Did some experimenting on the different methods. Here are some notes...
1) MC as Master
Method:
- from MC, create playlist of media wanted on the iPod
- from MC, create "folder" device and sync the iPod playlist to this folder
- from iTunes, load all media from folder created in previous step
- from iTunes, sync iPod with library
Advantages:
- continue to enjoy the superior browsing/searching power of MC for creating the iPod playlist
- MC library remains the sole master database for media
- no chance of iTunes changing tags in your master media files
Disadvantages:
- iTunes has really primitive library data management. If a file is deleted outside of iTunes (such as when you remove a song from the iPod playlist in MC and sync the folder) then iTunes does not report/notice this until you actually try to play the missing song (re-loading the folder does not remove the missing items). You have to manually remove the missing items from the iTunes library. One solution appears to be to empty the entire iTunes library and reload the sync folder from scratch. This wipes out the iTunes ratings, play stats, audiobook bookmarks, etc. which may be a big problem if you use these features. Note: further testing of file removal may result in a better workaround.
- syncing to a folder creates duplicates of the media files in your iPod playlist thus wasting some disk space
2) iTunes as Master
Method:
- using iTunes, load your entire media collection into the library
- using iTunes, create iPod playlist
- using iTunes, sync iPod to playlist created in previous step
Notes:
- I initially tried to setup my media root folder as a read-only share using Share and Net Use as discussed in the links above. This can be made to work but I struggled with setting permissions that made me confident that iTunes would be restricted to read-only. My uncertainty was caused by the fact that I have UAC off and run my user account as an Administrator. I wasn't sure if I needed to remove write permission from Administrators and worried about the possible irreversible problems caused by the change.
- As it turns out, it is not necessary to set media to read-only. I first went through all iTunes options and turned off anything that might modify tags or filenames. I then imported all of my media into iTunes, fooled around for a while, and then confirmed that iTunes did not change any of my media. I also confirmed that if you edit tags in iTunes, it does change the file. So provided that options are set correctly, and you are careful not to edit tags, it appears to be safe to load media into iTunes.
Advantages:
- maintains all of the iTunes features like ratings, play stats, bookmarks, etc.
- avoids having to rebuild thumbnails everytime you change your iPod playlist
- avoids wasted disk space
Disadvantages:
- must use iTunes to edit iPod playlist
- when adding new media, must remember to add it to both MC and iTunes libraries
A few other comments on iTunes...
- I loaded 60,000 songs into iTunes and was very pleasantly surprised by the performance
- iTunes browsing speed (I think) is better than MC
- iTunes application startup/exit time is slower than MC
- MC has much better support of various audio formats
- iTunes has no support for document file types
- iTunes compilation (multi-artist album) support is really bad
In general, MC blows iTunes out of the water on everything except ease of use for people who only want/need basic features and/or have no clue and do not care about anything technical. Put another way, MC is the best choice for my son and tech friends. iTunes is probably the best choice for my wife, mother, relatives, and non-tech friends.
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Topic: iTunes/iPod Touch question - how to ensure media is not modified (Read 1864 times)