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[sirshambling]

I've no idea whether you want to hear from me or not - but as a very new user to MC9 I thought it might be worth my while taking a few minutes to send my initial views - esp as a refugee from the dreadful MMJB I might be the type of customer you are looking for.

First the layout is very good indeed  - as is the import media files process. Playback is clear and easy - ripping CDs fairly straight forward once I'd had a look at the Tools/Options settings. Quality on MP3 and Ogg far superior to MMJB. Very good start.

Next something simple like setting up a playlist. Getting all the songs together worked well - but then the first snag. How to delete a song from a playlist? R/Clicking didn't seem to offer a solution so I tried the help file. The first 2 suggestions were to click on the appropriate files and then click on an icon on the toolbar - but it wasn't there - and then to R/Click and choose "remove" - but no such option came up. Not good at all.

One of the features I most wanted to try was "smartlist". Edit/New Smartlist did nothing that I could see. So the help file again. The suggestion was to click on an icon on the toolbar - but again it wasn't there. After I'd put it on the toolbar, I set up a test smartlist - excellent feature - but I couldn't find a "save" option.

I've also tried edit track tags with mixed results. Using "F2 to edit the highlighted field" didn't help much as having the entire entry highlighted I couldn't find the right field to edit. Ephpod uses a variety of "F" keys to edit various fields - much neater.

Having spent some 4 hours trying out MC9 my verdict would be that it is clearly a wonderfully full featured bit of software - but not at all intuitive. I'm sure all the experts here will say that the balance between flexibilty, options and functions is right. But for a newbie it's simply bewildering. For example I'm now trying to find out how to stop MC9 cross-fading the tracks in my smartlist. It's not R/Clicking on the smartlist is it? So where is it?

I'm going to perservere with it - but how many people will spend my 4 hours and then give up?

Can't wait to try MC9 with my Ipod - good job I've found ashawleys guide to this or I'm not sure that I'd even attempt it!

Good luck with MC9 and I appreciate your efforts to get it to market.

Best, John

[rocketsauce]

How to delete a song from a playlist? R/Clicking didn't seem to offer a solution...

Right-click/Edit/Delete or select the file and hit the Delete key on your keyboard.

Edit/New Smartlist did nothing that I could see.

Once you create a new Smartlist you then have to specifiy the rules you want it to use to create the list. Click on the magnifying glass icon above the track list. Also, you will be prompted to save the smartlist when you change to another playlist or view scheme.

I've also tried edit track tags with mixed results. Using "F2 to edit the highlighted field" didn't help much...

This has been behaving a little odd in the last few builds. I'm also having trouble getting MC to select the correct field when hitting F2. Not sure what to do about it yet. You can also edit tags by selecting a file/files and right-clicking and choosing Properties.

I'm now trying to find out how to stop MC9 cross-fading the tracks in my smartlist.

Cross-fading and other playback options are in Tools/Options/Playback. Also, a really cool feature called Zones is available by clicking on the button at the lower right of the player controls. You can use the Zone Manager to setup and save different groupings of playback options and then easily switch between them depending on what music you're listening to.

I'm sure all the experts here will say that the balance between flexibilty, options and functions is right. But for a newbie it's simply bewildering.

I've been using MJ/MC for almost a year and am still discovering features that I didn't know about or hadn't used before.  

Rob

[JimH]

You can also edit a field with a slow double click.

[rocketsauce]

You can also edit a field with a slow double click.

I just figured that out and came back to edit my post.

Rob

[Matt]

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.

With the next build (available in a day or two), left-clicking on an entry will select it for an F2 edit.

Thanks again.

[ZRocker]

Don't forget...once you have field editing started, you can press [Tab] to jump to editing the next or previous field ([Sh-Tab]) and you can use the Up/Down arrow keys to edit the same field in the track above/below the current one.

[sirshambling]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm still finding my way around.

The point I was gently trying to make was that it takes some digging to find how to carry out fairly routine tasks - I never doubted for a minute that there would be several ways of achieving the desired results as MC9 is clearly a fearsome piece of programming. The experts who have worked so hard to get it into the shape it is have seen to that. But sometimes an idiot's point of view can have some relevance - particularly in what is a very crowded market.

A couple of other "help needed" points:-

Does Replay Gain actually adjust the MP3 file and are the changes carried forward to an Ipod?

Is there a quick way to change the random tracks in a Smartlist or do you have to use the wizard from scratch?

Many thanks once again, best, John

[rocketsauce]

Does Replay Gain actually adjust the MP3 file and are the changes carried forward to an Ipod?

No. When you use MC Replay Gain analyzation the info is saved in the file tags and the gain adjustment is applied on playback if the Replay Gain DSP is enabled.

Is there a quick way to change the random tracks in a Smartlist or do you have to use the wizard from scratch?

You should get a random sorting of tracks each time you select the Smartlist.

Rob

Listening to: 'Life On MTV' from 'First Album' by 'Miss Kittin & The Hacker' on Media Center 9.0

[sirshambling]

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply again - I'm grateful.

John

[Cmagic]

Hi and welcome among the MC9ers,

I think you're right when you say that it takes some time to get used too MC/MJ. But once you've made the effort you will find that you'll quickly get addicted. I have switched from MMJB to MJ/MC about 2 years ago (was V6 or 7 then) and since then I have never used any other audio player / organizing software.

Have a nice day and a lot of fun with MC,

C.

Listening to: 'Rocketsauce (Take One)' from 'The Search For Inspirado' by 'Tenacious D' on Media Center 9.0

[Matt]

The next build will also have a little more new user friendly right-click menu layout.

Thanks again.

[ZRocker]

Matt,

With the option for experieced users to have the old layout, right?

[nila]

yeah,
please dont change the right click menu too much.
I love how it is right now.

It works great.

[sirshambling]

I wouldn't wish to be the cause of annoyance to long standing members here...

After spending some time with the Ipod downloading facilities I've succumbed to MC9 and sent in my $40. Very pleased to see that the licence allows an install on my other PC - more than fair.

One final question for the moment if I may - I see that MC9 calculates the space on my 20GB Ipod as 18.5GB after a restore - following ashawley's excellent guide - whereas the wretched MMJB found 19.5GB approx. Where has my missing GB gone?

Thanks once again. John.

[SteveG]

John,

Assuming when you say "Restore" you mean "Format"...

the space on the iPod is constant, the discrepancy is in how we count the bytes on the iPod. Hardware manufacturers typically count the bytes in a way to make it look bigger (MusicMatch must also be doing this). The bottom line is you are not losing any space because our treatment of the bytes is consistant with the bytes we report for files throughout the program.

Steve

[sirshambling]

Thanks for the very quick response Steve.

I meant "restore" as that's one of the steps that ashawley recommends - followed by an MC9 "format".

But I'm comforted by your response. Thanks once again.

Enjoying listening to the Soul Children "I'll Be The Other Woman" right now!

John.