Thank you for posting these inciteful questions and comments. I think we will have a useful discussion on this forrum.
- In my opinion, the 2 Music databases are re-compiled by the player each time the player is ejected from a PC (or Mac).
The 2 Music databases use metadata from the ID3 tags. I am guessing above the 2000 song limit, the internal Music database will ignore the excess files in the player memory. The same limit will apply to the separate Music database on the micro SD card.
I am guessing that the Music mode (and Card mode) shuffle commands are based on the metadata in the Music databases. So, these Music shuffle commands will not access song files above the separate 2000 song limits.
I also wonder if the songs to be included in each re-compiled database may vary slightly after each file management session? The variations may arise from internal sorting rules of the player OS and/ or file sort status of the FAT directory?
The 2000 song limitations can be bypassed by using Folder mode playback of files saved into subfolders. Folder mode playback can be shuffled using the option shuffle command.
Unfortunately, Folder mode playback does not allow for playback (or shuffle) from more than one subfolder at a time.
As you suggested, I think Playlists can be designed to overcome the 2000 song limitations. I do not know if there is a maximum song limit for any single Playlist. (2000, or other, or none?)
My favorite Playlist software for my Clip Sport is “mp3tag”. This software creates Playlists across multiple subfolders. The m3u files can be saved in the Music folder or any subfolder under the Music folder. The Clip Sport (and Jam) will not access the internal memory and the micro SD card within the same Playlist.
