Good randomiser for PC music box.

Ultra_Extreme · 15 Jun 2006 at 14:30

Hi guys, heres the deal. Ive built a music/media PC (XP not MCE) to replace the knackered 10CD system at my hotel and would like to automate as much as poss, its running a simple stereo line to an amp hooked up to the internal speaker system.

All that aside i'm after a program to randomise the large selection (roughly 20k songs) neatly so that ya dont get ronan keating etc every 20 odd songs lol also if possible one that will allow playlisting by genre or similar? (so that more 'interesting' tracks come on later when old mr + Mrs johnson arent sat in the resteraunt covering their ears if you get me

)

And on a legal note, yes all songs are owned and yes we do hold a current Performing Rights permit/certificate.

MarcLister · 15 Jun 2006 at 14:50

I think Winamp could do some of that for you. You could add all the tracks to a playlist and set the playlist to shuffle the songs about.

There is this Winamp plugin that might give you more control over music genre played at any particular time.

How does that look for a start? You could search for 'random' or 'playlist' in the search box for other plugins.

sinister_stu · 15 Jun 2006 at 15:11

iTunes will do that for you.

Ultra_Extreme · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:10

sinister_stu said:
iTunes will do that for you.

Spyware piece of crap tbh, hate it.

Cheers marc, didnt think of winamp oddly lol

Sic · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:21

Ultra_Extreme said:
Spyware piece of crap tbh, hate it.

you may hate it, but spyware, it is not.

may i ask what leads you to believe that there's any spyware in/on/around itunes? other than the fact that you're misinformed of the definition of the word "spyware"?

SexyGreyFox · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:24

I don't use it myself but theres so much mythical garbage spoke about I-Tunes.

Ultra_Extreme · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:36

Can i get winmamp to play WMA files?

Weebull · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:37

It does by default.

Ultra_Extreme · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:39

Sic said:
you may hate it, but spyware, it is not.

may i ask what leads you to believe that there's any spyware in/on/around itunes? other than the fact that you're misinformed of the definition of the word "spyware"?

lol, im not misinformed on what spyware is, however calling it that was a generalization. Rather i deem it an intrusive peice of software. Seems to come bundled with everything, is a nightmare to use compared to media player and it removes control from the user and is difficult to remove. On the other hand it makes me a lot of money, about 5% of callout jobs i get are to remove i-tunes, almost double that of removal of AOL software.

Ultra_Extreme · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:41

Weebull said:
It does by default.

Doesnt seem to

if i add a dir with MP3's in then it lists them, if i do the same with a dir full of WMA nowt comes up

Weebull · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:45

Hmm, that's odd. Maybe it's a Winamp v5 thing, because it reads them fine in 2.9, which is what I use.

Sic · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:48

Ultra_Extreme said:
Can i get winmamp to play WMA files?

on installation, it should ask what files you want to associate with it by default. if you've already installed it, go to winamp preferences and it's in there somewhere...been ages since i used it.

Ultra_Extreme said:
lol, im not misinformed on what spyware is, however calling it that was a generalization. Rather i deem it an intrusive peice of software. Seems to come bundled with everything, is a nightmare to use compared to media player and it removes control from the user and is difficult to remove. On the other hand it makes me a lot of money, about 5% of callout jobs i get are to remove i-tunes, almost double that of removal of AOL software.

meh, that's a subjective thing. personally i find it the easiest music library software out there. not entirely sure what you mean by "it comes bundled with everything"...it has the same functionality as WMP, and is laid out much more logically imho.

i use it at work, but i'm not supposed to...and i've never found it difficult to remove. is that just a case of people not knowing where Remove Programs is? or does it do weird things? it's a while since i've owned a PC

Ultra_Extreme · 15 Jun 2006 at 16:58

Weebull said:
Hmm, that's odd. Maybe it's a Winamp v5 thing, because it reads them fine in 2.9, which is what I use.

Yeah i had to obtain a 3rd party WMA decoder, oh well sorted now.

Sic Well firstly, people are click-hoars, think they are installing one thing then suddenly itunes has comandeered their music, converted most of it to a format unreadable by other programs, you've got associated real-player reminders allo over the place and, although not technically a fault of iTunes, the interface differs so much from media player that most people find themselves unable to play their tunes at all. Your right, it is subjective, but thats a bit like saying that spam advertising disguised as windows error pop-ups are there to "offer genuine services that are truly needed by the customer" The truth is that these companies will do anything to get their software on your computer, everything in their power to keep it there and then very little to help you get rid of it.

iTunes even remains the default music player once removed, one customer even reported that it tried to redownload itself after uninstallation...

JimmyEatWorms · 15 Jun 2006 at 17:28

What's iTunes got to do with RealPlayer?

FWIW I think iTunes is the best "jukebox" software out. It's so easy to find what you'e looking for in even the biggest library. I never use anything else.

Ultra_Extreme · 15 Jun 2006 at 19:47

JimmyEatWorms said:
What's iTunes got to do with RealPlayer?

FWIW I think iTunes is the best "jukebox" software out. It's so easy to find what you'e looking for in even the biggest library. I never use anything else.

oops meant quicktime my mistake.

sinister_stu · 16 Jun 2006 at 08:55

JimmyEatWorms said:
What's iTunes got to do with RealPlayer?

FWIW I think iTunes is the best "jukebox" software out. It's so easy to find what you'e looking for in even the biggest library. I never use anything else.

You're right, it's certainly no harder to use then any of the others. The interface is very clean and as long as you're not an idiot it really isn't that hard to stop it converting your music.

chino · 16 Jun 2006 at 09:09

sinister_stu said:
You're right, it's certainly no harder to use then any of the others. The interface is very clean and as long as you're not an idiot it really isn't that hard to stop it converting your music.

Definitely. I know some completely computer illiterate people who have managed to use it without converting music. By far the easiest to use music library software I've used.

Also, when it's on shuffle it always seems to know what song you want to listen to... hang on, perhaps that's what you meant by spyware :eek:

Sic · 16 Jun 2006 at 09:19

chino said:
Also, when it's on shuffle it always seems to know what song you want to listen to... hang on, perhaps that's what you meant by spyware

i've noticed that...i'm always saying that itunes knows what mood i'm in!!

*dons tinfoil hat*

William · 16 Jun 2006 at 09:30

I am trying to understand the need for the "party shuffle" option.

sinister_stu · 16 Jun 2006 at 11:29

William said:
I am trying to understand the need for the "party shuffle" option.

I always wondered that.

Answers on the back of a postcard please...