INTERACT FORUM

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: importing itunes xml library  (Read 11587 times)

unsandpiper

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 3
importing itunes xml library
« on: December 30, 2010, 09:56:29 pm »
I've just bought MC15 and I want to copy all my music and ratings from itunes into MC15.
So I decided to use the File->Import Playlist option to import the itunes "iTunes Music Library.xml" file (about 260MB).
MC15 spent about an hour or so processing that file and now it is showing that it is adding the files (a mixture of mp3 and m4a) to the library in the "Importing Media" tab.

The problem is that it is importing the files at an excruciatingly slow rate of about 3500 per hour, and there is a total of about 100,000 to get through. Is there any way I can speed this up? I can't really leave the computer running for the 24 hours it will take because it is too noisy for sleeping.

My computer is running windows 7 64 bit on an i7 860 4 core processor with 4GB of RAM, and I can see MC15 and the JRworker process are only using a maximum of 12% of the CPU and 30MB of RAM while it is importing the files.

Logged

unsandpiper

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 3
Re: importing itunes xml library
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2010, 02:40:30 am »
I just had an idea - if I were to use the auto-imort feature to import a chunk of the 100,000 files each time I run MC15, that could eventually get all my files loaded, although none of the ratings would come across.

Could I then export an xml playlist of all the rated files (about 10,000) from itunes and import that playlist into MC15? Would that give me duplicate files, or just copy across the ratings?
Logged

JimH

  • Administrator
  • Citizen of the Universe
  • *****
  • Posts: 72444
  • Where did I put my teeth?
Re: importing itunes xml library
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2010, 07:14:30 am »
Quote from: unsandpiper on December 30, 2010, 09:56:29 pm
I've just bought MC15 and I want to copy all my music and ratings from itunes into MC15.
So I decided to use the File->Import Playlist option to import the itunes "iTunes Music Library.xml" file (about 260MB).
MC15 spent about an hour or so processing that file and now it is showing that it is adding the files (a mixture of mp3 and m4a) to the library in the "Importing Media" tab.

The problem is that it is importing the files at an excruciatingly slow rate of about 3500 per hour, and there is a total of about 100,000 to get through. Is there any way I can speed this up? I can't really leave the computer running for the 24 hours it will take because it is too noisy for sleeping.

My computer is running windows 7 64 bit on an i7 860 4 core processor with 4GB of RAM, and I can see MC15 and the JRworker process are only using a maximum of 12% of the CPU and 30MB of RAM while it is importing the files.


That could be a virus checker looking at every file that MC opens.
Logged

unsandpiper

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 3
Re: importing itunes xml library
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2010, 07:18:11 pm »
I don't have an antivirus program on that computer.
Also, I looked a bit closer at what is happening during the import process, and it seems that m4a files get imported at a very slow rate - as low as one file per second, while mp3 files get imported at around 20-30 per second.
Logged

JimH

  • Administrator
  • Citizen of the Universe
  • *****
  • Posts: 72444
  • Where did I put my teeth?
Re: importing itunes xml library
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2010, 08:50:53 pm »
Take a look at the Wiki article on MP4 and M4A.   Try importing everything but M4A.
Logged

csum

  • Recent member
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Re: importing itunes xml library
« Reply #5 on: January 31, 2011, 06:40:10 am »
I have the same issue. My iPod plays lossless only. I have been using iTunes to import m4a files to my iPod but I'd rather use MC15. Media Center it taking an absolute age to import my m4a library (35K).

Before anyone tell me about other OS for the iPod I'd like to say here and now.... I don't like any of the interfaces for any of the other iPod OS so I am stuck with apple for that element of my listening experience....
Logged

Alex B

  • MC Beta Team
  • Citizen of the Universe
  • *****
  • Posts: 10121
  • The Cosmic Bird
Re: importing itunes xml library
« Reply #6 on: January 31, 2011, 09:12:31 am »
Quote
Also, I looked a bit closer at what is happening during the import process, and it seems that m4a files get imported at a very slow rate - as low as one file per second, while mp3 files get imported at around 20-30 per second.

I did a quick test, and what you have experienced seems to be about normal when the .m4a file type is set to be decoded with a DirectShow decoder. When it is set to use QuickTime, importing seems to be even even a bit slower.

The unfortunate fact is that M4A importing is rather slow. MC uses an external decoder (either a DirectShow decoder or QuickTime) for reading M4A file data and this is a lot slower than reading file data through the internal decoder plugins, which are used with most other audio formats.

Once the files are imported all file data is stored in the database and using MC should be as fast as with any file format.
Logged
The Cosmic Bird - a triple merger of galaxies: http://eso.org/public/news/eso0755
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »