I need help getting what I had setup before working again with MC. Here is the items I had set up so complicated"ly" that I was surprised it worked, but it did great!
1. All computers used iTunes.
2. Server ran iTunes Library Updater every night when everyone was asleep with batch file which changed My Music folder location then opened the program to scan for new songs/update/etc. It did this 4 times for our four libraries. The My Music folder is what determines the actual iTunes Database. I need a way to automatically scan for new media--SOMETHING AS SIMPLE as activating the import media item upon opening would be GREAT! It has such a nice background task already (just a little status box bottom left) that it doesn't get in the way. Have it automatically start scanning upon opening and then disable the final summary if desired.
3. Another program would then manually export the playlists from all 4 iTunes databases and place them in 4 different folders with a batch file which would follow by removing some unnecessary playlists like Purchased & Podcasts from accounts which don't need them.
4. Another batch file would terminate the Netgear MP101 media server, delete the entire database of music for it, and reopen it. The program then had a built in scanner which would scan for and add all new music (which it is starting with nothing) and then also scan the playlist folders.
5. A program I purchased, Macro Express, was running on a second server adjacent to my room w/ cable running through wall to speakers and wireless mouse w/ keypad. I used the keypad to enter numbers which would initiate macros which would either set my wakup time or start playing a specific day playlist. I had a playlist for every day of the week. Monday, Tuesday, etc. Macro Express then has a feature to perform a macro at a specified time which was my wakeup time and all it would do is execute the .m3u playlist which would open in windows media player (since iTunes can't run on the 180Mhz computer). The macro to wake me up was actually more compliacted, though, because it slowly increased the volume over about 2 minutes so I wouldn't be blased with loud music. I could then enter a code on my keypad to sleep for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, etc...minutes or even turn it off. I actually had even more codes for playing podcasts, weather, etc., but I never really used them.
6. More macros were used, such as one which adjusted the volume at 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, & 11pm plus 5am, 6am, 7am, 8am--each one either lowering or raising system volume slightly so I could play music and be nearly assured that I would not wake up others depending on the time. Before this macro, I had to always lower the volume a bunch.
7. In the end, I woke up to whatever music I wanted by simply dragging a song to tomorrows playlist in iTunes and I had an auto playlist which gathered podcasts less than 25 minutes called Morning Pods and I could get to this from my Netgear MP101 in my bathroom and then listen to my favorite podcast of appropriate length in the morning while I showered and dressed.
I feel deprived because I do not know of ways to get the playlists exported, database updated with new songs, or my MP101's working. I am thinking about keeping a running mp3 database of songs on my second server so I can go back to the old system but then playlists from MC wouldn't line up, having a .flac extension, etc.
This all took me months of thinking and careful set up and was working flawlessly for many months.
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Topic: Alarm clock & MP101 & watching solution? (Read 1190 times)