not just plug and play.  You may need to configure routers, figure out how to add the "webserver" to XBMC,  figure out what add ons you need, etc..  They do have a forum, but it isn't very busy, so that could be an issue for some.  Also, some of the responses were too "tech speak" for me.

I won't be getting rid of my Harmony Remote even if I buy everything on the list, but the Roomie will be a nice supplement to that remote.  Also, if you have more than one iOS device and a Dropbox account, you can setup one device, upload the settings to Dropbox, and download those settings to a separate iOS device which I found very useful.    I will probably add the "Roomie Remote Agent" in the next month or so and then decide if I really want to add the IR blasters since that is when the yearly charge and additional hardware are needed.  I will report back as I add new features.