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iPod manager component for foobar2000

iPod manager component for foobar2000 0.9.5.4 or newer.

Features

  • Load your iPod library into foobar2000.
  • Send and remove files from / to your iPod
  • Automatically convert files which are in a format not supported by the iPod
  • Convert ReplayGain data into SoundCheck data
  • Gapless playback for LAME MP3, Nero AAC and iTunes AAC on iPods supporting gapless playback
  • Artwork support

Supported models

Supported models (as of version 0.6.9.5):

Standard iPod series

Model Compatible
3G Yes
4G (grey) Yes
4G (photo/colour) Yes
5G / 5.5G Yes
6G (classic 2007 80GB/160GB) Yes
6G (classic 2008 120GB) Yes 1)
6G (classic 2009 160GB) Yes 2)
Mini Yes
Nano 1G Yes
Nano 2G Yes
Nano 3G Yes
Nano 4G Yes 3)
Nano 5G Yes 4)
Nano 6G Yes 5)
Nano 7G Yes 6)

iPod Shuffle series

Model Compatible
Shuffle 1G Yes, with some limitations
Shuffle 2G Yes, with some limitations
Shuffle 3G Yes, with some limitations
Shuffle 4G Yes, with some limitations

iOS based devices

See notes

Device iOS Software Version
1.x 2.x 3.0.x 3.1.x 3.2.x 4.0.x 4.1.x 4.2.x 4.3.x 5.x
iPod touch first generation Yes Yes Yes Yes - - - - - -
iPod touch second generation - Yes Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes - -
iPod touch third generation - - - Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes No
iPod touch fourth generation - - - - - - Yes7) Yes8) Yes9) No
iPhone Yes Yes Yes Yes - - - - - -
iPhone 3G - Yes Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes - -
iPhone 3GS - - Yes Yes - Yes Yes Yes Yes No
iPhone 4 GSM - - - - - Yes10) Yes11) Yes12) Yes13) No
iPhone 4 CDMA - - - - - - - ?14) - No
iPad - - - - Yes15) - - Yes16) Yes17) No
iPad 2 - - - - - - - - Yes18) No

Requirements

You will need to have the following software installed (as of version 0.6.8.0):

Requirement Applicable models Source
Apple iPod/iPhone driver 2007 - model iPods and newer Included with Apple Mobile Device Support
Apple Mobile Device Support iPhone, iPod touch iTunes installer (9.1 or newer)
Apple Application Support iPhone, iPod touch iTunes installer (9.1 or newer)
iPhoneCalc.dll iPhone 4, iPod touch 4G, iPad, iPod nano 6G

Supported operating systems (as of version 0.6.8.2):

Operating System Supported
Windows 7 Yes
Windows Server 2008 Yes
Windows Vista Yes
Windows Server 2003 Yes
Windows XP Yes - SP1 or newer required 19)
Windows Me No
Windows 2000 No
Windows 98 No
Windows NT 4.0 No
Windows 95 No

Installation

  1. Install dependent software as per requirements section above
  2. Download iPod manager and use a program such as 7-Zip to extract the archive.
  3. Close all running instances of foobar2000.
  4. Copy the foo_dop.dll file to the foobar2000 components directory, typically %programfiles%\foobar2000\components\.
  5. Start foobar2000.
  6. For iPhone or iPod touch devices you need to enable “mobile device support” in the foobar2000 preferences under Tools → iPod Manager → Mobile Devices.

Download

Usage

  • For standard iPod models (not iPod touch or iPhone) you need your iPod mounted as a removable hard drive for the component to work. You should enable “Manually manage music […]” in iTunes (or at the least “Enable disk use”).
  • For iPod touch, iPhone and iPad, see notes.
  • iPod commands are then found under “File/iPod” in the menu bar and the “iPod” group in shortcut menus.

Configuration

The documents below explain the options in the respective tab in iPod manager's options page.

Notes

Used metadata fields

FAQs

How do I store songs on my iPod in my own directory structure?

Mainly applies to older models - not recommended

Copy the files to the iPod in your desired structure. Then load the files from your iPod into foobar2000 and run the “Send to iPod” command on the files. Notes:

  • The path of media files on the iPod must be less than or equal to 57 characters, including a leading backslash (but not the drive letter or colon). To achieve this limit, you need to set the number of extra filename characters allowed to 23 in advanced preferences.
  • The path of media files may only contain ASCII characters.
  • Some iPod models will only play files contained within the iPod_Control\Music folder.

I stopped using iTunes, should I uninstall it?

That is your choice. But keep in mind you will still need iTunes to update firmware and restore your iPod, so it is useful to have it to hand. For the iPod touch and iPhone, you will need to retain some parts of iTunes (see above requirements section).

I added lots of artwork to my iPod and now my iPod stutters when playing music

Note: Applies to 5G and older iPods.

This can be caused by fragmentation of the artwork .ithmb files. You can use the contig utility to defragment specific files.

How come some files that I added to the iPod do not show up on the iPod's artists menu?

On some iPod models (~5G), if you select an artist on the artist menu, and there is only a single album by that artist, it will automatically go into that album's menu. This means that you will not be able to select any tracks by that artist that do not have an album field through this menu. A work around is to use a metadata remapping for the album field, such as

$if2(%album%,'('None')')

See the database preferences page for more information.

How come some of the MP3 files I sent to the iPod do not play on the device?

The most common reason for this is that the file is corrupt and has multiple ID3v2 tags at the beginning of the file. One way to correct this is to use the “Rebuild MP3 stream” command in foobar2000.

Can I use iPod manager whilst iTunes or another iPod manager is running?

No, you should always close iTunes before using this component. Some, like iTunes, will rewrite the iPod's database in the background, which can cause changes to the database made by iPod manager whilst the other program was running to be lost.

Every time I add files to the iPod using iTunes, it trashes artwork for files sent using iPod manager. How can I prevent this?

iTunes will do this for files without embedded artwork whilst it is determining gapless playback information. To prevent this in the future, in this component's preferences enable gapless scanning and the option to set dummy gapless data. See the iPod Features preferences page for more information.

iPod manager does not seem to work under Wine?

Direct your bug reports here.

Help! My iPhone / iPod touch is not detected!

  • Make sure you enabled mobile devices support in preferences.
  • Make sure you have iTunes (or at least Apple Mobile Device Support and Quicktime) installed
  • If you receive a “Could not locate matching USB device for Apple Mobile Device” message, this can normally be fixed by uninstalling/reinstalling Apple Mobile Device Support. It can be uninstalled from the control panel. To reinstall, extract the installer from the iTunes installer using 7-Zip and run it.
  • If you receive a “Failed to pair device” message, this means that for some reason the component was not be able to pair the device with your OS/computer. If the device is locked with a passcode, you will need to unlock it and then restart foobar2000 to try again. If all else fails, you can try connecting the device to iTunes once on the same OS install. Alternatively, you may be able to copy the encryption keys, normally located in %allusersprofile%\Apple\Lockdown\ OR %appdata%\Apple Computer\Lockdown\, from another OS install.
  • Also check what messages are displayed in the foobar2000 console.

I am having problems getting my artwork copied

  • On Windows XP/Server 2003 only, admin privileges are required for artwork support. This is due to the low-level communication between the iPod and the component. iTunes uses a service to avoid this. Windows Vista or newer does not have this limitation.
  • Carefully check your settings in preferences under iPod features, and read the information provided by the help button.
  • Ensure you have the iPod driver installed for newer models

When I tag a track on an iPhone / iPod touch, the changes do not show up in foobar2000

Unfortunately this is due to a limitation in the file information reported by the device with software versions prior to 3.1. To get the changes to show up, you will need to use the 'Tools/Reload info' command in the track's Properties window.

I have an iPod classic and SoundCheck does not have an effect at low volumes

Unfortunately this is due to a hardware or firmware limitation of the device. It is known to affect 2007 80GB/160GB models but it is not confirmed if it also affects the newer 2008 120GB and 2009 160GB models.

How can I make my iPod display album artists in place of track artists?

Most iPod models display track artists rather than album artists. You can set up remappings in preferences as below to workaround this if you wish:

Artist:

[%album artist%]

Title:

[%track artist% - ][%title%]

Use 'Update metadata' to apply the remappings to existing files on the iPod.

I tagged some of my files with an external tagging program and now they are always recopied when syncing

This can happen if your tagging program is set up to preserve file last modified dates as this prevents foobar2000 / iPod manager from seeing changes to the files. Disable any such options in the tagging program, and run 'Reload info' (under Tools in the Properties window) for any tracks you are facing this issue with.

<BOOKMARK:afcto>

iPod touch/iPhone: I receive the message "Connection to iPod touch/iPhone filesystem service lost."

Summary: Check that you are using the latest BIOS version available from your motherboard or computer manufacturer. Further details below.

This is low-level system-specific problem relating to USB communication between the device and computer. It tends to happen on affected computers when there is a reasonable CPU load (e.g. from conversion during a sync). Communication between device and computer stops during the problematic period and if a time-out period is reached the attempt is aborted and further operations fail until a new successful connection is made (e.g. restart foobar2000). The problem may be resolved by connecting the device to a USB port on a different controller. (Check using device manager how many USB controllers you have, what devices are connected to each etc. It may be that the ports on internal USB headers are on a different controller, so it could be worth connecting those.) Some have reported that toggling any options to do with CPU C-States in CMOS setup helps.

You may also see messages like “AFCxxx returned 12/23/3/6” (note: only these error codes relate to the issue).

[ One of my computers (Intel P55 chipset) is was affected by this issue. It has two USB controllers, however strangely enough the working controller alternates(!) Other devices also don't seem to have an issue. ]

Update: This seems quite relevant, for those such as me using a P55 chipset.

If this issue has occurred to you, in order to recover any files copied which were not added to the iPod database you should reconnect the device and use the 'Recover orphaned files' command to re-add them to the database.

Update 2009.11.05 ASUS have released a new BIOS version today (on their download server but not on the download pages yet) for their P55 line-up which I can confirm appears to correct the problem. So if you are using a P55 board ensure you are using the latest BIOS version and look out for BIOS updates over the next few days.

Update 2009.11.06 Gigabyte have also released updates with comment “Fix iphone sync issue”

Is it safe to update to the latest version of iTunes?

Usually yes, but check the forum discussion thread for the most up-to-date information when a new version comes out. (At the time of writing the latest version of iTunes is 10.3).

Note: If you have enabled mobile devices support, make sure you close foobar2000 before updating iTunes.

Note: With version 10.6.3 (and maybe above) you get the message “Failed to locate function AMDeviceNotificationGetThreadHandle” when fb2k is started. Tested with Win 7 64-bit, foo_dop 0.6.9.6. Runs with Apple Application Support 1.3.0 and Apple Mobile Device Support 3.1.0.62 from an older iTunes.

Is it safe to update to the latest firmware for my device?

Usually minor versions are OK, but major versions for the iPod touch/iPhone are often problematic. Check the forum discussion thread for the most up-to-date information when a new version comes out.

I have a hard drive based iPod, and I experience certain errors or hangs when accessing certain files

You have a hard drive based iPod and experience one of the following:

  • “I/O error (win32 #87)” or “The parameter is incorrect” messages
  • “The file is corrupted” messages
  • Hangs when running commands on the device, specifically when performing I/O commands on certain files, or when running chkdsk /R on the device

Typically these indicate a problem with the device's hard drive. You can investigate further by checking some SMART values displayed in the device's diagnostics mode.

To enter diagnostic mode, hold the centre and Menu buttons to restart the device. You'll then need to hold the centre and Back buttons during boot to enter diagnostic mode. The below link provides some further information on diagnostic mode: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/backstage/comments/ipod-nano-4g-and-120gb-ipod-classic-diagnostic-modes/

Once in diagnostic mode, select “Manual Test”, “IO”, “HardDrive” and finally “HDSMARTData”. Here you are looking to check the number of “Reallocs” and “Pending sectors”.

Normal values would be zero, but a few rellocs would be acceptable. A large amount of either would indicate a problem, and a large pending sectors value would probably indicate an ongoing problem.

To exit diagnostic mode, use the Menu button to go back a few levels, and then select Reset.

I have downloaded some podcasts directly on my iPod touch/iPhone - but now whenever I sync their play state is lost

Under iTunes 9.0.3 and iPod touch software version 3.1.3, my experience is that iTunes has the same issue - unless you let it copy the Podcasts back to its library. For example, to reproduce:

  1. Ensure all syncing options in iTunes are in manual mode.
  2. Download a podcast directly on the device using the iTunes app.
  3. Play it half-way.
  4. Connect the device to iTunes, and do something that will cause iTunes to update the device's database. Some examples are simply playing a track on the device, or dragging a new song onto the device.
  5. Once the 'sync' is complete, check the play state of the podcast on the device. At this point I find it has been reset to new.

I have investigated some workarounds, but I have decided against using these as they may have other side effects. Once this is working under iTunes, I will be able to fix this in iPod manager.

Update: Fixed in iTunes 10 and iOS 4.1, however the fix still needs to be implemented in iPod manager Update: This should be fixed in the current version of iPod manager

I'm using iPod manager in conjunction with foo_audioscrobbler, and submitted tracks won't show up on my last.fm page, even though console says "Submission succeeded"

Check if date and time on your device is set correctly.

To-do

  • Add iOS 5.x support. (goodness is this taking a long time)

Requests

  • Expand functionality to include standard USB hard drives. (i.e. foo_dop can sync with a USB drive, not just an iPod).
  • Scan/Remove duplicate tracks from Ipod library (and enforce that duplicate tracks cannot be sync'd)
  • Support for cue sheets that reference MP3 files. Should split the referenced files using the cue sheet and set appropriate gapless data.
  • More playlist management features.
  • Automatic synchronisation
  • Better support for Shuffle
  • Custom sorting
  • Add support for track options based on metadata (Equalizer preset and Gapless album)
  • Ability to rebuild iPod database from scratch by searching the iPod for supported files
  • Mapping for rating
  • Allow for configuring cache folder where converted files can be stored. Reduces processor load and time when re-synching ipod. (Update tags if changed.)
  • Photo syncing
  • Autofill
  • Ability to view artwork for tracks on iPod in foobar2000 artwork viewer
  • Conversion encoder presets
  • Per-device conversion settings/profiles
  • Locate dead tracks function
  • Ability to exclude certain artist, album or specific files from sync operation.

Not happening

  • Send autoplaylists to iPod as smart playlists, bring smart playlists to autoplaylists in foobar.
  • Integration with, or allow foobar's media library to scan the iPod library (on iPhone/Touch)

> Unfortunately, not possible to implement at this time.

  • Expand scope to also cover synchronizing with Windows Phone 7. Would be nice to get rid of Zune.

Changelog

Miscellaneous

1) , 2) , 3)
Without Genius support
4)
See below requirements; Without Genius support
5) , 6)
Requires updated iPhoneCalc.dll
7) , 8) , 9) , 10) , 11) , 12) , 13) , 14) , 15) , 16) , 17) , 18)
iPhoneCalc.dll required
19)
Admin privileges required for write support
dop/start.txt · Last modified: 2013/08/16 17:23 by 24.52.208.98