I just got through normalizing ALL of my 11,500 AAC files using MP3Gain with it’s new AAC support. However, now approx. 1/3 of my files will NOT play in iTunes or on my iPod!?!?!? I cannot figure out why and there seems to be no connection in the files it will not play. They are only full albums that are affected. In other words, it’s not just a couple songs from an album, if one doesn’t work, the entire album does not have any working songs.

I used the ‘Album Gain’ feature and set it to 94db. After it ran (I did it in 3 shifts of approx. 4,000 files each) I did have a few errors logged for some files and then one or two full albums. When I tried to play the error files in iTunes they would not do anything. Even after ‘undoing’ the gain changes, the files still would not play so I just re-imported them from my backup copies. I even tried running them again in MP3Gain and they error’d out again. Perhaps I have to remove the tags?

Well, like I said it was ONLY for one or two full albums and a few scattered files (like 3 or 4 tops) that I got any error messages/logs after applying ‘Album Gain’ so I figured the rest were fine, and spot checks revealed that everything was working normally. However, after re-importing ALL of my newly normalized songs onto my iPod, I am finding tons of full albums that just won’t play! The iPod just skips through all the songs until it hits the last track and then goes to the next album. I just discovered this on my way to work this morning so I have yet to verify that these same tracks do not work in iTunes, but this is scaring me now.

Does anyone have any idea what might be happening and if there is a way to fix this without re-importing (again, for the ones that did report errors I was not able to get them working even after using the ‘undo’ function)???

FYI…All of these AAC files were imported using iTunes software.

Help please!!!

Sorry you are having trouble - I haven't heard of anyone else having problems like this.

Can you email me a file that doesn't play and I'll take a look?

Also email me the errors from the log. Are the files that logged errors playable or not?

Also, if you can reimport just one album, and are able to reproduce the problem, then email me a pre-aacgain'ed file as well.

Finally, please let me know what version of iTunes you used to import your CD's. Is there any correlation between albums that don't work and the version of iTunes used to rip them?

Dave

Dave,

Thanks SO much for your assistance! I do have an update...

It appears that the files DO play in iTunes (I assumed they would not because the files that actually generated errors in MP3Gain did not play). Then, when I actually plug in my iPod to itunes, I can play the files from the iPod menu!?!? Weird! I tried deleting and then re-importing an affected album on my iPod and it still will NOT play on the iPod.

I have one possible theory...it seems that the only albums that will NOT play on my iPod are the albums that did NOT require a volume change from MP3Gain. In other words, all the albums that already averaged out to 94db after the analysis. I am looking into that theory but don't have any idea why.

So I will e-mail you the errors from the log file, however, those are not the albums that will not play on my iPod. I can try sending you one of those files as well but again, they play in iTunes.

I imported most all my files in iTunes version 4.5. Never had any problems with these files before this. I am glad to see that they are okay in my iTunes as the ones that gave me errors did not play at all and I had to totally re-import them.

Does this new information shed any light at all?

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

UPDATE:

My theory was correct...

For some reason, my iPod will not play ANY of the files/albums that were analyzed and did NOT need any gain change as the overall db level averaged out to my 'target' volume of 94db.

If I remove the tag from the affected files and re-import them on my iPod, they work!

Huh!?!?

So this has nothing to do with any errors, just files that are tagged but had no gain applied. I wonder if my only choice at this point is to find all the affected albums and just remove the tags.

Makes no sense to me. Do the bad files play on iTunes? I'd still like you to email me a "bad" file.

Dave

Yes, ALL files play in iTunes, just not on my iPod. After even more investigating, I am posititive that it is the anaylized but not changed files that will not play. I am still trying to figure out the best/easiest way to fix this without having to go through ALL my albums manully to see which ones have gain applied and which ones do not.

I will e-mail you a file. What is the e-mail address I should send it to?

Thanks for your intersest in this issue Dave!