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Some sort of visualizer mode would be cool to see. I'd like to see it when casting from my phone to my TV. Would be a fun feature on all possible platforms.
Hey mods, please stop combining these feature requests. Visualizers, virtualizers, and music videos are NOT the same thing. They are three completely different concepts. You guys have tried combining these requests quite a few times.
But honestly, I'm done with Pandora anyways, so whatever. Features are seriously lagging behind other services like Spotify. I was a subscriber for 12 years, too.
I think it would be a challenge to implement some of these features such as virtualizer (audio spatial and reverb), related video feeds, and visualizer.
That said all three are doable and except for the related video feeds have been done before. For example, WinAmp and Windows Media Player have those two features as plug ins.
To do this in Pandora, it would require some tricky refactoring of the app code for the various platforms (don't forget smart TVs have Pandora apps too) because it is a lightweight (audio only) streaming paradigm. Therefore they should be done on the server side.
- Audio spatials could be formed for an individual user before the audio stream is sent.
- Visualizers could be restricted to certain platforms where Pandora has leeway to embed the viz software in the user program, such as on desktop and mobile, but probably not on TVs. (You could still cast your Pandora app to your TV though.)
- To embed related videos would probably require a team-up with Youtube so that (1) IP is not violated and (2) to tap into Youtube's streaming capabilities to handle the much higher bandwidth of video.
The desktop app experience is visually unappealing.
Music is seldom a standalone experience and is greatly enhanced by appealing visuals that complement the auditory experience. I've seen requests for music videos and full-screen album covers, both of which would be preferable to the mundane state of the player in its current iteration.
Some examples would be Winamp's (remember Winamp?) visualization feature, countless lofi (and likely other genres) stations on YouTube that use a simple animated image loop, the holiday fireplace channels, screensavers... any sort of visually appealing option to replace the static and boring player in its current state.
My use case may not be common, but I primarily work from home, where my work computer is situated at my desk alongside my personal computer. I use my personal PC for music while I work in order to maintain a strict separation between work and personal content. Having some sort of visualization on the player would make the experience more appealing, but oddly enough it also helps reduce the amount of distraction from the personal computer.
Listening to music while you work is all about that dopamine drip into your brain, but not having some sort of visual stimulus obscuring the seductions of greater distractions makes using Pandora less appealing than something like a YouTube channel.
I've been a big fan of Pandora since the beginning, and I refuse to give up my subscription, but I'd love to see some progress with more advanced features across the board.