playlist relative path format?

The GoList serves my purposes:smileyvery-happy:

@jehr wrote:

Okay…this is weird.  I changed it from MSC to MTP, reripped all of my music and reloaded it.  The default playlists that JRiver transferred over worked.  JRiver made the playlists .m3u files when it was in MSC mode, but when it’s in MTP mode, it made PLA playlists on the fuze instead. 

 

MTP is slower, but everything synchs and works the way it’s supposed to.  I couldn’t get playlists to work in MSC for the life of me.  It shouldn’t matter.

I think you solved part of your problem; the JRiver application is probably making .m3u files that aren’t compatible with the fuze.

I always made my playlists in Winamp in MSC mode and they worked perfectly.

What do you suppose prompts more requests for help, playlists or video? :wink:

@marvin_martian wrote:
What do you suppose prompts more requests for help, playlists or video? :wink:

I’d say it’s about even…

@jehr wrote:

Here’s what my sample playlist looks like, exact copy and paste:

 

#EXTM3U

3 Doors Down\Away From The Sun\3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun - When I’m Gone.MP3

 

This is in the music folder.  I have a folder called “3 Doors Down” in the Music Folder, and it has the “Away From the Sun” folder inside of it.  And inside of that is a file called “How You Remind Me.MP3”

 

The file is called “albumtest1.m3u” and it is in the music folder.

 

Doesn’t work.

 

I created another one called “songtest1.m3u” that is in the 3 Doors Down\Away From The Sun\ folder.  It looks like this:

 

#EXTM3U

3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun - When I’m Gone.MP3

 

Doesn’t work either.  Both say they’re empty.

 

Does it matter if these are ANSI encoded?  I thought I read somewhere they had to be encoded in ASCII, but I don’t have that option. My only options are ANSI, unicode, unicode big endian, and UTF-8.

Both your examples look correct and should work.  ANSI should be the proper encoding for m3u.  m3u8 would be unicode.

Just to make sure about a couple things:

  • you have the latest FW
  • you are using MSC mode
  • your files were added under MSC mode
  • your tags are id3v2.3 format with ISO-8859-1 encoding (not 2.4 or UTF-8, etc.)

Could the issue possiblly be tag related?  I’ve heard of some weird playlist/playback problems with bad tags or formats other than id3v2.3 ISO.

In your example above, can the “3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun - When I’m Gone.MP3” file be played normally by browsing the artist/album list?  And does all the tag info appear correctly when played?

@fuze_owner_gb wrote:


@jehr wrote:

Okay…this is weird.  I changed it from MSC to MTP, reripped all of my music and reloaded it.  The default playlists that JRiver transferred over worked.  JRiver made the playlists .m3u files when it was in MSC mode, but when it’s in MTP mode, it made PLA playlists on the fuze instead. 

 

MTP is slower, but everything synchs and works the way it’s supposed to.  I couldn’t get playlists to work in MSC for the life of me.  It shouldn’t matter.


I think you solved part of your problem; the JRiver application is probably making .m3u files that aren’t compatible with the fuze.

 

I always made my playlists in Winamp in MSC mode and they worked perfectly.

I realize JRiver must be formatting the playlist wrong.  That’s why I asked like 10 times for an example of a properly formatted playlist, because my M3U files looked exactly like what people were saying they needed to look like.  I can’t use WMP or WINAMP because they don’t support all of the file types that I use with JRiver (nor are they as good of programs to begin with), so I can’t use those to make my playlists.  I’d still like to figure out what’s going on with the M3Us so I can switch  back to MSC someday, as MTP is too slow for my tastes.  I’m beginning to feel like I’ll never get the complete answer on everything you need to know about playlists on the Sansa from this board.

Not trying to be a jerk, but the last comment there is meant to be constructive.  I see people on this forum asking about playlists alot, and they’re often met with a response to do a search or see some other thread.  I’ve done the searches, and I’ve found all sorts of different claims about ascii vs ansi, extinf headers, modes, and what not in different threads.  If anyone is going to give anyone advice to do a search or see another thread, then there needs to be an all-inclusive thread on playlists that has all of the right information that is referenced.  I’d recommend that the mods create official “playlists on the Fuze” and “video on the fuze” threads and sticky them at the top of the forum.  I think it’d help this board alot since these two issues seem to be the dominant recurring issues.

Message Edited by jehr on 03-10-2009 10:37 AM

@skinjob wrote:


@jehr wrote:

Here’s what my sample playlist looks like, exact copy and paste:

 

#EXTM3U

3 Doors Down\Away From The Sun\3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun - When I’m Gone.MP3

 

This is in the music folder.  I have a folder called “3 Doors Down” in the Music Folder, and it has the “Away From the Sun” folder inside of it.  And inside of that is a file called “How You Remind Me.MP3”

 

The file is called “albumtest1.m3u” and it is in the music folder.

 

Doesn’t work.

 

I created another one called “songtest1.m3u” that is in the 3 Doors Down\Away From The Sun\ folder.  It looks like this:

 

#EXTM3U

3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun - When I’m Gone.MP3

 

Doesn’t work either.  Both say they’re empty.

 

Does it matter if these are ANSI encoded?  I thought I read somewhere they had to be encoded in ASCII, but I don’t have that option. My only options are ANSI, unicode, unicode big endian, and UTF-8.


 

Both your examples look correct and should work.  ANSI should be the proper encoding for m3u.  m3u8 would be unicode.

 

Just to make sure about a couple things:

  • you have the latest FW
  • you are using MSC mode
  • your files were added under MSC mode
  • your tags are id3v2.3 format with ISO-8859-1 encoding (not 2.4 or UTF-8, etc.)

 

Could the issue possiblly be tag related?  I’ve heard of some weird playlist/playback problems with bad tags or formats other than id3v2.3 ISO.

 

In your example above, can the “3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun - When I’m Gone.MP3” file be played normally by browsing the artist/album list?  And does all the tag info appear correctly when played?

Yes to your last question.  I’m highly doubtful it’s a tag issue.  Even if I did have tag issues, the tags within the files shouldn’t prevent the OS on the fuze from properly reading the playlist and displaying the file names that are listed in that playlist.  I was using ANSI, and I am using the latest firmware downloaded from this site as of last week.  I was using MSC mode, and all files were added under MSC mode.

@fuze_owner_gb wrote:


@marvin_martian wrote:
What do you suppose prompts more requests for help, playlists or video? :wink:


I’d say it’s about even…

Don’t forget folder navigation. :stuck_out_tongue:

Most of those start out as requests for help, but then quickly turn into a heated debate (or worse).

@tapeworm wrote:


@fuze_owner_gb wrote:


@marvin_martian wrote:
What do you suppose prompts more requests for help, playlists or video? :wink:


I’d say it’s about even…


 

Don’t forget folder navigation. :stuck_out_tongue:

 

Most of those start out as requests for help, but then quickly turn into a heated debate (or worse).

Yup… I almost forgot about that topic…:wink:

@jehr wrote:

I realize JRiver must be formatting the playlist wrong.  That’s why I asked like 10 times for an example of a properly formatted playlist, because my M3U files looked exactly like what people were saying they needed to look like.  I can’t use WMP or WINAMP because they don’t support all of the file types that I use with JRiver (nor are they as good of programs to begin with), so I can’t use those to make my playlists.  I’d still like to figure out what’s going on with the M3Us so I can switch  back to MSC someday, as MTP is too slow for my tastes.  I’m beginning to feel like I’ll never get the complete answer on everything you need to know about playlists on the Sansa from this board.

Maybe you could try Winamp just to get a sample of a working playlist?  You can always uninstall it later.  Just out of curiosity, what file types are you using that Winamp can’t play?  I thought there was a plugin for just about every type known to man.

I can post an actual working playlist, but it’s going to look exactly like the sample ones I’ve posted before.  If you want, PM your email and I’ll send one to you.

@skinjob wrote:


@jehr wrote:

I realize JRiver must be formatting the playlist wrong.  That’s why I asked like 10 times for an example of a properly formatted playlist, because my M3U files looked exactly like what people were saying they needed to look like.  I can’t use WMP or WINAMP because they don’t support all of the file types that I use with JRiver (nor are they as good of programs to begin with), so I can’t use those to make my playlists.  I’d still like to figure out what’s going on with the M3Us so I can switch  back to MSC someday, as MTP is too slow for my tastes.  I’m beginning to feel like I’ll never get the complete answer on everything you need to know about playlists on the Sansa from this board.


 

Maybe you could try Winamp just to get a sample of a working playlist?  You can always uninstall it later.  Just out of curiosity, what file types are you using that Winamp can’t play?  I thought there was a plugin for just about every type known to man.

 

I can post an actual working playlist, but it’s going to look exactly like the sample ones I’ve posted before.  If you want, PM your email and I’ll send one to you.

You are right Skinjob.  I have a plugin for every format known to man-kind on Winamp…And it’s FLAC decoder is among the best I have ever used.  Over the years I’ve had a couple of problematic FLAC files that wouldn’t decode properly, even with the authethic FLAC decoder and Winamp handled them with ease…

I use ape.  I’m not interested in rebuilding my libraries and playlists with winamp, as I have roughly 70k songs.  Way too much work.  Especially since JRiver worked fine in MTP mode.  I’d still like to see a real sample .m3u playlist though with 2-3 songs in it if anyone could post such a thing.

I’ll try to post one of my playlists tonight when I get home, but I don’t think it’s going to tell you anything you don’t already know.

I would still suggest installing Winamp just to create a working playlist yourself.  You can tell Winamp not to associate itself with any file types and not to integrate with windows explorer, that way nothing of your current setup will be disturbed.

I understand not wanting to change your current setup and JRMC does look really nice, but just so you’re aware, Winamp has had a Monkey’s Audio input plugin for 5-6 years.  For some reason the latest version is not on the Winamp site, but it’s included in the Monkey’s Audio installer.

@jehr: Sorry I took so long to post the samples.  Here’s a sample playlist I made using the “drag into Winamp and save to the player” method.  In this case I saved the playlist to the root of the Fuze.  I didn’t edit anything manually, Winamp created the correct relative paths.

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:250,New Order - Everything’s Gone Green
MUSIC\New Order\Singles (CD 1)\03. Everything’s Gone Green [New Order - Singles (CD 1)].mp3
#EXTINF:238,Gang of Four - To Hell With Poverty
MUSIC\Gang of Four\Return the Gift\01. To Hell With Poverty [Gang of Four - Return the Gift].mp3
#EXTINF:405,Public Image Ltd - Disappointed
MUSIC\Public Image Ltd\The Greatest Hits, So Far\12. Disappointed [Public Image Ltd - The Greatest Hits, So Far].mp3
#EXTINF:239,Killing Joke - Eighties
MUSIC\Killing Joke\Night Time (Remaster)\08. Eighties [Killing Joke - Night Time (Remaster)].mp3
#EXTINF:322,Leæther Strip - Fit for Flogging
MUSIC\Leæther Strip\Satanic Reasons - The Very Best of (CD 1)\04. Fit for Flogging [Leæther Strip - Satanic Reasons - The Very Best Of (CD 1)].mp3
#EXTINF:372,Maximum Joy - Stretch (Disco
MUSIC\Various Artists\Rough Trade Shops - Post Punk Vol. 01 (CD 2)\22. Stretch (Disco - Maximum Joy [Various Artists - Rough Trade Shops - Post Punk Vol. 01 (CD 2)].mp3
#EXTINF:270,Yello - The Roxy Cut
MUSIC\Various Artists\If You Can’t Please Yourself, You Can’t Please Your Soul\08. The Roxy Cut - Yello [Various Artists - If You Can’t Please Yourself, You Can’t Please Your Soul].mp3
#EXTINF:448,Front 242 - W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G.
MUSIC\Front 242\Official Version\01. W.Y.H.I.W.Y.G. [Front 242 - Official Version].mp3

@jehr: Here’s one created by Winamp’s portable sync feature.  It was created in the MUSIC folder.  Winamp doesn’t use relative paths when syncing for some reason, so I use a VBScript I wrote to fix the paths after syncing.

#EXTM3U
Ministry\Early Trax\03. All Day [Ministry - Early Trax].mp3
Ministry\Rio Grande Blood\09. Ass Clown [Ministry - Rio Grande Blood].mp3
Ministry\Rantology\12. Bloodlines [Ministry - Rantology].mp3
Ministry\The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste\05. Breathe [Ministry - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste].mp3
Ministry\The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste\02. Burning Inside [Ministry - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste].mp3
Ministry\Psalm 69\08. Corrosion [Ministry - Psalm 69].mp3
Ministry\With Sympathy\01. Effigy (I’m Not An) [Ministry - With Sympathy].mp3
Ministry\Early Trax\01. Every Day Is Halloween [Ministry - Early Trax].mp3
Ministry\Psalm 69\04. Hero [Ministry - Psalm 69].mp3
Ministry\Greatest Fits\08. Jesus Built My Hotrod [Ministry - Greatest Fits].mp3
Ministry\Rantology\08. Jesus Built My Hotrod (Update Mix) [Ministry - Rantology].mp3
Ministry\Twitch\01. Just Like You [Ministry - Twitch].mp3
Ministry\Rio Grande Blood\05. Lieslieslies [Ministry - Rio Grande Blood].mp3
Ministry\Twitch\06. My Possession [Ministry - Twitch].mp3
Ministry\Greatest Fits\06. N.W.O. [Ministry - Greatest Fits].mp3
Ministry\Rantology\04. N.W.O. (Update Mix) [Ministry - Rantology].mp3
Ministry\Early Trax\05. Nature Of Love [Ministry - Early Trax].mp3
Ministry\Houses of the Molé\01. No ‘W’ [Ministry - Houses of the Molé].mp3
Ministry\Twitch\08. Over the Shoulder (12’ Version) [Ministry - Twitch].mp3
Ministry\Psalm 69\07. Psalm 69 [Ministry - Psalm 69].mp3
Ministry\With Sympathy\02. Revenge [Ministry - With Sympathy].mp3
Ministry\The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste\06. So What [Ministry - The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste].mp3
Ministry\Greatest Fits\02. Stigmata [Ministry - Greatest Fits].mp3
Ministry\Rantology\05. Stigmata (Update Mix) [Ministry - Rantology].mp3
Ministry\Twitch\04. The Angel [Ministry - Twitch].mp3
Ministry\Rantology\02. The Great Satan [Ministry - Rantology].mp3
Ministry\Greatest Fits\03. The Land Of Rape And Honey [Ministry - Greatest Fits].mp3
Ministry\Greatest Fits\04. Thieves [Ministry - Greatest Fits].mp3
Ministry\Houses of the Molé\02. Waiting [Ministry - Houses of the Molé].mp3
Ministry\Houses of the Molé\05. Warp City [Ministry - Houses of the Molé].mp3
Ministry\Twitch\02. We Believe [Ministry - Twitch].mp3
Ministry\Houses of the Molé\03. Worthless [Ministry - Houses of the Molé].mp3
Ministry\Rio Grande Dub Ya\01. Rio Grande Blood (Rio Grande DUB Ya Mix) [Ministry - Rio Grande Dub Ya].mp3
Ministry\Rio Grande Dub Ya\02. Senor Peligro (La Zona Peligrosa Mix) [Ministry - Rio Grande Dub Ya].mp3
Ministry\Rio Grande Dub Ya\05. Lies Lies Lies (Cognitive Dissonance Mix) [Ministry - Rio Grande Dub Ya].mp3
Ministry\Rio Grande Dub Ya\06. The Great Satan (What Would Satan Do Mix) [Ministry - Rio Grande Dub Ya].mp3

@jehr:  Last one.  This one was created with a VBScript I worte to make playlists for each album folder in a tree.  The playlist is in the same album folder as the mp3s.

#EXTM3U
01. Bone Machine [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
02. Nimrod’s Son [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
03. Holiday Song [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
04. Caribou [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
05. Broken Face [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
06. Gigantic [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
07. Vamos [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
08. Hey [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
09. Monkey Gone To Heaven [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
10. Debaser [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
11. Gouge Away [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
12. Wave Of Mutilation [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
13. Here Comes Your Man [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
14. Tame [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
15. Where Is My Mind [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
16. Into The White [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
17. Velouria [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
18. Allison [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
19. Dig For Fire [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
20. U-Mass [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
21. Alec Eiffel [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
22. Planet Of Sound [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
23. Winterlong [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
 

@skinjob wrote:

@jehr:  Last one.  This one was created with a VBScript I worte to make playlists for each album folder in a tree.  The playlist is in the same album folder as the mp3s.

 

#EXTM3U
01. Bone Machine [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
02. Nimrod’s Son [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
03. Holiday Song [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
04. Caribou [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
05. Broken Face [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
06. Gigantic [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
07. Vamos [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
08. Hey [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
09. Monkey Gone To Heaven [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
10. Debaser [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
11. Gouge Away [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
12. Wave Of Mutilation [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
13. Here Comes Your Man [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
14. Tame [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
15. Where Is My Mind [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
16. Into The White [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
17. Velouria [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
18. Allison [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
19. Dig For Fire [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
20. U-Mass [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
21. Alec Eiffel [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
22. Planet Of Sound [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
23. Winterlong [Pixies - Best of Pixies- Wave of Mutilation].mp3
 

Off Topic. Skinjob where did you get Wave of Mutilation? I love the Pixies but I cant find this album at the local record stores (The have been reduced to Best Buys at this point) and if you found it on the net that would be really awesome.

@conversionbox wrote:

Off Topic. Skinjob where did you get Wave of Mutilation? I love the Pixies but I cant find this album at the local record stores (The have been reduced to Best Buys at this point) and if you found it on the net that would be really awesome.

I found it at a local Borders.  You can get it from Amazon.

Thanks for the samples…I’ll try again later tonight.  The second one looks like what I was trying and it wouldn’t take.  I’ll give it another go.

jehr wrote:

Here’s what my sample playlist looks like, exact copy and paste:

 

#EXTM3U

3 Doors Down\Away From The Sun\3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun - When I’m Gone.MP3

 

This is in the music folder.  I have a folder called “3 Doors Down” in the Music Folder, and it has the “Away From the Sun” folder inside of it.  And inside of that is a file called “How You Remind Me.MP3”

 

The file is called “albumtest1.m3u” and it is in the music folder.

 

Doesn’t work.

Just a little “finger-check” here…  In the original post the playlist entry’s filename is “3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun - When I’m Gone.MP3”, but the description says …[is a file called “How You Remind Me.MP3”].  Was there a disconnect between the playlist filename and the actual file’s name, or was this just a typo?  (Sorry to be pedantic – I get that way when debugging…).

As another form of testing, if the playlist fails on the Fuze, try attaching to the PC and using a PC player (like Winamp, or whatever) to play the playlist (and songs) off of the player directly.  If it also fails, it may give you a more useful diagnostic message (like “…\artist\album\title.mp3 not found”, which implies the playlist path is bad).

Things I’ve learned in making playlists:

  1. Watch out for characters that are invalid in Windows paths/filenames: ?*|/:"<> 

  2. Characters outside the 7-bit ASCII range (i.e., anything not on a standard US-English keyboard, like accented characters, ™, (1/2), etc.) can be problematic on the Fuze, even though they are valid characters for filenames.  My solution has been to create “.m3u8” playlists with UTF-8 encoding, which the Fuze handles fine (much better since firmware 1.02.22).

[I wonder if a “playlist verifier” utility program would be useful to the general public…]