Sansa and the m3u playlist

Thought I would mention this, as it wasn’t obvious to me at first.  After searching and spending over 8 hours and various attempts at getting a m3u playlist to work, here is where I made a breakthrough.

No site mentions that in order to use the m3u playlist you must not only upload the m3u file under msc mode, but you must upload your mp3s that way as well.  Secondly, the format for the file should look like this,

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:241,File1
Folder1\File1.mp3
#EXTINF:301,File2

Folder1\File2.mp3
#EXTINF:220,File3
File3.mp3

The directory on the Sansa device includes this:

Music

|

—Folder1

|       |

|       ----File1.mp3

|       ----File2.mp3

|

—File3.mp3

—SamplePlaylist.m3u 

I used winamp to generate the list, then dropped Music\ from every second line.

(Music\Phenyx\phen…) becomes (Phenyx\phen…)

You can use subfolders as well.  The playlists I am told, can go into any folder below, or in the same folder as the songs you are referencing.  The only caveat is you cannot navigate up folders with the …, even though the paths are relative.

Also I’ve been told the EXTINF lines are optional, but I included them anyways.  (Edit: The file format says they are required as an indicator of the next record.  Also the format says the number is the time in whole seconds of play time, in other words, if a song plays for 3 minutes and 33 seconds, the number would be 3*60+33=213, also, the name in this line does not have to be the file name, but is rather a display name.)

The firmware I was using was 1.01.18, not sure if the more recent ones make any changes to this.  Haven’t upgraded yet, but I plan on it, as I’d love to have a percentage number for battery remaining!

Message Edited by jdyerjdyer on 07-15-2008 06:34 PM

Yeah, we really need a good sticky post on how to create m3u playlists.  It’s been posted many, many times in the Clip and Fuze forums, but it seems like nobody ever finds the previous posts.  Sorry you had to spend 8 hours!

Here’s the short version for others with the same questions:

  • m3u playlists require MSC mode
  • m3u playlists can exist pretty much anywhere on the device, but files referenced in the playlist must be in the same folder or in a folder below the folder containing the playlist
    • Typically, this means the m3u should be in the root or in the \Music folder
    • It also means the m3u cannot be in a \Playlists folder if all your music is under the \Music folder.  MTP mode with pla playlists works this way, but MSC mode with m3u playlists does not.
  • Paths in the m3u playlist file must be relative to the location of the m3u file itself
    • If the m3u is in the root, the paths should look like: Music\SomeArtist\SomeAlbum\SomeSong.mp3
    • If the m3u is in the \Music folder, the paths should look like: SomeArtist\SomeAlbum\SomeSong.mp3
    • The above examples assume an \Music\Artist\Album style folder hierarchy.  If some other structure is used the paths must be adapted accordingly.
  • Winamp is the easiest way to create m3u playlists for the Clip or Fuze
    • This assumes the device is in MSC mode and has already been loaded up with files
    • Add files from the Clip or Fuze to Winamp’s playlist editor.  There are many ways to do this, but drag/drop from Windows Explorer is an easy method.
    • You can arrange the order of the playlist by dragging files up or down in the playlist editor.  You can also use the sorting options.
    • When you finish editing the playlist, click the Manage Playlist button and select “Save playlist…”
    • Save the playlist to the Clip or Fuze’s \Music folder (the root would be OK too).  Winamp will automatically adjust the paths in the m3u depending on the location of the m3u file.  You shouldn’t have to do any manual editing of the file.
    • If you want to edit the playlist later on, just drag the m3u to Winamp’s playlist editor, then repeat the above steps

As for the new FW, you should definitly upgrade.  Especially if you use large m3u playlists.  They drastically improved the load times of large playlist files in the latest FW.  The new shuffle is very nice as well.

Message Edited by Skinjob on 07-16-2008 11:37 AM

Paths in the m3u playlist file must be relative to the location of the m3u file itself

  • If the m3u is in the root, the paths should look like: Music</u>SomeArtist\SomeAlbum\SomeSong.mp3
  • If the m3u is in the \Music folder, the paths should look like: SomeArtist\SomeAlbum\SomeSong.mp3

Sorry, but isn’t this backwards?


Yeah, we really need a good sticky post on how to create m3u playlists.  It’s been posted many, many times in the Clip and Fuze forums, but it seems like nobody ever finds the previous posts. 


I agree, but the problem also affects e200 series v2 players. Good, clear, simple instructions _ that work _ should be “stickied” to all player boards (where the players use .m3u format playlists).

@tapeworm wrote:
Paths in the m3u playlist file must be relative to the location of the m3u file itself

  • If the m3u is in the root, the paths should look like: Music</u>SomeArtist\SomeAlbum\SomeSong.mp3
  • If the m3u is in the \Music folder, the paths should look like: SomeArtist\SomeAlbum\SomeSong.mp3

 

Sorry, but isn’t this backwards?

 

No, it’s correct.  Those are the correct relative paths for the respective m3u locations.

Message Edited by Skinjob on 07-16-2008 12:43 PM

I have tried this and although playlists do come up with songs, not ALL the songs will actually play.

All the songs are present in the Sansa e280v2 and will play if accessed by title, album, etc. But it’s

a coin toss when accessed via an m3u playlist: some songs in the playlist play and others do not.

Here’s an example:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:183,plaudite.mp3
gabrieli_epower_biggs\glory_of_gabrieli\plaudite.mp3
#EXTINF:29,intonation_for_organ_on_the_1st_tome.mp3
gabrieli_epower_biggs\glory_of_gabrieli\intonation_for_organ_on_the_1st_tome.mp3

The first song (plaudite.mp3) does NOT play but the second one does. The playlist was created by ripping a single CD.

Any clues on how to create an m3u playlist that plays all the songs? I’m using a sansa e280v2 with the latest firmware (V03.01.16A, downloaded July 2008)

in MSC mode.

thanks!

@jdyerjdyer wrote:

Thought I would mention this, as it wasn’t obvious to me at first. After searching and spending over 8 hours and various attempts at getting a m3u playlist to work, here is where I made a breakthrough.

 

No site mentions that in order to use the m3u playlist you must not only upload the m3u file under msc mode, but you must upload your mp3s that way as well. Secondly, the format for the file should look like this,

 

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:241,File1
Folder1\File1.mp3
#EXTINF:301,File2

Folder1\File2.mp3
#EXTINF:220,File3
File3.mp3

 

The directory on the Sansa device includes this:

 

Music

|

—Folder1

| |

| ----File1.mp3

| ----File2.mp3

|

—File3.mp3

—SamplePlaylist.m3u

 

I used winamp to generate the list, then dropped Music\ from every second line.

(Music\Phenyx\phen…) becomes (Phenyx\phen…)

 

You can use subfolders as well. The playlists I am told, can go into any folder below, or in the same folder as the songs you are referencing. The only caveat is you cannot navigate up folders with the …, even though the paths are relative.

Also I’ve been told the EXTINF lines are optional, but I included them anyways. (Edit: The file format says they are required as an indicator of the next record. Also the format says the number is the time in whole seconds of play time, in other words, if a song plays for 3 minutes and 33 seconds, the number would be 3*60+33=213, also, the name in this line does not have to be the file name, but is rather a display name.)

The firmware I was using was 1.01.18, not sure if the more recent ones make any changes to this. Haven’t upgraded yet, but I plan on it, as I’d love to have a percentage number for battery remaining!

Message Edited by jdyerjdyer on 07-15-2008 06:34 PM

I have also experienced frustrating problems with my Sansa Clip recognizing m3u playlists created in Winamp but showing some of them as empty, while others worked just fine.

The solution turned out to be very simple. I figured out that, for some reason, Clip doesn`t like playlists refering to names of tracks containing specific letters from diferent languages, such as ä, ö _ , é…_ as well as number abbreviation . Once I edited those letters to “regular” a, o, e and/or removed the the playlists created in Winamp started to work like a charm.

Note that you do not need to edit names of tracks in their tags, it is enough to change them in Windows files, simply by selecting track and choosing rename.

It works for me, hope it will help someone else too.