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[lalittle]

I've read some other posts regarding the issue of the ends of songs getting cut off or cut short when using MC9 to rip/encode/synch to the iPod, but I can't seem to find information on whether or not the new (beta) version fixes this.  How common is this issue, and does anybody know whether or not this has been taken care of in the latest build?

I can't seem to find any pattern to why certain songs do this, but it's repeatable and while it's not all "that" frequent, it's does happen often enough to be annoying.

Thanks for any updates on this issue,

Larry

[SteveG]

Larry,

What happens if you rip/encode the songs with an application other than MC? If the songs are still cut off, then the problem is most likely an iPod issue and not a rip/encode issue.

Steve

[lalittle]

I tried encoding with Nero and using MC9 just to synch, and I did NOT have this problem -- i.e. the songs play all the way to the end.  Therefore, this is specifically related to using MC9 to rip/encode.  When using MC9 to rip/encode "You're the Boss" off Brian Setzer's "The Dirty Boogie," the song stops a full 18 seconds early and just plays silence for the remainder of the time.  The Nero rip/encode plays to the end.

Thanks for any further assistance with this,

Larry

[lalittle]

I have another update to this.  I did some more re-rip/encodes and had some odd results.  The Brian Setzer song "You're the Boss" that I ripped/encoded via Nero played fine on the iPod.  However, I tried re-ripping/encoding the same song via MC9 and it ALSO played fine -- unlike the first rip.  I then tried re-ripping one of the Squirrel Nut Zippers songs that had this problem and the Nero transfer cut off early just like the MC9 transfer did.  In other words, I was able to "fix" the problem with one song by ripping it again, but another song continues to cut off short no matter what I do.

I'm not sure how to interpret this information.  In the case of the songs that don't work right after the first rip, what can cause this?  Is there a setting I could change that would give me more predictable results?  In the case of the songs that don't work right no matter what, what's going wrong with them?

Thanks,

Larry

[SteveG]

Update for everyone on this, I am inclined to think this is an iPod problem. I have asked Larry via email to try to verify that the same types of problems exist when other applications are used for ripping. If this is the case, it would point away from anything we are doing. If not, I will continue to try to find a solution.

[lalittle]

Update:  It seems that VBR songs ripped with MC are uniquely problematic on the iPod.  The issue with the ends of these songs ending a second or two before the end and jumping to the next song is very repeatable, and only happens if I use MC to do the rip/encode.  The same song ripped in Nero doesn't do this.

The problem with CBR songs, however, is a bit more inconsitant.  First, the songs are cut off by widely varying amounts -- I'd say 3 to 30 seconds.  Second, simply re-ripping/encoding these songs in MC9 solves the problem -- i.e. the new rip doesn't do it.  I have not yet been able to determine if another ripper/encoder other than MC can cause this issue since I just haven't had time to try another ripper/encoder long enough -- i.e. I'd have to rip at least 5 or so albums, and even then it wouldn't necessarily be "clear" whether or not I still had the issue since the problem is quite random.  I recently noticed two songs on one album having this problem, but then I listened to several other albums without a glitch.

I did confirm that re-synching the songs doesn't help -- only a re-encode works.

Thanks again for any help with this,

Larry

[CautionESPN]

Just an FYI, I ripped my entire CD collection with MusicMatch Jukebox in VBR.  I see the exact problem you are referring to though it is inconsistent.  When i have formatted my ipod and resynched I have had the problem disappear on songs where it existed.  This leads me to believe it is either an iPod problem or a problem with the iPod plugin rather than an issue with how the songs are encoded.

Chris M

[lalittle]

As per Chris M.'s suggestion, I tried doing a full restore with the latest iPod Manager (the same one I used to update to 2.0.1.)  I'm happy to report that this worked -- it solved 'almost' all the issues I was having with songs getting cut off (thanks Chris.)  The CBR songs that were ending early now play to the end -- including the really troublesome songs (like the entire Squirrel Nut Zippers album "Perennial Favorites) that ended early even when I used another application to rip/encode them.  All of these now play to the end and I didn't have to re-rip/encode any of them.

The VBR songs behave much better now as well.  However, they still cut just a bit more off than the same song encoded with CBR.  It's a minor difference, but on songs that have a recognizable sound right on the seam, the VBR encodes clip just a little bit, whereas the CBR encodes simply have the standard mp3 gap without losing any of the actual song.  I'm confident that this is an iPod issue -- something about the way it handles VBR songs.

One side note: When updating, I kept getting a "can't mount iPod" message at the end of the restore.  I finally solved this by UNchecking the "enable disk mode" box when doing the restore.  This seemed to make the difference since the next restore worked normally.  When the restore was done, I re-checked the "enable disk mode" box and all seems well now.

Thanks again for the resposes,

Larry

[Kurt Young]

Hey guys,

Aye, this is most likely an iPod problem, caused by a change in the Portalplayer that's inside it.

My old Gen2 iPod, running 1.2.6, did not have this problem.

My new Gen3 iPod, running 2.0, and now 2.0.1, has this problem.

This problem seems to manifest only in songs that I've um... borrowed... from friends.  Songs that come from CDs that me or my friends have personally ripped don't exhibit this problem.

Apparently, the new Portalplayer is very picky about the data it streams out.  One too many "irregularities" and it either won't play the song or will stop playback and advance to the next song.

My only advice at this time is to remember which songs display this bug and use MC9's included Media Editor to convert to .wav and then back to .mp3.  Doing this will eliminate whatever irregularities are in the file and encode it as a brand new file with a reliable encoder.  I've had 100% success with this fix so far.

Pain in the butt, aye, but if the song's important to you, the 3 or 4 minutes it takes to decode/re-encode it will be worth it.

[lalittle]

I've had 100% success with this fix so far.

Pain in the butt, aye, but if the song's important to you, the 3 or 4 minutes it takes to decode/re-encode it will be worth it.

I also had success re-ripping/encoding the songs off the CD.  However, the important part of my last message is that after doing a full restore with the latest software (full format) I no longer NEED to re-rip/encode the songs -- i.e. the ones that were giving me problems suddenely work fine, INCLUDING the songs that re-ripping/encoding hadn't helped.  I believe that updating to the 2.0.1 software without restoring/reformatting may be the key -- i.e. simply using "update" without "restore" may not fully work.

I had been re-encoding all the songs that were giving me problems, but a restore made this unecessary.

Larry

[Kurt Young]

Roger that.  I wish that worked for me... I've done a lot of restores and still no joy.  Sigh.

[lalittle]

Since turning an mp3 into a wav file then back into an mp3 is going to degrade the sound quality, I assume you're doing this with songs which you don't have the original CD or wav file for, correct?

You say that a restore didn't solve the problem... did you use the actual iPod manager software that came with 2.0.1, and did you turn off "enable disk mode" when doing the restore?  Also, do the songs that give you problems work fine via MC or WMP and just give you problems on the iPod?  It's troubling that the restore didn't work for you.  I hope it wasn't a fluke that it worked for me.

Larry