Thread: iTunes ****ting me

Originally Posted by Petetheprinta

Haha well that's one way to solve your problem, but considering the effort the OP had already put in I would have thought it would be considerably easier to remove duplicates than to buy an android phone, tablet whatever and start again.
By the way I am not an IT expert, I just work with a lot of sound tracks and IMHO without a doubt iTunes is by FAR the easiest and best way to handle them. I base this on conversations with with others like myself who deal with lots of music and their methods of organization.
Pete

iTunes works well if you are prepared to accept the default actions, but it is not a very good organiser of files. It must be the only app in the world that can take an album and create a folder for each contributing artist on the album.
Unfortunately installing iTunes a number of years ago totally wrecked my music collection, iTunes insisting on reorganising everything (including changing the format of some files to a proprietary apple format). Not what I expected from software that is supposedly user friendly. Nor does it play nicely with multiple PCs or multiple devices.
If you want control over your collection, think away from iTunes. If your happy to play by the software's rules, iTunes does what it is supposed to do.

Originally Posted by theresanothersteve

iTunes works well if you are prepared to accept the default actions, but it is not a very good organiser of files. It must be the only app in the world that can take an album and create a folder for each contributing artist on the album.
Unfortunately installing iTunes a number of years ago totally wrecked my music collection, iTunes insisting on reorganising everything (including changing the format of some files to a proprietary apple format). Not what I expected from software that is supposedly user friendly. Nor does it play nicely with multiple PCs or multiple devices.
If you want control over your collection, think away from iTunes. If your happy to play by the software's rules, iTunes does what it is supposed to do.

Well, I must disagree with you there, your first few words show where most people go wrong "default actions" iTunes is easily changed to do just about whatever you need it to do. It does by "default" create a folder for each artist, so what? The album itself doesn't change. You can also create compilation albums but it doesn't do that by "default" you have to change prefs to do so.

As regards changing files, again I disagree. As you import files, you have a choice of file formats. Again "default" is apple format. Change it in prefs, end of problem. It does NOT randomly import some files as one format and others as something else, it's all one format that you have the choice of setting.

Have no idea what you mean regards problems playing on multiple PC's. I move music between phones, tablets, PC's, TV's, media boxes and vehicles with no problem whatsoever.

I am certainly not here to defend iTunes, I have no interest in who does or doesn't use it, but It has been my experience that most problems with anything computer orientated are caused by the operator not having a clue what they are doing, blindly diving in without due thought to consequences of actions. IMHO iTunes It did not "wreck your music collection" you did that. Why would you entrust your music collection to something you are unfamiliar with. Why not "suck it and see" Install a few tracks, if it works for you then use it, if not don't use it. I really don't see how anyone would blame a simple program for not doing what they want it to do particularly if they are unfamiliar with how to use it.
Here endeth the lesson for today.
Pete

Originally Posted by Petetheprinta

...your first few words show where most people go wrong "default actions"...
Pete

My point exactly; in a supposedly user friendly app peole will accept the defaults.

To get iTunes working for my wife I ended up setting up an old PC for iTunes only, and changed the defaults (much as you suggest) to get it to work. That bought her existing CD collection across. When she buys a new CD she rips it to the iTunes library through iTunes, and to the media server using her PC.

Face it, iTunes (capable as it is in an Apple world) does not play nicely in a multimedia world. If you want to use it, the best bet is to only use iTunes (and iThings) and it works well. Try to add Android, Windows, playstations, and so on and it becomes (shall we say) clunky. These devices have no problems sharing media using Windows Media Server or third party apps like serviio.

Originally Posted by theresanothersteve

My point exactly; in a supposedly user friendly app peole will accept the defaults.

To get iTunes working for my wife I ended up setting up an old PC for iTunes only, and changed the defaults (much as you suggest) to get it to work. That bought her existing CD collection across. When she buys a new CD she rips it to the iTunes library through iTunes, and to the media server using her PC.

Face it, iTunes (capable as it is in an Apple world) does not play nicely in a multimedia world. If you want to use it, the best bet is to only use iTunes (and iThings) and it works well. Try to add Android, Windows, playstations, and so on and it becomes (shall we say) clunky. These devices have no problems sharing media using Windows Media Server or third party apps like serviio.

Therein lies the problem "default" I don't want to sound like an old fogey but I have been using computers since Adam was a boy. I would NEVER use a program unless I have tested it thoroughly and ensured it does what I want it to do, NOT, what it is set up by default to do. To be honest I don't see how anyone can get the most benefit out of a program set up as "default" (I am in the enviable position to trial software before I buy, most people cant do that)

I own a printing company in which we use a Apple (primarily for graphics, web, multi media) and PC's (business side of things) I would NEVER use Apple for running the business and I would NEVER use PC's for the graphic side. They both have their place. Having used both platforms extensively, IMHO I can speak with a tiny bit of authority on the subject. Most of our clients present us with files prepared on PC's in Word or publisher (shudder) not realizing they are useless to printers. We needed to convert them on macs into something we could use. But we need the PC's to accept the files in the first place. So both platforms work hand in hand.

MOST people but not all (and I am not suggesting you) have experience with one platform only usually PC and will not entertain the thought that Apple is of any use whatsoever. You only have to look through some of the posts on the forum to see that. For some reason they take it personally the Apple/iPhone/Mac etc. platform "forces" them to do it the Apple way. The PC platform/android etc does the same thing but they are too one eyed to see that. (They will probably come out of the woodwork now). As I said previously they both have their places.
Cheers
Pete
Wow, sorry, very long winded, apologies for hijacking the thread. Hopefully the original poster has had his question answered.

So let me see if I get the OPs original dilema.

You have your entire music collection sorted.
You have single copies of the music
You have all the music stored on a single drive

Itunes shows multiple (duplicates) of each file

Solution:
Select ALL songs in itunes
Hit delete - But NOT from hardrive, just from itunes
Import folder containing music files back into itunes.

Problem solved, not big issue...

Originally Posted by Petetheprinta

Therein lies the problem "default" I don't want to sound like an old fogey but I have been using computers since Adam was a boy. I would NEVER use a program unless I have tested it thoroughly and ensured it does what I want it to do, NOT, what it is set up by default to do. To be honest I don't see how anyone can get the most benefit out of a program set up as "default" (I am in the enviable position to trial software before I buy, most people cant do that)

I own a printing company in which we use a Apple (primarily for graphics, web, multi media) and PC's (business side of things) I would NEVER use Apple for running the business and I would NEVER use PC's for the graphic side. They both have their place. Having used both platforms extensively, IMHO I can speak with a tiny bit of authority on the subject. Most of our clients present us with files prepared on PC's in Word or publisher (shudder) not realizing they are useless to printers. We needed to convert them on macs into something we could use. But we need the PC's to accept the files in the first place. So both platforms work hand in hand.

MOST people but not all (and I am not suggesting you) have experience with one platform only usually PC and will not entertain the thought that Apple is of any use whatsoever. You only have to look through some of the posts on the forum to see that. For some reason they take it personally the Apple/iPhone/Mac etc. platform "forces" them to do it the Apple way. The PC platform/android etc does the same thing but they are too one eyed to see that. (They will probably come out of the woodwork now). As I said previously they both have their places.
Cheers
Pete
Wow, sorry, very long winded, apologies for hijacking the thread. Hopefully the original poster has had his question answered.

Or you run a Mac, with windows neatly controlled in a box (where it belongs) that seamlessly allows files to be moved around.

Mac OS is Unix, a powerful and robust OS... And modern Macs can handle other OS due to their hardware.

There are fantastic Business accounting, inventory etc packages for both platforms.


As for multimedia in a home enviroment, Apple talks equally well to my media players, in fact is more robust than the PC to MMPC ever was.

Even the xbox, Samsung TV, PS4, all communicate well with the iMac currently serving the media. This media is all stored and handled in iTunes without issue.

Most problems come from taking people, who were immersed in a Windows world and asking them to learn something (a) New, (b) different and (c) that doesnt require a degreee in IT to operate...

Originally Posted by Tombie

Or you run a Mac, with windows neatly controlled in a box (where it belongs) that seamlessly allows files to be moved around.

Mac OS is Unix, a powerful and robust OS... And modern Macs can handle other OS due to their hardware.

There are fantastic Business accounting, inventory etc packages for both platforms.


As for multimedia in a home enviroment, Apple talks equally well to my media players, in fact is more robust than the PC to MMPC ever was.

Even the xbox, Samsung TV, PS4, all communicate well with the iMac currently serving the media. This media is all stored and handled in iTunes without issue.

Most problems come from taking people, who were immersed in a Windows world and asking them to learn something (a) New, (b) different and (c) that doesnt require a degreee in IT to operate...

Whilst I do this at home, sadly at this time I am unable to do so at work. For reasons that would be very boring to most non printers, we use postscript fonts because they work best with various RIPS we use to produce proofs, plates, high res PDF's etc. It's too time consuming to convert a supplied PC file, with its strange collection of font and graphic types, into something we can use to go straight into the system. We always have a small proportion of problems using PC's which we don't have using Macs. The problem may well be ours, hence the conversion with Macs before we use the file. I suspect, if we used PC's only, we would have solved the problem by now however "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It works for us and that's the criteria.
Pete

Originally Posted by Tombie

So let me see if I get the OPs original dilema.

You have your entire music collection sorted.
You have single copies of the music
You have all the music stored on a single drive

Itunes shows multiple (duplicates) of each file

Solution:
Select ALL songs in itunes
Hit delete - But NOT from hardrive, just from itunes
Import folder containing music files back into itunes.

Problem solved, not big issue...

That is what I would recommend too