Topic: IPOD SUPPORT (Read 38735 times)

ugilt · « **Reply #50 on:** May 10, 2004, 11:56:53 pm »

Steve,
been away for a while but things are surely progressing very nicely.

What are the current plans for dynamic smartlist on the iPod - as far as I recall this was the number 3 or 4 priority for version 10 ?

SteveG · « **Reply #51 on:** May 11, 2004, 10:41:23 am »

ugilt,

It is still on the list, but holding a little steady behind some other things. Sorry for the delay.

Steve

MarkGrigsby · « **Reply #52 on:** May 12, 2004, 01:33:20 pm »

Steve,

Would be nice to know what the current 'to do' list for iPod is looking like. Understand that there can be no timings attached, but would get us very excited I'm sure!

SteveG · « **Reply #53 on:** May 13, 2004, 09:17:38 am »

Mark,

Dynamic smartlists are at the top of the iPod specific to do list but behind changes to MC that affect all players. Other changes are broader and affect all players and the time line for them is harder to guess at.

Steve

ranwill · « **Reply #54 on:** May 16, 2004, 05:05:30 pm »

For some reason which I can't fathom, I can't seem to download the iPod update from 4-28. Can/Will someone send it to me please?

Thanks,

ranwill

SteveG · « **Reply #55 on:** May 17, 2004, 05:07:02 pm »

Gundan,

Quote

I am running build 130 of v 10. I just noticed that any of the ratings that I do to my songs in the ipod are not transferring back to MC. I synchronize the playlists and this feature used to work very well before. Unfortunately right now it doesn't seem to work.

Try the latest version of MC 10. I have not had other reports of this not working recently. After you sync the files to iPod and detach the iPod and make rating modifications on iPod, are you modifying the files in any way in MC? If so, the ratings will not sync.

Quote

Secondly, is there any way for me to convert my ratings of songs to something itunes compatible.

By default, MC writes the rating info into the tag, so iTunes should be able to find it. We do not write to the tag for AAC files, so if that is the filetype you are after, there is not a way to do this.

Quote

...lack of support for Audible files

We support Audible files. What problems are you having?

Steve

gundan · « **Reply #56 on:** May 17, 2004, 05:34:22 pm »

Steve,

I will update to a new build and try it out later tonight or tomorrow. The support for Audible has to do with the field name. Currently as you are using Win Media Player, the field names are not being transferred over, but rather I just see the entire file name. You told us that this is an audible issue and those guys have to do some fix before MC 10 will see the fields properly.

Cheers,
G

bobrock · « **Reply #57 on:** May 18, 2004, 04:51:28 am »

Quote from: SteveG on May 13, 2004, 09:17:38 am

Mark,

Dynamic smartlists are at the top of the iPod specific to do list but behind changes to MC that affect all players. Other changes are broader and affect all players and the time line for them is harder to guess at.

Steve

Waiting unpatiently since early MC 10 versions for this to happen !!!

99% satisfied MC user ;-)

1% is still missing ;-)

SteveG · « **Reply #58 on:** May 18, 2004, 08:52:47 am »

G,

Please let me know how it is working out, and be sure not to modify the tracks in MC in between if you want ratings to transfer back from iPod.

bobrock,

Thanks for the gentle reminder

Will get to it when I can.

Steve

bspachman · « **Reply #59 on:** May 20, 2004, 09:39:31 am »

I had an issue with some protected AAC files from the iTunes music store over the weekend and am wondering if anyone can shed any light on the situation. First, a little history:

1) Downloaded 4 tunes from iTMS (on my Mac).
2) Imported & played songs in iTunes (on my Windows machine w/MC installed). This required the authorization step.
3) Put all 4 songs on my iPod with iTunes.
4) Deleted all 4 songs from my iPod w/iTunes.
5) Imported all 4 songs into MC. Some of the tags needed adjusting, so I did that.
6) Played songs in MC -- worked fine.
7) Put all 4 songs on my iPod w/MC -- worked fine.

At this point, all was well. Some time passed & I had acquired 12 more songs from the iTMS (you know, they give a free song away each week). I downloaded them with the Mac & imported them into MC, but didn't put them on my iPod.

This weekend, I finally got around to putting the songs on the iPod, and lo & behold, none of the new songs played! If I selected one to play from the iPod, the iPod showed the track info, then skipped the song.

I sighed, then followed the steps I used earlier for all my m4p tracks. This time, only 3 tracks would play on the iPod (but they were not 3 of the original 4).

I then initialized my iPod w/MC & tried just using MC to download the songs, again, only 3 of the 16 played.

Finally I got drastic. I updated the firmware on the iPod to the latest version & used MC to initialize & download again. Again, only 3 songs played.

I gave up. Reformatted the iPod to factory defaults. Followed my initial steps (downloaded all 16 tracks to iPod w/iTunes, delete, download all 16 tracks w/MC). This worked! I then restored the remainder of my music.

Sorry for the long post, but here come the questions...

1) Any idea what was going on here?
2) Any idea why some iTMS tracks don't have their tags read by MC10?
3) Any idea why (even after successfully downloading my m4p tracks to the iPod w/MC) MC can't play back all my m4p files from my iPod?

Best,
Brad

SteveG · « **Reply #60 on:** May 20, 2004, 03:26:31 pm »

Brad,

I cannot readily reproduce what you are seeing. The variable I am not testing is the download of files with a Mac. On a cleanly formatted iPod if I transfer a purchased iTMS song, I can subsequently copy any iTunes purchased or free files and they play without issue. If you can, remove the Mac variable from your tests and see if you still have problems. If so, we can chase this further.

Thanks,

Steve

bspachman · « **Reply #61 on:** May 21, 2004, 12:25:10 am »

Steve,

Thanks for checking into things...

I'm sure that it was something with my setup that hosed the m4p playback. If it happens again, I'll try to be more deliberate in my testing.

I will try downloading my next free iTMS song with the PC to see if it exhibits the tagging problem I've seen with other iTMS songs.

Keep up the great work!

Best,
Brad

Snuffy2 · « **Reply #62 on:** May 21, 2004, 02:31:49 am »

I'm using a Smarlist (iPod List) to limit the amount of music xferred over to my iPod during a Sync. I've got a 20gb iPod and >20gb Music.

The iPod Smarlist has a Limit Command of 18900mb. When just this smartlist is selected, everything fits.

The rest of my smartlists all have a command Playlist: iPod List. From what I understand this should limit the smarlist to only songs on the iPod List. However, when I attempt to sync my iPod List and a number of other smartlists (which all have the Playlist iPod List command) the space available is negative and the iPod wont sync.

I had a thought as to why this may be happening, but I could be totally off base here.

When the static playlists (to be xferred to the iPod) are generated, does it use the same iPod list each time or will it generate iPod List for each smartlist?

The reason being is that iPod List with out the Limit is too big, so that the Limit command arbitrarily cuts off some songs (Different ones each time). If iPod List is generated differently for each smartlist that references it, it will have a different song list for each one and thus has the potential to exceed the limit on iPod List.

Is this whats going on? Any way that you can resolve it (say by using a static iPod List for each smartlist)?

Or am I totally offbase?

Thanx
Snuffy2

SteveG · « **Reply #63 on:** May 21, 2004, 10:14:28 am »

Snuffy2,

Quote

I had a thought as to why this may be happening, but I could be totally off base here.

You are on the money.

Quote

When the static playlists (to be xferred to the iPod) are generated, does it use the same iPod list each time or will it generate iPod List for each smartlist?

A new iPod List. This is the problem, but it is how smartlists are designed to work. One solution would be to limit the files in the sub smartlists so that the total number of files never exceeds the limit of the iPod or to use static playlsits.

Steve

packyb · « **Reply #64 on:** May 25, 2004, 10:59:30 am »

I was wondering if there was a timeframe for the return of Multiple Artists to the iPod?

I searched the board and found answers that range from: "It may come back in the future," to "There are solutions and we can look to improve this in the future," to "Adding support for 'Multiple-Artists' is on the 'to do' list."

Anything in stone?

bjsolem · « **Reply #65 on:** May 25, 2004, 01:13:42 pm »

Quote from: SteveG on May 21, 2004, 10:14:28 am

A new iPod List. This is the problem, but it is how smartlists are designed to work. One solution would be to limit the files in the sub smartlists so that the total number of files never exceeds the limit of the iPod or to use static playlsits.

So are you getting sick of this problem yet Steve? I count at least 3 users in about 3 days (myself included) to have the same issue with smartlist syncing.

And as noted in numerous places, MC isn't doing anything wrong, it's just us end users (myself included) not thinking about how searches work......

Thanks for putting up with us

SteveG · « **Reply #66 on:** May 25, 2004, 04:45:28 pm »

packyb,

Nothing in stone, but it will be part of a more major overhaul which won't happen immediately.

bjsolem,

Not sick yet, but interested in improving this in the future. Thanks for your detailed response in the other thread.

Steve

Seviien · « **Reply #67 on:** May 25, 2004, 09:28:59 pm »

Hi Steve,

With build .141 we seem to be having the same types of problems with ipod firmware 1.3 that were present a month or so ago. Last played data and spin count information is not being saved properly.

SteveG · « **Reply #68 on:** May 26, 2004, 09:10:12 am »

Seviien,

Nothing has changed recently. Either it hasn't worked for a while, or it is something you are doing. Can you try to create a simple replicable test and post it, and I will see if I can duplicate what you are seeing?

Thanks,

Steve

Seviien · « **Reply #69 on:** May 26, 2004, 11:46:05 pm »

My bad.
Did some digging and fixed the problem. Dont know how it started though... but it's fine now.

pank2002 · « **Reply #70 on:** May 28, 2004, 07:18:17 am »

Steve,
I ripped some files in APE. Can I somehow convert the lossless files on-the-go to my iPod, but still keep my mp3 and aac files as is ?
Thanks in advance,
Rasmus

SteveG · « **Reply #71 on:** May 28, 2004, 09:30:43 am »

Rasmus,

The obvious answer is that you could transfer just the APE files with the option set to convert files during the tansfer enabled. I presume that you are wanting to transfer a batch of APE, mp3, and aac files at the same time. If so, there is an option to set for skipping files of the same file type. This will skip your mp3 files, but if you are sending a mix of AAC, mp3 and APE, both the AAC and APE files will convert. Probably your best solution in this scenario is to get the files on iPod and then rearrange them based on smartlists/playlists and the files will not be resent/reconverted.

Steve

pank2002 · « **Reply #72 on:** May 28, 2004, 09:33:37 am »

I found out that I won't work if I drag the files to the handheld player action window and set the option to convert files. Mc dosen't do anything and the bar isn't moving. CPU is low too.

The force during upload of all files won't work 'cause I have both mp3 and mp4 files and you can only specify one type of files which isn't converted.

Thanks,
Rasmus

BTW here my sys info:

Quote

Media Center Registered 10.0.143 -- C:\Programmer\J River\Media Center\

Microsoft Windows 2000 5.0 Service Pack 4 (Build 2195)
Intel Pentium III 1102 MHz MMX / Memory: Total - 261 MB, Free - 83 MB

Internet Explorer: 6.0.2800.1106 / ComCtl32.dll: 5.81 / Shlwapi.dll: 6.00.2800.1400 / Shell32.dll: 5.00.3700.6705 / wnaspi32.dll: N/A
Ripping / Drive G: LITE-ON LTR-48125W Mode:ModeSecure Type:Auto Speed:Max
Drive H: Mode:ModeSecure Type:Auto Speed:Max
Digital playback: Yes / Use YADB: Yes / Get cover art: Yes / Calc replay gain: Yes / Copy volume: 32767
Eject after ripping: Yes / Play sound after ripping: No

Burning / Drive G: LITE-ON LTR-48125W Addr: 1:0:0 Speed:48 MaxSpeed:48 BurnProof:Yes
Test mode: No / Eject after writing: Yes / Direct decoding: Yes / Write CD-Text: No
Use playback settings: No / Normalization: None

SteveG · « **Reply #73 on:** May 28, 2004, 09:38:41 am »

Quote

I found out that I won't work if I drag the files to the handheld player action window and set the option to convert files. Mc dosen't do anything and the bar isn't moving. CPU is low too.

Does the Action Window clear and the files don't transfer? If so, the files are possibly being skipped becuase they are already on the iPod. If not, what happens after you click 'Transfer'?

Steve

pank2002 · « **Reply #74 on:** May 28, 2004, 09:59:10 am »

Well, I messed a bit around with the settings, and I turned out that it will transfer if 'show only quede files' and 'skip files of same type' er highlighed. I just didn't convert before I turned these on. Strange...

SteveG · « **Reply #75 on:** May 28, 2004, 11:33:42 am »

Rasmus,

The 'Showed queued..' setting should be irrelevant to this. If you deselect 'Skip files of same type' more should convert rather than less.

Steve

pank2002 · « **Reply #76 on:** May 28, 2004, 12:52:14 pm »

Well, It seems like I just screwed around.

I found you another bug though

When converting an ape file to the iPod and convert via a external encoder the bitrate will be the same as the ape file. I'll check if this is also true for mp3 files.

also, the newer, faster on-the-go encoding sysetem only works with internal encoders, eh. That explains the >2h to convert and transfer 1:30h worth of music

SteveG · « **Reply #77 on:** May 28, 2004, 01:15:22 pm »

Quote

also, the newer, faster on-the-go encoding sysetem only works with internal encoders, eh.

Yes.

Quote

When converting an ape file to the iPod and convert via a external encoder the bitrate will be the same as the ape file. I'll check if this is also true for mp3 files.

What external encoder are you using and why?

pank2002 · « **Reply #78 on:** May 28, 2004, 01:36:10 pm »

I use Ahead (nero) AAC encoder v2.5.9.3 (included with Nero v6.3.0.3,) because... well same sound at lower bitrate (compared to mp3) and Nero have aac VBR unlike QT.

pank2002 · « **Reply #79 on:** May 28, 2004, 01:43:00 pm »

Steve, this is also true for files encoded with internal mp3 vbr encoder. Here's a pic of what I'm talking about. Note the bitrate and the filename. The files have the size they suppose to have.

And yes the album is really THAT good!

In case the (free) hosting is being weird here's a direct link:
http://fire.prohosting.com/pank2002/bit.jpg

edit: changed the name of the file on the server

SteveG · « **Reply #80 on:** May 28, 2004, 01:47:42 pm »

When I attempt to see your link, I get an error that I do not have permissions to access it.

Steve

pank2002 · « **Reply #81 on:** May 28, 2004, 02:04:57 pm »

well, apparently they don't like direct linking. I need a new hosting place at some point.

Okay I've put it on the front. Just go to

http://fire.prohosting.com/pank2002/

it should be a wee bit down the site.

SteveG · « **Reply #82 on:** May 28, 2004, 02:53:34 pm »

I found a bug that causes the bitrate information to be incorrectly written to the iPod database after the transfer, even though the file is converted correctly. This is fixed and will be in the next build of MC. This will also correct any issues with VBR bitrate reporting.

Thanks,

Steve

pank2002 · « **Reply #83 on:** May 28, 2004, 04:19:13 pm »

I'm the one who says thanks, Steve. Wow this gotta be the first useful poste I've posted on this board

I also got a really cool idea, when you imply /iPodSync command to mjextman (wink, wink) one will be able to start a sync from the Monkey Bar (Or whatever it ended up being called)

gpvillamil · « **Reply #84 on:** May 29, 2004, 08:39:14 am »

Just noticed the handheld transfer progress window moved to the Action Window. Cool! Works well.

vdubgeek · « **Reply #85 on:** May 29, 2004, 09:20:31 pm »

I'm running the most recent build of Mediacenter 10, 10.0.144 . I'm no longer able to sych imported playlists with my Ipod. It's been a while since I tried this feature, so I'm not sure at what point this stopped.

If I try to send an imported playlist to my ipod, all the mp3 files contained in the playlist transfer, but the actual playlist itself doesn't transfer. Is there something special I need to do to get these to transfer?

SteveG · « **Reply #86 on:** May 31, 2004, 07:19:51 am »

vdubgeek,

What kind of playlist have you imported? I don't think this ever worked. You will need to create the playlist within MC in order to synch it. I will confirm this tomorrow.

Steve

vdubgeek · « **Reply #87 on:** May 31, 2004, 08:32:55 am »

I'm importing Winamp playlists. I've not used this functionality much, but I thought this worked at one point.

SteveG · « **Reply #88 on:** June 01, 2004, 12:02:54 pm »

vdubgeek,

If you import a winamp playlist into MC, it should appear as an available playlist in the synchronization dialague. If it does, you should be able to select and sync it without problems.

Steve

vdubgeek · « **Reply #89 on:** June 01, 2004, 01:05:12 pm »

The playlist does show, and I do select it. The files contained in the imported playlist, do get synched to my ipod, but the playlist itself does not.

tlongacre · « **Reply #90 on:** June 01, 2004, 01:09:11 pm »

vdubgreek,

Maybe it's this?

not sure which version you were using before, but sometime recently they added a checkbox in the Synch dialogue -- you have to check it to have Playlists synched. If you don't, the songs will come over but the playlists themselves won't.

You probably already saw that, but I just thought I'd make sure.

SteveG · « **Reply #91 on:** June 01, 2004, 01:23:57 pm »

vdbugeek,

In the synchronization dialogue, be sure you have checked 'Send Playlist Data'. This is what tlongacre is referring to (thanks). If that is deselected, no playlists will be sent but only the files within them (in other words the fact that it is a winamp playlist is irrelevant).

Steve

vdubgeek · « **Reply #92 on:** June 01, 2004, 01:27:08 pm »

I will double check the "Send Playlist Data", off hand I don't recall seeing that as an option. I'll check this afternoon,

thanks

bjsolem · « **Reply #93 on:** June 01, 2004, 02:58:02 pm »

Something happening that I don't understand:

In the sync dialog I do NOT have "Delete Unselected from HH" checked, so I would expect to only add tunes to the ipod.

I click on sync and the first thing that happens is that a whole bunch tunes are being deleted, anywhere from dozens to hundreds.

Sometimes I do check the delete box, but when I don't, I'm not understanding why things are getting deleted?

SteveG · « **Reply #94 on:** June 01, 2004, 04:03:48 pm »

Files will delete if you have files that match Artist, Album, Name, Genre and Track #, but have different Comment, Composer or Rating, MC will delete and resend these files so MC and iPod have the same files.

Steve

bjsolem · « **Reply #95 on:** June 01, 2004, 04:27:44 pm »

Quote from: SteveG on June 01, 2004, 04:03:48 pm

Files will delete if you have files that match Artist, Album, Name, Genre and Track #, but have different Comment, Composer or Rating, MC will delete and resend these files so MC and iPod have the same files.

In my library that would happen for a few dozen songs at most, not the hundreds that I have seen more than once.

Including Album and Track Number makes most everything unique for me.

SteveG · « **Reply #96 on:** June 01, 2004, 04:39:32 pm »

Try to see if you can find a pattern. Unless you are modifying information on the iPod or in MC for these files, they should not delete with the 'Delete unselected' unchecked on subsequent synchs.

Unless.......

Are you seeing warnings about duplicate files when you are synching? If so, this is your problem and I can explain.

marcmen · « **Reply #97 on:** June 02, 2004, 12:27:10 am »

is there anyway to store audio files in flac or ape preferebly flac and convert to wav automatically when syncing with ipod. I am very serious about my audio quality and dont want to degrade it when i am listening on Ipod

SteveG · « **Reply #98 on:** June 02, 2004, 09:29:01 am »

marcmen,

Click on 'Options' in the sync dialogue or in the Action Window and you will see an option to 'Force file conversion'. This will convert the files during the transfer to the iPod.

Steve

bjsolem · « **Reply #99 on:** June 02, 2004, 12:47:40 pm »

Quote from: SteveG on June 01, 2004, 04:39:32 pm

Are you seeing warnings about duplicate files when you are synching? If so, this is your problem and I can explain.

I see a whole bunch of warnings every time I sync. Is the problem that each song isn't supposed to be on more than one smartlist/ipod playlist? Because that will never be true for me, having songs on more than one Ipod playlist is a key strength of the ipod (and MC) as far as I'm concerned.

I'd love to hear your explanation...

Have I mentioned that JRiver rocks?

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: IPOD SUPPORT (Read 38735 times)