Sync to iPad works - but not podcasts

Get answers about syncing MediaMonkey 4 with iPods and other devices.

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kvon
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 10:50 am

Sync to iPad works - but not podcasts

Post by kvon »

It's been a long painful process to get MMW to sync to my iPad (I was SO looking forward to leaving iTunes behind, but no). And I'm getting close, but..... Everything syncs except the podcast files. So far I have:

* Configured both MMW and iTunes per the steps on this page - https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... zation/5.0
* Running the following app/plugin versions:
• MM 4.1.31.1919
• iPhone Sync Plugin for MM4 15.0
• iOS 15.4.1 on the iPad
• iTunes 12.10.11.2
* The music files sync, the play list files sync, the podcast files do not.
* After doing the sync, when I browse the device in MMW it shows all the file locations on the device as /iTunes_Control/Music/*/* - INCLUDING the podcast files. I assume the files are actually there - I can play them from MMW., and can also play the music files on the device as well.
* When I browse the device in iTunes, it finds NO files at all on the device - either music or podcasts.

Any insight appreciated!
kvon
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 10:50 am

Re: Sync to iPad works - but not podcasts

Post by kvon »

Update: This is apparently a new "feature" from Apple - starting in iOS 11, you can't create podcast playlists, BY DESIGN. :oops:
https://appletoolbox.com/create-podcast ... ts-ios-11/

I confirmed it - I have a podcast playlist, added a music track to the list to test and voila, the playlist shows up on the iPad with the single music track and all the podcast tracks missing. The podcast tracks are on the device - I can find them in the Podcast app by navigating to Library...

Anyone have any ideas? The workaround in the link above is a clunky process to be done on the iPad. I use MM to maintain my podcast playlist, and having to use this process on the ipad to maintain it is sort of a non-starter...

Thx,
kvon
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 10:50 am

Re: Sync to iPad works - but not podcasts

Post by kvon »

Deleting this entry to clarify below...
kvon
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 10:50 am

Re: Sync to iPad works - but not podcasts

Post by kvon »

Update (Podcast playlist hell): Since there's no MM app for iOS you're stuck with the Apple music and podcast apps. The podcast app doesn't support playlists, and the music app doesn't include podcast files in a playlist.

So I changed the Type property of my podcast files from 'podcast' to 'music', also changed the genre to 'spoken word'. Now when I sync to the iPad the (podcast) playlist shows up, but with exactly half of the tracks from the original MM playlist.

I'm pretty certain the missing tracks are actually on the device (the file properties include a file location on the device), they're just getting stripped from the playlist.

I also tried another 3rd-party app on the iPad (CS: Music Player) - but it shows the same stripped-down playlist as what's in the native app. (So the playlist must be getting stripped by iOS during the sync...??)

Any suggestions, anyone?

I hate Apple. But Android sucks so much more...
kvon
Posts: 72
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 10:50 am

Re: Sync to iPad works - but not podcasts

Post by kvon »

Well I am sorry to report that I have officially given up on MediaMonkey for managing podcasts. I've been using MMW to manage the podcast library and then syncing to an Android tablet. But I switched to an iPad tablet, and the technical issues with syncing MMW to the iPad have proven to be unsolvable. I found a 3rd party podcasts app in the Apple store and basically rebuilt the whole podcast library and playlists in that app. It's turned out to have features for managing and playing podcasts that are far superior to the MMA/Android experience. (Which, to be fair, is mostly because the Android OS SUCKS - super SLOW with a painful lag with every gesture/input on the UI.) Will still use MMW to manage the music library - it still rocks for that.
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