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[PaulZ]

In MC 16.0.81 I setup up two handheld directories for interfacing with Zune and iPad: one Extreme and the other Small.  I synced my entire FLAC collection with these significant settings:

-   Enable Album Artwork…: Checked
-   Simultaneous Conversions: 4
-   Encode:  MP3
-   Encode Settings: Small Portable or Extreme
-   Cover Art: Add to Tags
-   Files, Paths & More: Save Cover Art to Folder.jpg: Checked
-   Media Types: All Audio
-   Playlists: All

Results:
-   Extreme: 42.4 G … 10,325 Files … 1,488 Folders
-   Small:     42.3 G … 10,321 Files … 1,488 Folders

Issues & Questions:
-   There should be a big size difference!  Right?  Why not?
-   MC identified duplicates that my Smartlist did not find.  How do I make my Smartlist the same as what Sync finds?
-   One of the times I synced (I did this multiple times) it said “converting” (@ 8 hours to complete) … now it says “uploading” (@ 2 hours)… What changed?
-   Is there any difference between Sync and Convert?  Other than including playlists?  Which should I use?

[Alex B]

You must disable caching (aka "stacking") if you want to have two separate repositories of converted files with two different MP3 encoding settings. MC will not reconverted files that are already stacked in the cache. The files that you have now in the cache are the first converted files.

Here is my reply from a recent thread:

Alternatively you can create a "virtual handheld" to a hard drive location and simply sync it I like any portable. I use this feature for maintaining a separate repository of converted files and playlists in MC16. I have disabled the conversion cache (aka "stacking") feature in Options > File Location > Conversion Cache > Audio/Video/Images > Cache Location...  because otherwise I would have the converted files stored twice.

From that repository I copy files to various portable devices. For example, it is possible to set iTunes to import from that location and use it for syncing Apple devices. I don't have any Apple devices, but I use MC15 for syncing other portables. In MC15 I have a small library that imports only the converted files and the playlists.

- MC identified duplicates that my Smartlist did not find.  How do I make my Smartlist the same as what Sync finds?

I think the handheld system checks (also?) the "Filename (name)" field when it identifies duplicates. This should be easy to confirm with a couple of prepared test files.

- One of the times I synced (I did this multiple times) it said “converting” (@ 8 hours to complete) … now it says “uploading” (@ 2 hours)… What changed?

The files were first converted to the cache and then uploaded to the handheld (technically the hard disc location is handled like any portable device).

- Is there any difference between Sync and Convert?  Other than including playlists?  Which should I use?

Syncing works better because you can easily add new converted files to an existing file repository. Just disable the caching feature to avoid duplicate files and the other problems you have encountered.

You might also consider using only a single conversion setting to avoid unnecessary work. For example, High Quality Portable. It is actually quite good for any use. You could convert some test files and listen to them without without any prejudice -- perhaps ask someone else to switch the tracks and try to do a blind test. You might be willing to accept a few rare encoding artifacts for the sake of simplicity.


EDIT

A forum search found this thread: Topic: how to remove stack/handheld files and force MC to re-convert. It might help if you want to get rid of the stacked files.

[PaulZ]

Thanks ... I'll give that a try.  I have multiple handheld devices with different sizes.