I've been testing MC9.0.88 (with iPod plug-in .36/.38) for two weeks. I would like to file this report, based on working with about 4000 songs, some from WAV files and others ripped from CDs.
This message got too long for the forum, so I'm posting it as two messages. This one is bugs, the next will be requests.
Bugs:1. Create a View Scheme. Add "Duration" as the first category. Choose "Add a grouping level", size 1, with "Show individual items..." checked. The resulting tree entries are totally non-functional.
2. From both the Main Menu Edit selection, and the Context Menu, when I select "Properties..." the File Properties view should be shown in the Track Info window. If my previous Track Info view was Statistics, the Statistics view is left showing even though I chose "Properties..." from the menu.
A new menu selection "Statistics..." should be available immediately above "Properties..." from both the main menu and the context menu. The Track Info window would then switch to Statistics for the user. And, believe me, it will make it *lots* easier to find Statistics without RTFM.
3. The Sort Headers are not working in the Track Info (Statistics) window. If I'm looking at the Artist statistics, I'd sure like to know which one has the most files in my collection.
4. Assume I have [Audio] open in the Tree Vew, and two Smartlists open, each of which contains the artist Sting. If I click the Artist/Album View Scheme it Auto-Opens. I then type "Sting". After typing the "i" the selected item is Sting. However, when I type the "n" the selection moves to the first occurance of Sting in the Smartlists. When I type the "g" the selection moves to the second occurance of Sting in the Smartlists.
This is very cumbersome, since we can't know in advance how many characters it will take to match any given artist, and it changes over time as artists (etc.) are added. I have to watch the Tree View to see if I've matched yet, but can't go too slowly or I miss the character timeout. MC9 should stay on the current selection until I type a character that no longer matches the current selection... then this problem wouldn't occur.
5. Editing the Search Criteria within a View Scheme has many problems. If I right-click a field and choose "Edit (by typing)", the selected text is white and very difficult to read. The cursor is not visible at all, although I can type, backspace and delete as though a cursor was present.
If I use the Wizard to create a new Rule, I can only select values that are used within the database - there's no way to create a Rule with values not found in the database. The Wizard always surrounds the data with [brackets], but doesn't let the user know and I don't get to choose "quotes" or plain text. The Random modifier is not available within the Wizard. There should be a Preview field so we can see what will be added to the Search Criteria.
If I click at the beginning of the Search Criteria it appears that space is made for a cusor, but the cursor is not visible. If I click again (not a double-click), I get a visible cursor. I can move it around to edit the field. However, I can't click between two entries and get a cursor, unless I've already activated a cursor at the beginning of the field.
If there are many Search Criteria, the only way to get to those on the right is to get a visible cursor at the beginning of the field. I then press End and the cursor moves to the end of the criteria list. If I then right-click a field and select "Edit (by typing)", the wrong field is opened for edit.
If I have the cursor at the beginng of the Search Criteria and use the right-arrow to place the cursor at a given location, when I use the Wizard to create a Rule, it is added at the end of the Search Criteria, not where the cursor is located.
6. <Frustrating> Every time I rip a CD, MC hangs at the end of the CD and I have to terminate the program. The last database entry may or may not be present; however, if I do an import I find the last track has always been recorded.
7. There needs to be a way of closing the Properties window without updating the changes I've made. I've tried using the Esc key as I would in a dialog box, but it isn't active.
8. If I have the Track Info (Properties) window docked at the right side of the screen and browse through my files, when I change selections the "Updating Tags" progress dialog is shown. I haven't even clicked within the Track Info window.
9. When using Convert Files, the List Box doesn't scroll with the track being processed, as do the List Boxes used in Ripping and Anaylze Audio. It would be nice for Convert Files to have a "15/203 files" field like Analyze Audio.
10. The MJ8 help file says: "The normalization percent that you set is the percent of the maximum that you want the new peak level to be at." This is not how MJ8 worked, and it isn't how MC9 works. What happens now, is a file is considered "Normalized" if its peak is higher than the specified value. These files are encoded without change. A file is only normalized if its peak is LESS THAN the specified value.
This is an interesting option, as it does allow some files to get through in their original condition.
However, I want to Normalize all my files to about 80-90% so that the digital equalizer on my iPod has room to work without distortion. You can see the problem in the DSP Studio of MC9. If your music peaks over 95%, if you turn on equalization with boost in any frequency band, the signal clips (assuming Replay Gain isn't being used).
If you'd like to preserve the current way Normalization works, you could put in an Option that allows the user to choose to reduce the signal in files whose Peak is over the specified value.
11. I wish Smartlist Search Criteria were edited like View Schemes. Most important, the product would be self-consistent. It doesn't make sense to edit the criteria in the input field above the file list, then need to move to another Tree View selection to end the Search Criteria edit. The Context Menu of a Smartlist should have an "Edit Smartlist..." entry like View Schemes and View Scheme Groups. We would edit the Search Criteria in a dialog box and the upper field would allow temporary changes.
Despite all these issues...
*** MC9 is a great product! Keep up the good work! ***
Randy
Media Jukebox PLUS 9.0.88 -- C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center\
Microsoft Windows XP Workstation 5.1 Service Pack 1 (Build 2600)
Intel Pentium 4 2516 MHz MMX / Memory: Total - 523 MB, Free - 193 MB
Internet Explorer: 6.0.2800.1106 / ComCtl32.dll: 6.00.2800.1106 / Shlwapi.dll: 6.00.2800.1106
Shell32.dll: 6.00.2800.1145 / wnaspi32.dll: Internal ASPI Layer
Ripping / Drive G: Copy mode:ModeBurstBigBuffer CD Type:Auto Read speed:Max
Drive H: Copy mode:ModeBurstBigBuffer CD Type:Auto Read speed:Max
Digital playback: Yes / Use YADB: Yes / Get cover art: No / Calc replay gain: No / Copy volume: 32767
Eject after ripping: Yes / Play sound after ripping: No
Burning / Drive H: SAMSUNG CD-R/RW SW-240B Addr: 1:1:0 Speed:32 MaxSpeed:40 Lib:2 GHS:1 Use MJ Engine:No
Test mode: No / Eject after writing: Yes / Direct decoding: Yes / Two second gap: No / Write CD-Text: No
Use playback settings: No / Normalization: None
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Topic: Media Center 9.0.89 beta (Read 28086 times)