Rug Burn Junky on 21/2/2006 at 20:33
Quote Posted by doctorfrog
iTunes, and I'm guessing many other music management programs, create a different library for each user account in Windows XP. So there isn't any need for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang to get mixed in with Cop Killa unless you all use the same user account.
On the other hand, "Step In Time" is the JAM.
Yeah, I know, that problem came up more often when we were sharing the same
ipod for use in our car than anything else.
One weekend of chitty chitty bang bang and I went out and bought my own ipod that Monday.
To be honest, I'd have forgone an ipod entirely, but because it's so ubiquitous, it's the only one that they make a decent car stereo integration kit for. Outside of driving, I only use it, or itunes for that matter, for podcasts at this point.
Stitch on 21/2/2006 at 20:55
Quote Posted by Aja
You can download normalization and gapless playback plugins for winamp. They work fairly well, and unlike Foobar you don't need a degree in software engineering to install them.
I think you and Trevor missed the part where I asked for these features in
itunes. I realize you're just trying to be helpful, but I'm not interested in switching media players at this point; I'm in a little too deep to pull out of Apple's world now, for good or bad.
It's weird: I wouldn't exactly recommend that someone buy an ipod, but now that I've got one it's difficult to imagine life without it. My ipod was out of commission for a day this past weekend and it shook up my lifestyle quite a bit. I worked out to silence and wasn't able to listen to music in my living room. It was like that period of time after you lose a watch when you keep glancing at your empty wrist and wincing in frustration, except ten times worse.
Christ, I'm listening to my ipod was I type these very words.
doctorfrog on 21/2/2006 at 21:03
Quote Posted by Stitch
My complaints with itunes are fairly minor, really. I'd love some sort of normalization device that would scan the next song and bring it up or down to the current level. I'd also like a more robust system for creating my own radio station, where I can weight certain songs to be played more frequently via a value other than the song rating.
And have they yet completely eradicated all dead space between MP3s? I know you can do a very small crossfade to give the illusion, but it's a kluge.
I'm starting to sound like an iTunes apologist here, but it does have built-in normalization. I prefer using mp3gain on all my mp3 files en mass beforehand, since it is designed to get the job done a bit differently. I also don't currently notice a gap in between songs, but I'm less sensitive to those things, having used a 5-disc CD changer for a number of years.
As for your personal radio station, I am creating a howto for that, inspired by this thread. (
http://doctorfrog.blogsome.com/2006/02/20/doctor-frogs-guide-to-creating-your-very-own-personal-top-40-station-using-itunes-winamp-etc/) Check it out and see if it meets your needs.
This personal radio station has:
* The illusion of a random, but "smart" personally-tailored selection of music
* Higher-rated songs played more often than lower-rated songs
* Songs must be "fresh," not having been played in the last month
* Unrated and lower-rated songs still allowed on the list
Tonamel on 22/2/2006 at 00:45
Quote Posted by doctorfrog
I also don't currently notice a gap in between songs, but I'm less sensitive to those things, having used a 5-disc CD changer for a number of years.
Generally it doesn't matter much, but it's a serious problem when you're listening to classical, or a concept album, and one song is supposed to flow seamlessly into the next without stopping. Believe me, you'd notice it there.
scumble on 22/2/2006 at 10:54
Quote Posted by Tonamel
Generally it doesn't matter much, but it's a serious problem when you're listening to classical, or a concept album, and one song is supposed to flow seamlessly into the next without stopping. Believe me, you'd notice it there.
I've got a feeling that the way the mp3 encoding works makes gapless play very difficult. You don't get the same sequence of bits when you decode (like flac) so the waveforms don't match up anymore. A crossfade doesn't clip but that's no good in the middle of the Rite of Spring. The only thing I could do with classical pieces was combine sections that are continuous in single files, but this is a pain in the arse. If only you could just rip a compressed cd image with track markers. It'd solve most problems with continuous play. I have a feeling Sony's new Hi-MD software does this, but I haven't seen it elsewhere.
