Dynamic Playlist on iPod
Popped up in another thread, so I thought I'd move here, instead of hijacking his post.
Problem: I have(I think) 3g 30gig running v2.2 (2g capped out at 20gig, no?). iTunes on XP. iPod autosyncs, but only certain playlist, my collections way too big to fit.
Anyhow, folks are saying they're getting dynamic playlists functions on the Pod, not when hooked to iTunes. So, help me out?
Am I the only one this doesn't work for?
Here's my example: create a "unheard" playlist: playcount less than 1, limit to X number of songs chosen by random.
If you play something on this list in itunes, its kicked off & replaced by a new song fitting said conditions, AKA live updating.
Sync this playlist to your Pod, listen to a song all the way on the Pod, until it switches to the next. Exit playlist, come back in. If the list were dynamic, that song should know longer be listed, but it is on mine. What gives?
[968 byte] By [
dekkerd] at [2007-11-9 20:24:47]
# 1 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
I think it was probably my thread you were referring to in your post. As I mentioned in that thread, I have no problems getting smart playlists to dynamically update on my iPod.
As a test, I just created a smart playlist using the criteria in your example ('Playcount is less than 1'). I then synced this playlist to my iPod. I played the first song in this list on my iPod, exited the list and came back in. On my iPod the song is no longer in the playlist.
I have no idea why it works for me and not you. I have a 3G 20gb iPod running version 2.2 (it also worked in version 2.1). I do use full autosync, but not sure why this would have any bearing on what you are experiencing.
I know you can't see playcounts on the iPod, but after you sync do your playcounts sync back to your iTunes library (ie. the songs are removed from your 'Unheard' list in iTunes)?
Also, have you tried creating a playlist using some criteria other than playcount that would allow for dynamic updating (such as 'Last played is not in the last 1 day')? If so, do you experience the same results?
pmoto at 2007-11-15 17:13:03 >
# 2 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
2nd Gen iPods did NOT cap out at 20 gigs. There were 30 gig 2nd gen iPods out there for a while.
Basically, you can tell physically. If yours is a 2nd gen, the buttons will be surrounding the wheel, if it's a 3rd gen, they will be in a row at the top.
Adam
# 3 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
Ashawley: Did not know that. But, I have a 3g then,all at the top.
Pmoto: yep, your thread. Yes, I have playlists that rotate out songs by last played, etc. Songs will remain under that playlist even after said condition(play count, last played) is invalidated. Only when I sync will they swap out. I'm feeling vaguely irritated by now...
# 4 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
i'm not sure if you know. on both the iPod and in iTunes, a song isn't considered played until it complete finishes playing. so the playcount and lastplayed date and time won't be updated until you reach the end of the song.
so when you're testing your dynamic playlist, make sure you start a song, click the center button and scroll to the end of the song, to make sure that's it considered played. then hit the menu button to go out of the playlist, then come back into the playlist again to see if it's been updated.
I'm sure you already know all this, but many people forget that it only counts if the song finishes playing.
# 5 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
I use "not played within the last 4 weeks" dynamic smartlists without a problem; haven't tried playcounts though--but make sure you've read the post above, as it won't work unless played all the way through.
I may go to playcounts though--unfortunately last played doesn't seem to make it back over to Itunes from my ipod, so everytime I synch, I've got the original smartlist back again...Playcounts, however, seem to go from the ipod to my computer though.
dmt1 at 2007-11-15 17:17:07 >
# 6 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
I think there must be something else going on for those that can't seem to get their smart playlists to dynamically refresh/update on the iPod. If it was as simple as not listening to the entire track I don't think their lists would update after syncing (which, if I read the posts correctly, they do).
pmoto at 2007-11-15 17:18:06 >
# 7 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
I posted something similar in my thread (http://ipodlounge.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31982), and was pointed over here by Dekkerd.
I'm having exactly the same problem with Smart Playlists as Dekkerd is describing, but I've noticed something strange.
In addition to the list described in the other thread, I also have one for each star rating. If I'm listening to my unrated list, which has, for example, 2345 songs in it, and rate one of the songs as its playing; upon exiting and re-entering the playlist the song count has changed to 2344. So it appears that SPLs update on the iPod when the last played date is not involved.
The last played date is updated correctly in iTunes when I resync the iPod, so its definitely storing the date/times correctly.
I'm running WinXP, with autosync enabled, and have a 40Gb 3rd Gen iPod with firmware 2.2.
Can anyone shed any light on this? Cos according to the Apple site, SPLs aren't supposed to update on the iPod at all, but the fact that some people can get this to work is a little frustrating.
Cheers.
# 8 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
you know, i've actually only started playing around with SPLs when I got the mini. it may be that SPLs only update on the mini. It runs a different software than the other iPods, so that might be the reason.
# 9 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
Nope, SPLs work on 3rd Gen iPods - not just Mini's.
Not sure why you all are having problems. I did notice a bug in the most recent firmware though. If you nest smartlists or playlists in your SPL rules, the SPL becomes static for some reason.
For example: I had a SPL with the following rules:
Playlist = "Master Playlist"
Genre Does Not Contain "Vocal"
Rating >= 4 Stars.
Last Played is not in the last 1 month
When I added the "Playlist" criteria, the list was no longer dynamic.
So, could that be it for you folks having problems?
I've since stopped using the "Playlist" criteria in any of my SPLs and haven't had a problem.
Adam
# 10 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
I discovered the exact same thing Adam mentions in the previous post. All my other SPLs update without any problem.
It would have been great if the playlist criteria worked as it would have been a solution for a smart playlist I have been trying to create.
pmoto at 2007-11-15 17:22:12 >
# 11 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
No doubt it's a bummer that it doesn't work right pmoto. Seems like it's a bug, but you never know with Apple.
Adam
# 12 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
Originally posted by pmoto
I discovered the exact same thing Adam mentions in the previous post. All my other SPLs update without any problem.
It would have been great if the playlist criteria worked as it would have been a solution for a smart playlist I have been trying to create.
d'oh! and there I was so proud of having solve your issue. :p
# 13 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
That explains it then. ALL of my playlists are currently nested, as they were all updated when the new version came out. Oh well...
# 14 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
I've tried it with a date-dependant, non-nested playlist and it updates properly on the iPod.
Does anyone know if there is a way to report this to Apple to request a change to the firmware? I also think it'd be good if you could limit a smart playlist to a certain number of songs per artist as well.
# 15 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
don't know how it is on XP, but on the mac, you can go up to the menu, click on iTunes, and one of th drop down options is "Provide iTunes Feedback."
# 16 Re: Dynamic Playlist on iPod
In iTunes for Windows the 'Provide iTunes Feedback' can be found under the 'Help' menu.
pmoto at 2007-11-15 17:28:25 >
