Sometime I really hate iTunes...

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farscapesg1

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Anyone got some advice for managing media for the iPhone? I have both a iPhone and a Zune (old 30 GB model) and I have to say that using iTunes is downright painful compared to the Zune software.

For example, with the Zune I tell the software what folders to monitor and it automatically detects new media and lists it. With iTunes I have to re-import the folders every time I add new media.. or at least import the new files. Over a wireless connection, this becomes a little time consuming with 5000+ songs, 100's of videos, etc. I'm currently trying out iTunes Folder Watch, but the idea of having to pay extra for a functionality that should be default in the software is.... retarded :mad:

I had avoided buying into the iPod hype, but when it was time for a new phone I decided it was time to take a chance on Apple and get the iPhone in hopes of having an "all in one" device, but I still find myself going back to my Zune for music and even video just because of the easier management software. The iPhone gets the audiobooks and podcasts for my commute, but that is about it.
 
The Zune does not deal with all the DRM bullsh!t, so processing time is much less per file than iTunes.
 
Do you have iTunes manually organizing your music? If so just check in your iTunes folder and there is a folder called automatically add to library. You can just copy and paste stuff into that folder and it will automatically add to your library
 
im in the same boat.....i dont even have a working zune anymore(i messed somethin up in a mod :p) and bought a cheap iPhone......and boy do I HATE the iTunes software.......What ive ended up doing is using iTunes as little as possible, only when needed(especially since it "had to" re encode 30+ GB of my music because it was .wma and not .aac.....so i lost 30 GB until i put those songs on my iPhone)....
 
Last I read about iTunes for windows is the reason it's so bad is that its code has all these twists and turns it has to make to hamper the efforts of people trying to break the DRM. That's why it's so slow and bloated.
 
I just hate the fact that with a fresh computer install, Itunes wants to wipe your ipod clean on first sync, instead of importing the stuff in from the ipod first. I'm guessing this is what happened RSmithy? I had to use third party freeware to get my media back on the computer.....something Itunes should support.

RSmithy said:
yeah its slow..... but atleast it didnt delete all your songs :(
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Åndhrimnir;1035031149 said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbird_(software)

you could give that a shot. I've never used it (switched from iPods years ago) but it's supposed to be a decent piece of software - lots of plugins, streams online content, etc.
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I prefer to use Songbird to iTunes as well. The UI is pretty much the same as iTunes and I feel like it takes up less ram (though that's not a problem with me now that I have 8GB of ram :) ) And this is the working link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbird_(software)
 
Monkey34 said:
I just hate the fact that with a fresh computer install, Itunes wants to wipe your ipod clean on first sync, instead of importing the stuff in from the ipod first. I'm guessing this is what happened RSmithy? I had to use third party freeware to get my media back on the computer.....something Itunes should support.
Click to expand...

after it did that to me one time years back, i've never used itunes since. it really makes no sense.
 
I know why they do it, it's supposedly to keep people from copying the media to a friends computer (who didn't buy the media)...... but cmon.....lame. So you make your software erase legitimate media?? I'd flip-out on someone if I lost money to Itunes, cause it deleted my stuff.
 
Hmm, thanks for the options :)

Of course they all look to be focused on music... and that is probably my most "static" media. My videos are what changes on a daily basis. What I record on TV I usually set up to transcode to .mp4 h.264 format so I can sync it to my phone and take it to work the next day to watch at lunch, on breaks, when no one is around :)

I'll have to do some more looking and check out those options to see if they support more than just music...
 
DarrisBard said:
Does using mediamonkey prevent you from using itunes afterwards?
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It doesn't seem to... thought I just started testing it out. It definitely is easier to manage my music with, plus I can update all my tags and info for the songs :) Unfortunately, it does look like I'll have to use two different pieces of software; 1 for music (MediaMonkey) and 1 for video (iTunes).

Just one more reason I was really hoping they would release a "Zune-phone" before I had to replace my ancient phone... but that didn't happen and the iPhone was the best option for what I wanted my new phone to do...

I also downloaded iTunes Folder Watch. It at least updates my iTunes with new files, but I have to remember to run it and let it add the media files to the software... at least it is something :rolleyes:
 
Åndhrimnir;1035031149 said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbird_(software)

you could give that a shot. I've never used it (switched from iPods years ago) but it's supposed to be a decent piece of software - lots of plugins, streams online content, etc.
Click to expand...

+1

I'm using Songbird and I love it. There are so many great extensions and plugins, and I love the fact that you can stream online content from right within the app.

Like someone else said, it's set up kind of like iTunes, but its a much lighter application, and all the plugins give it more functionality than iTunes could ever dream of.
 
I just wish Songbird had the info lookup like MM does; that's why I still favor MM over everything else. I'm hoping eventually someone makes a Songbird plugin that does that, but I'm still waiting.
 
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. Copy protection, in essence.

My main complaint with iTunes is the fact that Apple doesn't patch it. It forces you to download the entire program every time they update it.
 
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