Topic: POST IPOD SUPPORT QUESTIONS HERE (Read 66470 times)

mindracing · « **Reply #250 on:** January 29, 2004, 05:06:50 am »

Quote from: lalittle on January 28, 2004, 03:24:14 pm

Based on what you know about the way in which MC works with the iPod, do the symptoms I'm describing make some sort of sense to you? In other words, does it make sense that the Audible files would work on one iPod and not the other, or that the Audible problem seems dependant on how many files are in any given sync (yet are STILL only effecting one iPod)?

I'm just wondering if I should suspect the second iPod itself as the culprit. I would tend to not think this given that an Ephpod sync works fine, but I'm still not sure what "can" or "can't" be attributed to MC specifically.

Thanks again,

Larry

Been a bit quiet on the iPOD front as I dropped my 3G in the sea! It's now at Apple being repaired.

I have a 2G as well and get the same problems with Audible. It's unlikely to be your iPOD.

I have given up trying to get it to work with aa files. Steve will fix it soon.

SteveG · « **Reply #251 on:** January 29, 2004, 09:33:09 am »

jweisler,

Check what info is stored for 'Artist', Album Artist, and Album Artist (auto). My guess is the incorrect info is in one of those fields, and that is the field you have selected for iPod.

Steve

tlongacre · « **Reply #252 on:** January 29, 2004, 09:56:56 am »

Quote

Been a bit quiet on the iPOD front as I dropped my 3G in the sea! It's now at Apple being repaired.

Quote

Ouch! That must have been painful. At least you retrieved it. I sure hope you were at least having a very good time when this happened.

JimH · « **Reply #253 on:** January 29, 2004, 10:01:29 am »

I'd like to hear the whole story. How did you get it back?

mindracing · « **Reply #254 on:** January 30, 2004, 02:45:44 am »

Jim,

It was in a Marware Sportsuit Convertable case which kept it afloat just long enough for me to get it back.

It'll be interesting to hear what Apple say about reparing it.

nrappin · « **Reply #255 on:** January 30, 2004, 08:57:11 am »

Still 40GB Ipod. MC 10.32

Two issues

* Somewhere in the synch process, a number of my ratings are being scrambled. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason, I just noticed after synching every night for a week that a lot of my ratings were wrong

* Everytime I synch, the iPOD lists more songs than I actually have (and the number is growing). Even if I just synch one playlist with my music, I still wind up with the iPOD saying it has more files than I have. A quick scan doesn't reveal the duplicates.

Anybody else having these problems?

mindracing · « **Reply #256 on:** January 30, 2004, 09:57:10 am »

Quote from: mindracing on January 30, 2004, 02:45:44 am

Jim,

It was in a Marware Sportsuit Convertable case which kept it afloat just long enough for me to get it back.

It'll be interesting to hear what Apple say about reparing it.

So how's this?

Apple send UPS to collect it on Monday for return to Apple Holland.
iPOD arrives in Holland on Tuesday.
Today (Friday), UPS knock at the door with a brand spanking iPOD! (FOC).

I couldn't wish for more than that.

Steve,

Do you expect the aa file issue to be resolved by March 4? I'm driving through Europe so need my books!

I synched my 'brand new never been used with anything except MC' ipod and the aa files don't play.Geuss that rules out anything on the ipod itself.

Madcow · « **Reply #257 on:** February 01, 2004, 02:02:57 pm »

I don't know if this is what you mean by "problems with two iPods", but syncing two different iPods one after the other without closing and re-opening MC in between is guaranteed to screw up the playlists and files on iPod 2, necessitating a rebuild.

lalittle · « **Reply #258 on:** February 01, 2004, 03:37:29 pm »

Quote from: Madcow on February 01, 2004, 02:02:57 pm

I don't know if this is what you mean by "problems with two iPods", but syncing two different iPods one after the other without closing and re-opening MC in between is guaranteed to screw up the playlists and files on iPod 2, necessitating a rebuild.

At some point I most likely DID do this, but since each iPod uses a different drive letter and MC "re-reads" the files on the iPod whenever I select one, is this still a problem, or do I still need to close/open MC in between syncs? Is this going to be an issue with the next build?

That aside, I have definitely started everthing over again from an iPod "restore" and it still has the same problems with Audible files. In other words, I use the Apple "iPod Updater" to reformat/restore the iPod, then I open MC and initialize the iPod (without the other iPod having been plugged in), then I do a full sync. The problem persists.

Larry

Madcow · « **Reply #259 on:** February 01, 2004, 04:55:37 pm »

^ Well, it's definitely a problem on build 10.0.38 (the last build AFAIK which works with the iPod). I suspect that there aren't that many people with two Pods and the problem's gone largely unremarked upon - maybe the program isn't clearing its memory completely when the iPod is ejected. I even ejected the thing from within MC and it makes no difference. I'd strongly advise you to close down MC between syncs of different iPods, although I can't help you with Audible files as I don't use them.

lalittle · « **Reply #260 on:** February 01, 2004, 05:13:47 pm »

The odd thing is that the Audible issue is the only consitent issue that I'm having. Other than this, things seem relatively normal (I did run into a weird problem with scanning songs locking up the iPod, but after a new sync this stopped and hasn't returned.)

A few posts back, SteveG said

"2) Synching will be reworked to be based on tag info rather than MC file IDs. This will solve the issue of multiple databases and MC and multiple iPods. This will also solve issues related to deleting and reimporting files."

and

"5) Audible file playback will be retested to find the missing link to the sometimes failure to play."

Hopefully, this will alleviate all the issues we're having with MC and iPods, including problems with using mulitple iPods.

Larry

tlongacre · « **Reply #261 on:** February 01, 2004, 05:36:58 pm »

Larry,

Your Audible file problem doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you are using multiple iPods. Many of us are having problems with Audible files.

lalittle · « **Reply #262 on:** February 02, 2004, 05:18:25 pm »

Has anybody tried 10.0.59 with an iPod (or multiple iPods) yet? The message saying that "this version may not work with iPods" is no longer at the top of the "new version" thread, but the list of fixes doesn't say anything about iPods. This of course makes it unclear whether or not the previous issues have been resolved or not.

Thanks,

Larry

RemyJ · « **Reply #263 on:** February 02, 2004, 05:47:28 pm »

Quote from: lalittle on February 02, 2004, 05:18:25 pm

Has anybody tried 10.0.59 with an iPod (or multiple iPods) yet? The message saying that "this version may not work with iPods" is no longer at the top of the "new version" thread, but the list of fixes doesn't say anything about iPods. This of course makes it unclear whether or not the previous issues have been resolved or not.

Thanks,

Larry

59 is working OK for me. Single device, mp3 only.

lalittle · « **Reply #264 on:** February 02, 2004, 06:08:17 pm »

You don't happen to have any Audible files to try with your iPod, do you? This is the main issue that I'm waiting to be fixed. I may go ahead and just try it, but since one of my iPods is currently working with Audible files via Media Center, I am tentative about moving to MC 10 for syncing -- i.e. I'd rather have one iPod functioning normally than both malfunctioning.

Thanks again for any information anybody may have on this,

Larry

RemyJ · « **Reply #265 on:** February 02, 2004, 06:33:45 pm »

No Audible. If you can point me to some sample files, I'd be glad to give it a try.

JimH · « **Reply #266 on:** February 02, 2004, 09:33:30 pm »

Build 59 should work with iPod as before. New things Steve is working on aren't there yet though.

Did you try transferring a file with the Audible manager? I think that's what it takes to initialize. Not certain though.

lalittle · « **Reply #267 on:** February 02, 2004, 10:19:03 pm »

Quote from: JimH on February 02, 2004, 09:33:30 pm

Build 59 should work with iPod as before. New things Steve is working on aren't there yet though.

Did you try transferring a file with the Audible manager? I think that's what it takes to initialize. Not certain though.

You're thinking of aac files, which require a single file to be transferred with iTunes before they'll work with MC syncs on the iPod. This is not a prerequisite for Audible (i.e. aa, not aac) files. As I mentioned above, I've NEVER used Audible Manager to transfer ANY files to either of our iPods, but the 1st one has always worked fine with them (and still does.) Also, transferring a fewer number of files via MC results in the Audible files playing fine on the other iPod as well.

The problem is isolated to Media Center, and it's somehow linked to syncing larger groups of files. I cannot exlain why one of my iPods works and the other has problems (with aa files and MC), but this is also a clue to what's going on. The issue of tranferring a single file in order to "authorize" or "initialize" the iPod only came up with aac files and iTunes, not with aa files and Audible Manager.

Larry

SteveG · « **Reply #268 on:** February 03, 2004, 08:30:36 am »

Everyone,

The rewrite of the way MC interacts with iPod is getting closer to completion. It will not be incorperated into MC for the rest of this week due to some other projects but I will update with more soon.

Steve

tlongacre · « **Reply #269 on:** February 03, 2004, 08:43:18 am »

Yee haw!

mindracing · « **Reply #270 on:** February 03, 2004, 09:43:31 am »

Quote from: lalittle on February 02, 2004, 10:19:03 pm

Quote from: JimH on February 02, 2004, 09:33:30 pm
Build 59 should work with iPod as before. New things Steve is working on aren't there yet though.

Did you try transferring a file with the Audible manager? I think that's what it takes to initialize. Not certain though.

You're thinking of aac files, which require a single file to be transferred with iTunes before they'll work with MC syncs on the iPod. This is not a prerequisite for Audible (i.e. aa, not aac) files. As I mentioned above, I've NEVER used Audible Manager to transfer ANY files to either of our iPods, but the 1st one has always worked fine with them (and still does.) Also, transferring a fewer number of files via MC results in the Audible files playing fine on the other iPod as well.

The problem is isolated to Media Center, and it's somehow linked to syncing larger groups of files. I cannot exlain why one of my iPods works and the other has problems (with aa files and MC), but this is also a clue to what's going on. The issue of tranferring a single file in order to "authorize" or "initialize" the iPod only came up with aac files and iTunes, not with aa files and Audible Manager.

Larry

I've never used AM since my iPOD was replaced by Apple and my aa files don't play at all.

On my old iPOD they would sometimes play after a sync but I could not find a pattern. It was a bit hit and miss.

canaro99 · « **Reply #271 on:** February 03, 2004, 02:25:06 pm »

Is it possible to have duplicate file entries (intentional) in a playlist on the iPod (2G)? If so, how?

I have duplicate entries on my playlist in MC v10.0.43 but, when synching to my iPod, only the first instance of the desired file appears.

Any help would be appreciated.

In the words of "the friendly dentist"

in The Marathon Man, "Is it safe?" to use the latest beta (I assume it is) with the Pod?

Thanks for the help.

RemyJ · « **Reply #272 on:** February 03, 2004, 05:26:53 pm »

Quote from: canaro99 on February 03, 2004, 02:25:06 pm

Is it possible to have duplicate file entries (intentional) in a playlist on the iPod (2G)? If so, how?

I have duplicate entries on my playlist in MC v10.0.43 but, when synching to my iPod, only the first instance of the desired file appears.

Any help would be appreciated.

In the words of "the friendly dentist" in The Marathon Man, "Is it safe?" to use the latest beta (I assume it is) with the Pod?

Thanks for the help.

I was at the dentist yesterday for root canal...and he happens to look a lot like Lawrence Olivier.

You can have the same file referenced from 2 different playlists but I'm not sure you can have the same file referenced twice from the SAME playlist.

59 seems to be working fine for MP3s.

canaro99 · « **Reply #273 on:** February 04, 2004, 12:58:23 pm »

Thanks Remy

I can't find anyway to do it.

Steve?

Thanks

tlongacre · « **Reply #274 on:** February 04, 2004, 03:47:23 pm »

Hmm, although I don't understand why you want to do this, one thing you could do is literally make copies of the files and then give each new dupe the same name with a number or letter appended. A different name will have it be recognized as a different song.

canaro99 · « **Reply #275 on:** February 04, 2004, 04:23:37 pm »

RE-- duplicate files in same playlist.

Basically, I use my iPod for twice weekly dj gig for Argentine tango evenings. Typically songs of a given type/orchestra are played in groups of 3 or 4 (tandas) separated by a short (30-60 sec) piece of music known as a "cortina." The cortina, when used, is the "signal" that (a) a change is coming and (b) it's time to clear the floor for a few seconds and switch dance parters, if desired.

The cortina is almost always the same piece of music (in that it becomes a distinctive signal). "Way back in early 9.0 days" it was possible in both MC and on my iPod to do this. The capability in MC went away for awhile; now it's back. When it was gone I used the following:

00-01 nameofsong.mp3
00-02 nameofsong.mp3 ...
00-26 nameofsong.mps ...

05-01 ..... you get the rest.

This resulted in too many files cluttering up both the iPod and MC. The other day I finally "thought"

since MC will now allow duplicates, this would be a "good" time to clean up my playlists (24 playlists affected with 20-26 instances of cortinas). This took several hours. I knew better but wasn't smart enough to test it one one playlist first.

So either I find a way to have dups on my iPod or I better get crackin' because I'm leaving for Buenos Aires (and will be playing there) in a few days.

I guess I qualify to the "Darwin Award" on this one.

Thanks.

tlongacre · « **Reply #276 on:** February 04, 2004, 07:26:15 pm »

Well there you go. . . no matter how odd I might think what someone else wants to do is, there is always a really good reason. Just shows to go ya.

Given all the other iPod issues, I doubt yours is going to be fixed in time for you, even if there was a consensus that it should be done the way you need it to be.

So, I offer my condolences. I feel for you in having to redo all that work.

SteveG · « **Reply #277 on:** February 05, 2004, 04:47:42 pm »

Everyone,

Tonight's MC build (10.0.62) includes the new iPod code. In order to use it you will have to reinitialize your iPod which means losing your existing files and playlists on the iPod. The new iPod code bases file matching on an Artist, ALbum, Genre, Name matching system which necessitates the removal of the option to name files by 'Filename' and Artist by anything other than 'Artist'. Please use with caution at this point, because this is a major rewrite of the iPod code and there is more testing to do. If you are feeling bold, give it a whirl and let me know of problems and I will begin addressing them immediately.

I will close this thread and start a new one.

PS Canaro, duplicates in the same playlist won't work right now.

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: POST IPOD SUPPORT QUESTIONS HERE (Read 66470 times)