Topic: IPOD Feature Wishlist (Read 3988 times)

SteveG · « **on:** January 17, 2003, 07:25:08 am »

Hello iPod fans,

Please use this thread as a forum to discuss new features to add into the Plug-in. I will use this list to help me prioritize what to add next.

Thanks.
Steve

udeups · « **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2003, 12:01:28 pm »

As someone already requested in an old thread, a field in MC that stored a "last uploaded to handheld" value would be *very* useful. This field would be filled by the plugin whenever an upload was performed. I, as well, would like to have smartlists which would only be populated with songs that have never been uploaded to the ipod.

Thanks

Kurt Young · « **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2003, 02:28:31 pm »

GUI overhaul.

Example in MS Access 2000 format: http://pimpin-seattle.d2g.com/files/mjipod.mdb

Pretty icons, while yer at it. One each for the iPod, album, artist, genre, composer, song, and playlist.

JimH · « **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2003, 02:47:43 pm »

Quote

GUI overhaul.

Pretty icons, while yer at it. One each for the iPod, album, artist, genre, composer, song, and playlist.

OK. We'll buy them. One of you guys can draw, right? jimh @ jriver.com

Kurt Young · « **Reply #4 on:** January 17, 2003, 06:05:09 pm »

Steve, here's a thread full of requests:

http://www.xsorbit1.com/users/dennx/index.cgi?board=mediajukebox&action=display&num=1039079168&start=0

TimB · « **Reply #5 on:** January 18, 2003, 02:19:44 am »

Quote

As someone already requested in an old thread, a field in MC that stored a "last uploaded to handheld" value would be *very* useful. This field would be filled by the plugin whenever an upload was performed. I, as well, would like to have smartlists which would only be populated with songs that have never been uploaded to the ipod.

Thanks

My idea, my idea!

LOL!

I could also use this as a way to make sure I''m leveraging all my MP3s by progressively giving every one its moment in the iPod sun or even rotating more popular tracks so I don't get too sick of them.

-=Tim=-

mindracing · « **Reply #6 on:** January 19, 2003, 12:46:46 am »

Here's my four pennyworth (2 cents).

1. Eject option on Right click as per Explorer.

2. As playlists are selected the cumulative file number or storage required displays in Synch dialogue box.

3. Estimated download time based on previous average speeds and files selected in 2. above. Useful for those of us without a powered Firewire port.

4. To be able to 'Name' each iPOD, recognised from it's serial number rather than just showing up as Drive D/E/F etc. (Useful for those of us with more than 1 iPOD in the house!)

All 'nice to haves' I know. But then the iPOD started out as a 'nice to have' and now I can't live without it.

Keep up the good work Steve. It's really appreciated.

willrmc · « **Reply #7 on:** January 19, 2003, 06:48:25 am »

I like that idea of recognizing and naming the different iPods, we just bought my wife a 10 gb one yesterday.

Ingo · « **Reply #8 on:** January 19, 2003, 12:38:57 pm »

kinda OT:

add support for syncing non-IPOD-devices... like my archos ;-)

Ingo

jhubers · « **Reply #9 on:** January 19, 2003, 04:48:57 pm »

Support for Audible files tops my list. This is the main use of my IPOD.

Phil Lee · « **Reply #10 on:** January 20, 2003, 04:34:50 am »

Quote

2. As playlists are selected the cumulative file number or storage required displays in Synch dialogue box.

I think this would be a great feature. My iPod playlists are right on the borderline of filling my iPod up. I'd love to be able to see the total storage required for them prior to uploading them rather than being told by the plugin that my iPod is full.

lidocaineus · « **Reply #11 on:** January 20, 2003, 07:02:58 pm »

Am I missing something here, or is there no way to do automatic file conversions with a sync?

Reason being, I use mostly APE files, and the iPod obviously doesn't support those. The iPod plug in works perfectly for sync'ing up my mp3s, but for APE files, I have to manually enqueue them, click options, and select the mp3 encoder + settings. I haven't done much testing, but I'm assuming that because of the conversion, the files won't stay sync'd with the original APE files.

I'm also wary of clicking 'delete files' on a regular sync, as I have a feeling it might delete the converted APE files on the iPod which aren't on my hard drive as MP3s. Did that make sense? I know it sounded convoluted. In the manual, it says there is a tick box for conversion in the handhelds configuration dialog, but there doesn't seem to be one?

So if I don't use MP3s, do I have to manually stay on top of making sure my iPod is matching my hard drive?

I'm using .100/.45.

RandyP · « **Reply #12 on:** January 21, 2003, 01:36:37 am »

iPod icons for your use...

All my own pixels. Is JimH really gonna buy this stuff?

gpvillamil · « **Reply #13 on:** January 21, 2003, 03:37:47 am »

I mentioned this before, but it would be nice to have the option of tagging files differently on the iPod than from the original id3 tags.

The example I gave before is that I have a bunch of albums titled something like:

Cafe del Mar Volume 7
Cafe del Mar Volume 8
Cafe del Mar Volume 9
etc...

Naturally, on the iPod they all look the same since it only shows the first few characters of the album title!

It would be nice for that info to stay in the original id3 tags, but to have the option to retag the version on the ipod as:

Cafe del Mar #7
Cafe del Mar #8
Cafe del Mar #9
etc...

One way to do this would be to have files copied to the iPod tagged according to the entries in the Media library, not the id3 tags in the files themselves, and disable the auto updating of the file info.

Another would be to have an alternative tag set for the handheld, perhaps in the extended info of the file properties, with some simple regular expression tools to populate the fields.

Finally, there is always the option to retag 'live' on the iPod itself.

SteveG · « **Reply #14 on:** January 21, 2003, 05:41:26 am »

lidocaineus,

There currently is no conversion on synch. I will enable this.

In regards to the delete, this should be OK. The files exist on the iPod with the filename of the library index within MC. This does not change with the conversion so you should be OK. Perhaps you can test this and let me know if you see anything strange.

Thanks,

Steve

JimH · « **Reply #15 on:** January 21, 2003, 08:59:19 am »

Quote

iPod icons for your use...

All my own pixels. Is JimH really gonna buy this stuff?

Thanks. Nice icons. We might.

RandyP · « **Reply #16 on:** January 21, 2003, 04:47:16 pm »

Quote

The files exist on the iPod with the filename of the library index within MC.

Forgive me, but...

This will only work if the library index starts at zero at First Install, and always increments for each new entry, for the life of the product on my computer. (Well, at least for the duration of a set of sequential iPod syncs)

I import files and delete file pointers regularly, sometimes 100 - 1000 a day. If the library index EVER gets re-used after an entry is deleted, there will definitely be a problem with sync.

If that's a valid concern, remember my tests of your LLLllong filenames. Real-time performance was first-rate. A Drive+Path+Filename fileID construct is under complete control of the user - and by definition, is always a unique address within a given computer.

salsbst · « **Reply #17 on:** January 23, 2003, 10:26:30 pm »

Quote

lidocaineus,

There currently is no conversion on synch. I will enable this.
Steve

This was in regards to conversion from APE to MP3 on sync to an Ipod... and I know this thread is about Ipod... but I'm a total newbie and I'm really hoping that this feature will be there for other handhelds, too? Rio S35S is my device.

Thanks for listening,
Stuart

Quisp · « **Reply #18 on:** January 24, 2003, 03:53:11 am »

Don't know if this is already working or not, it has been a while since I've had the time to mess with the plug-in, but it would be extremely useful if the "Sound Check" feature worked.

Kurt Young · « **Reply #19 on:** January 24, 2003, 06:52:40 am »

I'd like to say a word about transcoding.

It would be super if there was a little IF-THEN statment involved, like:

IF file extension is NOT .mp3, .wav, .aiff, or .aa
THEN convert to whatever format the user has selected and upload.
ELSE just upload the file

This is my "safety convert" idea. Forgive me if it's already that way, and maybe I just need reassurance if it is, but something in the back of my mind is telling me that it will either convert everything you upload or nothing. No sense converting all of your .mp3's to mp3's, just because you want to put a handful of .ogg's on your pod.

Oh yeah, and it should work on both syncs and on manual uploads; you already mentioned that tho.

Much respek!

coxkevin · « **Reply #20 on:** January 25, 2003, 05:47:14 am »

Quote

I'd like to say a word about transcoding.

It would be super if there was a little IF-THEN statment involved, like:

IF file extension is NOT .mp3, .wav, .aiff, or .aa
THEN convert to whatever format the user has selected and upload.
ELSE just upload the file

This is my "safety convert" idea. Forgive me if it's already that way, and maybe I just need reassurance if it is, but something in the back of my mind is telling me that it will either convert everything you upload or nothing. No sense converting all of your .mp3's to mp3's, just because you want to put a handful of .ogg's on your pod.

Oh yeah, and it should work on both syncs and on manual uploads; you already mentioned that tho.

Much respek!

Quote

I ran into the same transcoding problems as Dave T almost immediately after trying to transfer my music. Consequently, I'd like to second his request to delete the temporary files as they're transferred and to enable the transcoding from a higher MP3 data rate stored on a computer to a lower one for playing on the iPod.

I'm also hoping that MC 9 will be able to keep track of changes to the original file and associated tags to prevent it from performing transcoding of each song with every sync.

In my feeble opinion, I think it would be very useful to allow the user be able to normalize against the replay gain instead of/or as an alternative option to normalizing against the song peaks.

Hi Kurt!!!

Although I agree with 99.9% of your posts, this one would kill me -- and I think Dave T would have a similar opinion!!!

I rip my CDs as high quality MP3s, but then want to down sample them when I'm syncing to the iPod to conserve space and have more songs available.

I don't want to step into designing Steve's plug-in (that's 3/4 of the fun in coding, right?

), but maybe an option that invokes your logic statement would solve the problem for everyone.

What do you think? ?

Kurt Young · « **Reply #21 on:** January 25, 2003, 09:48:52 am »

Quote

Hi Kurt!!!

Although I agree with 99.9% of your posts, this one would kill me -- and I think Dave T would have a similar opinion!!!

I rip my CDs as high quality MP3s, but then want to down sample them when I'm syncing to the iPod to conserve space and have more songs available.

I don't want to step into designing Steve's plug-in (that's 3/4 of the fun in coding, right? ), but maybe an option that invokes your logic statement would solve the problem for everyone.

What do you think? ?

Good point... I hadn't considered that. I guess that I'm spoiled with my 20GB, I've forgotten how it used to be when I had my 5GB. I too, found myself trying to find ways to conserve space.

So, make it an option, eh? You can choose to do a "force convert" which will convert everything to the specified format, or a "safety convert" which will convert only non-mp3/wav/aiff/aa files to the specified format. Sounds like a winner ta me.

king896 · « **Reply #22 on:** January 25, 2003, 10:07:24 am »

It would cool if you could apply DSP settings to the music that is sent to the ipod. Also volume levelizing via replay gain would be fantastic. I know that the software that comes with the Mac ipod has the ability to does these things, and it would be great if Media Center would have the same abilities.

coxkevin · « **Reply #23 on:** January 25, 2003, 11:48:34 am »

So to review the bidding, the wish list regarding transcoding is as follows:

Enable a transcoding interface that:

- Keeps track of changes to the original file and associated tags to prevent it from performing transcoding of each song with every sync.

- Deletes temporary files as they're transferred to the iPod instead of at the end of the overall transfer.

- Allows the user be able to normalize against the replay gain instead of/or as an alternative option to normalizing against the song peaks.

- Allows the user to apply DSP settings to the transcoding. (king 896 -- do you really want to "encode" the DSP settings by applying them to the song as it's transcoded, or just transfer a predefined set of DSP settings to the iPod and flag which of these settings should be applied to each song as it's played?)

- Allows the user to choose to do a "force convert" which will convert everything to the specified format (if it's not already in the format/bitrate), or a "safety convert" which will convert only non-mp3/wav/aiff/aa files to the specified format.

Dave T, Kurt, king896 -- did I miss anything/do you foresee any problems?

I know Steve's more busy than a one-armed wall-paper hanger right now, but maybe we can find a way to bribe him into enabling some form of this transcoding. Does anyone know if he has a wish-list set up on Amazon?

king896 · « **Reply #24 on:** January 25, 2003, 12:47:58 pm »

coxkevin, that is what i ment. Also i forgot to mention, is they a possable way to create gapless playback for the ipod. In Media Center, to create gapless playback for mp3's you apply the option "Do not play silence (leading trailing, & inside song)" and cross-fade for a 0.1 duration. Is there a way to transfer those effects to the ipod without re enconding the file. Thanks.

Kurt Young · « **Reply #25 on:** February 06, 2003, 05:38:12 pm »

Steve-O!

Wrap your mind around this, man:

An mjextman.exe command that will perform a playlist sync using all of the last-used playlists and options. It's gotta refresh any smartlists, even if MC isn't already running. It's gotta do it as quietly as possible... no prompts; just the sync dialogue, which should be able to be minimized or dismissed. Play a sound when done, but no prompts.

Heh, it's gotta lave MC running if it was running when the mjextman command was issued... tricky, eh? Don't wanna kill out of MC just because you plugged in your iPod.

I've been fiddling with a Mac at work... latest versions of everything. There's a program called iSync (http://www.apple.com/isync/) -- it's freeware too. When you plug in your iPod, it automatically syncs your Address Book contacts, and your iCal calendars (your iTunes playlists sync when you plug it in anyway). Syncs your darn clock too.

It's heaven.

Well, it's just code. Someone could make a program that'll do the same thing on Win32. Run in the system tray, waiting for an iPod to be connected. When it is, it could auto-launch Outpod or Palm2iPod to sync your calendars and contacts. Send an mjextman command to sync your music. And by then, maybe we can figure out how to make it sync the clock, too,

Wild ambitions aside, we could have it as a shortcut on our desktops. Double-click, syncing away. And then, we have programmable keyboards and Girder.

Anyhow, it all starts with that mjextman command. How hard would that be, bro?

willrmc · « **Reply #26 on:** February 06, 2003, 06:55:47 pm »

i think kurts got a great idea there, but how would it know which library file to sync? my wife and i have separate libraries to sync y=our ipod separately with different music. that would be great if mj could remember which ipod synced with which library.

oh and graphical ratings too.

Kurt Young · « **Reply #27 on:** February 06, 2003, 08:10:09 pm »

okey dokey:

mjextman.exe /sync /uselibrary="Kurt's Library"

The /uselibrary switch would also come in handy when using the /import and /silentimport switches.

SteveG · « **Reply #28 on:** February 07, 2003, 04:51:21 am »

Everyone,

Thanks for the ideas. Some of these could be implemented and I will give them a shot. I have some other projects that need to get completed first but will get to these as soon as possible.

Thanks again for the ideas.

Steve

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Author Topic: IPOD Feature Wishlist (Read 3988 times)