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

[Lew_Zealand]

Is there a good place we could make a Wiki for foo_pod?  I find it really hard to sift through all these pages trying to find what I think are simple answers.  I'll help maintain and get it started if anyone knows of a good host.

Yeah, a Wiki would be perfect for the type of documentation that foo_pod really needs.

[quote]

Aero, my [now public] offer to assist with documentation still stands, although now it would probably need to wait until the new year, and I can't offer to host the wiki myself.

[infrared]

Aero, my [now public] offer to assist with documentation still stands, although now it would probably need to wait until the new year, and I can't offer to host the wiki myself.

Sweet! I'll get the Wiki started on the wiki here and I'll let you know. Hopefully in a week(ish).

[infrared]

How is the iPod (foo_pod) playlist supposed to work? If for example, I changed the file (and database) locally and I updated the tags in the mp3. How is the best way to get those changes reflected on the iPod?

I would guess that if loaded the iPod's playist, and press "sync playlist" it would update the database (and files I suppose) on the iPod. I guess what I'm asking is if the database on both the PC and iPod are linked so changes are reflected when they need to be updated. I hope I don't sound harsh because that's not my intention

[FreydNot]

I tend to use foo_pod differently then aero does. I keep a big folder on my PC called "Songs on iPod" which contains (can you guess?) copies of all of the songs which are on my iPod. It is intended to be a mirror of what should be on the pod.

When I get a new CD ripped and all formated the way I like it I put the files into a subdirectory under "Songs on iPod". Then I open up foobar make a new play list, rename it to ALL, and drop the "Songs on iPod" folder into the playlist. This results in a single playlist with all the songs I want on the iPod. Next I do a Sync Current Playlist to transfer the new songs over and update any database changes to the iPod.

Using this method I can easily re-create my iPod from scratch if I've goofed up the database file (or more likely deleted a bunch of songs so I could move a large file from work to home). It also has the benifit of never keeping orphined songs on the iPod.

The down side is that things like ratings and play counts that were added on the iPod get lost during the sync. Aero, is this still true?

One other thing to watch out for is the hidden Foo_pod Warning box. When you do a sync which will remove many songs from the iPod it pops up a box asking for confirmation. For some reason on my PC that dialog box always gets buried under the foobar window. Once you realise nothing is happening, you have to go find the box and click yes (or no).

Thats my take on the best way to use foo_pod, YMMV.

[.zolder]

maybe a bit offtopic, but.. My method is comparible, yet slightly better imo

I have far more than 40GB worth of MP3's. I have them all nicely sorted. The files i want on my iPod, i have given a tag (ipod IS yes). I can edit the tags of the files anytime i want and when i want to sync the iPod, all I need to do is create a playlist using Extended Playlist Generator (ipod IS yes). Then all my MP3s with the IPOD-tag are filtered out of my database and put in one playlist.

This post has been edited by .zolder: Dec 12 2004, 13:12

[infrared]

For example, to use your Artist string, you would add a new metadata item to your songs named POD_ARTIST.  The prefix is configurable, but defaults to POD_.  Then set it to:$if(%album artist%,%album artist%,%artist%)  and you should be set.

Humm.. I guess I'm not competely understanding the new feature. What I gather from what you're saying is that you need to add a new meta tag to each mp3 called "POD_ARIST". You then run the masstagger to set POD_ARIST = $if(%album artist%,%ablum artist%, %artist%). I'm not seeing how that's dynamic since you are just using a masstager so I guess I don't understand what you're saying.

[Aero]

Humm.. I guess I'm not competely understanding the new feature.  What I gather from what you're saying is that you need to add a new meta tag to each mp3 called "POD_ARIST".  You then run the masstagger to set POD_ARIST = $if(%album artist%,%ablum artist%, %artist%).  I'm not seeing how that's dynamic since you are just using a masstager so I guess I don't understand what you're saying.

You first need to set the POD_ARTIST tag using something like MassTagger, but the dynamic part comes in when foo_pod actually transfers the song to the iPod. It looks at the TAGZ string in POD_ARTIST and sends the dynamically created output from the TAGZ string to the iPod database.

For example, if you want a song's comment to appear where the album name would normally appear on the iPod, falling back to the album name and finally "[ALBUM]" you could set POD_ALBUM to:

CODE

$if3(%comment%, %album%, "[ALBUM]").

There is no such thing as dynamically updating metadata on the iPod, so the album name will always be fixed that whatever it was when foo_pod sent it. So in that respect, it isn't truly dynamic.

[infrared]

There is no such thing as dynamically updating metadata on the iPod, so the album name will always be fixed that whatever it was when foo_pod sent it.  So in that respect, it isn't truly dynamic.

Okay, I get it now. However, would it not be more efficient (and less maintenance) to have pref in foo_pod where you could just specify the field that you would like foo_pod to dynamically change? ie. in the prefs have a list of fields that map to either a static name or to a tagz? Acting a filter. Like what was mentioned earlier:

in foo_pod prefs:

CODE

Comment = "From iNFRA's collection"
ARTIST = $if(%album artist%, %album artist%, %artist%)

[Aero]

Okay, I get it now.  However, would it not be more efficient (and less maintenance) to have pref in foo_pod where you could just specify the field that you would like foo_pod to dynamically change?  ie. in the prefs have a list of fields that map to either a static name or to a tagz?  Acting a filter. Like what was mentioned earlier:

in foo_pod prefs:

CODE

Comment = "From iNFRA's collection"
ARTIST = $if(%album artist%, %album artist%, %artist%)

That would work globally (i.e. on all songs). By using the POD_ alternate metadata, you can specify exactly which songs you want the TAGZ string applied to, as well as potentially having different strings for each song. Besides, have you seen how crowded the preference dialogs are?

[infrared]

That would work globally (i.e. on all songs).  By using the POD_ alternate metadata, you can specify exactly which songs you want the TAGZ string applied to, as well as potentially having different strings for each song.  Besides, have you seen how crowded the preference dialogs are? 

Aye, well put. I'm still trying to test out the "Sync" function. I was wondering; how come when you create the "iPod (foo_pod)" playlist and make changes to it, it doesn't do anything. A window comes up and disappears really fast. My fault?

[Aero]

Aye, well put.  I'm still trying to test out the "Sync" function.  I was wondering; how come when you create the "iPod (foo_pod)" playlist and make changes to it, it doesn't do anything.  A window comes up and disappears really fast.  My fault?

The iPod (foo_pod) playlist really just displays all of the songs on the iPod, so reordering it won't have any effect.

You can add new songs to it then choose Send Playlist To iPod, which will copy the new songs over (and ignore all of the songs already on the iPod). You can also delete file(s) on the iPod by selecting songs in the iPod (foo_pod) playlist, right clicking, and selecting Delete Files From iPod.

If you want to modify actual playlists on the iPod, select the Load iPod Playlists As Tabs. Then when you reorder, remove, or add songs to the playlist (noted by the " [iPod]" suffix), you can right click on one of those files and select the "Update this playlist on iPod" menu item to make the changes on the iPod. Note that removing a song from the playlist does not delete it from the iPod - to do that, you need to load the iPod (foo_pod) playlist, select the song, and choose the Delete File item from the right click menu.

[kindofblue]

Just want to say thanks for the update, Aero. I was using 0.9.5RC and was looking for a way to rename/edit my ipod playlists. I see you've fixed this with 0.9.6. Great work.

kindofblue

[jkwarras]

Sorry to bother you again with this Aero, but do you have any news about the playcount integration between the iPod and fb2k via foo_pod?

Thanks for everything.

[Aero]

Sorry to bother you again with this Aero, but do you have any news about the playcount integration between the iPod and fb2k via foo_pod? 

I don't want to have foo_pod modifying the source music files on your hard drive, so I don't know what I can do with respect to play counts.

If the author of the Play Counter component would add a Foobar interface to his component so I could use that instead of writing directly, then I would consider adding this feature to foo_pod.

[hunted]

I have a question, what determines if the file is different when you send files to the ipod, it seems like its file mod time or something like that, I always get duplicates when I send a file thats already on there. I figured it was mod time cause I have playcount and rating tags that get updated pretty frequently.
Is this how it works? or different?

[Aero]

I have a question, what determines if the file is different when you send files to the ipod, it seems like its file mod time or something like that, I always get duplicates when I send a file thats already on there.  I figured it was mod time cause I have playcount and rating tags that get updated pretty frequently.
Is this how it works? or different?

Last Modified time is one factor in determining if a song matches.

Your example is a good example of why I don't want to modify the source file, since it breaks the file matching detection.

[jkwarras]

Sorry to bother you again with this Aero, but do you have any news about the playcount integration between the iPod and fb2k via foo_pod? 

I don't want to have foo_pod modifying the source music files on your hard drive, so I don't know what I can do with respect to play counts.

If the author of the Play Counter component would add a Foobar interface to his component so I could use that instead of writing directly, then I would consider adding this feature to foo_pod.

AFAIK there's no way to keep playcount (the same for other tags as rating, etc...) with fb2k only in the database. That's what I've read on these forums, and I guess that this won't change in very soon. Maybe the only solution (which isn't really one) is to block all tag updates, which then stores new tags in the database. But I think, and please someone correct me if I'm wrong, that it's stored in the playlist where the song is, so if you delete the playlist you also lose your 'tagged' information. Also, it doesn't allow any other tagging operation.

Anyway, the developer of this plugin is I think tboehrer. Kode54 did a version which stores the playcounts in a external mysql database, which of course means that you have to install it and it's a little out of the average fb2k user

So definitely I don't see a solution apart of waiting to have a foobar2000 database that allows the external storing of this sort of information. But I don't even know if there's any plan about it

This post has been edited by jkwarras: Dec 14 2004, 23:04

[Fickle]

I have a minor annoyance with the latest foo_pod - I usually keep my iPod sitting docked and disconnected - but every time I right click on the playlist for the context menu, my iPod reconnects / mounts itself. Is there any way to disable this behaviour ?

Thanks

[Aero]

I have a minor annoyance with the latest foo_pod - I usually keep my iPod sitting docked and disconnected - but every time I right click on the playlist for the context menu, my iPod reconnects / mounts itself.  Is there any way to disable this behaviour ?

I'm not able to reproduce your problem with the latest iPodService service. You might want to download and install the most recent iPod Update software (on Windows, not necessarily update your iPod) and see if that helps.

If it doesn't, you should be able to avoid this behavior by forcing foo_pod to use a specified drive letter. Make a note of the drive letter your iPod is assigned when it is connected, then go to the foo_pod Preferences, and set that in the 'Force iPod Drive Letter' drop down box.

[Franky]

Here's a bit of a newbie question.

I've got an iPod Mini with several songs and playlists already on it. I want to use foo_pod's ability to apply true replay gain to the songs already on the iPod without altering the existing playlists or metadata. Can this be done and if so, how? Every time I try to use the replay gain scanner on a song on the iPod, all metadata disappear from the file. Not permanently though, because if I reload the song from the iPod the metadata is there again.

[Fickle]

I have a minor annoyance with the latest foo_pod - I usually keep my iPod sitting docked and disconnected - but every time I right click on the playlist for the context menu, my iPod reconnects / mounts itself.  Is there any way to disable this behaviour ?

I'm not able to reproduce your problem with the latest iPodService service. You might want to download and install the most recent iPod Update software (on Windows, not necessarily update your iPod) and see if that helps.

If it doesn't, you should be able to avoid this behavior by forcing foo_pod to use a specified drive letter. Make a note of the drive letter your iPod is assigned when it is connected, then go to the foo_pod Preferences, and set that in the 'Force iPod Drive Letter' drop down box.

Thanks - this has fixed the problem. One last thing tho - is there any way to stop the iPod connecting when foobar2000 starts - as the default behaviour seems to connect the iPod.

This post has been edited by Fickle: Dec 16 2004, 19:58

[Aero]

I've got an iPod Mini with several songs and playlists already on it. I want to use foo_pod's ability to apply true replay gain to the songs already on the iPod without altering the existing playlists or metadata. Can this be done and if so, how? Every time I try to use the replay gain scanner on a song on the iPod, all metadata disappear from the file. Not permanently though, because if I reload the song from the iPod the metadata is there again.

There really isn't a good way to change the songs on the iPod then update the database. You could apply the ReplayGain operation to the songs on the iPod, then use the Rebuild iPod Database feature, but this would erase your playlists.

In general, you are better off if you can do the ReplayGain on the files on your hard drive, then transfer them to the iPod.

[Aero]

Thanks - this has fixed the problem.  One last thing tho - is there any way to stop the iPod connecting when foobar2000 starts - as the default behaviour seems to connect the iPod.

You could disable or uninstall iPodService, but otherwise, there isn't currently a way to do this. I'll add an option in the next foo_pod version to not use iPodService, which will prevent the iPod from mounting when starting Foobar.

[infrared]

Well gang, I got a wiki up running. Looks like it'll be just what we need. I would put it on the foobar wiki that's already up but they are blocking quite a few subnets (including me) so I started my own. If the link changes I'll post the new URL here. Feel free to add or change the wiki. I put some ideas on how to maybe structure it. You are especially welcome if you have some Wiki experince already.

http://jevy.org/mediawiki/index.php/Foo_pod

[Snelg]

I've got an iPod Mini with several songs and playlists already on it. I want to use foo_pod's ability to apply true replay gain to the songs already on the iPod without altering the existing playlists or metadata. Can this be done and if so, how? Every time I try to use the replay gain scanner on a song on the iPod, all metadata disappear from the file. Not permanently though, because if I reload the song from the iPod the metadata is there again.

There really isn't a good way to change the songs on the iPod then update the database. You could apply the ReplayGain operation to the songs on the iPod, then use the Rebuild iPod Database feature, but this would erase your playlists.

In general, you are better off if you can do the ReplayGain on the files on your hard drive, then transfer them to the iPod.

I, too, am trying to insert ReplayGain values into the "Soundcheck" field with minimal disturbance to the existing data on my iPod (i.e. don't screw up the iTunesDB, and don't modify the song files themselves).
Right now, I'm not using foo_pod at all for this, although I'd like to figure out if I can. No sense in duplicating effort.

Here's what I do:

I have the foobar2000 Database options set to "Enable Database" and "Block tag update operations".

After I add new songs to the iPod (using iTunes -- so sue me ), I open foobar, create a new (blank) playlist, do "Playlist - Add directory...", and select the iPod_Control directory on the iPod-mounted drive.

I use "Add directory" instead of the handy foo_pod "Load iPod Songs To foobar2000 Playlist" because if I use the foo_pod function, then the ReplayGain values do not get loaded from the fb2k database. In fact, it clears them from the database and I have to re-calculate.

So after the songs are loaded into the playlist, I select all of the songs and do a ReplayGain scan on them. fb2k is smart enough to skip the ones I've already analyzed, so it only spends time analyzing the new songs.

Then I run a little function I made using Otto's iPodDB functions. It loads the data from the iTunesDB file and the foobar2000 database. For each iTunesDB entry, it finds the corresponding foobar2000 database entry. If the iTunesDB soundcheck value doesn't match the fb2k replay gain value, then it adjusts the iTunesDB entry. After checking all the iTunesDB entries, it writes the adjusted iTunesDB data back to the iPod. Voila.

I've been trying to figure this out from an average user's point of view, though. Those steps are just a tad too complicated, methinks. Suggestions on how to make this process simpler?

-Glen