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[drphyto]

Dear Fellows:

I am using an htc Sensation (Android 2.3.3) and have given up on wmp ever keeping the database straight (it's pitiful). Anyway, I had already had playlists and their objects (music and videos) loaded into the phone. I have tried out Media Center and I must say, I cannot seem to fool it's database. I can move stuff around and the open playlist always knows where I moved the song (not sure if it will do that without the playlist open, but then again, I'm not sure there is such a thing as the "playlist being open" since there is no "save" button for the playlist... most strange). Anyway, I have made a couple playlists and sync'd them with the phone. Now, the "Drives & Devices" selection only shows the two playlists that I made with the Media Center.

Ok, the question: How do I get Media Center to show all the playlists (and songs as well) so that I can manage the content already there? I would like to, for example, see a playlist, and edit it right in the phone. However, if this is not possible, how do I get to the stuff in the phone. I don't want to have to delete it. I did import the wmp playlists and they are in Media Center. I wish there was a way to move them out of the "imported playlists" list. Do I have to copy and paste into a Media Center playlist and then delete what is on the phone and sync the new playlists? If so, what is the best way to delete the playlists (and/or content) on the phone? (I'm not sure that deleting a playlist in the Android actually deletes the songs as well).

Well, there are a bunch of questions in there. I will most appreciate a thorough dissertation... just kidding. I would like to say that, initially, I was going crazy trying to figure out the "views" of Media Center, but I am now getting the hang of it. The database integrity, although I don't know how it works, is certainly robust since I cannot mess it up. My hats' off to you developers. I guess I'd better stop before I think of some more questions.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Drphyto

[bunglemebaby]

I'm not certain exactly what you're attempting to do, in general, but I'll help with what bits I can here...

I did import the wmp playlists and they are in Media Center. I wish there was a way to move them out of the "imported playlists" list. Do I have to copy and paste into a Media Center playlist and then delete what is on the phone and sync the new playlists?

You should be able to drag the playlists under "imported playlists" into another playlist group (and organize them however you please from there.)

In general, it works best (in my opinion at least) to keep playlists organized on the computer then sync them (or copy them) to the portable device. It sounds like you're trying to work on the device itself, which might be leading to some of the confusion you're experiencing. If you can copy everything from your portable to the computer and start from there, things might be easier to keep track of. It could be I'm completely missing what you're doing though.

Try to ask specific questions whenever you can. It'll help you get better answers. MC is a huge program with a ton of use cases, so it's usually tough to guess what someone is really after. Do keep asking though, you'll learn a ton and love the program more and more.
-JB

[drphyto]

Dear JB;
Thanks for the reply. Actually, I'm not trying to work off the phone.

First, I didn't know I could make "groups" for the playlists. All the old and new playlists I have created are in the "imported" folder and I just wanted to organize, but I couldn't seem to drag them out of that folder. I guess there is a way to make a new playlist folders.

More important, is trying to understand the relationship during the sync. I did find a selection under "sync" "options" that said "Delete from handheld any files not in sync list". Wow, that sounds scary. I wasn't sure WHAT was going to be erased. What I WISH I could do is "see" all the playlists I have put on the phone, so I was sure what I'm deleting. Right now, I don't even know yes or no if I delete a playlist in MC and then sync the phone if that playlist will be deleted off the phone, or if the playlist and all it's songs are deleted, or if nothing is deleted and I have to go into the phone to delete (I don't like that idea). See where I'm going with this. I don't know how to control what's on the phone by using sync. Only thing I know is that if I sync something up, it will be there. What if I modify the playlist? Will songs I've removed from the playlist be deleted on the phone? etc.

I sure appreciate your help.

[drphyto]

Ok, I now see what is on the phone. The phone is listed under the devices and it shows the playlists. I am still wondering, however, about if changes in a playlist get reflected up to the phone if I make them in MC, or if I have to update the phone playlists manually.

But now I have a more, very irritating problem. I went to podcasts, surfed to NPR's Science Friday and downloaded a podcast. It didn't show up in "downloaded" under podcasts (MC isn't aware that I downloaded it). So I copied the feed url and pasted it into the "Add New Feed" box. It didn't copy. Seems you cannot copy out of the page (even with control C) a url and paste it into the "add new feed" url field. So I typed it into notepad and pasted it into the field. That's just ridiculous so for. But to top it off, when I update the feed, it says it cannot read the feed. It gives me this: "This podcast feed is not currently available, or contains a data format error. Please notify the webmaster, or just check back later." Here is the url: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510221

wtf. Why is this so hard?

[Alex B]

Here is the url: http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510221

Try this url:  http://sciencefriday.com/audio/scifriaudio.xml   (It works for me.)

[bunglemebaby]

I am still wondering, however, about if changes in a playlist get reflected up to the phone if I make them in MC, or if I have to update the phone playlists manually.

If you have set up your device to sync, then the changes will be made on the phone whenever the sync happens. You can set up auto-sync or to only sync when you initiate one.
If you set the option to delete media removed from the sync, then it will be removed from your device when it is removed from the sync'd playlist in MC. I would do a couple tests to verify that what you expect to happen here is indeed happening.

In case you haven't figured out how to make a new playlist group yet... Just right click on "Playlists" in the left hand pane and choose "Add Playlist Group".

wrt Podcasts, I've found that the biggest difficulty is finding the correct rss feed to put into MC. I also got the feed that Alex posted to work for me.
-JB

[drphyto]

Hi folks;

I tried the xml url and it gives the same error message when I update. Failed three times. I do get scrolling announcement of the feed's content across the top though. But that could be left over from just playing the saved mp3 off my drive. What could be the problem with reading the xml when it is obviously good?

How do I get the podcast that I already downloaded into the "downloaded podcasts" folder?