Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

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IanRTaylorUK
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Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 4:41 pm

Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by IanRTaylorUK »

What I have found is that when you have Playlists displayed and right click to send the Playlist contents to the SD Card on a device that - the first time it is done - it will create a folder and add the relevant MP3 files and JPG images.

However, if you then make some changes - for example update some tags - and repeat the process, then the MP3 file seems to be over-written with a 0 byte M3U file.

I do not think this is the expected behaviour! Just looking for the MP3 file to be replaced with a new version.

Thanks.
Ian Taylor
Lowlander
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Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by Lowlander »

Please detail the exact steps. Where exactly do you right click and which exact option to get the files to the device do you use? Also which build of MediaMonkey 5?
IanRTaylorUK
Posts: 536
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 4:41 pm

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by IanRTaylorUK »

Hi,

Hopefully you can see from this short video how a single file synchronisation from a playlist results in an MP3 being overwritten with a M3U.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/se241nbetpa18 ... 0.mp4?dl=0

Software versions given in my signature which I try to keep up-to-date.
Ian Taylor
Lowlander
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Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by Lowlander »

I can't reproduce. Capture this in a debug log (step 4b) and attach the log to an email to support@mediamonkey.com: https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewt ... 30&t=86643
IanRTaylorUK
Posts: 536
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 4:41 pm

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by IanRTaylorUK »

Hi,

Here is the log that I think might be useful:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ix2r2bhwd0slu ... d.LOG?dl=0

Suggest you look to around line 11950 and consider difference between "Amy Winehouse" and "Art of Noise"

Most of Amy's tracks end up a 0 byte M3u, whereas AON mostly end up as MP3 with expected size!

Further along a lot of MP3s and then Boney M is all M3u. Then from line 24111, seems to create the correct playlist files.

Going back to Amy - line 28414 - I note MP3 being added!

Hope this helps.
Ian Taylor
Ludek
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Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:00 am

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by Ludek »

Hi,
I analyzed the log and can tell that it is not MediaMonkey that creates the m3u playlists in question.

The m3u playlists created by MediaMonkey are all in the /Playlists/ folder exclusivelly (not in the music folders).

There must be another app on Android creating those playlist after upload of songs by MediaMonkey.
I cannot replicate so can't tell you which app creates those playlists.
IanRTaylorUK
Posts: 536
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 4:41 pm

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by IanRTaylorUK »

Interesting!

It seems that I get different results depending on whether I use MMW4 or MMW5 or is it Android 8 vs Android 10.

I will try to do some digging to see if I can identify the problem.

Thanks.
Ian Taylor
IanRTaylorUK
Posts: 536
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 4:41 pm

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by IanRTaylorUK »

The following shows that - for my setup - there is a similar issue when using Media Monkey for Windows 4. The issue being:

At some point during the USB synchronisation - whether full or by sending a playlist - a situation arises that can result in 0 byte M3U files being created with exactly the correct filename as the expected MP3 would have had. When 0 byte M3Us are created rather proper MP3 files it can cause other annoyances e.g. missing artwork / incomplete playlists.

This has been a useful exercise for me as I now know what to look out for and how to get around the issue. What I do not know is whether this is specific to my setup and the root cause.

Note: time gaps in the log are because I had to do something else and not necessarily due to response of PC or tablet.

05Oct2020 - I updated the Android OS on the tablet then re-started the device.
05Oct2020 - Did a full synchronisation of the device using Media Monkey for Windows (version as per signature)
05Oct2020 - Noted 23 new M3U files created that were in the MUSIC folder i.e. SD/MUSIC/Artist/Album that appeared during the time of the synchronisation. 11715 MP3 files below SD/MUSIC of which 385 were prior to sync and 11330 new files due to sync.

06Oct2020 - Restart both PC and Tablet. Open MMW4 and let library update and device scan complete.
06Oct2020 - Open two file manager windows on right screen of PC - one to monitor MP3 files in SD/MUSIC on the device and the other to monitor M3U files in SD/MUSIC on the device. Note that this excludes the 744 playlist sent as these are in SD/PLAYLISTS.

06Oct2020 - Resync device using MMW4 on the PC and USB connection. Times / stages below:
09:25 Preparing / Remove old content (1 deleted M3U Playlist)
09:28 Copy 102 music files - this results is 38 M3U files under the SD/MUSIC folder and 11764 MP3 files according to a refresh of the Windows File Manager screens set previously.
09:30 Copy Playlists - 744 in total. But as these already existed, no new M3U files in SD/PLAYLISTS.
09:31 Last play list shown in lower bar whilst synchronisation completes a few minutes later.

09:36 Repeat the re-sync process but no music files to copy as you would expect BUT the number of M3U files drops from 38 to 29.
09:38 Copy playlist as previous the finalise synchronisation.

10:00 Delete ALL the M3U files in the SD/MUSIC folder using Windows File Manager then close and re-open both MMW4 and MMA.
10:23 Re-sync.
10:24 Copies 38 files resulting in 11802 MP3 files and 0 M3U files under the SD/MUSIC folder on the Samsung Tab S5E tablet.
10:26 Copies Playlists.
10:27 Finalise synchronisation.

10:29 Close and re-open MMW4 / MMA and wait for activity to clear.
10:33 Still 11802 MP3 and 0 M3U files.
10:34 Review the albums on the tablet and find "Halo of Blood" album by "Children of Bodom" missing album art.
10:36 Refresh album artwork on MMW4 and then SEND playlist to the tablet.
10:37 Windows File Manager shows 11792 MP3 files and 11 M3U files under SD/MUSIC

11:08 Delete "Halo of Blood" folder on tablet under SD/MUSIC.
11:09 Close and re-open MMW4 / MMA and wait for activity to clear.
11:14 SEND "Halo of Blood" Playlist to tablet and 12 MP3 files added but back to 11803 MP3 and 0 M3U under SD/MUSIC.
11:15 "Halo of Blood" not shown immediately in Album on tablet so run Options / Check for New / Changed Media
11:16 Same for Artists / Playlist / Album Artists etc on the tablet.
11:19 "Halo of Blood" appears after activity from the "Check for New / Changed Media" completes.
11:20 11803 MP3 files and 0 M3U files under SD/MUSIC folder on tablet.

11:27 Re-sync again after updating album art for "America" / "Live in Chicago"
11:28 Artwork updated for 22 files
11:29 Playlists update.
11:30 MP3 files count drops to 11782 and M3U count increases to 21.
11:32 Remove "Live in Chicago" folder this time using the Folders node in MMW4 to select America/Live in Chicago
11:35 Wait for tablet to update but as expected Windows File Manager confirms 11782 MP3s and 0 M3Us

11:48 Resync / Copy 22 Files / Copy Playlists / Finalise results in 11803 MP3s and 0 M3Us

I am thinking that for my next "test" that I completely remove Media Monkey for Android from the tablet and then try to reproduce the creation of M3Us i.e. without MMA installed.

Hope this is useful feedback.
Ian Taylor
Ludek
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Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:00 am

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by Ludek »

As it is not MMW creating the ghost playlists then I would try this:

1) in MMW > Device > Options disable [] Sync Playlists checkbox (just for sure)
2) Copy some songs to the phone using MMW, but keep MMA disabled on the phone
=> are any ghost playlists created or not ??
YES: If ghost playlists are created despite keeping MMA closed then try copy a file using Windows Explorer to see whether it also causes ghost playlists creation?
NO: Try to run MMA and see whether it is MMA causing the ghost playlists to be created
IanRTaylorUK
Posts: 536
Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2019 4:41 pm

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by IanRTaylorUK »

Hi Ludek,

1) in MMW > Device > Options disable [] Sync Playlists checkbox (just for sure)
With Sync Playlists unchecked, when I Send a new album of 9 tracks then all that appears is 9 x MP3 + 1 x JPG.

However, if I send a second time (i.e. MP3 files already in the device folder) then then MP3 are removed / replaced by M3Us and the JPG appears unchanged.

2) Copy some songs to the phone using MMW, but keep MMA disabled on the phone
With MMA installed but not running (forced stop) the same thing happens i.e. if files already in folder M3Us replace the MP3s

=> are any ghost playlists created or not ??
Yes if the MP3s are already in the folder.

If ghost playlists are created despite keeping MMA closed then try copy a file using Windows Explorer to see whether it also causes ghost playlists creation?
Different files are created i.e. they lack the Disc / Track prefix. Also if the step repeated, then Windows asks if I want to Copy and Replace. No M3Us files are created. The MMW5 file location is set to \Music\<Album Artist>\<Album>\<Track #:2> $Left(<Artist>,20) - <Title>

So we can get to a situation with MMW5 whereby the folder has a set of MP3 and M3Us. Whilst the M3Us show a modified & created date, the MP3 files do not show either in Windows. However, Samsung MyFiles show the file creation date for M3Us and MP3s.

Changing the Device / Sync Profile / File Location to \Music\<Album Artist>\<Album>\<Disc #><Track #:2> - <Title> and resending results in additional MP3 files with the 101... to 109... prefix as expected. So at this point with have 9 x M3Us with just track prefix, 9 x MP3 with just track prefix and 9 x MP3 with disc+track prefix plus 1 JPG.

Re-running the MMW5 Send a second time and we have 37 files i.e. JPG plus one set of MP3/M3U with just track plus another set of MP3/M3U with disc+track.

Re-running the MMW5 Send a third time and we have 28 files i.e. JPG plus one set of MP3/M3U with just track plus another set of ONLY M3U with disc+track.

Re-running the MMW5 Send a fourth time and we are back to 37 files. Creation / modified dates are as you would expect on the Samsung device BUT MP3 files do not show dates in Windows.

Hope this helps.
Ian Taylor
Ludek
Posts: 4947
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:00 am

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by Ludek »

Could you please share a sample of such a M3U ? Is it only that the *.MP3 is renamed to *.M3U (and is actually MP3 file with M3U extension) or the MP3 is truly replaced by M3U playlist?
Ludek
Posts: 4947
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:00 am

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by Ludek »

Thanks for sharing the ghost M3Us, I see they are just 0 bytes M3U files.
1) in MMW > Device > Options disable [] Sync Playlists checkbox (just for sure)
With Sync Playlists unchecked, when I Send a new album of 9 tracks then all that appears is 9 x MP3 + 1 x JPG.

However, if I send a second time (i.e. MP3 files already in the device folder) then then MP3 are removed / replaced by M3Us and the JPG appears unchanged.
Could you please catch this in a new debug log (generated using DbgView started prior to MM5) and share via PM ?
Thanks!
tih

Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by tih »

Hi!

I just experienced the same and found a problem:

If your playlist's name contains characters that can't be in a filename, the file dialog doesn't appear.

Like "Soundtrack 2 and a 1/2 man". The "/" isn't valid in a filename.

Renaming the playlist resolved the issue.

Of course the current behavior of MM5 is quite confusing.


Best,
tih
Peke
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Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by Peke »

Hi,
Hmm interesting, it happens only on some playlists with "/".

Added as https://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=18166
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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Peke
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Re: Right Click Playlist then Send to Device / Card Creates M3U

Post by Peke »

tih wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 5:59 am I just experienced the same and found a problem:
If your playlist's name contains characters that can't be in a filename, the file dialog doesn't appear.
Like "Soundtrack 2 and a 1/2 man". The "/" isn't valid in a filename.
Renaming the playlist resolved the issue.
Can you please supply some screenshot (See my signature on ho to do it) of steps you do as I am observing slight different behavior. If you can't add screenshots to your reply here, please open support ticket and attach them there.

Additionally check MediaMonkey ini for correct filename character mapping as "/" should correctly remapped to "-" character eg. [FilenameMappings] Section in INI should contain line 2F=2D?
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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