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[LeoH]

I have found a conflict between AudibleManager and MC9 while using the iPod for both. Maybe I did not read something, somewhere but was wondering if there is a fix. The problem is outlined as follows:

The software environment is:

Media Center 9.0.179
iPod plug-in 9.0.22
Audible Manager ver 4.0
iPod Software 2.0, Updater ver 2.0
iPod 'enable disk mode' is active (checked), 'current home application' is disabled.
WindowsXP

Hardware is:

Toshiba Satellite 5205-S704, using four-wire, built-in 1394 port on laptop
iPod is latest 30GB version

The following steps revealed the problem:

(1) Initialized iPod with iPod updater (just for good measure).
(2) Ran Media Center, formatted iPod by right click on iPod drive letter in 'CD, DVD, & Handhelds'.
(3) Uploaded a few albums.
(4) All uploads appeared under iPod's drive letter (E:) in 'CD, DVD, & Handhelds' section of MC9.
(5) Ejected iPod via MC9
(6) Disconnected iPod from laptop, played a few tracks to confirm transfer was okay.
(7) Reconnected iPod and ran AudibleManager, uploaded a few titles to iPod,
(8) Exited AudibleManager
(9) Ejected via Apple system tray iPod utility.
(10) Disconnected from laptop, played titles to confirm transfer was okay.
(11) Re-connected to laptop, ran Media Center.

Problems that emerged:
1.      Navigated to 'CD, DVD, & Handhelds'
2.      Clicked on drive letter of iPod ('E:' in my case)
3.      Got empty dialog box pop-up from MC9 with no text in main panel, just a red 'X' and an 'OK' button and a broken title: 'hh_p...' in the title bar of the pop-up.
4.      Clicking 'OK' cleared pop-up until iPod drive letter was touched (right or left click) then pop-up reappeared as above.
5.      Previous uploads from MC9 no longer visible in MC9.
6.      Audible uploads not visible in MC9
7.             Uploading from MC9 to iPod no longer possible.
8.             AudibleManager can still upload to iPod.

When iPod was ejected, contents still displayed and played on the iPod. So, there seems to be an obvious conflict between MC9 and AudibleManager. Though MC9 can import and play Audible titles, it cannot download to the iPod (not authorized DRM agent?) so the two programs need to coexist to share access to the iPod. Can anything be done to fix this. Thanks.


-LeoH

[mindracing]

You are spot on with this excellent problem description.

I found exactly the same situation.

I have now uninstalled everythiing Audible and the iPOD manager.

It would be great if the 2 could co-exist.

Did you notice any slowing down/stalling of the iPOD when listening to/selecting/de-selecting the Audible files?

I found that the performance decreased dramatically and had a couple of screen freezes.

Why is it necessary to use Audible Manager to sync the files? If they could just be copied to the iPOD it would be simpler.

I also found that when attempting to delete an Audible file from within Audible Manager it would delete the last file in the list, not the one you wanted.

MC 9.179
30G iPOD 2.0

[SteveG]

LeoH,

Could you repeat your test and then if MC crashes when you reconnect, can you send me your iTunesDB file from your iPod (Drive Letter:\iPod_Control\iTunes)?

This will give me some information as to what is going on.

Thanks,

steve @ jriver.com

[mindracing]

LeoH,

How do you play AA files from within MC?

When I double click an AA file I get a message saying "Please select file to play!"

It then asks if I want to download Real Player.

[LeoH]

One more thing, there was no startup delay in playing Audible titles on the iPod.

[SteveG]

Everyone using iPod and Audible....

After some testing, it is clear to me that it is not possible to alternate between using Audible Manager and MC to transfer Audible files to the iPod. I would recommend only using MC. If there are reasons to use Audible Manager instead, please let me know and I will come up with a solution.

Mindracing,

Install RealPlayer and you will be able to play .aa files and transfer them to the iPod.

Steve

[mindracing]

Thanks for the tips.
I uploaded a AA book to the iPOD (30G 2.0) using MC and it plays.

What is a concern however is the the iPOD button reation slows dramatically after I play the file.

Remove it and all is fine.

Also, the iPOD is not remembering the last heard position of the book - it always starts from the beginning. If I use Audible Manager to transfer the file it does remember the last played position.

Is anyone else experiencing this?

[SteveG]

mindracing,

After you transfer an Audible file using Audible Manager, go to your iPod_Controls file on your IPOD and tell me what files you see in your iTunes folder. Anything in addition to iTunesBackup, iTunesDB, iTunesPrefs and winPrefs?

Steve

[mindracing]

Steve,

I have 3 files:

iTunesDB
iTunesbackup
Play Counts

Hope that helps.

[SteveG]

Mindracing,

I see a place in the database where it can remember where in the file to start playing.  When you are playing a file and stop, the firmware on iPod would be responsible to write to this field.  If you upload some files with Audible Manager and this feature works, try playing a file and stopping it in the middle and then send me your iTunesDB file. If you tell me which file to look for, I can try to figure this out.

Thanks,

Steve (steve @ jriver.com)