Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[glynor]

Is yours transferring the ratings properly?

Had to test it because I don't actually use Ratings that much, but nope.  It isn't.   I think this is iTunes' fault and not MC's though.  I'm pretty sure I remember a discussion way back about ratings in iTunes/iPods.  I think that Apple for whatever reason didn't like the ID3 standard for ratings and devised their own.  I believe that for other iPods, MC "hacks it" and converts the tags on the fly to support the iPod rating scheme and then back again on the other side when you re-sync.

Yet another reason we need an "emulate iPod" method of some kind to get us through the rough patches when Apple decides to break stuff.

[glynor]

Barring that, you could also create a truecrypt volume which could be set at 16GB when you create it.  Once mounted, the O/S, and MC, would see it as a 16GB drive, thus allowing you to use the ~fill in your smartlists.

I considered this but what a pain.  I will have to look into folder size quotas.  Can XP SP3 do it (I can look myself of course)?

[zxsix]

I don't have XP except on some work machines at the office.
I've got MC installed on a server O/S.
Sorry.

[zxsix]

I could actually live without the rating field, since there's no 2-way sync of the ratings at the moment.
That is, if the 4 playlists would show up in itunes.
If I import the folder containing only the 4 playlists into itunes, it imports all the songs, but doesn't have the playlists under that section in the tree.
Bummer, I just can't win with this.
I'd really like to stick with the new touch firmware for the push email and the RDP program.

[glynor]

I don't have XP except on some work machines at the office.
I've got MC installed on a server O/S.
Sorry.

Gotcha.

[BartMan01]

Had to test it because I don't actually use Ratings that much, but nope.  It isn't.   I think this is iTunes' fault and not MC's though.  I'm pretty sure I remember a discussion way back about ratings in iTunes/iPods.  I think that Apple for whatever reason didn't like the ID3 standard for ratings and devised their own.  I believe that for other iPods, MC "hacks it" and converts the tags on the fly to support the iPod rating scheme and then back again on the other side when you re-sync.

Yet another reason we need an "emulate iPod" method of some kind to get us through the rough patches when Apple decides to break stuff.

The issue with ratings is that Apple does not store them in the file tags - they are only stored in the iTunes library.  The only way to transfer ratings back an forth is manually via playlists - but pretty sure it could be automated via the API.

[Magic_Randy]

3. Ingesting new content into iTunes.  This, at least, is pretty easy.  I found a great little application called the iTunes Library Updater (iTLU) which is free and works great.  You can set a bunch of folders for it to scan, specify file extensions to import, and save these settings into a Profile.  It allows you to automatically:

• Open iTunes.
• Add new media to iTunes (scans the watch folders and can include subdirectories automatically).
• Remove orphaned media from iTunes.
• Update track info to match new info in files.
• Once this is done, it'll start the iPod sync.
• And, if you want, you can have it close iTunes down when it is all done.

glynor,

Just for your information, there is another application that is similar to iTLU. It is iTSync. http://www.itsyncsoftware.com/

I don't currently have it installed, but I have used it before.

Biggest advantage of iTLU = free
Biggest disadvantage of iTLU = the author is not really interested in it and is not moving it forward. I don't know what happens if Apple changes something.

Biggest advantage of iTSync = continue to develop and test on new versions of iTunes
Biggest disadvantage of iTSync = not free, and bigger versions require an upgrade. I paid for 2 versions last year and there is a 3rd one requiring a fee that is out now (I did not buy the 3rd one). Does show how spoiled we are with JRiver.

[stubbsy]

Well it's near on 2 months since the iPhone 3G launched and still very little progress on getting it to work with MC 

Given MC 13 is soon to show it's shiny new face I'm sure hoping that it's emphasis on new non music features doesn't mean the iPhone problem persists.  It would be a royal PITA to have to dump MC and go back to iTunes and yet without iPhone 3G support (and yes I know the bad guy here is Apple) it would be a big ask to pay for the MC12 -> 13 upgrade.

[JimH]

Tell Apple.  They've locked it down.

[punkapotente]

So does this mean JR has given up on this topic and be won't be seeing iPhone 3G support in MC13?

[glynor]

So does this mean JR has given up on this topic and be won't be seeing iPhone 3G support in MC13?

I'm curious too...

If not, is there a backup plan?

[Qythyx]

I've heard rumors that the iPhone 2.1 release (this Friday) is supposed to open the iPhone up to file access similar to the iPods. I don't know if that's true and if that will be enough to help MC support it.

As a backup plan the only thing I can think of is integrating with iTunes API to sync data to it and from there to the iPhone.

[JimH]

Tell Steve he can call us to confirm or deny.

[glynor]

As a backup plan the only thing I can think of is integrating with iTunes API to sync data to it and from there to the iPhone.

Right.  I want to know if this is something that JRiver is considering.  I think that it could be a beautiful workaround, and could ensure against future Apple shenanigans.

The situation as-is is obviously untenable, and will likely cost JRiver business.

Tell Steve he can call us to confirm or deny.

I understand that it is clearly Apple's fault.  However, in this situation you are David, not Goliath.  The question is not what Steve is going to do about it, but what you are going to do about it.

[BartMan01]

I've heard rumors that the iPhone 2.1 release (this Friday) is supposed to open the iPhone up to file access similar to the iPods. I don't know if that's true and if that will be enough to help MC support it.

As a backup plan the only thing I can think of is integrating with iTunes API to sync data to it and from there to the iPhone.

The 2.1 software is out now (at least for the Touch).  I am running Quicktime 8 iTunes 8/Quicktime 7.5.5 and 2.1 on my Touch - no drive access.  There is a (free for a few more days) app called 'Air Sharing' that uses WebDAV to apparently allow you to easily store/share/retreive files on your device - but that would not help with the syncing issues.

[glynor]

The 2.1 software is out now (at least for the Touch).  I am running Quicktime 8 and 2.1 on my Touch - no drive access.  There is a (free for a few more days) app called 'Air Sharing' that uses WebDAV to apparently allow you to easily store/share/retreive files on your device - but that would not help with the syncing issues.

The best WebDAV App is called "Files".  Works great, but isn't free.  DataCase is a close second.

Oh, and I assume you mean iTunes 8 (since Quicktime 8 doesn't exist).  On that note, warning to all those who are considering bumping to iTunes 8.  The library format has changed, and it breaks compatibility with iTLU.  There is also no easy way to roll back to 7.1.1 without deleting your library (unless you have a backup).

I discovered this when I updated tonight on a whim.  Bad idea.  Sucks though, because I think you have to upgrade to 8 to get the new 2.1 firmware.  We'll see on Friday when it comes out for the iPhone.

[punkapotente]

There are already free applications for PC which give you access to the media (or even root in case of a jailbroken device) partition of the iPhone/iPod touch for firmware 2.x using USB (AppStore apps are not allowed to use USB). For example: iPhoneBrowser - http://code.google.com/p/iphonebrowser/ or DiskAid - http://www.digidna.net/diskaid/

Both give you read/write disk access to the device, but you have no way of accessing the things you copy on there from the iPhone since the music player is limited to the proprietary library stored in an deliberately complicated format.

I think the major technical hurdle is to figure out the hashing mechanism used for the library. Apparently there are people trying to reverse engineering Apple's hasing scheme, but I have no idea what the current state is, see: http://bluwiki.com/go/Ipodhash

I believe the important question for many people (including me) is:

Is JR saying "We are focussing on improving MC as a desktop media center with support for mobile devices which are not trying to actively prevent this. Apple is trying to lock us out and we think our product is convincing enough on its own, so it's not worth the effort to try to circumvent that."

This what I sense from JimH's brief responses. It is - of course - a valid position on the issue and I can fully understand it. However, it would also be interesting for people considering purchasing MC13 to know what JR's definite plan is in that respect.

BTW. Another option worth considering would be to develop your own JRMCMobile for iPhone/iPod touch which does not interact with the iTunes library at all. This would give you full control over syncing and could be really cool.  To act as a full replacement for Apple's music player, however, this would probably still require a jailbreak-application and not an official AppStore app.

P.S. I only recently registered and haven't posted much, but I do follow the forum for quite some time now.

[stubbsy]

Tell Apple.  They've locked it down.

Jim thanks for the bad news.  I am probably almost as pissed at Apple as you are about this.  Guess I can stop holding my breath for a fix eh 

Given that a fix is not likely can you at least make MC NOT recognise my phone as a device.  Even with the latest version my phone gets cratered if MC sees it which is a real PITA.

[glynor]

I think the major technical hurdle is to figure out the hashing mechanism used for the library. Apparently there are people trying to reverse engineering Apple's hasing scheme, but I have no idea what the current state is, see: http://bluwiki.com/go/Ipodhash

However, in order to make using an iPhone/Touch (and probably the new generation of iPods released yesterday too) with MC possible, there is another way that doesn't require hacking at all.

Apple publishes an API for iTunes.  It is fully scriptable and can be easily controlled by external applications, and this is a supported use.  MC could use iTunes as a "proxy" handheld.  Simply set iTunes to "sync all" to the iPhone/iPod and have the full iTunes library controlled by MC's handheld function.  When you "sync" from inside MC, it would launch iTunes (loading a library specific to the actual device you're syncing), then update the iTunes library to match the files in the handheld queue, and then initiate the sync to the connected device.

This certainly wouldn't be ideal for most iPods, and full-on native support would be best, but it would certainly be better than nothing.  And, honestly, for an iPhone/Touch it might actually be better than native support, because of all the other things that iTunes syncs to the device (not the least of which are the applications in the App Store).  In fact, for my iPhone, if given the choice between native MC support and using iTunes as a handheld, I'd certainly choose the latter.  With native support, every time I wanted to add an App via iTunes, I'd have to wipe the phone (because iTunes is stupid and locks the phone to one iTunes library).  And what about syncing Bookmarks and Contacts (and email for people who need to use that feature)?  Unless JRiver intends to crack and emulate the entire iTunes syncing functionality, including App Store support, (extremely unlikely) then this workaround would be vastly superior.

Plus, implementing it and updating it when Apple changes things would be much easier, because they publish the API.  The API probably goes out of date and doesn't contain everything you need, but has got to be better than shooting completely in the dark and hacking in native support (which they'll just break again with the next iPhone OS release).

[punkapotente]

... and what makes you think that Apple - after putting considerable effort into locking out their competitors out - would publish an API which gives them access again? I'm quite sure that this won't happen. The point why they are doing this is because they want people to exclusively use iTunes to manage their library and use it as an advertising tool for their music store.

As for the other suggestion: sure, somehow exporting to an iTunes library just for sync'ing is better than nothing. But it's still nowhere near the convenience that I had with my old iPod which synced just fine with MC. I know this is exclusively Apple's fault, so maybe I just shouldn't have bought their product ... still, if JR comes up with a good solution, I'd be more than happy to pay for it.

For me personally, I could do very well without iTunes: EMail, Calender, and Contacts are all synced online without iTunes being involved. Applications can also be installed directly from the store app on the device.

[glynor]

would publish an API which gives them access again? I'm quite sure that this won't happen.

Sorry.  It is already published: http://developer.apple.com/sdk/itunescomsdk.html

I'm talking about iTunes, not the iPod.  That's the difference.  They don't mind if you interface with iTunes, as long as the consumer uses iTunes to sync to their device.  You can CERTAINLY externally control iTunes.  That's how iTLU and the other similar applications work.

Applications can also be installed directly from the store app on the device.

Unfortunately, you shouldn't do so.  There are threads all over the place about how using the Mobile App Store is the primary cause of crashes on the iPhone.  Installing all apps via iTunes is the only way to go right now if you want your phone to be stable.  Perhaps this will be fixed with 2.1, but I'm not going to believe it until I see it.  Besides, even if you do use the Mobile App store, you can't back up your purchases without using iTunes.  I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to re-pay for my App purchases if my Phone crashes and I need to reset it (or I drop it in a lake and need to buy a new one).

And unless you use Exchange or MobileMe (and don't even get me started there), you can't sync Contacts without using iTunes.  And, without MobileMe, there isn't a way to sync Bookmarks over the air.  Right now, for most users, abandoning iTunes sync isn't a real option for the iPhone/Touch.

Again, I'm not saying that this should be the ONLY method of syncing.  I'd still love to see native support.  However, even if that happens, how long before the next iPhone OS update breaks it?  What about all the new iPods that come out next year?  This would be an ideal backup plan.

[zxsix]

I'm with glynor on this.
I don't use the itunes database for anything.  So as far as I'm concerned, MC could check the playlists that I have selected to sync to the device, delete the itunes xml database, recreate it based on the sync playlists in MC.
Then next time we execute sync in MC, read the itunes database and sync back the ratings that don't match to MC (and update playcounts, though I don't care about that).  This would give 2-way sync.
Now itunes database is a mirror image of what I would like to sync.
Heck, I'm ok with launching itunes and clicking the sync button manually!!
Just manipulate the database file however you need to to keep the itunes db and my sync playlists identical.

I'm sure Glynor and I could step up and doc the steps required after it's done.

[punkapotente]

Sorry.  It is already published: http://developer.apple.com/sdk/itunescomsdk.html

OK. Didn't know that.

Unfortunately, you shouldn't do so.  There are threads all over the place about how using the Mobile App Store is the primary cause of crashes on the iPhone.

Hmm, strange. I installed all my apps from the phone and don't have any problems.

Besides, even if you do use the Mobile App store, you can't back up your purchases without using iTunes.  I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to re-pay for my App purchases if my Phone crashes and I need to reset it (or I drop it in a lake and need to buy a new one).

Not true. The app store remembers all purchases through your account. If you re-download for any reason, you don't have to pay again.

you can't sync Contacts without using iTunes.

Also not true. Exchange ActiveSync accounts sync contacts just fine. I personally use NuevaSync ( http://www.nuevasync.com/ ) - they provide a free Exchange server which syncs your calendar and contacts with Google Calendar and GMail contacts. Works perfectly fine. When I add/modify a contact in GMail, it gets almost instantly updated on the phone and visa versa.


Anyway, there are people (I know at least one: me) that would have no problem with getting rid of iTunes completely. Interfacing iTunes might be a workaround, but it certainly not a great one IMHO. As it's still using iTunes, it also still suffers from some of the most severe issues like not being able to sync with multiple computers, no way to import music from your iPhone that's not in your library, etc.

[glynor]

Hmm, strange. I installed all my apps from the phone and don't have any problems.

You got very lucky then.  There are widely reported issues with the Mobile App Store.  It can cause general instability.  I had regular problems with Safari and the Contacts application both crashing after I had installed a few (unrelated) games on the phone via the Mobile App Store.  Resetting the phone and reinstalling everything via iTunes has made it much more reliable.

Not true. The app store remembers all purchases through your account. If you re-download for any reason, you don't have to pay again.

I suspected as much but hadn't ever actually tested it.  You would lose any data stored in the application, however, and for many of my apps, that is just as important (if not more important).

Also not true. Exchange ActiveSync accounts sync contacts just fine.

I said...

And unless you use Exchange or MobileMe

So no, it was true.  Incidentally, I use NuevaSync too and it works great.  It clearly isn't for everyone though.  What if I use the POP3 email address provided by my ISP and I don't want to get a gmail account or something similar?  Gmail has some serious privacy implications, and there are tons of people who would never even consider using a Gmail account.

And you're making my point, really... I too would rather not even ever have iTunes installed on any of my machines.  Until I bought the phone, I never had iTunes installed on anything I owned other than my Macs.  However, most users aren't going to fall into that very limited niche.  And, again, what about when they spend thousands of man-hours developing native support, and then Apple breaks it again with iPhone OS 2.2 in a three months?  That just isn't financially sustainable.

I agree with all the arguments you made about why native support is better.  I know it is better.  I've used it on my wife's Nano a ton.  The point is that it isn't better than nothing, and it isn't better to have it for 3 months and then not be able to update to the newest iPhone OS without losing it again.  I want the option of a solution that is still going to work next September and the September after that.  Not one or the other.

[punkapotente]

I want the option of a solution that is still going to work next September and the September after that.  Not one or the other.

And that's the thing that I'm not sure about and I frankly don't understand how you can be so conviced. Obviously Apple don't care much about interoperability. If they can decide to change the hashing scheme used to store the library on the iphone, who says they won't suddenly change the iTunes library format on the next release. Why wouldn't they change the iTunes COM API? The point is: they can just as easily break a solution using iTunes automation.

[glynor]

And that's the thing that I'm not sure about and I frankly don't understand how you can be so conviced.

I'm convinced because they publish the SDK.  They can (and sometimes do) break the iTunes API when they release major new versions (the library format and some SDK functions changed with the new v8 released yesterday).  But they then update the SDK and release a new one.

Are they probably slow to release a new one?  Yes.  Is the SDK probably horribly incomplete and sometimes inaccurate?  Likely.  Do they encrypt the iTunes database and actively try to obfuscate external access to iTunes via COM?  No, not at all.  They intentionally make it scriptable.  Most Apple applications are.  Plenty of applications, including MC, read and access the iTunes database files.  Plenty of applications use the API to externally control iTunes.

Apple wants applications to use iTunes.  That gets iTunes installed on your computer, and up in front of the user, which is the ultimate goal.  What they don't want (and actively work to make it as difficult as is possible) is for you to be able to use your iPod without having iTunes installed.

I'm with glynor on this.
I don't use the itunes database for anything.  So as far as I'm concerned, MC could check the playlists that I have selected to sync to the device, delete the itunes xml database, recreate it based on the sync playlists in MC.

Exactly.  I hate actually using iTunes, but right now it is extremely annoying to use MC with my iPhone.

[punkapotente]

Apple wants applications to use iTunes.  That gets iTunes installed on your computer, and up in front of the user, which is the ultimate goal.

They want people to use iTunes because their ultimate goal is to sell stuff through the store. iTunes is just a fancy front-end for the store. They don't benefit from people having iTunes installed, they want people to use iTunes as their primary library management tool because that makes it incredibly tempting to purchase things from the store (e.g. the new genius playlist thingy is just a way of displaying context sensitive ads).

An application that just interfaces iTunes for syncing is just as bad for them as an application that doesn't require iTunes at all. So I believe they will take counter-measures.

Anyway, let's quit speculating. I think you do have some good points, but I believe so do I. We both agree that the current situation sucks, so let's hope for the best ... maybe JR will surprise us ...

[glynor]

An application that just interfaces iTunes for syncing is just as bad for them as an application that doesn't require iTunes at all. So I believe they will take counter-measures.

I agree, they wouldn't like this particular use.  However, I don't know what they'd do about it to "take counter measures" without breaking the API and SDK, which they do want to support.  Plus, JRiver is a fairly small fish and a Windows-only one.  I suspect they might not be high enough profile for Apple to care either way.

Anyway, let's quit speculating. I think you do have some good points, but I believe so do I. We both agree that the current situation sucks, so let's hope for the best ... maybe JR will surprise us ...

Totally agree!  I doubt that I'll be surprised much.  They'll come up with some kind of solution.  It's not like they can just ignore the iPod in their target market.

[zxsix]

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=204248&package_id=243989

Here's a potential replacement for ITLU.
Much more powerful, but a bit complex.
I'll need to play with it a bit more later this week.
One this it does do that ITLU doesn't, is to write tags (such as rating) to the file tags that itunes won't.

[glynor]

If you get if figured out, post back your experiences.

One thing I'd be interested in would be something that could assign the Video Kind tag in iTunes in an automated fashion.  All videos that import show up as "Movies" in iTunes, and I'd much prefer them to be "TV Show" or "Podcast" (so that I can set them to automatically sync without having to go in and manually check each stupid little box).

The only videos I put in my iTunes library I want to sync to my phone, so the current "Movies" kind tag doesn't really work for me.

[zxsix]

This thing has lots of tabs and options.  I don't sync any video though.  Just tunes and a handful of photos, and the apps that itunes controls.
Most tabs are for making changes to the itunes database.  One tab is for making changes to the file tags.
I did glance over one that had a search and replace function.  Maybe that would help you.

I'm taking the kids to a baseball game tonight so I won't get to mess with it for a couple of days.

[bwaldron]

This thing has lots of tabs and options. 

That's an understatement!

It is a useful program, though. The developer is active in supporting it over on HydrogenAudio: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=51708

[PeterO]

Hi Glynor,
there is such a script for Windows you are looking for. It is able to update the Video Flag in all directions.

Here the link to the creator:  http://home.comcast.net/~teridon73/itunesscripts/
The name of the script is  "itunes_vidkind"

I have discovered the script some days ago and am using the VBS version. The user interface is not so nice,  so I have updated it a little bit.
If you are interested I could email the updated version in txt-Format, so you can see what the script is doing.

You perhaps wondering why am here in this forum: I am using MC for a long time, but I have an iphone.

best regards
Peter

[glynor]

Hi Glynor,
there is such a script for Windows you are looking for. It is able to update the Video Flag in all directions.

Here the link to the creator:  http://home.comcast.net/~teridon73/itunesscripts/
The name of the script is  "itunes_vidkind"

I was incredibly excited when I saw this.  Unfortunately, the scripts do not work with iTunes 8.  Hopefully he'll update them before long!

[glynor]

If you made modifications, I'd be interested to see them, I suppose.  I tried modifying the VBS version a bit to change the version check to pass with v8, but it still didn't work.  However, I suspect this is due to the fact that the application wants you to choose from a playlist (and playlists are all different in v8 with all the genius stuff).

My needs are much simpler... I want the script to scan ALL of the video files in the library and change them all to TV Show (or Podcast would work too).  That's because the only files in my iTunes library are files I want synced to my phone.  The problem is that new files are imported as Kind = Movie, rather than TV Show.  I can set iTunes to automatically sync all TV Shows, but it won't sync Movies unless I go in and manually check each box for each video file.

[PeterO]

Hi Glynor,
no problem !  Yes, there is a query for Version 7 in the original script. I have modified it so it is working.
I have Version 8 as well.

You can have it simpler, just choose Playlist number 1  , that is the whole library. Or 3 that are all movies.
I would suggest to test it with a little playlist of 2 or 3 movies first, so you are sure it it working for you.

Please use this link to get the txt file of the script.  Check it and rename the suffix to vbs
http://www.peterobermeier.de/Change_Type_of_Video_in_iTunes _itunes_vidkind.txt
And again, the original script has been written by
Robert Jacobson (http://teridon.googlepages.com/itunesscripts)

I have just started a view days ago with writting iTunes script and meanwhile I have create an interesting script for iPhone as well.
There is the apps CSV Touch and with an iTunes script I can extract all my album covers from iTunes and create a searchable file with Artist, Album and album covers.

best regards
Peter

[PeterO]

Hi Glynor,
with the new iTunes 8 you do not need this script any longer.
Just select all movies and go to INFORMATION.
Under OPTIONS you can change the Media Type for all files.

:-)
Peter

[m1abrams]

Well I currently see nothing in the R13 version that would make me want to pay for the upgrade.  Now if it meant that I could sync my iPod Touch, then yes I would pay for the upgrade in a heart beat.

[steveklein]

Well I currently see nothing in the R13 version that would make me want to pay for the upgrade.  Now if it meant that I could sync my iPod Touch, then yes I would pay for the upgrade in a heart beat.

+1

i really want to continue to support MC, but if it can't be my one stop shop for all my media and media related tasks, it really loses its value to me. i hate iTunes as much as the next guy. i don't want it installed on my PC... but right now i don't really have a choice.

i would love for native support to exist.

also, kudos to you glynor for coming up with some clever workarounds. i'm a member of dozens upon dozens of internet forums and you are about as helpful a poster as any i've encountered on any of them.

[glynor]

also, kudos to you glynor for coming up with some clever workarounds. i'm a member of dozens upon dozens of internet forums and you are about as helpful a poster as any i've encountered on any of them.

Thanks.  I do what I can.  Try to get help and help alike.

[maoz]

Same here

[Robert Joe]

If I can’t find a tool that does the following then I am going to write some software to do it.  If you know of such a tool, please let me know, otherwise let me know what else this tool should do. I am only considering audio on the first release so let’s focus on getting that right and not discuss other media for now.

1)   Search for FLAC files that are in playlists, specified directories or match an expression of user specified tags (e.g. Rating >= 4 AND Genre=”Pop”).

2)   Resize album art folder.jpg or the first .jpg in alphabetical order or a .jpg that matches a regular expression (e.g. *Front*.jpg) to a user specified size. The resized jpg can optionally remain in the directory or be removed. The advantage of not deleting it is that the resize only needs to be re-done if the original .jpg has a newer date.

3)   Convert FLAC to MP3 passing user specified LAME parameters, FLAC tags and the resized album art.

4)   Converted MP3’s will be placed relative to a user specified top level directory e.g. “My Musc/Artist/Album/01 Track.flac” could end up in “My MP3/Artist/Album/01 Track.mp3”

5)   Update iTunes library with new or updated playlists and MP3’s.

6)   Update iTunes library with anything that iTunes does not support in MP3 tags e.g. ratings.

7)   Tool will support two-way sync e.g. if you update a rating in iTunes it will be propagated back to the FLAC file.

[zxsix]

I believe most of us are using iTsfv right now.  This doesn't handle the flac part, MC is doing the conversion of that for us. The biggest missing piece for me is the ability for ratings done on the ipod to get back into MC.

Are you planning a standalone app or an MC plugin?

If standalone app, then does that mean when the flac tags get updated with new rating info that we'll have to do a "update library from tags" in MC to get it to show up in the MC library, or are you going to do a plugin that would take care of that end as well?

[Robert Joe]

I haven't decided on standalone app or plugin. I'll have to research and take that into consideration.

[m1abrams]

I believe most of us are using iTsfv right now.  This doesn't handle the flac part, MC is doing the conversion of that for us. The biggest missing piece for me is the ability for ratings done on the ipod to get back into MC.

Are you planning a standalone app or an MC plugin?

If standalone app, then does that mean when the flac tags get updated with new rating info that we'll have to do a "update library from tags" in MC to get it to show up in the MC library, or are you going to do a plugin that would take care of that end as well?

I have been playing around with iTsfv and have a couple of issues.  1st issue is no matter what I try it does not seem to update the iTunes db with the rating from the POPM id3 tag, same with the playcount.  Not too concerned about going the other way yet.

Other question how can I easily get the playlist from MC into iTunes?  MC exports it as an m3u file?

P.S. It looks like media monkey has a beta that syncs with the touch/iphone 2.x firmware.  I have not tried it yet just following their boards.  The interesting thing is it requires itunes 8 to be installed so I suspect they may very well be using the API, not sure though.

[Lasse_Lus]

UPnP to play around with   
http://plugplayer.com/

[JohnM]

Yes, I've played around with the PlugPlayer and it is promising

[neFAST]

Is it possible to control MC with PlugPlayer ?

[JohnM]

The PlugPlayer is a UPnP client, ie start UPnP server on Media Center and connect to it with your iPhone with PlugPlayer and listen to your music library with your iPhone. If you want to control your library (and send the music to your home stereo or something... zones in MC) you're better off with something else... like RiverMote. HTH John

[ThoBar]

As an alternative to all the shenanigans about MC->iPhone syncing conversion etc.... http://www.pwnplayer.com/

Lets hope the plugin structure allows for other formats too

... maybe JR could even look at doing an iPhone MC   ... coz they've not got much else on at this point