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[BullishDad]

Recently, I started to use MC11.1 to manage a few playlists on my Dell DJ30 (2nd gen).  Before that I used WMP because I have Napster To Go and it can be tricky transferring files to the DJ30.

I have 2 separate libraries in MC11 that I use for the DJ30.  One has just the Napster To Go files (WMA Janus Protected) and the other library is mostly MP3 ripped files.

I created 2 playlists in the Napster library and using the Manual Sync, I successfully transferred the 2 playlists and the corresponding tracks to the DJ30.

About 2 weeks later, I created a playlist within the MP3 library.  That transferred over successfully too.  However, the two playlists from the Napster Library were gone from the DJ30 (fine in MC11).  The tracks from those playlists were still on the DJ30.

Next, I attempted to put the 2 Napster playlists back on the DJ30.  I was getting errors (probably to do with protection/license issues) although my account is current. I updated to MC11.1.175 and this time the playlists transferred to the DJ30.  Great, I thought the problem was solved.

However, the playlist from the MP3 library was now missing from the DJ30. I know I did not ask to remove that playlist.  Weird.

Any ideas what is causing this?

Media Center Registered 11.1.175 -- C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center 11\

Microsoft Windows XP  Workstation 5.1 Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
Intel Pentium 4 2384 MHz MMX / Memory: Total - 523 MB, Free - 151 MB

Internet Explorer: 6.0.2900.2180 / ComCtl32.dll: 5.82.2900 / Shlwapi.dll: 6.0.2900 / Shell32.dll: 6.0.2900 / wnaspi32.dll: 4.71 (0002) , ASPI for Win32         DLL, Copyright © 1989-2002 Adaptec, Inc. / Aspi32.sys: 4.71 (0002)

Ripping /   Drive D: SAMSUNG CD-R/RW SW-240B   Mode:Normal  Type:Auto  Speed:Max
  Drive F: ATAPI   DVD DD 2X16X4X16  Mode:Normal  Type:Auto  Speed:Max
  Digital playback: Yes /  Use YADB: Yes /  Get cover art: No /  Calc replay gain: Yes /  Copy volume: 32767
  Eject after ripping: Yes /  Play sound after ripping: No 

Burning /  Drive D: SAMSUNG  CD-R/RW SW-240B    Addr: 1:0:0  Speed:16  MaxSpeed:40  BurnProof:Yes
  Drive F: ATAPI    DVD DD 2X16X4X16   Addr: 1:1:0  Speed:40  MaxSpeed:40  BurnProof:Yes
  Test mode: No /  Eject after writing: Yes /  Direct decoding: Yes /  Write CD-Text: Yes
  Use playback settings: No /

[BullishDad]

I decided to merge the Napster library into the MP3 library and imported the two .m3u playlists (after exporting them first).

This allowed me to have all the playlists on the DJ30 without any disappearing.

The playlists that were on the DJ30 that had been originally transferred using WMP were duplicated after I checked them in the MC11 sync.  I was able to clean up the duplicates by unchecking those playlists and re-syncing.

The problem remaining is that when I view the DJ30 in the MC11 tree, the only playlists listed are the ones transferred by MC.  The other ones that were transferred via WMP aren't in the tree, but they are on the device.

Utimately, I'd love to only use MC11.1 for managing the DJ30 for all my music including the Napster To Go files.  Has MC11.1 been tested with Napster To Go?  If so, what is the best way to transition from WMP so that playlists and music aren't lost?

[JimH]

Can you find one of the problem playlists on the device and see if you can see anything different?  The file extension, for example.  Or header information.  Try opening one of each in notepad.

[BullishDad]

Hi Jim.  I opened a couple of the playlists with Notepad and nothing looks unusual.  Just a list of songs with the Filepath and Filename.  I don't see any header info.

I tried to look for a WMA playlist but couldn't find one.  If you can tell me how it is saved, maybe I'll have better luck finding one.

At this point, things seems to be working OK.  It seems that if I want to keep the DJ30 sync'd, it is normally best to use only one program.

However, using Napster To Go is not particularly "smooth".  I've had enough problems with the Napster Client program when trying to transfer individual tracks, that I no longer attempt that.  Windows Media Player will usually sync fine with the DJ30, but using playlists is horrible. 

I've been able to transfer files and playlists with MC11.1, so that is my preference.  I have a feeling that the back and forth with WMP or the mutiple MC libraries caused my problems.  I was thinking about starting a new thread about Napster To Go, but I wasn't sure how MC11.1 supports the service.

[SwellGuy]

If may be that the playlists are being stored in two different locations like 'Playlists' and 'My Playlists'.

MC only displays playlists that are in the path specified in handheld options while the device may look for playlists in multiple (or all) locations. You can quickly verify this by browsing the device with explorer.

If this is the case, you can change the playlist path in handheld options to use the same path as WMP (or any other client) so they all store in the same location.

[BullishDad]

Thanks Rick.  I know the WMP created playlists aren't stored in the same location as MC created ones.  I will work on this tonight.  I'll look at WMP options to see where the program stores playlists, and have MC point to the same place.

This should bring me closer to my goal of using only MC to manage my DJ30.

[BullishDad]

After a couple of evenings I better understand how playlists are managed by MC and WMP and how they get sync'd with the DJ30.  WMP was saving them with the .wpl extension.  There was no option in WMP to set a default folder, but you can select the location when you save a playlist.

I've moved all the playlists to MC (had to save as M3U) except for 3 specialized Napster ones that get added to WMP when the Napster plug-in is installed.  Because Napster To Go needs to sync with the DJ30 at least once a month, I'll use WMP only for updating the licenses.

Napster To Go downloads can be imported into the MC library and transferred to the device.  However, when I transferred 11 new protected songs, it took almost 4 minutes which is very slow.  Non-protected files have been much faster than that.

For now, I am satisfied using WMP for an occasional license sync and MC 11.1 for everything else.