foo_pod - Foobar2000 meets the iPod, iPod -> Foobar2000 0.8 Options

[Aero]

why not just make it so this could play music from any addon-harddrive?

Like thumb-drives, digital audio players , etc.

I know winamp has some plugin called gUSB that works like that

Is this a new question, or a follow up to an earlier post?

If you are asking why foo_pod doesn't support thumb drives and such, it is because there is no need for a plugin - Foobar can play songs from those devices without assistance. Since an iPod has a database that contains lots of metadata, even through the songs are technically playable directly from the iPod, a component like foo_pod is required.

If you also mean why doesn't foo_pod support other devices, then that is easy - I don't have any other players (other than an old unused Rio 500)...

[Aero]

In any event, could I set up the directory structure and songs on my ipod as I want, then use foo_pod to create a new iTunesDB?

Almost. foo_pod has a "Repair iTunesDB" feature, which rebuilds a database based on the metadata contained in files on the iPod. So in essence, this is just want you want - it will search for songs and create a functional database.

Unfortunately...it is currently hard coded to only look in the Music\Fnn directories, and only a single level deep.

There are only a few other dependancies on the Music\Fnn layout in foo_pod, so I guess I could make it more generic so at least Repair would search the entire Music directory and subdirectories. Then you could just put your artist/album subdirectories under the iTunes\Music directory, run Repair, and you would be set. Maybe I could even create a little utility that would just start up Foobar/foo_pod, automatically run the Repair feature, and then exit. So updating your iPod would be as easy as using Windows Explorer to copy/remove files, and then running the utility to recreate the iTunesDB. Hmm...that's not a bad idea, if I do say so myself!


Another option would be to wait for my Import iTunesDB From XML. Then assuming you could find a utility to create compatable XML, you could use that feature to convert XML to a iTunesDB file.

[SoulEata]

why not just make it so this could play music from any addon-harddrive?

Like thumb-drives, digital audio players , etc.

I know winamp has some plugin called gUSB that works like that

Is this a new question, or a follow up to an earlier post?

If you are asking why foo_pod doesn't support thumb drives and such, it is because there is no need for a plugin - Foobar can play songs from those devices without assistance. Since an iPod has a database that contains lots of metadata, even through the songs are technically playable directly from the iPod, a component like foo_pod is required.

If you also mean why doesn't foo_pod support other devices, then that is easy - I don't have any other players (other than an old unused Rio 500)...

Ah. didnt know that. Good deal.

[rpop]

Great plug-in.  Thanks so much!

A request:  I like to have the music directory on my ipod arranged by artist and album (music\artist1\album2\song3), rather than F?? (music\f00\song3).  Is there any way to do this in foo_pod?  (I tried to read the whole thread, apologies if I missed this.)

As far as I know, the only program that can currently do this is Sveta Portable Audio, which does a pretty nice job:



It would be nice to see something just as customizable, if not even more so, in foo_pod

[richard123]

There are only a few other dependancies on the Music\Fnn layout in foo_pod, so I guess I could make it more generic so at least Repair would search the entire Music directory and subdirectories.  Then you could just put your artist/album subdirectories under the iTunes\Music directory, run Repair, and you would be set.  Maybe I could even create a little utility that would just start up Foobar/foo_pod, automatically run the Repair feature, and then exit.  So updating your iPod would be as easy as using Windows Explorer to copy/remove files, and then running the utility to recreate the iTunesDB.  Hmm...that's not a bad idea, if I do say so myself! 

That would be great!

[richard123]

As far as I know, the only program that can currently do this is Sveta Portable Audio, which does a pretty nice job:

It would be nice to see something just as customizable, if not even more so, in foo_pod

I've used Sveta. It makes you load too much stuff just to get the one function. I prefer foo_pod, if Aero can implement the change he suggests.

[Otto42]

The real question regarding this sort of thing is is it iTunes compatible? If you only use foo_pod, great, but if you switch around a lot and use iTunes, then this might cause issues. Of course this means a simple preference switch to toggle on/off or something, but you get my drift.

[zeer]

The real question regarding this sort of thing is is it iTunes compatible? If you only use foo_pod, great, but if you switch around a lot and use iTunes, then this might cause issues. Of course this means a simple preference switch to toggle on/off or something, but you get my drift.

at least it is compatible in read-mode. itunes reads itunesDB and gets paths accordingly. deleting files from itunes works. (used anapod explorer and itunes combo with the above mentioned directory structure - works except when you run itunes it recreates Fxx subdirs - no time to crack itunes just to remove this behavior)

This post has been edited by zeer: Sep 24 2004, 21:22

[Aero]

Version 0.9.4 is now available.

Well, long time no build. There isn't a whole lot new in this build, but it should fix the combo box problem people have been reporting on Windows 2000, and it also modifies the Repair iPod Database feature to support richard123's idea about supporting non-Fnn directories for the music.

It works like this - first, Repair iPod Database has been renamed to the friendlier "Rebuild iPod Database". The other big change is that it will search for any iPod playable file in the iPod_Control\Music directory or any subdirectories, and add those songs to the database.

What this means is that you can using Windows Explorer to copy any files or directories into the Music directory, run Rebuild iPod Database, and you should end up with those songs being playable on the iPod. And since the database is completely rebuilt each time you run it, you can also delete and move files with Explorer (or other file utility). So if you want, you can avoid using foo_pod to add/remove songs.

The major caveat is that rebuilding the database will wipe out all playlists (smart and normal), along with certain fields in the database, such as play counts and stars. So this feature may not be appropriate for everyone, but if you just want to add/remove songs to your iPod, it could be useful.



From the Readme file:

CODE

Version 0.9.4 - September 24, 2004
*  Added support for lowering, as well as raising, the iPod pre-amp/volume setting

*  Hacked support for .m4b files.  These are nothing more than .m4a files with a different extension,
  but the iPod treats them differently in that it stores the last played position in the database.  foo_pod
  doesn't currently do anything with this, but it is used by iTunes.

*  Fixed a bug in the Smart Playlist editor on Windows 2000 where the drop down boxes would appear to be empty.

*  Changed the name of "Repair iPod Database" to "Rebuild iPod Database", and also added support for discovering
  files anywhere in the iPod_Control\Music directory.  This means that you can copy songs to the Music directory
  (or any subdirectories) using Windows Explorer, then run Rebuild iPod Database, and foo_pod will create a
  working database on the iPod.  This is useful if you want to store your songs in human readable directories,
  rather than in F00 - F99.

[richard123]

Thanks.

[.zolder]

it should fix the combo box problem people have been reporting on Windows 2000

yup, works!

[zeer]

2 Aero:

one more feature request:

please, add a checkbox and code that allows to rebuild database from the root of ipod ( eg. h:\ instead of h:\iTunes_Control\Music\)

i hope that should not be too hard... and i don't use iPod for other file storage so i prefer to access the drive for music only.

ps. the paths like H:\foo.mp3 works with ipod perfectly if it is written in itunesDB (should be :foo.mp3 in DB)

[edit]
pps.
ofcourse itunesDB should reside where it was.
[/edit]

This post has been edited by zeer: Sep 25 2004, 17:47

[Aero]

please, add a checkbox and code that allows to rebuild database from the root of ipod ( eg. h:\ instead of h:\iTunes_Control\Music\)

i hope that should not be too hard... and i don't use iPod for other file storage so i prefer to access the drive for music only.

ps. the paths like H:\foo.mp3 works with ipod perfectly if it is written in itunesDB (should be :foo.mp3 in DB)

Yeah, that is no problem. I guess the only question is if anyone would want another preference item that would limit it to iTunes_Control\Music?

I was actually thinking about this yesterday when I was using the Windows "Send To" feature to copy some files to my USB drive. (When you have a removable device connected to a Windows machine, you can right click files or folders, and select the device under the Send To menu item, and Windows will copy the files to the root of the device). So if Rebuild acted on the whole iPod, you wouldn't even have to open up Windows Explorer to copy files to the iPod - you could simply select Send To. And with a global Foobar shortcut key set up for Rebuild, you wouldn't even have to go to the Foobar window to start the Rebuild process.

I am also going to modify Rebuild so that it doesn't destroy your smart playlists.

[Majdas]

Just a quick question. Where's this "Rebuild iPod database" located? I cant find it anywhere, haha.

[Aero]

Just a quick question. Where's this "Rebuild iPod database" located? I cant find it anywhere, haha.

Do you have foo_pod 0.9.4 installed? If so, it is located under the Components menu -> foo_pod -> Rebuild iTunesDB database on iPod

[.zolder]

Hey aero, i have a couple of suggestions for you.

When i load my ipod tracks in foobar using components > foo_pod > load ipod songs to playlist, and i delete one or more tracks in that playlist using rightclick > foo_pod > delete file from ipod, the file gets removed from the ipod, but it will stay in the playlist. It would be cool if you could make it so that the file gets removed from the playlist as well.

My other question is concerning the synchronize option. I don't know how this option works (technically speaking), but is it possible to not let foo_pod's synchronization look at differences in certain (perhaps user defined) tags, cause now, whenever one of these tags (PLAY_COUNTER, PLAY_DATE, PLAY_TIME) get changed, foo_pod deletes the tracks from the ipod only to upload them again.

[FreydNot]

My other question is concerning the synchronize option. I don't know how this option works (technically speaking), but is it possible to not let foo_pod's synchronization look at differences in certain (perhaps user defined) tags, cause now, whenever one of these tags (PLAY_COUNTER, PLAY_DATE, PLAY_TIME) get changed, foo_pod deletes the tracks from the ipod only to upload them again.

I think the real problem is the play counter (and last played?) foobar plugins are writing the data into the id3 tags of the files. This causes the size and date of the audio files to change and foo_pod has no way to knowing it should ignore them.

[Otto42]

I just wanted to confirm that iTunes works on the same principle. Any changes that cause the timestamp of the file to change will cause iTunes to resend the file to the iPod on a sync operation.

[Majdas]

Just a quick question. Where's this "Rebuild iPod database" located? I cant find it anywhere, haha.

Do you have foo_pod 0.9.4 installed? If so, it is located under the Components menu -> foo_pod -> Rebuild iTunesDB database on iPod

I'm probably just stupid but I cant find it;

foo_pod.gif

[SNAG]

Just a quick question. Where's this "Rebuild iPod database" located? I cant find it anywhere, haha.

Do you have foo_pod 0.9.4 installed? If so, it is located under the Components menu -> foo_pod -> Rebuild iTunesDB database on iPod

I'm probably just stupid but I cant find it;

foo_pod.gif

Hi Majdas,

You can find the foo_pod options in the "Components" tab in the options menu above. There should be a foo_pod menu. It's not in the "Preferences" page.

[Majdas]

Haha. I understand now, thanks! I dont have the "Menu" there by default.

[FreydNot]

I'm trying to add a column to show the last played time into a Columns UI preset (Watercolor by Silverbolt). My problem is I'm not sure what format the date is in. A string of "[%ipod_last_played_time%]" gives me values like "1096012076" which I'm guessing is seconds after some fixed date and time.

How is the ipod_last_played_time value formatted? Is there an easy way to convert it to human readable form using TAGZ?

[Otto42]

I'm trying to add a column to show the last played time into a Columns UI preset (Watercolor by Silverbolt).  My problem is I'm not sure what format the date is in.  A string of "[%ipod_last_played_time%]" gives me values like "1096012076" which I'm guessing is seconds after some fixed date and time.

How is the ipod_last_played_time value formatted?  Is there an easy way to convert it to human readable form using TAGZ?

It's the number of seconds since the epoch (1/1/1970). So 1096012076 = Friday, September 24, 2004 07:47:56 GMT. I dunno about "TAGZ", but here's a nice little conversion javascript page for you: http://dan.drydog.com/unixdatetime.html

This post has been edited by Otto42: Sep 27 2004, 06:08

[idioteque]

First off, let me just say thanks for foo_pod, it's really great.
Secondly, is there a foobar global variable to get the iPod drive usage so I could display it in the status bar like I do with "__bitrate" and "__samplerate"?

[Aero]

First off, let me just say thanks for foo_pod, it's really great. 
Secondly, is there a foobar global variable to get the iPod drive usage so I could display it in the status bar like I do with "__bitrate" and "__samplerate"?

Thanks!

By "iPod drive usage", do you mean the song's filesize, or the amount of free disk space on the iPod?

If it is filesize, then I think %__filesize% is what you are looking for (or something like that, I am unable to check right now). If you want the free iPod disk space, then I don't think that is available, although if you know the iPod's drive letter, maybe there is a TAGZ function to get free disk space?