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Author Topic: podcasts, sub media type, syncing  (Read 1963 times)

alief

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podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« on: July 04, 2012, 10:39:12 pm »

A few questions about podcasts, syncing, etc.  This is all really alien to me - esp the expression itself so please use small words. 

MEDIA SUB TYPE:   Is there a way to force the Media Sub Type to be "Podcast" for my podcasts when I download them?  Some automatically wind up with Podcast in that field but many are blank and I update manually.  I thought I might find Media Sub Type under the Set Tag Properties that I use when I subscribe to a podcast but it's not one of the options there.

FREQUENCY:  Subscriptions put out episodes daily or weekly or sporadically.  I only download the episodes I want so I wind up looking through each subscription every few days (I can't remember the frequency so I have to check them all).  How else might I manage this?  I would love to put all the subscriptions with daily eps at the top of the Organization Tree, then the weeklies, then the others but it doesn't look like I can customize the order of the tree.  I wound up editing the Feed Names to go "Daily -  Fresh Air"  "Weekly - Bill Maher" "Occasionally - Dan Carlin" (which affects the folder names too) but wondered what others do.

EXPRESSION:  After much searching and cursing, I think I've worked out the expression I need to sync my music + audiobooks + podcasts into their respective folders on my device.  Could you just have a look to see if I've made any obvious errors?
If(IsEqual([Media sub Type],Podcast),Podcasts\[Album]\,)If(IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Audiobook),Audiobooks\[Album]\,)Music\[ Artist]\[Album])\

Thanks for any help.
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alief

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2012, 12:57:37 pm »

bump
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alief

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #2 on: July 13, 2012, 07:44:15 pm »

Can someone please help me with this? 
If I haven't spelled out the issue well or if I have posted in the wrong place, please educate me about that.
I want to be a pro-active forum user.
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Matt

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #3 on: July 13, 2012, 07:50:47 pm »

MEDIA SUB TYPE:   Is there a way to force the Media Sub Type to be "Podcast" for my podcasts when I download them?  Some automatically wind up with Podcast in that field but many are blank and I update manually.  I thought I might find Media Sub Type under the Set Tag Properties that I use when I subscribe to a podcast but it's not one of the options there.

This should happen automatically.

Could you post a URL to a Podcast that isn't set to 'Podcast' in Media Sub Type after a download?

Thanks.
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Matt Ashland, JRiver Media Center

alief

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2012, 06:23:00 pm »

Matt, I've attached a screen snapshot.  I couldn't work out how to insert an image.
I created a view just for podcasts (as well as separate ones for music and audiobooks) which populates based on Media Subtype.  If the Media Subtype for my podcasts doesn't automatically have 'podcast' they wind up in my Music view.  

Updated:  Oh no.  I've created a mess with my expression for storing audio files on my handheld.  I thought I had worked it out using the above expression but I just synced some podcasts and now have
     Podcast > album name > Music > Artist > album name again with a ) at the end so
     Sansa Clip Zip 4GB\External uSD Card\PODCASTS\BBC  Friday News Quiz\Music\BBC\BBC  Friday News Quiz)
What I've been trying to get to is having podcasts sync under Podcasts > Album > Episode Name, audiobooks sync under Audiobooks > Album and finally have music sync under Music > Artist > Album > Track Name.
Could you help me figure out where I've gone wrong?
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alief

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2012, 05:45:42 pm »

bump.
Can someone help me with this?
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MrC

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2012, 06:18:44 pm »

Maybe you're trying for something more like this:

Code: [Select]
IfElse(
  IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Podcast),     Podcasts,
  IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Audiobook),  Audiobooks,
  1,                                                  Music\[ Artist]
)\[Album]

Remove the newlines to place it into certain edit fields:
Code: [Select]
IfElse(IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Podcast), Podcasts, IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Audiobook), Audiobooks, 1, Music\[ Artist])\[Album]
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alief

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2012, 02:29:09 am »

Hi MrC, thanks for you help here.  I tried to use your formula but perhaps didn't get it clear. I wound up with folders named "IfElse(IsEqual([Media Sub Type]".

I've got things sorted out so that anything w/ Media Sub Type as Podcast goes into a folder called PODCAST
and anything else goes into a folder called MUSIC.
This is what I used:     if(isequal([Media Sub Type],Podcast,1),PODCASTS\[Album],MUSIC\[Album Artist (auto)]\[Album])\

However, I am not able to get a 3rd instruction in there and I create chaos whenever I try.
I would like anything w/ Media Sub Type Audiobook to go into a folder called AUDIOBOOKS [Album Artist (auto)]\[Album] but when I follow what I believe the sequence should be, I wind up with whole separate folder "0" or a folder called "1".

Any insights there?  I am at the end of my rope trying to write this sequence.  I am so close to just chucking the whole thing.  I've spent hours and hours trying to work out the exact structure.

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MrC

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2012, 02:51:53 am »

Let's step back.  Where exactly are you placing your expression?
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alief

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2012, 03:47:28 pm »

Just to make sure we are on the same page - this problem is related to syncing to my device -  a Sansa Clip Zip, if that matters.
Also, I am using Media Center v.15

(I had outlined a few other small issues I am having with regarding podcasts - Media Sub Types not always defaulting to podcast, managing Frequency, etc - but those issues are pretty minor compared to this one. I'm really hoping we can get this one worked out.)



So, to answer your question - I am putting the instruction in Tools > Options > Handheld > Files, Paths & More > Audio Path: 
               if(isequal([Media Sub Type],Podcast,1),PODCASTS\[Album],MUSIC\[Album Artist (auto)]\[Album])\
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MrC

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #10 on: August 27, 2012, 01:11:01 pm »

There are three areas at work here:

 1. location on the PC of newly downloaded podcasts
 2. location on the HH for sync'd podcasts
 3. general location for newly created audio files (non-podcast)

Number 1 is controlled by Directory and Filename location in the Podcast Tag and File Renaming Rules in the Podcasts feed settings.  Unfortunately, this is an older interface, and the input fields do not support expressions.  Only the pre-defined fields are supported (see the pull downs in the dialog).

Number 2 is generally controlled by the HH settings in Options > Handheld > File, Paths & More > Audio Path.  But I believe for certain devices, such as Sanza, either the device or MC overrides and places certains types of files (such as podcasts) in internally defined locations.  I don't know enough about the various devices to give better info here for your device.

Number 3 otherwise controls the placement/naming of files of a given type created by MC (e.g. ripping, Renaming, etc.).  This setting does not override numbers 1 and 2 above.

The original expression you were using works in the two cases, because they are mutually exclusive (media sub type is either one or the other).  But the expression was not doing what you wanted, simply because the ELSE portion of your IFs were empty, and instead placed *outside* the IF statement.  To nest IF statements, ensure the TRUE or FALSE cases are entirely contained within the IF statement.  Eg:

   if(condition,
       true case,
       false case
   )

where nesting would be:

     if(condition1,
       true case,
       if(else_condition,
          true case,
          false case
       )

   )

so ultimately you want something like:

    if(IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Podcast),
       PODCASTS\[Album],
       if(IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Audiobook),
          AUDIOBOOKS\[Album Artist (auto)]\[Album],
          MUSIC\[Album Artist (auto)]\[Album])\
       )
    )

However, you must remove the newlines I added above (for clarity) in certain expression edit areas such as the HH's file location (it uses an *older* expression editor interface that does not support newlines):

if(IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Podcast), PODCASTS\[Album], if(IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Audiobook), AUDIOBOOKS\[Album Artist (auto)]\[Album], MUSIC\[Album Artist (auto)]\[Album]))

Alternatively, I provided a working IfElse chain.  Try any of these in an expression column to test.

Regarding the issue with given podcasts not having Media Sub Type set, can you give more details so that someone can duplicate the issue?  This should always be set with using the podcast feed interface and MC downloads as per feed instructions.  It won't be set automatically if you use MC or some other tool to download manually.

As for organizing by frequency, you can construct a view that displays the podcast downloads in any fashion you want.  I have a Downloaded Audio view under Audio, that shows organized downloaded audio such as Podcasts, MC Scheduler downloads, or other things I've placed there.  Would this work?
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alief

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Re: podcasts, sub media type, syncing
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2012, 09:10:47 pm »

Success!  The expression you wrote managed to get each of the 3 Media Sub Types into their respective places on my device. 
Podcasts are under the PODCAST folder, Audiobooks under the AUDIOBOOK folder and Music under, you guessed it, the MUSIC folder.
     if(IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Podcast), PODCASTS\[Album], if(IsEqual([Media Sub Type],Audiobook), AUDIOBOOKS\[Album Artist (auto)]\[Album], MUSIC\[Album Artist (auto)]\[Album]))

I'm on a project and then out of town until mid-Sept.  I'll have to wait until I come back for any further experimenting on my other 2 issues.  Then, I'll see if I can recreate my missing media sub-type for podcasts and work up some different views to help me manage frequency.  First, I'll re-read your notes, search the forum a bit more and then tackle those other issues.

I can't thank you enough. I truly had spent hours trying to work out the expression and was at the end of my rope.  Your help is greatly appreciated.
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