title
Products            Buy            Support Forum            Professional            About            Codec Central
 
Results 1 to 15 of 15

Thread: Automatically adding ripped music to iTunes Library

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    dBpoweramp Guru
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Posts
    754

    Automatically adding ripped music to iTunes Library

    Sorry in advance for the long post. This pertains to the Playlist Writer & Run External DSPs, and iTunes, so don't be bothered if you aren't interested in those. :yawn:


    The past few days, I've been working to resolve a long-standing annoyance with using dBp + iTunes. It occurred to me that others may have already tried to address this same issue, and that it would make sense to see if anyone has found a good solution before I continue with my obsessive experimentation.

    The Situation:
    - You prefer to rip music in dBpoweramp.
    - You prefer to use your own naming and organizational scheme for your music library. (One of the reasons you use dBp.)
    - You use iTunes.

    The Problem:
    - iTunes doesn't automatically add the newly-ripped new music to its library.
    - You have to manually add new folders to the library from within iTunes. Tedious, and prone to error if you happen to forget a folder now & then.

    Solution?
    - Configure dBp to use such DSP options as Playlist Writer and/or Run External to automate the whole "rip + add to iTunes" process.


    I've tried a number of solutions, but none are really satisfactory yet. The two main approaches:
    • m3u playlist. iTunes used to automatically add the songs in an m3u playlist, so I was hoping I could rip the music to my desired location, and use Playlist Writer to put an m3u file in the "Automatically Add to iTunes" folder. Then the next time iTunes was opened, it'd read the playlist and add the referenced files. But apparently, iTunes doesn't support m3u anymore, so it just puts the playlist in the "Not Added" subfolder. I tried the other options in Playlist Writer, but iTunes just won't seem to add the playlist music.

      So if anyone knows how to force iTunes to add the music within a playlist, I'll keep trying this approach. If I can get it to work, it seems like the most efficient solution, since it specifies the songs to be added and avoids unnecessary searching or broader update processes.

    • Various iTunes updater scripts. There are a variety of online utilities for forcing iTunes library updates, some of which are very handy little programs. I've been trying to configure the Run External DSP such that I can rip the CD, then invoke the external program to add the selected files to the iTunes library. "Selected" files is the glitch. I don't get why, but Run External doesn't allow dynamic elements in the command line parameters if you call the external program after the batch is run. This is very limiting, since you can't specify the new music location. Statically naming the whole library works....it does find and add the new music...but it's really inefficient and takes a long time to update a large library. I don't want to do that after every CD rip.


    So...if anyone else has explored this problem or has any suggestions, any feedback is very welcome. :smile2:

  2. #2
    Administrator
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Posts
    43,852

    Re: Automatically adding ripped music to iTunes Library

    iTunes has a special folder you write to, where it detects new files and automatically adds them to iTunes, I forget the name off the top of my head.

  3. #3
    dBpoweramp Guru
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Posts
    754

    Re: Automatically adding ripped music to iTunes Library

    Thanks for the response. Yes, that's the "Automatically Add to iTunes" folder that I mentioned. I'd hoped that adding the m3u file there would make iTunes just add the referenced files and leave them otherwise untouched, but that doesn't seem to work.

    iTunes does add the files if you put them directly into that folder, as you suggest. But it places the music according iTunes' default organizing scheme, which is different from mine. And it leaves the folder.jpg files behind, for some reason, so those will accumulate in the "Automatically Add to iTunes" folder until you manually move them to their proper locations. :(

    This is one of the main reasons I use dBp....it allows me to put my music (and artwork) exactly where I want it and use my own naming scheme. So I'm just hoping to automate the library updating process....actually more for other family members who want well-organized/tagged music but don't want to bother with a multi-step ripping process.
    Last edited by BrodyBoy; 10-08-2011 at 05:27 AM.

  4. #4

    Re: Automatically adding ripped music to iTunes Library

    BrodyBoy,

    I realise you say you prefer to use iTunes but have you tried Floola and ditch iTunes altogether ?

    http://www.floola.com/home/

    Cheers,
    LM
    Last edited by lordmelch; 10-08-2011 at 09:23 AM.

  5. #5
    dBpoweramp Guru
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Posts
    754

    Re: Automatically adding ripped music to iTunes Library

    Thanks for the responses, guys!

    Quote Originally Posted by lordmelch View Post
    BrodyBoy,

    I realise you say you prefer to use iTunes but have you tried Floola and ditch iTunes altogether ?

    http://www.floola.com/home/

    Cheers,
    LM
    Hi LM...I haven't tried that particular alternative, but I'm certainly aware of others. I like MediaMonkey, in particular, though it can be a little rough around the edges. But this isn't really a matter of my personal preference. With several family members using all kinds of iDevices, and preferring the simplicity and familiarity of iTunes, it has become the common denominator for all things music within the household. Our network music system uses it pretty seamlessly as well.

    They all love the ease of iTunes, but it's kind of horrible at ripping/tagging...that Gracenote database it uses results in really messy libraries. That's when they turn to me with "Can you fix this?" So I'm thinking carefully-constructed profiles in dBp, combined with automated iTunes updating, could get everybody on board with using dBp exclusively for ripping.....and ultimately, a lot less work on my part. Getting everybody here, with their iPods and iPhones and iPads, to dump iTunes would be a bridge too far, I fear. :(

    Quote Originally Posted by garym View Post
    one can turn off the "automatically arrange" music files within itunes.* And once you add files/folders to where you want them (just copy the folders to where the itunes music files are located), use FILE/ADD FOLDER to add all the files to your library. This will read all the files but only add the new files. Regarding artwork, itunes won't recognize the folder.jpg as far as I know. So you should just change the dbpa option to embed the artwork instead and then itunes will see and use this.

    *and another approach is to keep your music files you don't want reorganized in a directory DIFFERENT from the one you have identified as the itunes music folder location. Itunes will NOT reorganize these files. You still need to use the FILE > Add folder to add these files to your itunes music library (and embedded artwork).
    Yes, I'm aware that you can turn off iTunes' automated organizing and arrange your folders yourself. As I mentioned in my OP, this is in fact my preference and exactly what I do. I'm also aware of how to add the folders manually. :smile2: But as I also said in my OP, that's kind of the gist of the challenge....for consistent tagging and organization across our music libraries, I'd like everybody to use dBp and keep all the music libraries organized the same way. But they're addicted to the easy one-step iTunes ripping procedure, where you just stick the disc in and you're done. Letting iTunes organize things, though, results in a mess...hence my desire to create an alternate "one-step" solution with dBp.

    Our music libraries are also used by other hardware & software, which do use the artwork within the album folders. So I do want it there.

  6. #6
    dBpoweramp Guru
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Posts
    5,734

    Re: Automatically adding ripped music to iTunes Library

    get a different family ;-)
    Seriously though, is there a way to have your family use a computer to rip (using dbpa) where everything ends up in a certain folder, and then ONLY YOU get to do the transferring of the stuff in that folder to the main music folder location and read into itunes, etc.

    In my own case (where only I touch the files anyhow), I rip with dbpa to a c:\TEMPFLAC directory (but dynamic naming does create the "artist/album" structure underneath TEMPFLAC. I do any cleanup on tags, artwork, etc. using dbpa (or mp3tag) at that point. Once the FLAC files are perfect, I use dbpa "convert" to create a mirror image of mp3 versions of these FLAC files. All artwork and tags copy over automatically. Then I move the FLAC files to my main music directory (which is what my Squeezebox system at home uses) and I move the mp3 versions over to ITUNES, which I use for iphones/ipods.

    Sounds like a lot of steps, but really only a few mouse clicks and a couple of minutes and it helps me make sure it's all done right (tagging!)

    Then of course, I make backups of everything on several 2TB drives, which I keep disconnected when not using (and stored at 3 different physical locations). I DO NOT want to have to rip my 75,000+ tracks again!!!

  7. #7
    dBpoweramp Guru
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Florida, USA
    Posts
    5,734

    Re: Automatically adding ripped music to iTunes Library

    one can turn off the "automatically arrange" music files within itunes.* And once you add files/folders to where you want them (just copy the folders to where the itunes music files are located), use FILE/ADD FOLDER to add all the files to your library. This will read all the files but only add the new files. Regarding artwork, itunes won't recognize the folder.jpg as far as I know. So you should just change the dbpa option to embed the artwork instead and then itunes will see and use this.

    *and another approach is to keep your music files you don't want reorganized in a directory DIFFERENT from the one you have identified as the itunes music folder location. Itunes will NOT reorganize these files. You still need to use the FILE > Add folder to add these files to your itunes music library (and embedded artwork).

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •