Playlist Creator/Editor

[Mike Rivers[_2_]]

While we have the portable music player thread going (and, yeah, I know
this isn't really a pro audio topic), maybe someone has run across an
app for Android OS that thinks like I do. All of these devices support
playlists, and it seems that everybody uses them, but none of the apps
I've tried make it very easy for me to create and organize playlists.

Here's how I want to work:

1. Open the app and show me a list of all the music files - but first, I
want to tell it which folders to search. Typically they search the
entire device for audio files of any format, which includes pulses for
my acoustic polarity checker app, WAV files with test tones, and other
such special purpose drivel. OK, so I have a list of radio programs from
which I want to create a playlist for my 5 hour flight

2. Create a new playlist

3. Select five or six programs from the big list and put them on the
playlist. Dragging them on to the playlist would be preferable. That way
I could put them directly on to the list in the order that I think I
want to listen to them. Alternatively, select the programs from the big
list by tapping check boxes, move them and then . . . and then . . . and
then . . . .

4. Drag them around on the playlist to put them in the desired order.

5. Absolutely turn off the damn shuffle so they play in the order I want
them to play

6. Some time later, go back to the playlist, delete entries (without
deleting the audio files), add new entries, and re-arrange the list.

Is this so hard? I keep trying these things and either they simply
don't do what I want, even in their own way, or I haven't been able to
figure out how to do what I want. Seems like most of them want me to
pick songs and they go on to the playlist in the order I pick them, and
then I can't re-arrange the order.

Oh, and it should be free, because, man, music should be free, man.

--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[John Williamson]

On 12/04/2016 15:48, Mike Rivers wrote:
> <Snippage> Is this so hard? I keep trying these things and either they simply
> don't do what I want, even in their own way, or I haven't been able to
> figure out how to do what I want. Seems like most of them want me to
> pick songs and they go on to the playlist in the order I pick them, and
> then I can't re-arrange the order.
>
> Oh, and it should be free, because, man, music should be free, man.
>
If you can find a copy now it's been discontinued by the owners, Winamp
for Android does most of that. Ah, I just found it...

http://winamp.en.uptodown.com/android

You will need to tell Android you are happy with it installing software
from unauthorised sources to get it working.

If you don't like the playlist order, the playlist is a plain text file,
with one line per entry, that you can edit in any text editor. The file
extension is .mpu, and will normally be found in the "playlists"
directory off the data drive root. I use it often, and the same playlist
files work on a Windows computer, an Archos standalone player and my
android tablet and phone, provided the directory trees are the same,
starting from the playlist directory.
--
Tciao for Now!

John.

[Nil[_2_]]

On 12 Apr 2016, Mike Rivers > wrote in
rec.audio.pro:

> While we have the portable music player thread going (and, yeah, I
> know this isn't really a pro audio topic), maybe someone has run
> across an app for Android OS that thinks like I do.

Mediamonkey.

> 1. Open the app and show me a list of all the music files - but
> first, I want to tell it which folders to search.

Check.

> 2. Create a new playlist

Check.

> 3. Select five or six programs from the big list and put them on
> the playlist. Dragging them on to the playlist would be
> preferable. That way I could put them directly on to the list in
> the order that I think I want to listen to them. Alternatively,
> select the programs from the big list by tapping check boxes, move
> them and then . . . and then . . . and then . . . .

Check.

> 4. Drag them around on the playlist to put them in the desired
> order.

Check.

> 5. Absolutely turn off the damn shuffle so they play in the order
> I want them to play

Check. You can shuffle or not, it's your choice.

> 6. Some time later, go back to the playlist, delete entries
> (without deleting the audio files), add new entries, and
> re-arrange the list.

Check.

> Oh, and it should be free, because, man, music should be free,
> man.

Check.

I use Mediamonkey for Android on my phone and the Windows version on my
PC. The PC version is like iTunes - it's a media player, media library,
playlist manger, syncs with my phone and Sansa Clip Zip+, media server,
media client, podcast aggregator and probably more. Of course, you
don't have to use all those features. There's a pay version, too, that
gives you a few more features.

Check it out, I think it fits all your requirements.

[Mike Rivers[_2_]]

On 4/12/2016 1:45 PM, Nil wrote:

> Mediamonkey.

Maybe I should look at the Android version. I got something, a player, I
think, actually, that came with a copy of Mediamomkey for Windows. I
tried creating a playlist with it and couldn't figure it out.

I'm going to check out John's suggestion for Winamp. That's my player of
choice on the computer. Maybe it'll be just as good on the phone. Or not.


--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[Mike Rivers[_2_]]

On 4/12/2016 11:42 AM, John Williamson wrote:
> If you can find a copy now it's been discontinued by the owners, Winamp
> for Android does most of that. Ah, I just found it...
>
> http://winamp.en.uptodown.com/android

OK, I installed Winamp. It looks familiar, but I still don't get the
playlist business. I can create a new playlist, but I can't figure out
how to add files to it. And I couldn't figure out how to move things
around on an existing playlist.

Maybe it's just me and I don't know how to work these touch screen gadgets.

--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[Nil[_2_]]

On 12 Apr 2016, Mike Rivers > wrote in
rec.audio.pro:

> On 4/12/2016 1:45 PM, Nil wrote:
>
>> Mediamonkey.
>
> Maybe I should look at the Android version. I got something, a
> player, I think, actually, that came with a copy of Mediamomkey
> for Windows. I tried creating a playlist with it and couldn't
> figure it out.

The player may have included Mediamonkey to use as a syncing program to
load up the device. Maybe it was an old version - new releases are far
between, but they all improve the functionality and stability of the
program.

The Windows version is pretty straightforward - you create a playlist
from the menu, which then appears as a folder on the left, then you
drag and drop songs from list on the right into the playlist. Much like
iTunes does it. Mediamonkey Android is less straightforward (as is
everything Android, IMO) but the ability is there.

I make my playlists with Mediamonkey on the PC, then sync them to the
phone. I can work with the playlists on the phone itself, but it's more
tedious, so I don't do it often.

> I'm going to check out John's suggestion for Winamp. That's my
> player of choice on the computer. Maybe it'll be just as good on
> the phone. Or not.

Winamp may be simpler and with fewer unneeded features. But there must
be a reason it's discontinued (though that reason doesn't necessarily
mean that it's not good, functional software, of course.) I wouldn't
assume that the Android version is much like the PC version.

[[email protected]]

>
> Maybe it's just me and I don't know how to work these touch screen gadgets.
>
>

if its a touch screen try pressing AND HOLDING on a selection.
i.e. not just touch, but touch and hold

Sometimes that turns on a whole new set of options.

M

[Nil[_2_]]

On 12 Apr 2016, Mike Rivers > wrote in
rec.audio.pro:

> OK, I installed Winamp. It looks familiar, but I still don't get
> the playlist business. I can create a new playlist, but I can't
> figure out how to add files to it. And I couldn't figure out how
> to move things around on an existing playlist.
>
> Maybe it's just me and I don't know how to work these touch screen
> gadgets.

You know about long presses vs. short presses in Android, right? A long
press is similar to a right-click in Windows - it usually presents a
context menu or allows other options pertaining to the item you pressed
on. For example, in Mediamonkey Android, you select a song from the
list by a long press on it in the list of songs. A box comes up with a
check mark in it, and you can select other songs at that time as well.
Then there is an icon at the bottom to touch to select what playlist to
put it in. You can then go to the playlist itself and drag the songs
into any order you want.

[Mike Rivers[_2_]]

On 4/12/2016 5:13 PM, wrote:

> if its a touch screen try pressing AND HOLDING on a selection.
> i.e. not just touch, but touch and hold
>
> Sometimes that turns on a whole new set of options.

I've figured out that much, but in this case all it does is start the
file playing. It's almost like playlists are living in a different
universe.


--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[Mike Rivers[_2_]]

On 4/12/2016 5:22 PM, Nil wrote:
> For example, in Mediamonkey Android, you select a song from the
> list by a long press on it in the list of songs. A box comes up with a
> check mark in it, and you can select other songs at that time as well.
> Then there is an icon at the bottom to touch to select what playlist to
> put it in. You can then go to the playlist itself and drag the songs
> into any order you want.

Maybe that's what I missed is the icon to select the playlist. Most of
those "list" icons look like a "bullet list." Is that it? I think I
tried dragging songs in a playlist that it found from another program
and it didn't move, but just played. Maybe I need a greener thumb.

--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[Mike Rivers[_2_]]

On 4/12/2016 5:11 PM, Nil wrote:

> I make my playlists with Mediamonkey on the PC, then sync them to the
> phone. I can work with the playlists on the phone itself, but it's more
> tedious, so I don't do it often.

Then you have a sense of my frustration. I don't mind crudding up the
phone with apps. It's expendable. But I'd rather not crud up my
computer, and I'd rather not have the phone and computer connected other
than with the phone looking like an external drive to the computer. My
process is to copy files from the computer to the phone, then massage
them with the phone tools. I want to learn how to do that because the
computer I have with me when I travel isn't the one to which I save my
radio program files.

> Winamp may be simpler and with fewer unneeded features. But there must
> be a reason it's discontinued

It's discontinued because AOL bought it from Nullsoft. AOL was going to
update it, and they apparently released a lame version, but it's pretty
much considered dead.

> I wouldn't
> assume that the Android version is much like the PC version.

From a visual standpoint, the Android versions of Winamp and
MediaMonkey look quite similar. The language is, too, though the words
don't necessarily mean the same thing in the two programs.


--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[JackA]

On Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 5:51:20 PM UTC-4, Mike Rivers wrote:
> On 4/12/2016 5:11 PM, Nil wrote:
>
> > I make my playlists with Mediamonkey on the PC, then sync them to the
> > phone. I can work with the playlists on the phone itself, but it's more
> > tedious, so I don't do it often.
>
> Then you have a sense of my frustration. I don't mind crudding up the
> phone with apps. It's expendable. But I'd rather not crud up my
> computer, and I'd rather not have the phone and computer connected other
> than with the phone looking like an external drive to the computer. My
> process is to copy files from the computer to the phone, then massage
> them with the phone tools. I want to learn how to do that because the
> computer I have with me when I travel isn't the one to which I save my
> radio program files.
>
> > Winamp may be simpler and with fewer unneeded features. But there must
> > be a reason it's discontinued
>
> It's discontinued because AOL bought it from Nullsoft. AOL was going to
> update it, and they apparently released a lame version, but it's pretty
> much considered dead.

I still use an early version of WinAmp. Use its real-time equalizer to adjust my remastered MP3s [display give accurate DB setting]. Has been the player of choice since I discovered MP3s, early Y2k. But, when they got into playing video, I said, enough! I understand Goldwave (DAW) software now includes a preview, but I really don't care to downgrade, even though upgrade, to a *new* Microsoft Windows abortion.

Jack
>
> > I wouldn't
> > assume that the Android version is much like the PC version.
>
> From a visual standpoint, the Android versions of Winamp and
> MediaMonkey look quite similar. The language is, too, though the words
> don't necessarily mean the same thing in the two programs.
>
>
> --
> For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[JackA]

On Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at 11:42:23 AM UTC-4, John Williamson wrote:
> On 12/04/2016 15:48, Mike Rivers wrote:
> > <Snippage> Is this so hard? I keep trying these things and either they simply
> > don't do what I want, even in their own way, or I haven't been able to
> > figure out how to do what I want. Seems like most of them want me to
> > pick songs and they go on to the playlist in the order I pick them, and
> > then I can't re-arrange the order.
> >
> > Oh, and it should be free, because, man, music should be free, man.
> >
> If you can find a copy now it's been discontinued by the owners, Winamp
> for Android does most of that. Ah, I just found it...
>
> http://winamp.en.uptodown.com/android

I have a Tracfone LG Sunset, I think Android OS. Will try this as my first installation app. Thanks!


>
> You will need to tell Android you are happy with it installing software
> from unauthorised sources to get it working.

Oh? Okay, I think! :)

Jack
>
> If you don't like the playlist order, the playlist is a plain text file,
> with one line per entry, that you can edit in any text editor. The file
> extension is .mpu, and will normally be found in the "playlists"
> directory off the data drive root. I use it often, and the same playlist
> files work on a Windows computer, an Archos standalone player and my
> android tablet and phone, provided the directory trees are the same,
> starting from the playlist directory.
> --
> Tciao for Now!
>
> John.

[Nil[_2_]]

On 12 Apr 2016, Mike Rivers > wrote in
rec.audio.pro:

> Maybe that's what I missed is the icon to select the playlist.
> Most of those "list" icons look like a "bullet list." Is that it?

Yes, there are 4 bullet-list icons at the bottom:

- The icon on the left, with the arrow at the first line puts the
selected songs at the top of the "Now Playing" playlist, which is kind
of a semi-volatile ad hoc playlist that you build on the phone at your
whim.

- The second from the left, with the arrow at the middle line, puts the
selected songs at the end of the "Now Playing" playlist.

- The third icon, with the arrow at the third line, seems to do the
same thing as the second! I don't know what the difference is.

- The fourth icon, which each line bulleted, is where you can add to
any existing playlist, including one that you can create at that point.

> I think I tried dragging songs in a playlist that it found from
> another program and it didn't move, but just played. Maybe I need
> a greener thumb.

To move songs around the playlist you have to touch the little vertical
bar at the left of each entry in the playlist. It's sensitive. You have
to touch it gently, not press down hard, and then drag it up or down
into your desired position. It's a little hard to describe, but once
you do it right you know you're doing it right.

This illustrates one of the problems and frustrations with Android
apps: there's no documentation for anything. They would claim that it's
all so obvious that you can work it without being told. That can't be
farther from the truth. All the little I know was from trial and error.

[Mike Rivers[_2_]]

On 4/12/2016 8:25 PM, Nil wrote:

> Yes, there are 4 bullet-list icons at the bottom:
.. . . . .
Thanks for the tips. That all sounds kind of fiddly to me. You probably
get used to it if you do it all the time, but setting up my phone to
play songs for a trip is something that I do once every couple of
months. I think it should be so intuitive that even and adult can do it. ;)

> To move songs around the playlist you have to touch the little vertical
> bar at the left of each entry in the playlist. It's sensitive. You have
> to touch it gently, not press down hard, and then drag it up or down
> into your desired position. It's a little hard to describe, but once
> you do it right you know you're doing it right.

This definitely isn't for me. I'm always missing and not realizing it
until something pops up on the screen that I didn't expect.

> This illustrates one of the problems and frustrations with Android
> apps: there's no documentation for anything.

There isn't a lot of documentation (at least useful documentation) for
the fundamental operations in Windows either. I think they assume that
everyone is born with the knowledge. At least with Windows, I use it
often enough so that some things come naturally. For example, I know
that if I right-click, usually I'll find something useful, or at least
relevant to what I'm trying to do. And these days, most Windows software
adheres to at least a basic set of conventions. I don't know if Android
apps do or not because I haven't learned enough of the conventions, so
to me, every app is different.

I actually found some documentation for the Android Winamp on line with
a fairly clear description of their terminology. I've wasted enough time
with this project today, but I'll get back to it later in the week and
maybe make some headway. I completely understand what Gary is going
through with his attacks on surround mixing.

--
For a good time, visit http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com

[John Williamson]

On 12/04/2016 20:20, Mike Rivers wrote:
> On 4/12/2016 1:45 PM, Nil wrote:
>
>> Mediamonkey.
>
> Maybe I should look at the Android version. I got something, a player, I
> think, actually, that came with a copy of Mediamomkey for Windows. I
> tried creating a playlist with it and couldn't figure it out.
>
> I'm going to check out John's suggestion for Winamp. That's my player of
> choice on the computer. Maybe it'll be just as good on the phone. Or not.
>
>
Using Winamp in both places, I make the playlists on the PC and just
copy them over to the player, but I have the music in folders under
"music" off the root of the drive they're stored on in both places,
using the same structure, and playlists are in their own folder, also
off the root.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.