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[urlwolf]

Hi,

audioscrobbler got me thinking. Is there any way to display graphs for MC's playcounts? Because i have statistics on my listening habits logged by MC for some time now. I'd just like  to be able to display them somehow, or to dump them to a file and plot them with an external program.

It'd be nice to have an 'statistics' view. Maybe there is one, i just couldn't find it in the help.

[kaiynne]

there is a statistics section but it is a little minimalist at the moment.  It would be nice to see some work on it allowing for customization and whatnot, but it is there and its a start.

click on file properties in the action window and then stats are at the bottom of the next pane.

[Alex B]

Copy selected files by right clicking (Edit -> Copy) and paste to Excel (or other spreadsheet). Make graphs there.

I don't think MC has graphical statistics display plugin. (Yet?)

Edit

Make the fields you like to copy visible (in Customize Current View). It copies everything you can see.

[urlwolf]

there is a statistics section but it is a little minimalist at the moment.  It would be nice to see some work on it allowing for customization and whatnot, but it is there and its a start.

click on file properties in the action window and then stats are at the bottom of the next pane.

Yes, that's what I do, but I get only the files, artists, albums, file size, and duration. No reference to playcounts. And also, it's averaged if you select more than one file, not detailed.

[IlPadrino]

Export the data using the built-in Export Playlist or the better MC XML Export plugin.   You can then choose to create the graphs with Excel, Access, SVG/HTML, or something else.

Excel would be easy, but you'd need to adjust the graph every time you do a data transport or build the graph extra big.  Access might be nice and there's already a preset for MC XML Export that will help you get it in.  

SVG would be the best bet, but you'd need to learn it first and then write XSLT that goes from the exported data to HTML with embedded SVGs.  I once gave some thought to doing this, but it became a little disheartening to see no built-in MC support for doing the transformations.  Would JRiver add this, it would be a very slick ability indeed.  Imagine...  from within MC, select the data, export the XML, do the transform, save the transform, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, render the HTML within MC itself.

[paulr]

What would be really fantastic is if we could connect to the MC database with an external SQL front end.  That way you could just run queries against the live data any time you wanted.

[IlPadrino]

What would be really fantastic is if we could connect to the MC database with an external SQL front end.  That way you could just run queries against the live data any time you wanted.

Requested and responded to long ago...  if I remember correctly, it was an issue of licensing.  JRiver decided to use their own DBMS rather than license something exisitng.  I'm not sure why they didn't use something like SQLite.

And, yes, a way to externally connect to the database would be great.  Another product (which must remain nameless, else it'll get edited by JRiver) offers this feature and its great.  But at another $40, I can't see buying it just for a better Theater View.

[hit_ny]

SVG would be the best bet, but you'd need to learn it first and then write XSLT that goes from the exported data to HTML with embedded SVGs.

SVG needs an adobe plugin which only works with IE (i think)

To work in IE natively it would need to be done in VML (think thats right), which means no for any non-IE users out there.

[IlPadrino]

SVG would be the best bet, but you'd need to learn it first and then write XSLT that goes from the exported data to HTML with embedded SVGs.

SVG needs an adobe plugin which only works with IE (i think)

To work in IE natively it would need to be done in VML (think thats right), which means no for any non-IE users out there.

If I remember correctly, VML is a Microsoft standard that isn't supported by any other browser.  SVG is a W3C standard which has implementations for MSIE, Firefox, Opera, etc.

[hit_ny]

If I remember correctly, VML is a Microsoft standard that isn't supported by any other browser.  SVG is a W3C standard which has implementations for MSIE, Firefox, Opera, etc.

The web was always meant to be browser agnostic - in my humbe opinion, anyone who supports only MSIE is a close relative to lucifer!

Sure

Doesn't MC use IE to browse ?

..so if the graphics were done in SVG will it work in MC or does one need to fire up a browser seprately.

[JimH]

What would be really fantastic is if we could connect to the MC database with an external SQL front end.  That way you could just run queries against the live data any time you wanted.

Requested and responded to long ago...  if I remember correctly, it was an issue of licensing.  JRiver decided to use their own DBMS rather than license something exisitng.  I'm not sure why they didn't use something like SQLite.

No.  It is an issue of speed.  It's not about licensing.

[IlPadrino]

What would be really fantastic is if we could connect to the MC database with an external SQL front end.  That way you could just run queries against the live data any time you wanted.

Requested and responded to long ago...  if I remember correctly, it was an issue of licensing.  JRiver decided to use their own DBMS rather than license something exisitng.  I'm not sure why they didn't use something like SQLite.

No.  It is an issue of speed.  It's not about licensing.

I stand corrected.  But I've got to wonder:  How is it that in a field that has been around for more than three decades, JRiver was able to develop a faster DB engine than Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, or Sybase?

[JimH]

Scott,
Don't you have anything more important to do?

Jim

[IlPadrino]

Scott,
Don't you have anything more important to do?

Jim

Not this morning.

[CDvd]

How is it that in a field that has been around for more than three decades, JRiver was able to develop a faster DB engine than Oracle, Microsoft, IBM, or Sybase?

I't's perhaps because Oracle's DB engine can do "much more" things than the embeded one in your favorite media player. The bigger, the faster? not sure...

JimH : would it be feasible to allow users to interact in a closer way with the MC database? I mean not just refering to fields but allowing us to compute some results.
I'm thinking about someone that asked if he could substract 1 hour to the date field of some photos....

[IlPadrino]

If I remember correctly, VML is a Microsoft standard that isn't supported by any other browser.  SVG is a W3C standard which has implementations for MSIE, Firefox, Opera, etc.

The web was always meant to be browser agnostic - in my humbe opinion, anyone who supports only MSIE is a close relative to lucifer!

Sure

Doesn't MC use IE to browse ?

..so if the graphics were done in SVG will it work in MC or does one need to fire up a browser seprately.

I see your point about rendering the graphics from within MC.  But seeing as MC currently has no way of displaying the dynamic content, it's not really an issue.  Also, I'd think that the Adobe SVG plugin would work fine within MC.

If only I didn't have anything more important to do, I'd try a proof-of-concept with MC XML Export.  Maybe after I relocate to Ventura County (California)...

[hit_ny]

I see your point about rendering the graphics from within MC.  But seeing as MC currently has no way of displaying the dynamic content, it's not really an issue.  Also, I'd think that the Adobe SVG plugin would work fine within MC.

Exactly, VML would be quicker than SVG and would require nothing to install.

I was even thinking of flash.

But i'm not so familiar how MC would handle this. Is it possible for instance to have a few web pages that would display pretty graphs within MC. Maybe a way to create a list of links that would live on the hardrive.