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[AudioBorg]

I have recently moved from WinAmp to MC and am totally thrilled with the features, performance, etc. so far. One of the features that sold me was the ability to manage multiple libraries. Can playlists be created that span across multiple libraries? If so, is there any delay when the playlist moves from a track in one library to another?

Thanks!

[MrC]

Playlists are per-library.  You can export/import.

Most users find a single library to be the way to go.  Before going down the multi-library track, can you describe what you're trying to accomplish?

[AudioBorg]

The reason I like the multiple library approach is that I have both FLAC and MP3 versions of most of my collection. FLAC for critical listening and MP3 for my iPod. But it's not 1 to 1 as I also have numerous singles and albums that are only MP3 format.

I have each format type stored on its own HDD and organized by artist/album. My plan was to create 2 libraries in MC, FLAC Music and MP3 Music. I could then simply point MC to the root folder on each HDD for each library and be done - for the most part. If I only use a single library I will have to manage the dups (albums/singles with both FLAC and MP3 versions) myself - which I really have no desire to do.
I have created playlists in the past using WinAmp that included both FLAC and MP3 files - but never imported any of my collection into the WinAmp database. When I read about MC supporting multiple libraries I was hopeful that I could create playlists that spanned them.

Any suggestions or other methods I might be able to accomplish what I'm looking to do?

[ckewinjones]

I am still a relative newbie to Media Center, but I believe that the thing to do is to keep all of your media in a single library at the highest quality format available.  MC will then transcode on-the-fly to whatever format a particular device can handle.

In my case most of my music is MP3 because when I captured it back in the day it was intended for an iPod.  But all of the newer music that I have ripped since becoming an MC user is stored in lossless APE format.  I use JRiver's Gizmo app on my Android phone for remote listening; MC transcodes my APE files to MP3 when streaming them to the phone.  Similarly, when I export files to iTunes on my wife's laptop, MC transcodes them to MP3.

So my advice is keep all your files in a single library, in FLAC format where you have it and in MP3 format where you don't.  Then export or stream to whatever environment you want and Media Center will take care of the format.

More experienced MC users can no doubt correct any mistakes on my part and advise you of the details of how to set things up.

[wig]

The reason I like the multiple library approach is that I have both FLAC and MP3 versions of most of my collection. FLAC for critical listening and MP3 for my iPod. But it's not 1 to 1 as I also have numerous singles and albums that are only MP3 format.

I have each format type stored on its own HDD and organized by artist/album. My plan was to create 2 libraries in MC, FLAC Music and MP3 Music. I could then simply point MC to the root folder on each HDD for each library and be done - for the most part. If I only use a single library I will have to manage the dups (albums/singles with both FLAC and MP3 versions) myself - which I really have no desire to do.
I have created playlists in the past using WinAmp that included both FLAC and MP3 files - but never imported any of my collection into the WinAmp database. When I read about MC supporting multiple libraries I was hopeful that I could create playlists that spanned them.

Any suggestions or other methods I might be able to accomplish what I'm looking to do?

Have you looked at stacks? It lets you have both a FLAC and an MP3 version in your library, but collapses them into one 'appearance'.

http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Stacks

http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=63240.0