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dop:notes

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Release / Usage notes

About operations that modify the iPod database

  • It will backup your old database to the iPod_Control/iTunes/iTunesDB.dop.backup
  • Please keep this backup in case anything goes wrong. If something does go wrong restore the backup by replacing the current iTunesDB with it. Keep a copy of both in case I want to look at them. If something really really goes wrong and the iPod doesn't start (unlikely, but just in case) you may have to shove it into Disk Mode to restore the backup.
  • Replaygain to SoundCheck conversion: Uses album gain if present, otherwise track gain.
  • The sort order of tracks in the library on your iPod may be a bit different after rewrite.

Using the send files to iPod command

  • Does not add files for which it finds an exact/identical match for on the iPod, otherwise it does
  • If the file is already on the iPod drive, it will simply add it to the iPod's database. In that case, it will make no attempt to move the file anywhere - so if the path is too long, or the file path contains non-ASCII characters it will fail.
  • Otherwise, files are sent to the Fxx directories, with their original filenames converted to ASCII.
  • Subsongs / chapters not supported yet.

Using the remove files command

  • Only supported currently if you run it on files located on the iPod. (I.e. do “Load library” and do it from that playlist)

About syncing files with your iPod

  • Sync in this case means: remove files from the iPod that are not in the files the iPod is being sync'd with; and add the files that are not present on the iPod.
  • It does not involve any tracking of files that are modified locally on your computer. That means if you modify a file on your computer, re-sync the iPod, the old version will be removed from the iPod then the new version will be added (i.e. no “in-place” update). This means some info will be lost if you do this (play count,…).

Using the send playlists to your iPod command

  • Files are matched to existing tracks using an exact match algorithm (requires identical files).
  • If a playlist with the same name already exists the new playlist is renamed.

iPod lyrics support

The iPod supports the following formats:

  • MP3: ID3v2 in USLT frame (UNSYNCED LYRICS field as of foobar2000 0.9.4.2)
  • MP4/M4A: iTunes compatible tagging in LYRICS field
  • Note that you may need to tag MP3s in foobar2000 in compatibility mode for the iPod to read the lyrics

Unsupported format conversion

(From version 0.3.6)

  • foo_dop inputs a 16-bit PCM WAV file to the encoder via stdin. Therefore specified encoder must support input via pipes. However output through stdout is not currently supported.

Configuration:

  • The command to execute must be entered in the “Command” field. Use %d for the destination file parameter. Examples:
    LAME -S --noreplaygain -V 5 --vbr-new - %d
    neroAacEnc.exe -q 0.40 -ignorelength -if - -of %d
  • Enter the file extension of the target file format in the “Extension” field. E.g. MP3, M4A

iPod Shuffle support

(From version 0.3.8)

  • I don't own a Shuffle. Therefore I don't know if it even works or just send Shuffles into Oblivion.
  • Make sure you backup your iPod_Control\iTunes folder before use
  • It doesn't preserve the original song order. I.e., first time you use foo_dop, the song order will change. In addition, songs sent using foo_dop will appear in an arbitrary order.
  • Doesn't merge play counts back into the DB. Doesn't support start/stop times. Resets the Shuffle's volume and shuffle status when updating the Shuffle.
  • Don't know how foo_dop and DRM'd songs already on the Shuffle mix.

Video support

(From version 0.3.9)

  • Only MP4 files supported.
  • You must ensure the file is in the correct format.
  • Use the MEDIA KIND metadata field to select the media type. The default for files detected as video is “Movie”. Accepted values are “Movie”, “TV Show”, “Music Video” and “Music”.
  • TV Shows must have the SHOW metafield to show up on the iPod
  • foo_dop will automatically scan MP4 files without a MEDIA TYPE metafield to check if they have video content. If you wish, you can disable this from the advanced preferences screen.

Ejecting the iPod

(From version 0.4.0)

This is equivalent to using 'Safely Remove Hardware'.

Note Windows Vista users should ensure they have this update installed.

Using the "Omit leading The when sorting on the iPod" option

(From version 0.4.0)

  • This feature is not compatible with the quick scroll by letter feature in 5G iPods up to at least firmware 1.2.1.
  • foo_dop automatically generates the new sort fields added in iTunes 7.1 based on this preference.

Using the Manage contents command

Please don't use other iPod management programs at the same time as the Manage contents command.

Using the Determine gapless info command

(From version 0.4.1)

  • You must use the command on files located on the iPod (i.e. those from the Load iPod library command)
  • This works for MP3 files (for which foobar2000 reports the encoder delay/padding values), iTunes AAC (MP4) files and Nero AAC (MP4) files by a recent Nero encoder
  • It will not function correctly on corrupt MP3s. If you scan such a file, the iPod may not play it back correctly.
  • You can check which songs have gapless data from the Browse iPod command.

About album art support

(From version 0.4.2)

  • Source script in preferences is a title formatting script that specifies the location of the album art. The location is assumed to be relative to the source file, unless it outputs a : character.

Examples:

folder.jpg
c:\artworkstore\$replace(%artist% - %album%,:,,?,,*,.).jpg
  • When using title formatting to specify a path to artwork, take care to handle invalid filename characters using $replace (of course, in the same way you did so when naming your artwork)
  • Artwork is added when files are sent to the iPod. The reload info command also adds artwork for files that do not have artwork and have the original path field from the dopdb.
  • iTunes reloads artwork when it is determining gapless playback information. To prevent this, ensure you have gapless scanning enabled in foo_dop, as well as the option to set dummy data (0.5.9 and newer).

About the Smart Playlist Editor

(From version 0.4.6)

  • It is accessible through the playlist contextmenu from the Manage contents command
  • Not all fields are supported on all iPod models
  • Rating is the number of stars (0-5)
  • Length is in seconds
  • Size is in bytes

About iPhone and iPod touch support

(From version 0.5.6)

  • You need Apple Mobile Device Support installed which comes with iTunes.
  • The device must first be set up with iTunes
  • You need to enable “mobile device support” in foo_dop preferences
  • Reading of On The Go playlists from the device are not currently supported.
  • Currently there seems to be an issue with the component losing connection to the device during the transfer of large files.

About the recover orphaned files command

(From version 0.6.0)

  • This scans the Music folder on the iPod for tracks that are not in the iPod's database and adds them to it.
dop/notes.1215103075.txt.gz · Last modified: 2008/07/03 16:37 by musicmusic