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[sthomp]

I'm trying out my new iPod Mini with Media Center 10, but I'm having a problem.

I set up some playlists in the iPod. (Right-click on iPod's playlists, select "Add a Playlist".) I drag and drop files from several Media Center playlists to their corresponding playlists on the iPod. I transfer the files.

After the transfer finishes, my playlists have vanished. All the songs are just dumped together with no organization. I've tried this a few times with the same result.

If I create playlists on the iPod and then disconnect it without transfering any files, the playlists remain intact. This does me no good, though, since they disappear as soon as I transfer any files.

What am I doing wrong? Is there a way to keep playlists after a transfer?

Thanks.

[SteveG]

sthomp,

Right click on the iPod and select 'Synchroniztion'. This will present to you a tree of all your Playlists. Check the ones you want to send and then start the sync. All the playlists and files will be transfered.

The 'Add a Playlist' option you were using is for adding files already on iPod to a playlist, not adding files from MC to a playlist.

Steve

[sthomp]

Thanks for the info, that did it. One other question...

When I synchronize as you explained, it deletes everything from my iPod before copying the new playlists, including some stuff I put on manually that I'd like to keep on there. Is there any way to have it only delete the playlists it's replacing with new songs?

[SteveG]

sthomp,

If you do not want files to be deleted which are already on iPod, uncheck the 'Delete unselected from HH' option in the Sync dialogue. I think this is what you after.

Steve

[sthomp]

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately this is happening even though that option is unchecked. Let me describe in more detail what's happening...

I start with nothing on the iPod. I synchronize two MC playlists (Gym and Other). Then I manually copy some radio programs, create an iPod playlist called Radio, and add the programs to that playlist.

Later I synchronize the Gym and Other playlists, with the "Delete unselected from HH" box unchecked. When the transfer is finished, the Gym and Other lists are updated as they should be, but the Radio playlist and its files are gone. The only files and playlists on the iPod are those copied in the most recent synch.

I also tried synching only the Gym playlist. After I did that, only Gym was left on the iPod. Both Other and Radio were gone, along with all their files.

Basically, anything that isn't part of the current synch gets deleted. It's not the worst thing, but it is sort of frustrating. If anyone can offer a solution, I'd appreciate it.

[SteveG]

sthomp,

Why not create a playlist or smartlist in MC for 'Radio' and then sync it to the iPod with the other playlists? What do you gain by the separate steps of manually copying and creating the playlist on iPod?

Steve

[sthomp]

Since I have to manually create the Radio playlist either way, I guess there's no reason not to create it in Media Center instead of on the iPod.

Even doing it that way, though, I'm not always going to want to sync all of my playlists at the same time. For example, say I haven't finished the radio programs, but I want to sync my Gym list. The way it's working now, if I sync any of them, I lose all playlists I don't sync. Among other problems, this also means that the only way to keep my playlist organization on the iPod is to sync everything, even if I only need to sync part of it.

Also, with "Delete unselected from HH" unchecked, I noticed that it doesn't delete any files, not even songs from the playlist(s) I'm replacing. Since I want it to delete what it's replacing, I need to leave that option checked. (And having it unchecked wasn't saving my other playlists.)

I'm not clear on whether mine is behaving differently from everyone else's or not. This seems like something that more people would have mentioned if that's how everybody's was, but I can't find anyone bringing it up. I tried both resetting and restoring the iPod, but that hasn't helped. I'm using the most recent iPod software, although I think I'm one update behind on MC. (Not counting the 11 alpha.)

Aargh. This is frustrating. It's not such a big deal now, but as I add more playlists it's going to become more tedious to have to update them all every time if I want to keep my playlist structure.

[SteveG]

sthomp,

iPod stores files and also organizes those files in Playlists. Conceptually, try to separate these two actions. Whenever you sync, MC first checks what files are selected to be synched (from your playlist selections) and then checks what files are already on iPod. If you have 'Delete unselected' checked, MC will remove any files from iPod which are not in the list of files to sync. At the end of the file transfer and deletion process, MC creates playlists on iPod based on what you selected.

Try leaving all the playlists or smartlists you want on iPod checked and sync them. When you make changes to these just resync with everything checked. Keep in mind that any files which are already on iPod will continue to be on iPod so the process will be fast. If you never want files to be removed, never check the 'Delete files'.  

Also, explore using smartlists so that your content is more dynamic and you won't have to update things manually.

Steve

[sthomp]

At the end of the file transfer and deletion process, MC creates playlists on iPod based on what you selected.

Okay, I gather now that there's nothing broken about my setup, and that's how it is for everybody. I didn't really explain how I was trying to use the iPod. I was hoping there was a way to have MC leave untouched any playlists that weren't selected for syncing, for the reason explained below...

Try leaving all the playlists or smartlists you want on iPod checked and sync them. When you make changes to these just resync with everything checked. Keep in mind that any files which are already on iPod will continue to be on iPod so the process will be fast.

This will work, it's just tedious for me. Syncing everything isn't fast for me, because my Gym and Other playlists are randomly generated from a library much larger than my iPod, and they fill up most of its capacity. Whenever I sync, all (or almost all) of those two new random playlists have to be transferred because they're not already on the iPod.

I want to sync my Radio playlist every day or two, but my Gym and Other playlists could probably last a couple weeks before I wanted to replace them with another random batch of songs. It's annoying to have to replace the full capacity of my iPod every time I want to sync up a new radio show or two. It makes every sync take much longer than it needs to, and probably puts more wear and tear on the iPod's drive.

I guess I can make the Gym and Other lists smaller so they need updating as often as the Radio list does, but I wish I didn't have to. What's the best way to offer suggestions for future MC features?

By the way, I don't mean to sound all negative and complaining about MC. It's just this one thing that's bothering me. Other than that, the more I learn about MC, the more I'm finding to like. It's a great program, and I've only scratched the surface of what it can do.

Also, explore using smartlists so that your content is more dynamic and you won't have to update things manually.

I've been learning how to use them, and now all three of my playlists are smartlists. (I'm sure I'll have more lists eventually, but for now it's only three.) Someone else in the forum told me how to set my Radio list to get only the most recent programs, which lets me use a smartlist for that instead of a manual playlist.

[SteveG]

sthomp,

If your Gym and other playlists are good for weeks at a time, create them as playlists, or as smartlists that are not dynamically recreated constantly. Sync them at the same time you sync  the Radio playlist which you are recreating every other day and the process will be fast. When you are ready to recycle the Gym and other playlists, replace the files in the  MC playlist and resync.

Steve