Rivo+ album art display when used as Roon endpoint

Volumio Shop Products Discussions
1

I am considering to purchase a Rivo+. Because we run both Lyrion Media Server as well as Roon Core, I wanted a device that could stream from both. Volumio is the only OS I’m aware of that can stream from both LMS and Roon, as well as Tidal, Spotify and Qobuz Connect…

In preparation for this, I decided to start by exploring the Premium version of the Volumio OS, which I set up on a Pi4b and 5. Volumio OS works well and I can stream to the devices running it from both LMS and Roon. However, when I stream from Roon, there is no display of the album artwork or any information about what is currently playing. When I stream from LMS, the Volumio interface will show artwork and what is playing.

I see that the Rivo+ has an HDMI output, and note that the manual says that the Volumio OS interface is output via HDMI. However, my question is whether this works like Volumio OS on a Pi (i.e., no display of Roon now playing), or whether the Rivo+ works like a true “Roon Ready” device that will display artwork and track/album info. For example, even some basic streamers like the WiiM Ultra will display Roon now playing info on their built-in screens. If not, are there plans to add this functionality?

As I understand, Volumio (at least, running on Pi computers) uses Roon RAAT protocol to stream to some endpoints and that RAAT doesn’t carry metadata. I understand that “Roon Ready” is a hardware certification and therefore can’t be given to an OS that may run on all sorts of unknown hardware. But in this case, Volumio hardware such as the Rivo+ could indeed be certified by Roon as “Roon Ready”.

Thank you for any help understanding this!

2

Hello,

To clarify your question: when using a Roon Ready certified device such as the Rivo+, full metadata, including album artwork, track information, and playback status, is transmitted directly from Roon to the endpoint. This means that the Rivo+ will indeed display “Now Playing” information from Roon via its HDMI output, just as it does with LMS or other sources supported by Volumio.

In contrast, when Volumio is running on third-party hardware like a Raspberry Pi, Roon compatibility is achieved through an external plugin (typically based on the Roon Bridge software). This approach uses the RAAT protocol but does not support metadata transmission, which is why you’re not seeing artwork or track info on those devices. Since this plugin is developed and maintained by the community, we recommend reaching out directly to its creator for support or updates, the best way to do so is by posting in the Volumio community forum.

I hope this helps clarify the differences and that the Rivo+ can offer the seamless experience you’re looking for.

Best,
Davide
VOLUMIO TECH SUPPORT