MediaMonkey iTunes plugin (d_itunes4.dll)

[JW]

I was able to fix the issues I was having, although I only tested the play count with one song, played in iTunes and sync'd in MM with new updated playcount.

In case others have the same issue I had where the sync would "randomly" stop... this was due to non mp3 files. I converted all my non mp3s over by making a quick smart list to find all path/filenames without .mp3 in them. The auto convert feature does not work for this plugin so manual conversion is necessary (right, Mark?)

Anyways.. this is pretty great project, very well done, Mark and those who helped in his efforts.

-Josh

[nynaevelan]

How did you get your playcounts to work correctly from itunes??

[markstuartwalker]

It's really good to see everyone taking an interest. Thank you.

I stress that this is definitely NOT a finished project so I'm not surprised that many things fail and behave unexpectedly. Please bear with me to get them resolved. If a problem arises during a synchronisation then an exception will be raised and may or may not be reported to the screen. If it is not reported then all you will see that the progress bar prematurely vanishes and abruptly ends.

I am testing with 600+ tracks and get smooth progress throughout so I know it can work but variances in the way that each of organise ourselves results in different behaviours.

If things are not working as expected then please try to isolate the problem by trying fewer tracks or more simply named files. Report back to this thread with enough detail that I can rerun the same scenario under my debug mode and locate the problem in the code.

To answer a few of the above questions

* The plugin can be used alongside the script BUT only use the plugin as read-only. The reason for this is that information is put in the MM database to link the synchronised files in the 2 dayabases but it is done differently for the 2 mechanisms hence mixing the mechanisms will cause unexpected behaviour.
* Do not mix synchronisations of diffeent versions of plugins. Same reason as above. If you download a new version then clear the iTunes DB and start synchronising again.
* The plugin does NOT support file types conversions (wma->mp3) nor bit rate conversions (256kbps>128kbps). I'm working on this now - it is pretty easy to support.
* My test scenario is to use playlists in autosync mode because that is how I've always worked. Using the ad-hoc technique does work but I've tested it less so it may be less stable.
* I also have the focus of using the synched tracks to be further synched to my iPhone. Again others people have their own agendas.

I've put together some notes about usage which I'll insert here. Apologies for the brevity at present but this will turn into a help page eventually. If anyone is good at putting manual descriptions togther then please let me know and we can co-author something.

The driver ...
* allows transfer of tracks and playlists into iTunes according to the MM device plugin standards
* does bi-directional synchronisation of the playcount and ratings between the two systems
* allow browsing of the synchronised files through the MM tree browser
* updates synchronised playlists when MM playlists change (useful for auto playlists)
* compatible with all devices that synchronise to iTunes i.e. iPod, iTouch and iPhone

Known limitations ...
* New playlists are created within an <MM> folder in iTunes
* Deleted playlists have their content removed and are renamed to 'zzz'
* Only works with mp3 tracks
* Does not handle auto conversion e.g. wma->mp3 320bps->128bps etc.

Installation ...
* Download from http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=b7ee ... 6b9a6e1ed0
* Save into the c:\program files\MediaMonkey\Plugins folder and then restart MM.
* Go into Tools/Options/Portable Audio Devices and select the checkbox alongside 'iTunes'
* There will be an 'iTunes' device in the browser tree if iTunes is installed on the PC

Operation ...
* Configure the device by right-clicking icon and "Configure Device".
* Select the Artists/Playlists in the Music and Playlists tabs.
* Configure the device by right-clicking iTunes icon and "Autosync".
* It is also possible to send playlists and tracks adhoc by right-clicking and SendTo/iTunes(Synchronise).
* The iTunes icon in the browser tree can be expanded to see the content of iTunes withing MM.
* The selected playlists are sycnhronised into iTunes under a <MM> folder. The <MM> folder is the only place in iTunes that the plugin sees.
* If you wish for previously synchronised playlists to be removed from the <MM> folder then ensure the "Delete Track that aren't on the auto-sync list" switch.


Usage with iPod/iPhone synchronisation...
* Once tracks and playlists are synchronised into iTunes then iTunes can be used to synchronise to any supported device in the normal manner.
* The usual practice is to synchronise to an iPod/iPhone by playlists only i.e. not by genre,artist etc. If you do wish to synchronise an iPod/iPhone by (say) genre then create a playlist in MM to that effect and synchronise into iTunes
* All the synchronised playlists are put under an <MM> folder. This allows en-masse selection of all playlists to be sycnhronised to an iPod/iPhone. Playlists synchronised from MM are never actually deleted, they are emptied of tracks and renamed to be 'zzz'. When new playilsts are created the zzz 'empties' are renamed. This is so that if that playlist were synchronised then it's replacement is sycnhronised too.
* This plugin can work alongside manually added tracks in iTunes provided the track contents does not overlap.
* iTunes synchronises the iPod/iPhone<->iTunes playcounts and ratings. This plugin synchronises iTunes<-> similarly.

Working practice ...
* The removal of a track from a synchronised playlist does not remove that track from iTunes. Similarly This ensures that when playlists are operated upon then they operate quickly as the files are already present in iTunes.
* Do not rename playlists which are synchronised. This will create duplicates in iTunes.
* You can rename tracks which are synchronised.
* Playcounts and ratings are synchronised every time.
* Do not modify the iTunes contents manually as this can cause unexpected behaviour between the two systems.

Future...
* Stop re-copying existing files
* Type conversion support (wma->mp3 etc)
* Track numbers on playlist viewing
* Speed improvement upto original script standards

Cheers
Mark

[nynaevelan]

* Do not mix synchronisations of diffeent versions of plugins. Same reason as above. If you download a new version then clear the iTunes DB and start synchronising again.

Thanks for this, this might be where I was having most of my problems, of course I also was using both the script and plugin, so I will change my tests to only use the plugin.

[markstuartwalker]

Nyna

As usual the author always thinks that these things are obvious!

Mark

[markstuartwalker]

Hot off the presses a new version !!!! http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=b7ee ... 6b9a6e1ed0

9/1/2010
* Corrected icons for playlists node
11/1/2010
* Stop re-copying existing files
* Type conversion support (wma->mp3 etc)

As with all other versions, clear the iTunes DB before switching to this new version.

Cheers
Mark

[nynaevelan]

With this plugin my tracks are coming up with strange names:

[markstuartwalker]

With this plugin my tracks are coming up with strange names

... I never see this dialog box so I don't worry .... is it a problem?

[nynaevelan]

Not really but it did work in previous versions.

[markstuartwalker]

Actually it didn't - I had a bug which prevented the names of deleted files appearing at all.

The 16 digit hex is the iTunes internal file name which is one of the performance enhancements that I've added.

I've compromised - the name is now HHHHHHHHHHHHH <Title>.mp3

New version uploaded.

[nynaevelan]

I know it wasn't working to delete them but it was to show which tracks "should" be deleted.

[markstuartwalker]

Latest update in the usual place.

11/1/2010
* Stop re-copying existing files
* Type conversion support (wma->mp3 etc)
12/1/2010
* Rename of title in MM causes update in iTunes
* Internal names made (a little) more human readable
* Icon caption made 'iTunes <MM>'
* Playlist names are only collected from below <MM> folder

Regards
Mark

[nynaevelan]

Nothing is happening when I click on autosync, I tried with a new itunes library and an old one.

EDIT: I got it to work I do not know what was going on yesterday.

[rhaynes]

Hello everyone,

Ok, I just some how permanently deleted 50 albums from my library . I not sure what happened but I wrongly assumed that if I didn't touch anything in the library portion of the tree I wouldn't be able to delete files.

I'm going to try and find out what happened in case it's a bug or not so obvious user interface thing. Just wanted to give a heads up. All the bidirectional syncing seems a bit dangerous to me or at least in my hands it is.

I think the DLL has gotten a bit bloated for my use. I start at the very beginning of the thread (really about 2-3 threads ago) looking for a script or plugin that would create an iTunes index from the MM index, both using the same file library. I think I may go back to the script.


Ray Haynes
Oceanside, Ca

[nynaevelan]

This must be something that you did because I have been with this through the script as well as all the versions of the plugin and I have yet had it delete any physical files. As far as I know it does not delete any files.

And yes while this offers more functionality than the script it doesn't seem too bloated, yet.