Itunes playlists showing either empty or partial song list

Bob Malecki

Below is my dialog with Bluesound support. Seems the agent keeps misunderstanding my problem. Does anyone have any insights?

Thanks

 

Itunes playlists showing either empty or partial song list

  • I have the latest BluOS installed on my Powernode 2 linked to network share on a Qnap Nas 451 using relative path \\10.0.10.4\Multimedia\Music\which as the iTunes Library.xml file and below that directory are the actual music files. All songs/folders show up fine in the Library under the BluOS app. The playlists that I created in Itunes show up also, but some are empty and some show only a few songs, yet the Itunes app on my Windows 10 server (which has the path \\10.0.10.4\Multimedia\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music). I would like to see all of the songs show up in the imported Itunes playlists, how can this be accomplished??ThanksBob

  • Hi Bob,

    This means the iTunes playlists aren't able to find the songs in the path name from the NAS - through the BluOS app.

    The playlists path to each song is relative - if this changes in any way - the songs won't be found.

    You'd have to edit the iTunes playlists manually and change the directories - as iTunes locks this down pretty badly so this can't be accomplished easily.

    We'd suggest sharing the iTunes directory from the computer in question, with the paths intact, so the playlists can be imported properly - along with the music itself.

    Kyle F,
    BluOS Support Crew Technical and Integration Analyst - Level 2
  • 2 days ago

Well the playlists in itunes show all songs available, but Blueos shows only a subset on the playlists. Why would some songs be loading while others don't when the paths are all the same relative values?

You suggest sharing the iTunes directory from the computer in question, with the paths intact, so the playlists can be imported properly. How exactly do I do this??

  • Hi Bob,

    "Well the playlists in itunes show all songs available, but Blueos shows only a subset on the playlists. Why would some songs be loading while others don't when the paths are all the same relative values?"

    If any of the songs are moved OR not in the same directory that the playlist references - that's why they wouldn't show up.

    "You suggest sharing the iTunes directory from the computer in question, with the paths intact, so the playlists can be imported properly. How exactly do I do this??"

    We don't know what computer you're using, but we'll assume Mac given you're using iTunes;

    We have created these easy to follow screenshots to document how to do this; https://support.bluos.net/hc/en-us/article_attachments/360000535587/BluOS_MacOS.pdf

    Here are some common troubleshooting tips if you continue to have problems

    1. File Sharing works best with the Guest User account accessing a share to the BluOS Firmware on your Player.

    If you have not set up your Guest account, follow these instructions.

    o Open System Preferences and select Users & Groups 
    o Click the Lock to allow changes (If required) 
    o Click the User “Guest User” under “Other Users” 
    o Click the checkbox for “Allow guests to connect to shared folders” 
    o Click lock to prevent changes

    When connecting the share in the Bluesound App under "Configure Network Shares", simply leave the user name and password fields blank.

    1. If you have been using Guest access before on your previous OS X installations, simply un-check and then re-check the "Allow guests to connect to shared folders" on your OS X 10.10 computer to refresh you Guest User access. In our troubleshooting, refreshing this check box has resolved many OS X 10.10 sharing issues for upgraded shares.

    2. Some lower level folders may have the wrong security permission. An easy way to solve this is to reset all sub-directories from the parent directory. Select the folder where the Music is stored and press Command-I to Get Info. Click on the padlock in the bottom right corner of the Folder Info window to authenticate as an Administrator and enter your User ID and Password for the Mac.


    In the Sharing & Permissions section, please ensure either Everyone or the specific user you Bluesound Player is using to log in has Read Only or Read & Write privileges to the folder. Click the Gear Icon at the bottom of the windo and click on Apply to enclosed items... from the pop up menu.

    This will reset the permissions on all files and sub-directories in your folder to be the same as this.

    Please get back to us if you continue to have problems or cannot see your shares using "Configure Network Shares". Please remember to wait 5 minutes after any changes for your shares to fully propagate, before trying to connect to them.

    If nothing appears with the "Find Network Shares" option, we recommend using the Manual method. See this article to find the name of your computer, for the manual input:

    https://support.bluos.net/hc/en-us/articles/360000469588-What-is-the-Computer-Name-of-my-Mac-

    Once this iTunes directory is shared, the playlists should import fully - if the paths are relative and all work properly.

    Kyle F,
    BluOS Support Crew Technical and Integration Analyst - Level 2
  •  
    • 1 day ago

    Your assumption is incorrect. I run itunes on a Windows 10 machine and have my files stored on the Qnap 451 NAS. I have the full directory holding the music on the Qnap set to full access for guest users so no login is needed. 
    Again as stated on my original post Qnap Nas 451 using relative path \\10.0.10.4\Multimedia\Music\which as the iTunes Library.xml file and below that directory are the actual music files 
    Please advise

    • 1 day ago

    "Well the playlists in itunes show all songs available, but Blueos shows only a subset on the playlists. Why would some songs be loading while others don't when the paths are all the same relative values?"

    If any of the songs are moved OR not in the same directory that the playlist references - that's why they wouldn't show up.

    Well duh. I haven't moved anything, your answer is not solving the issue. All songs for a playlist are in the directory and I've verified this in the itunes menue, yet your app only sees some of them

  • Hi Bob,

    You moved/redirected the iTunes directory to your NAS - correct? If so, it's possible the playlists aren't referencing the absolute directory path listing.

    Even if you redirected this, any playlists that referenced other directories(which are no longer valid) wouldn't work in this circumstance.

    Whenever you move the iTunes directory from it's original location(Windows OR Mac) - despite what iTunes is displaying - if BluOS isn't seeing them, the directories path aren't matching completely.

    Some customers in past cases, mentioned this method helped, but we can't confirm this personally - https://blog.fonepaw.com/export-itunes-playlist.html

    Once the playlists themselves are exported as M3U - referencing the files in the locations they currently reside in(stored on the NAS as you've mentioned) it should work based on past reports.

    Further, regarding your Windows PC - the instructions are below for establishing a Windows network share to try an alternate method for these playlists.

    In Windows 7, 8 and 10 Anti-Virus programs can change these sharing settings from default settings.

    For the Current Profile: 
    - Turn On Network Discovery 
    - Turn On file and printer sharing 
    - Allow windows to manage homegroup connections
    - Turn ON sharing so anyone with network access can read and write files in the Public Folders 
    - Use 128-bit encryption to help protect file sharing connections 
    - Turn OFF password protected sharing (This has been changed to ON by some antivirus programs)

    After you have confirmed the above, please use this document for step by step instructions on adding your Network Share on Windows platforms;

    Windows 8/10 - https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/article_attachments/360003626053/BluOS_Win10.pdf

    Instead of trying to find the network share(if this doesn't work after performing the above), please try entering the share manually in the following manner - \\IPADDRESSOFCOMPUTER\SHARENAME

    An example would be \\192.168.0.34\Music

    Remember this is the IP address of your computer and is the address the router has issued for the computer on your current network.

    Kyle F,
    BluOS Support Crew Technical and Integration Analyst - Level 2
  •  
    • a few seconds ago

    You moved/redirected the iTunes directory to your NAS - correct? If so, it's possible the playlists aren't referencing the absolute directory path listing.

    - Nope, they have been on my NAS for over a year

    Even if you redirected this, any playlists that referenced other directories(which are no longer valid) wouldn't work in this circumstance.

    - There are no legacy directories

    Whenever you move the iTunes directory from it's original location(Windows OR Mac) - despite what iTunes is displaying - if BluOS isn't seeing them, the directories path aren't matching completely.

    - Sure but this is not the issue. NOTHING has been moved and I don't see how you think this is an issue. I have been setting up both Linux and Windows networking for the past 15 years and understand how permissions/sharing and pathing works so please don't keep sending me basic checklist instructions. Why the hell are you telling me how to set up a Windows share anyway? I've already stated that the music files and playlists are on a Qnap LINUX NAS

    - as mentioned already I'm already using \\10.0.10.4\Multimedia\Music\ for the path. All 38,000+ songs load into BlueOS but as I keep repeating: some of the songs do NOT show up in the playlists, even though they DO play if I select the song INDIVIDUALLY

    I was hoping to get a support person who understands my issue, not pacify me with blanket procedures.

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Comments

15 comments

Date Votes
  • Official comment
    Tony W.
    Product Support Manager
    • Edited

    Hi Bob

    If you are working with Kyle - you are in very capable hands as he has been a member of our team here for a number of years and is my go to guy on the 'tough nuts to crack' - Kyle will get to the bottom as to why your iTunes import is not happening and how you can resolve it. - he really has seen it all...

     

  • Bob Malecki

    Not really, he gave me directions for using a Mac when I started the ticket letting him know I was running iTunes on Windows and have my songs/playlists on a Qnap NAS. I finally figured it out myself

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  • Alex

    Hi Bob,

    could you explain me, how to set up/integrate my itunes libary included with my itunes playlist located on a qnap nas to bluos?

    i have a similar question like you and get also only unsatisfactory answers that don't help me to solve my problem from the support team.

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  • Tony W.
    Product Support Manager

    Hi Alexxander

    I am escalating your issue to our Support Crew. They will help you find the answers you need.

     

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  • Bob Malecki

    Hi @Alexxander, from what I recall, I had to edit the iTunes Library.xml file and find the paths that referenced the old alias Mediaserver to the Qnap IP address 10.0.10.4. per below

    file://localhost//MEDIASERVER/Multimedia/Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Media/Music/ (this was the former path from iTunes and songs with this path did not show up in my BluOS playlists)

    and replace with

    file://localhost//10.0.10.4/Multimedia/Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Media/Music/

    After this I save the file, overwrote the active xml then rescanned from BluOS and all songs now populate their respective playlists

    So, make a copy of your itunes xml file, open it and look for those path discrepancies and do a search/replace for the correct path. I use EditPlus to do the file changes as it has better tools than just txt editor. 

    Hope this helps!

    1
  • Andrew Dixon
    • Edited

    I'm having a similar issue, where iTunes playlists are importing in to BluOS and are visible, but none of them contain any songs.

    I am on Windows 10 and my iTunes folder and media is stored on a NAS drive. I have enabled all sharing permissions on the NAS drive, I have set the preference in iTunes to share the XML file with other apps, and I have tried to follow all suggestions on this and other threads, some of which have not worked and others I admit I've not understood fully what is being asked.

     

    So, my iTunes XML file is stored on a NAS drive in the following location:

    \\WDMYCLOUD\Public\My Music\iTunes

    In BluOS I have added the following network share, and reindexed: (This is the same folder as above, I got the impression I should try and make them match)

    \\WDMYCLOUD\Public\My Music\iTunes

    My music files are stored in a sub folder of the above.

     

    Have I set the file path up incorrectly? I see mention of manually finding and replacing text in the xml, but would iTunes not overwrite that at some point with the file path it wants to reference?

    In case it's relevant, here's a file path that shows in my iTunes xml file for a random song:

    <string>file://localhost//WDMYCLOUD/Public/My%20Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Media/New%20Order/Substance/2-03%20Cries%20And%20Whispers.m4a</string>

     

    Any help, in easy to understand terms, would be appreciated, and please bear in mind I have already read the various support and knowledge base pages on the subject, but none seem to cover how to fix playlists being empty.

     

    Thanks :-)

     

     

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  • Alex

    Hi Andrew,

    from my site there is no solution from bluesound site, and i try a lot to make it possible, but in my case the bluesound support told me, that the bluOS application has some issues with some NAS products. For me it was not possible to add my itunes libary (stored/located on my QNAP NAS) into the blueOS app.

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  • Andrew Dixon

    Thanks Alex. That seems a strange message from Bluesound if indeed that is the cause of my issue.

     

    It's definitely reading the xml file from my NAS, as it has created all the playlists contained within that file. It's also definitely reading the songs in my iTunes library, as I can play them no problem.

     

    The thing it's not doing is populating those playlists with songs. I'd assume that the xml file is identical no matter what kind of NAS drive is being used, as the file is created by iTunes not the NAS.

    It feels like the issue is something to do with file paths.

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  • Alex

    Hi Andrew,

    the only way I could import my itunes playlist into bluesound was the following:

    1. I stored my whole .mp3 files on the NAS (without trying to do that via the itunes implementation from blueos). I only set the network path in the blueOS to my music files e.g. \\NAS\multimedia\music
    in that folder my whole music are stored.

    2. I created itunes playlist in itunes and export the playlist files on my local client (.m3u)

    3. I manually edit the files because itunes created the path to the file like this:

    file://localhost//wicknik/multimedia/music/song.mp3

    i changed it to the following: .\song.mp3

    After that change, I copy the .m3u file to the music folder on my NAS (\\NAS\multimedia\music)

    Then I start a reindex of the NAS directory in the blueOS app.

    Finish. I could hear my created playlists in the blueOS app.

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  • Alex

    If you like I could send you a playlist or make a screenshot, how I set the path in the .m3u playlist file.

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  • Andrew Dixon
    • Edited

    thank you, sorry for the delay responding.

     

    So if I wanted to go down the route of creating a series of m3u files, using your theory above, I have an example entry here from an m3u I've just created:

    #EXTINF:143,Winterlude - Bob Dylan
    \\WDMYCLOUD\Public\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\Bob Dylan\New Morning\05 Winterlude.m4a

     

    My network music share in BluOS points to: \\WDMYCLOUD\Public\My Music\iTunes

    My iTunes xml file lives in the same folder (if that's relevant)

    That is the same folder I've dropped my test m3u file in to.

    What should I change line 2 of my Bob Dylan example line above to?

     

    Any advice really appreciated! Thanks.

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  • Bjørn Ulvik
    Hi-Res

    Relative path if \\WDMYCLOUD\Public\My Music\iTunes is your "root folder":
    iTunes\iTunes Media\Music\Bob Dylan\New Morning\05 Winterlude.m4a

    2
  • Andrew Dixon

    Thank you, I finally have songs in a Playlist!

    Looks like I need to manually create several dozen m3u playlists now, and then do a mass find/replace. Hopefully I can find a script that will speed up the playlist creation.

    Ideally it would be great if i could get it to build the playlists directly from the XML file but I'm not hopeful I'll ever get that to work.

     

    But this is big progress, thank you!

    0
  • Bjørn Ulvik
    Hi-Res

    iTunesXMLtoM3U (http://www.simav8.com/itunesxmltom3u.html), would probably cover your needs

    1
  • Jasmin

    Hi, I found an article that seems to help: 

    An Easy Way on How to Export iTunes Playlist

    Let me know if what they said works. Thanks!

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