Auto Playlist Help

[a2a]

I'd like to create a playlist for childrens audiobooks and have it randomly generate fresh content to be played each day.

Would it be correct to set something up as follows (?):

- Genre = children audiobook
- Last Played = is not in the last day

Not sure if playcount if needed as overriding requirement would be to not have it played in the previous day?

Also, where auto-playlists have been set up before, do they refresh every time you click them; as e.g. what would like to be achieved is maintain the playlist Musicbee gives you, but only drop off the item that once no longer fit for criteria goes, but the others that were created on it at the time the auto-playlist was generated remain?

For example: creating something with genre = dance and last played not in the last day, limit items to 3 random tracks. Once one track is played and you navigate away from the list, when you return the whole content has changed, rather than the track you just played disappearing?

Thank you

[redwing]

If you use "Last played" "is before" a certain date rule, then you could forget about editing the rules each day. Also it would work sort of as a static playlist due to the nature of the rule, losing a played track each day.

[a2a]

Thanks. If you select "last played" - "is before" then you have to hardcode a date.

I want something that flex's so e.g. "is not in the last" then you use '1 day' which means the criteria continually shifts without having to change the hard coded date.

[psychoadept]

If you select "last played" - "is before" then you have to hardcode a date.

I want something that flex's so e.g. "is not in the last" then you use '1 day' which means the criteria continually shifts without having to change the hard coded date.

Yes, that's right.  And yes, the playlist should refresh automatically.  Are these audiobooks one track each, or do they have multiple tracks?  If the latter, you'll want to be sure to set it to select by album.

I would use these settings:
- Genre = children audiobook
- Last Played = is not in the last day
limit to 1 (or however many you want) albums (<- or you could limit by length of time?), selected by least recently played (<- this should negate the need for "not in the last day" but it doesn't hurt to have that rule too)
select by album

[a2a]

psychoadept, thanks for much for taking the time to write back!

I've kind of got something working, thank you! However, it's still changing the contents of the list every time you navigate away from it; would like to try get something which, once the contents of the playlist have been generated they stick until the criteria of the songs MB has picked force them to drop off.

On another note, also using iTunes to update children's iPod, and creating a similar playlist there does give the above required behaviour? Although, strangely when the songs have been played on iPod, the playlist on the iPod doesn't self/auto-update - with live updating ticked/checked? I think it's to do with smart-playlist criteria as maybe the iPod can't process "not in the past 1 day" criteria, but if you create a list with "playcount <1" - for example - then that live updates on the device.

[psychoadept]

Can you explain a little more what the exact result you want is?  And maybe post a screenshot of your current settings?

[a2a]

To have the app generate  - fresh/random and fixed tracks - that only drop off the auto playlist once listened to; and, not when you navigate away from the list as when you return it generates more tracks. Would like it so that the tracks the app gives you stay there until listened to, and only then that track drop off and a new one go on the list.

It seem MB always runs it's calculation every time you sit on the auto-playlist so it wipes out whatever tracks were there, where as iTunes keeps it fixed?

Here's MB setting:


Now this works in iTunes - in that the list is - for want of a better term - static and only once a track has been listened to from that list it drops off. What I can't achieve with this case is have the iPod update the SPL (even with Live Updating checked) without having to connect back to iTunes.

Here's iTunes setting:

[a2a]

So I've finally figured this issue with iTunes; it seems there's either a bug in particular playback devices firmware, or those devices aren't capable of processing the criteria/logic.

If you create a SPL to give you content by random which hasn't been listened to in the last day, the children's iPod nano doesn't make those tracks drop off the list and keep it populated with the fresh tracks. If you use the same list, but use an iPod classic then, voila, it works! Perfectly as well. All of this is to be achieved without having to connect the devices back to the computer; 'live updating' on the device is required.

What I like about the iTunes SPLs is that the tracks generated by it don't continuously re-generate everytime you navigate away from the playlist and then return to it; the tracks offered up by it remain until you listen to them or expire (if you set no play count criteria but just a date).

Musicbee handles all of the logic beautifully and amazingly; however, the issue is, that once you sit on an auto-playlist after choosing your criteria, the tracks offered there do not stay in the list like they do in iTunes. All those initially generated tracks have gone and the programs logic/processing of the playlist is once again run; it seem MB runs its processing everytime an auto-playlist is selected/highlighted in the app?

(I hope I'm making sense in the above) Is it possible to have MB's auto-playlist remain static like iTunes and only refresh unless the tracks expire against their criteria, or have a way to manually refresh it?

Thank you again

[psychoadept]

Is it possible to have MB's auto-playlist remain static like iTunes and only refresh unless the tracks expire against their criteria, or have a way to manually refresh it?

I suggest posting this in the Wishlist forum.  You will definitely get a +1 from me.