iTunes 4.7.1

[Porchland]

i don't see why everyone is complaining.

itunes doesn't need upgrading and if it does it'll be with the arrival of tiger.

I do think iTunes will be updated with Tiger; if there wasn't a major iTunes "thing" on the horizon and iTunes was NOT going to be updated with Tiger, it very likely would have come on Tuesday.

I'm still hoping for heiarchical playlists; my playlists are getting to the point where I have to scroll through them.

 

[Yvan256]

I do think iTunes will be updated with Tiger; if there wasn't a major iTunes "thing" on the horizon and iTunes was NOT going to be updated with Tiger, it very likely would have come on Tuesday.

I'm still hoping for heiarchical playlists; my playlists are getting to the point where I have to scroll through them.

Didn't they just add that to the new iPhoto version? (that's what I understood from the keynote)

That's probably on their list for the next iTunes revision... And I also hope they add the ability to make smart "blocks" inside smart playlists... it's a bit annoying to have to make a smart playlist out of 4-5 other smart playlists... (a smart playlist is "all of the options" or "any of the options", the only way to make blocks of options is to use multiple smart playlists...)

Also, keep in mind that iTunes has both an OSX and Win2000/XP version, there's no real reason to tie iTunes to iLife like the other apps.

 

[sunilraman]

I tested the new 4.7.1 update with all 4 of my iPod photo(s), and iTunes 4.7.1. removed the track artwork from ALL 4 of them! The only workaround I could find is going to iTunesreferences, uncheck the "Display artwork on iPod" option, click OK, then go back and re-enable it. I wish I had an iTunes 4.7 CD or installer to revert back!

dude, you have 4 iPod Photos... cool

 

[Red G5]

Mine lost the album artwork too. It came back after unchecking and rechecking the option in prefs.

I don't think it's a great problem so long as it was a one off bug after the update and doesn't become a regular occurance.

 

[BugMeNot]

The photos were still there, but no songs, although the *about* still showed the available space as if the songs were there, but no songs.

Anybody, I mean anybody have any ideas. Please.

I've had this problem with my iPod Photo a few times, unrelated to the iTunes update. The songs are there, they're just not registering as being there. To bring them back, all you have to do is reboot your ipod (press and hold the Menu and the center button for a few seconds). When the reboot finishes, all your songs and playlists will probably be back.

 

[lucabrasi]

Almost Continuous Listening

For some it does NEED upgrading. For example, if I'm not mistaken, there is still no way to listen continuously is there (without the between-song pause...which would be nice if you are listening to full concerts in lossless formats...). Support for FLAC and/or SHN would be very nice too!

Hopefully these issues will be addressed with Tiger.

You can get really close to this if you enable crossfade and set the slider to 0 seconds. Not perfect, but very close.

 

[Jetson]

Yes, you can use the Join CD Tracks feature which is nice, but it's still a bit clunky and could use some refinement. It would be nice to be able to select "no pause between tracks" for playlists or selected portions of playlists.

Another upgrade I'd like to see are more editing options such as track fade-in, fade-out and being able to burn CDs with these selected options - including crossfade. Now that would be cool!

Upgrades to the jewel box insert print feature would be nice. What it does right now is great. One thing that's missing is being able to add columns such as the year, and the composer (for classical playlists). I'd also like the ability to create a custom insert with capability to select fonts, sizes, colors.

I'm sure Apple is busy making iTunes an even better music app.

 

[devman]

Apple Fixes iTunes Security Flaw

so it seems, v.4.7.1 does not give me any advantages. rather wait for the next major version.

FYI.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1750634,00.asp

 

[wdlove]

I'm sure Apple is busy making iTunes an even better music app.

Very nice image there Jetson. iTunes now even better.

 

[Yvan256]

Anyone else notice the "Convert higher bit rate songs to 128 kbps AAC for this iPod" checkbox in the keynote video?

How about allowing regular iPods to have that feature and put a drop-down menu for the bitrate? People could use 64 kbps AAC with their iPod shuffle (like you're gonna miss the audio quality while jogging outdoors), or use Apple Lossless on their desktop and set 192kbps for their regular iPod, etc.

Yes, I just re-sent the idea to Apple, again. But at least, that feature is now already coded into iTunes, wouldn't take much to complete the idea.

 

[Yvan256]

Yes, you can use the Join CD Tracks feature which is nice, but it's still a bit clunky and could use some refinement. It would be nice to be able to select "no pause between tracks" for playlists or selected portions of playlists.

The "Join CD Tracks" feature is flawed, IMO. Once you join tracks, yes the gap is gone. But you lose the actual "tracks" in the process!

Ex: If you rip Tracks 1-3 joined, then your track 4 will be listed as track 2 once ripped.. And you can't skip to the real tracks 2 and 3 anymore.

I'm not against the actual "joining of tracks" on the technical side (maybe the iPod's decoder has limitations, I dunno), but at least put some metadata in the joined tracks so the result is transparent to us (except that you cannot separate the joined tracks anymore, while updating the iPod for exemple. Just warn the user "tracks 1 to 3 are joined, you cannot separate them" or something).

Join tracks 1-3 on rip? Sure. But put metadata in the ripped file to say where track 1 begins/ends, where track 2 begins/ends and where track 3 begins/ends. Then, hide the single file from my sight in iTunes and iPod (still works/displays as usual, from the metadata inside that "3-tracks-in-one" file).

In fact, iTunes should be able to detect zero gap between the tracks and link the tracks itself, without any user intervention! (it's not about deciding if the end of a track matches with the start of the next track, there really is a written gap between tracks. It's usually 2 seconds, but for "gapless tracks" it's zero). Why can't iTunes also do that on top of my idea above? <g>

It's not THAT hard, is it?!

That's my only real complaint about iTunes/iPod right now.

Edit: just tried ripping Les champs magnétiques again (Jean-Michel Jarre), and I end up with a single "track 1 of 5" instead of 5 tracks. Steve, tell your guys to fix that!

 

[Yvan256]

One other thing I wish I could disable is that damn "auto-scroll" of song name, album, artist... I want it to stay on "song name"! Let me disable that annoying scrolling!

That's about the only thing WinAmp does better (by giving me the option to disable it)... Well, that, and gapless playback.

Edit: also, a way to easily navigate the big artwork would be nice. How about adding arrows to the window like the mini version in the lower-left corner?

 

[3Memos]

Does UNDO ever work?

 

[nightowl]

Since downloading 4.7.1, whenever I launch Mahjongg Solitaire iTunes launches. Not sure what's up with that, but something is triggering it...

 

[BUDFROG]

Itunes Locks Up When Burner Tab Selected

I just updated iTunes to 4.7.1 for my PB and when i click on the burner tab in preferences iTunes freezes. Does anyone else have the same problem?

Same problem here >>>> Just loaded itunes up for the 1st time (iPod Xmas Gift) and updated software to the latest version. The only part of the software which will not work is the Burn Tab which freezes the whole application up.

Running AMD 2500+, XP SP2 with 1GB PC2700 and 2 x 120 GB HDD

 

[chaos86]

I have noticed a slight change in the style of drop down menus at the bottom of the party shuffle page.

eww they look slightley XPish

 

[chaos86]

there is still no way to listen continuously is there (without the between-song pause...which would be nice if you are listening to full concerts in lossless formats...

yes there is, turn on crossfade and set it to 0 seconds

 

[daveL]

Bug Fixed

4.7.1 fixed a bug for me. I started using my G5 PM to stream music to a recently purchased Airport Express. Everything worked fine, but as long as I was streaming, neither the energy setting for the monitor nor the screen saver would activate; the screen would stay on all the time. My work around was to power down the display, if I wasn't going to using the system myself. With 4.7.1, the problem is gone.

 

[mickhyperion]

I've had this problem with my iPod Photo a few times, unrelated to the iTunes update. The songs are there, they're just not registering as being there. To bring them back, all you have to do is reboot your ipod (press and hold the Menu and the center button for a few seconds). When the reboot finishes, all your songs and playlists will probably be back.

I just had this happen on my 4G iPod 40GB the other day.

 

[DMoles]

yes there is, turn on crossfade and set it to 0 seconds

Ah yes, but not quite. It's a *crossfade* which means track 1 fades out at the end and track 2 fades in at the beginning. This is really disconcerting for those tracks that are meant to be linked (but not necessarily 'joined' ) ala Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, countless classical pieces, or as mentioned any live album.

Yvan256 makes great suggestions at fixing this but heck I'd just be happy if I could turn off the dang fade. I've seen this as an option in other players.

Overall though this is by far the best audiophile proggy for my money.

 

[chaos86]

Ah yes, but not quite. It's a *crossfade* which means track 1 fades out at the end and track 2 fades in at the beginning. This is really disconcerting for those tracks that are meant to be linked (but not necessarily 'joined' ) ala Pink Floyd, Moody Blues, countless classical pieces, or as mentioned any live album.

Yvan256 makes great suggestions at fixing this but heck I'd just be happy if I could turn off the dang fade. I've seen this as an option in other players.

Overall though this is by far the best audiophile proggy for my money.

you didnt actually try it did you?

i have done it for ages with the ministry of sound albums and i can only just percieve a difference if im listening for it and watching the progress bar. i think thats just caused by differences sound caused by compression.

as far as i can tell, the actual length of the fade also depends on the crossfade prefs. for instance if its set to 12 seconds the tracks might start fading out/in at 6 seconds from the end. if its at 6 seconds in prefs the fades might be only 3 seconds long. i think thats how it works. in that case the fade for 0 seconds would be 0 seconds long.

 

[DMoles]

you didnt actually try it did you?

i have done it for ages with the ministry of sound albums and i can only just percieve a difference if im listening for it and watching the progress bar. i think thats just caused by differences sound caused by compression.

as far as i can tell, the actual length of the fade also depends on the crossfade prefs. for instance if its set to 12 seconds the tracks might start fading out/in at 6 seconds from the end. if its at 6 seconds in prefs the fades might be only 3 seconds long. i think thats how it works. in that case the fade for 0 seconds would be 0 seconds long.

Yes, I actually have tried it numerous times. Are you sure you're using an up-to-date version of iTunes? I have only ever used 4.7.x and when I set the crossfade to zero, you're right, there's hardly any fade but there is slight *overlap* between the end of one song and the beginning of the next. And there is indeed a slight fade as well. I just tried it w/ the new Green Day CD and it absolutely is noticeable (esp betw tracks 5&6 and 7&8).
I understand the original intent of the feature is to produce a radio play effect and may even be acceptable for some live tracks but for songs that were written/performed in 'movements' this effect does not work - between the slight overlap and fade it sounds like a bad edit.

 

[duffyb]

MP3 CD

I don't have an iPod but I do have an MP3 CD player in my car. I think it sucks that Apple took away the feature to allow you to make an MP3 CD with AAC files. What was the last version that allowed this? Can I get it anywhere?

 

[mrrobot]

problems with iTunes 4.7.1

A lot of unhappy people out there getting error message (-50) when we try to down load music from iTunes music store. There is also track preview problems. Lets get this fixed Apple. The previous version worked with no problems.

 

[timmyb]

The "Join CD Tracks" feature is flawed, IMO. Once you join tracks, yes the gap is gone. But you lose the actual "tracks" in the process!
Ex: If you rip Tracks 1-3 joined, then your track 4 will be listed as track 2 once ripped.. And you can't skip to the real tracks 2 and 3 anymore.

This is so you can do things like put classical music or audiobooks on iTunes and avoid the tracks splitting every 2-3 mins, (especially annoying when playing with shuffle songs on)