MonkeySqueeze V3.3

[Gingernut63]

Hi Gingernut-

Qualified success! I'm now able to create a playlist in MM and have music tracks appear in the LMS. The only caveat is that I must do a global search-and-replace in notepad after I've exported the file to the vortexbox. As shown below, I'm replacing all instances of "\\VORTEXBOX\files\music" with "..". As you suggested, the presence of windows-style backslashes is not problematic.

Prior to search and replace: \\VORTEXBOX\files\music\flac\<album>\<song>.flac

After search and replace: ..\flac\<album>\<song>.flac

I investigated how to export a playlist from MM with the relative pathname "..\flac\...", but could not identify an approach in MM. I''m not sure one exists. I did find a relative pathname option for Portable/Audio Devices (at bottom of the options page), but - as expected - enabling that option has no impact on the "File->Export Playlist" operation I'm doing. I suppose the underlying question to answer is how would I get my Pathnames to read "..\flac\..." rather than \\VORTEXTBOX\... but I can see that'd be a problem because MM would have no idea where the music is on the network.

So, unless I hear otherwise, I'll assume that I simply need to do a quick search and replace after exporting the playlist. This is perfectly acceptable since it literally takes an extra 10 seconds and we'll not be exporting playlists all the time. After we get an initial set defined, we'll create playlists every couple of day (or even weeks).

Thanks again for the information you've provided throughout.

Patrick

Fantastic that you have it working, however I don't need to edit the m3u file if I export to the network address of the Playlist folder.

1. Highlight the tracks in the Now Playing window
2. Select File > Export to Playlist
3. Save As > Network > Server > Music > Playlists. Where Playlists is a subfolder of the main music folder
4. MM automatically formats the track addresses in the m3u file to ..\Pop - Rock\<Artist>\<Artist> - <Album>\<Artist> - <Track> <Title>.flac. Where Pop - Rock is a subfolder of the main music folder

Interested to know what occurs on your system when you save this way. Maybe you have already done this but I've misread the details. Sorry for being pedantic but if I can nail this down then it will be helpful for the future.

Either way you have it working, that is the main thing. Hope MonkeySqueeze improves your listening experience.

Cheers
Gingernut63

[pcmoan]

Hi Gingernut-

The step you provided are in fact what I did in the previous cases. I see your request to clarify what's going on as being helpful than being pedantic, so no worries here.

The difference in behavior seems to be that in your case MM constructs relative pathnames in the M3U file while in my case it constructs full pathnames using \\VORTEXBOX\files\music\flac\. Every track listed in MM starts with this pathname as well. When I scan music into the library, use MM's "Add/Rescan Folders" to navigate to "Network->WORKGROUP->VORTEXBOX->files->music->flac". As a result all tracks in the library start with "\\VORTEXBOX\files\music\flac\" and this same structure is present in all M3U entries.

When working through the issues with MonkeySqueeze, I tried scanning from a mapped drive, but had no success with getting MonkeySqueeze working with a mapped drive. This led me to try using the approach above (which explains why my MonkeySqueeze options use and UNC style address rather than a mapped drive.

I recall your previous posting in which you said you had been successful in generating relative pathnames when you NAS was a linux/unix box. If this was not the case, then I'd think my inability to generate relative paths had something to do with my accessing a linux NAS (vs. a WHS such as yours).

I'm stumped at this point, but as mentioned previous, the net result is that I have to execute a 10 second search and replace to generate the relative pathnames. I can also get the LMS to recognize the playlists if I use the full linux pathname of "/storage/files/music/flac/".

So what do you think? Any other options to try of shall we put this dog to bed? I'm good with experimenting further if you've got any other tests to execute.

Thanks again for all you assistance here. It's been a very positive experience on my end and I really appreciate the functionality you've provide with MonkeySqueeze.

Patrick

[Gingernut63]

Thanks for the clarification Patrick. Weird behaviour. I have quite a few saved playlists created when using the Linux NAS that have the ..\Pop - Rock addressing so it is not just limited to the WHS system. Also, there doesn't appear to be any settings for this in MediaMonkey that I can see. From your perspective we can put this one to bed however I'll probably do a bit more research. Perhaps a Moderator would like to comment?

Anyway thanks again. Feel free to drop by anytime if you have any further queries.

Cheers
Gingernut63

[pcmoan]

Hi Gingernut-

Yes, if per chance either you or a moderator discover something more, I'd be very interested. Thanks again for everything. Will drop by again with any questions etc.

Regards,
Patrick

[Gingernut63]

Hi Patrick

After stepping back from the coal face it suddenly became obvious how the different m3u files are created, at least this is what occurs on my system which has LMS installed on a server and MediaMonkey installed on separate PCs.

If you select "File > Export to Playlists" the "Save As" window opens to the file location of the first track in the playlist. The file location address is dependent on the address of the scanned music folders in MediaMonkey. If you scanned from the network address then it opens to the network address of the file. If you scanned via a mapped drive then it opens to the mapped drive address of the file. If you save to the location as suggested by the "Save As" window or any location below the parent music folder, then the music file addresses in the m3u file will be ..\sub-folder\<Artist>\<Album>\<Title>, the double-dots reference the parent directory or folder, in my case "Music". I save my playlists to "Playlists" a sub-folder of "Music". If you decide to save via a different path, say the scanned directory in MediaMonkey is the mapped address and you save to the same location via the network directory then the music file addresses in the m3u file will have the full path of the file e.g. X:\Music\sub-folder\<Artist>\<Album>\<Title>. Note: The full path is not the network addressing as expected but the full path of the mapped drive address.

LMS or Squeezebox devices can read the m3u files that have the ..\ prefix for the music file addresses, provided Squeezebox and MediaMonkey are referencing the same music starting at the same parent directory or folder, in my case "Music". It is helpful that the "Playlists Folder" in LMS > Settings > Basic Settings is the same playlists folder that MediaMonkey accesses.

Creating m3u playlists in MediaMonkey with the ..\ prefix is the preferred approach if you wish the Squeezebox system to read the same playlists or wish to use the same playlists in another location. I take my music to work on an external hard drive. On the hard drive I keep the same folder/file structure for my music files as I do at home i.e. Music\sub-folder\<Artist>\<Album>\<Title>. This enables me to use the playlists created at home at work on MediaMonkey as the m3u files only list the address of the music files starting below the parent folder "Music". I presume the programmers of MediaMonkey have taken the approach of creating ..\ addresses for maximum use of the m3u files as described above.

Note: This issue would not be so involved if MediaMonkey and LMS were on the same PC.

I'll be interested in your feedback.

Gingernut63

[Lowlander]

You may want to check out the Export M3Us/Playlists for Child Nodes addons which can modify paths in exported M3U's: http://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewto ... child+node

[Gingernut63]

Cheers, I'll check it out.

Gingernut63

[pcmoan]

Hi Gingenut-

My thoughts follow your comments below.

After stepping back from the coal face it suddenly became obvious how the different m3u files are created, at least this is what occurs on my system which has LMS installed on a server and MediaMonkey installed on separate PCs.

Yes, this is the same as my situation.

If you select "File > Export to Playlists" the "Save As" window opens to the file location of the first track in the playlist. The file location address is dependent on the address of the scanned music folders in MediaMonkey. If you scanned from the network address then it opens to the network address of the file. If you scanned via a mapped drive then it opens to the mapped drive address of the file.

All consistent with my understanding and experience with MM.

If you save to the location as suggested by the "Save As" window or any location below the parent music folder, then the music file addresses in the m3u file will be ..\sub-folder\<Artist>\<Album>\<Title>, the double-dots reference the parent directory or folder, in my case "Music".

This is where my experience differs for yours for some reason. On the vortexbox, my parent music folder is /storage/files/music. (Note: Here I am specifying the actual directory on the linux-based vortexbox rather than the UNC address). Folders that are subordinate to this are “flac”, “mp3”, “playlist” and “wav”. I save the M3U file to the “playlist” folder and MM always generates a full pathname rather than the relative pathname in the manner you describe above. What you say above makes complete sense; it’s just that MM is behaving differently in my case.

I save my playlists to "Playlists" a sub-folder of "Music".

Exactly. I’m doing the same thing. I store to /storage/files/music/playlist.

If you decide to save via a different path, say the scanned directory in MediaMonkey is the mapped address and you save to the same location via the network directory then the music file addresses in the m3u file will have the full path of the file e.g. X:\Music\sub-folder\<Artist>\<Album>\<Title>. Note: The full path is not the network addressing as expected but the full path of the mapped drive address.

This is an area of uncertainty for me. I do not recall where MM first suggested that I store the M3U file. I seem to remember that I had to explicitly navigate to the Vortexbox (via the Save As dialog) to select /storage/files/music/playlist. (but of course using the UNC equivalent on the windows box).

LMS or Squeezebox devices can read the m3u files that have the ..\ prefix for the music file addresses, provided Squeezebox and MediaMonkey are referencing the same music starting at the same parent directory or folder, in my case "Music".

This is consistent with my experience. My M3U files only have relative paths and the LMS picks them up just fine.

It is helpful that the "Playlists Folder" in LMS > Settings > Basic Settings is the same playlists folder that MediaMonkey accesses.

On my vortexbox, the “Playlist Folder” (via Basic Settings) is set to “/storage/music/playlist”. I’m not exactly sure how LMS works but I cannot write to that folder. LMS only gives me write permission for content under/storage/files. I assume that when the LMS is reading files under /storage/music, it’s referencing links back to files under /storage/files/music. Not sure why it’s done this way… I cannot access /storage/music/playlist directly from MM. When I try, VortexBox denies me access. This is consistent with documentation I’ve reviewed.

Creating m3u playlists in MediaMonkey with the ..\ prefix is the preferred approach if you wish the Squeezebox system to read the same playlists or wish to use the same playlists in another location. I take my music to work on an external hard drive. On the hard drive I keep the same folder/file structure for my music files as I do at home i.e. Music\sub-folder\<Artist>\<Album>\<Title>. This enables me to use the playlists created at home at work on MediaMonkey as the m3u files only list the address of the music files starting below the parent folder "Music". I presume the programmers of MediaMonkey have taken the approach of creating ..\ addresses for maximum use of the m3u files as described above.

This makes complete sense to me. Relative pathnames equate to portable playlists, which is what I don’t seem to be able to produce. What’s very interesting is that within the LMS web interface, I’m able to change the location of the playlist folder on the basic settings page. When I click the browse button the subordinate folder named “files” under storage (i.e. /storage/files) isn’t even listed as an option in the folder selection tree. When running, the LMS on the vortexbox apparently doesn’t want to know about anything under /storage/files/music. /storage/files/music is the parent folder that I must use from within MM to copy over files and write playlists, but operationally, LMS only knows about /storage/music. I assume there is a link (as in linux “ln” linking) between /storage/files/music and /storage/music.

I’ll have some time in a bit to look at what Lowlander provided and see if I can address this problem. If I’m successful, I’ll circle back to let you know what I learned.

Best,
Patrick

[royalsolo]

Hi Gingernut,

we spoke earlier in this thread about my problems with the monkeysqueeze playback.

I tried to reproduce the error: It often occurs if I edit some of the files in the playlist (i.e. rate or rename). It surely messes up the playlist if i delete a file out of it. A resync does not seem to happen.

From the point the "M out of range" stuff occurs the displayed title playing in mm will be another than the one on the box. Even if i turn the plugin of an on, even if I empty the playlist and fill it up again the syncing on the following tracks will not work.

The only solution the is to close mm and start again.

Am I the only one experiencing that? Maybe my mm is messed up?

cheers
royalsolo

[Gingernut63]

Hi Gingernut,

we spoke earlier in this thread about my problems with the monkeysqueeze playback.

I tried to reproduce the error: It often occurs if I edit some of the files in the playlist (i.e. rate or rename). It surely messes up the playlist if i delete a file out of it. A resync does not seem to happen.

From the point the "M out of range" stuff occurs the displayed title playing in mm will be another than the one on the box. Even if i turn the plugin of an on, even if I empty the playlist and fill it up again the syncing on the following tracks will not work.

The only solution the is to close mm and start again.

Am I the only one experiencing that? Maybe my mm is messed up?

cheers
royalsolo

Sorry for the delay in responding have been caught up with work and other projects.

Haven't progressed this issue, other things are taking precedence. You are correct, every time the error appears you will have to restart MM otherwise MonkeySqueeze will not function correctly not matter what you do to rectify the issue.

There are a few things that need to be addressed in the script, and I'll need input from others to fix or add them in. At this stage there is only me, so any major improvements will not occur until I can entice someone to assist.

[MisterZ]

Hi,

I tried Monkeysqueeze on my laptop with my MP's on my laptov harddrive.
It worked flawmlessly.
I then tried it with my NAS, a Synology 211J.
DSM 4.1
LMS 7.7.2
I can't get it to work.
The music is sorted in multiple folders:
M:\MP3
M:\MP3 - Soundtrack
M:\MP3 - Verzamelaars
on my NAS:
/volume1/MP3
/volume1/MP3 - Soundtrack
/volume1/MP3 - Verzamelaars

So far I only added the following in the settings:
Media Monkey Music Folder: "M:\MP3"
LMS Media Folder: "/volume1/MP3" (copied from LMS settings)

How should I enter multiple folders?

I've tried everything from addin a slash to on or both paths, adding the name of the nas "NASTORIX/volume1/MP3",...
nothing seems to work.
When I've started Monkey Squeeze, I'm unable to shut down Media Monkey.

[Gingernut63]

Hi,

I tried Monkeysqueeze on my laptop with my MP's on my laptov harddrive.
It worked flawmlessly.
I then tried it with my NAS, a Synology 211J.
DSM 4.1
LMS 7.7.2
I can't get it to work.
The music is sorted in multiple folders:
M:\MP3
M:\MP3 - Soundtrack
M:\MP3 - Verzamelaars
on my NAS:
/volume1/MP3
/volume1/MP3 - Soundtrack
/volume1/MP3 - Verzamelaars

So far I only added the following in the settings:
Media Monkey Music Folder: "M:\MP3"
LMS Media Folder: "/volume1/MP3" (copied from LMS settings)

How should I enter multiple folders?

I've tried everything from addin a slash to on or both paths, adding the name of the nas "NASTORIX/volume1/MP3",...
nothing seems to work.
When I've started Monkey Squeeze, I'm unable to shut down Media Monkey.

First of all MonkeySqueeze will only work with one folder. My suggestion is to create one folder for your music i.e. /volume1/Music, and then place the other three folders under it. Then direct MediaMonkey, LMS and MonkeySqueeze to it. You can access via a mapped drive (as per user guide) or use the network addressing e.g. //NASTORIX/volume1/Music.

Second check the following settings:

IP Address: Should be the address of the NAS e.g. 192.168.1.100 (LMS web page > Settings > Information Tab).
HTTP Port No: For a Synology NAS this can be 9002 (LMS web page > Settings > Information Tab).
LMS is prior to v7.5.1: Should Not be selected
MediaMonkey Music Folder: This is the address used in MediaMonkey to access the music on the NAS. Check the address in MediaMonkey > File > Add/Rescan files or check the path under music details. Obviously the addresses will change if you place them under the Music folder as suggested.
LMS Media Folder: The setting you show above is the correct format. Obviously the addresses will change if you place them under the Music folder as suggested.

One other point, for MonkeySqueeze to communicate with LMS, the NAS must use the same IP address all the time. If the router assigns a new address at each start up then the device will require a static IP address. Please review your routers documentation for instructions if this is an issue.

Let me know how you get on.
Gingernut63

[MisterE]

Hi,

I had to rescan after moving the three folders to one main folder.
But it didn't work.
Moreover, I can't shut Media Monkey down.

[Gingernut63]

Hi,

I had to rescan after moving the three folders to one main folder.
But it didn't work.
Moreover, I can't shut Media Monkey down.

The rescan is required when changes are made to the location of the music. Don't know why MediaMonkey won't shut down.

I'm afraid you'll have to be more explicit regarding "it didn't work". That statement covers a multitude of issues. Follow the instructions below to work out where the problem is.

To test the communications play some music on your main Squeezebox device. In MediaMonkey load/place different music in the Now Playing window, select play and then enable MonkeySqueeze. If everything is OK the music playing on the SB device/LMS will stop and be replaced by the music in MediaMonkey . If the music stops on the device/LMS but is not replaced by the MediaMonkey music then your comms are working but there is an error with one of the music library parameters . If the music continues to play on the device then the comms are not working at all .

[MisterE]

Thanks for the reply.
everything works now.
I had a new cable modem installed and didn't need my router anymore.
Other than that, I had to change some IP's but basically I didn't change that much to my configuration.
There is, however, a 25 sec lag when starting a song or skipping to the next song.
I guess this is due to my Synology 211J being too slow.
I read somewhere that it's a bit too light for LMS.
I'm thinking about upgrading to a more powerfull NAS.

Thanks for all the efforts.

Kind regards,

Geert