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More => Old Versions => Media Center 12 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: boliver on May 27, 2008, 07:59:20 pm

Title: Feature Request: Keep Song Order on handheld when using multiple cores
Post by: boliver on May 27, 2008, 07:59:20 pm
When sending songs to your portable, you can choose to use more than one process (for transfer and conversion if necessary) in parallel:  REALLY GREAT if you have a multiple core CPU.

But the problem is that the order of the songs gets disturbed because the mutliple process' finish at different times.  i.e. if you have 4 process', the shortest song will get loaded first, even if it isn't the first song on the album.  (in my case, the bulk of the time is usually spent converting my .ape files to .mp3 for my Ipod Shuffle)

Can you add an option that allows you to "Keep song order" to the Options->Handheld?

This would obviously be less efficient:  some process' would be blocked from finishing in some cases but would still be much faster than using just one process.
Title: Re: Feature Request: Keep Song Order on handheld when using multiple cores
Post by: BryanC on May 27, 2008, 08:30:05 pm
I agree completely!

Another problem I seem to encounter is that when I add new songs to a playlist I sync with my iPod shuffle, it drops them at the end of the original list of songs even though I have resorted the playlist and updated the order.
Title: Re: Feature Request: Keep Song Order on handheld when using multiple cores
Post by: Matt on May 27, 2008, 09:45:21 pm
Why do you care what order the transfer is done in?

Playlists (with order) are preserved regardless.
Title: Re: Feature Request: Keep Song Order on handheld when using multiple cores
Post by: boliver on May 27, 2008, 09:58:35 pm
Well, I don't transfer playlists so I don't know anything about that. 

I transfer albums.

What I find is that the order of the songs on the albums is messed up because different parallel process' finish at different times.

It is disconcerting to hear a live album that is out of sequence...
Title: Re: Feature Request: Keep Song Order on handheld when using multiple cores
Post by: Matt on May 27, 2008, 10:00:15 pm
Well, I don't transfer playlists so I don't know anything about that. 

I transfer albums.

What I find is that the order of the songs on the albums is messed up because different parallel process' finish at different times.

It is disconcerting to hear a live album that is out of sequence...

The transfer order should be irrelevant with an iPod.  It has a database.

Are you saying your Shuffle says otherwise?
Title: Re: Feature Request: Keep Song Order on handheld when using multiple cores
Post by: boliver on May 27, 2008, 10:06:30 pm
I don't know anything about the internals of the Shuffle.

I am saying that when I listen to the songs on the Shuffle they are slightly out of sequence.  i.e. not completely out of sequence:  on an album perhaps 2 out of the 7 songs are out of sequence.

If I don't use the multiple process option, songs are in sequence on the shuffle.
Title: Re: Feature Request: Keep Song Order on handheld when using multiple cores
Post by: BryanC on May 28, 2008, 11:40:58 am
The transfer order should be irrelevant with an iPod.  It has a database.

Are you saying your Shuffle says otherwise?

Playlist order is NOT maintained.
Title: Re: Feature Request: Keep Song Order on handheld when using multiple cores
Post by: Eccles on May 28, 2008, 12:47:28 pm
Perhaps that's one of the ways that they kept the price of shuffle low.  Since there's no way to choose particular tracks - the only options are to play everything sequentially or shuffled - there's no real need for a database and its associated complexity.

Just guessing, but it would make sense.
Title: Re: Feature Request: Keep Song Order on handheld when using multiple cores
Post by: BryanC on May 28, 2008, 01:24:26 pm
It does have a database though, that's the weird thing...