Playlist absolute order corrupted after syncing to specific device.

[CritterMan]

I just spent about a half hour searching the forums, but I can miss things so pardon me if I have.

Windows 10 64 bit, portable MB 3.3.7071, FiiO X5 Gen III running a custom fork of Android 5.1.1 (kernel 3.0.101+). All syncing performed using mass storage mode over USB 2.0.

I noticed that my synced playlists were showing tracks out of order on my device. I checked the playlists' track orders by opening the m3u8 file on the device using Notepad. The tracks were out of order compared to the playlists in MB on most of the playlists, only in order on very short playlists consisting of one or two albums.

My playlists are for specific artists and include tracks from multiple albums by that artist. I sort them by the original year, then the album, then the track number and then I use Update Play Order to set the absolute numbering in MB. The ordering issue appears to be a random re-ordering of albums. The tracks within the affected albums are in order, but the whole album is moved to a different spot on the playlist. An album that should be at the end of the playlist might appear at the beginning or in the middle (for example, no pattern appears to be present, multiple albums affected per playlist). When I check the mbp files on my desktop using Notepad, the order of the tracks is correct, so the issue only appears on the synced lists on the device.

So, I spent a couple of weeks playing around, and I have a consistent problem I can reproduce:

1) I set up a folder on my desktop and make it a virtual device. I use identical settings as I do with my X5 with the following exceptions:
-I am not syncing all music.
-I am only syncing one playlist.

2) I create a new playlist in MB, manually copy the tracks from the test playlist into it (Ctrl+a, drag and drop). I then delete the original test playlist and rename the new playlist to the same name the original had.

3) I sync the virtual device. The play order is preserved as it should be in the m3u8 playlist in the virtual device. It's a perfect match to the absolute order in the mbp file and as displayed in MB.

4) I sync the X5. The playlist files sync to the device as usual overwriting the existing files on the X5. The test playlist synced to the X5 has the issue. A re-check of the mbp file on my computer shows that it still has the correct ordering.

5) I sync the virtual device again, the only file transferred is the test playlist, overwriting the existing file. Opening the test playlist that resides in the virtual device folder using Notepad shows that the play order is now incorrect, identical to the incorrect order on the X5.

I can repeat these steps ad nauseum, and always get the same results.

Here are my sync settings (checkboxes and fields are left blank if not noted):

-delete tracks and confirm deletion are both checked
-The storage path is the drive letter of the SD card on my X5 and the folder path for my virtual device
-I am using a naming template:

Code

Music\<Album Artist>\<Original Year>-<Year (yyyy)> $Left(<Album>,20)\<Disc-Track#> - $Left(<Title>,20)

-the other naming templates are not used and are left at their default values
-split cuesheet files is checked
-playlist path:

Code

Playlists\

-playlist save as format is M3U8
-copy to folder.jpg is selected, resizing to 500
-always copy to lrc file is selected

I know there is at least one other X5 III user on the forums, but the issue is clearly happening on the MB side given that the issue affects the virtual device only after syncing with the X5. It confuses me that the mbp file has the correct ordering and yet the problem persists until I delete and replace the playlist with one of the same name.

[redwing]

What are your playlist settings under Preferences> Library?
You don't have to post those. You might want to try different settings to see if those are related.

[CritterMan]

Well, flipping the relative paths on and off toggled the relative paths setting for the exported playlists (and the relative paths check box for each device has no effect for some reason), but the ordering issue wasn't affected by altering any settings there with one exception: If I change the local playlist format from mbp to m3u, the issue is triggered when I sync to the virtual device as well as the X5. I can't imagine this affects other users as it would be quickly noticed.

Thinking about when I noticed the problem, it was when I upgraded the micro SD card in my X5 from a Samsung Evo Plus 256GB card to a 512 of the same branding. But, I can't think of any reason why the issue would be caused by a difference in the storage medium alone. So, I threw the old card into the second card slot on the X5 and re-ran the testing. Odd results, though. The tracks on the playlist on the second card are out of order exactly as on the first, but a subsequent sync to the virtual device shows the playlist tracks in the correct order. Syncing the 512GB card again shows the tracks out of order, and then syncing to the virtual device caused the ordering issue to occur on the virtual device.

I'm now more confused than ever. How could the device I'm syncing to cause this kind of an issue? Isn't the absolute track order just copied?

[redwing]

The ordering issue appears to be a random re-ordering of albums. The tracks within the affected albums are in order, but the whole album is moved to a different spot on the playlist. An album that should be at the end of the playlist might appear at the beginning or in the middle (for example, no pattern appears to be present, multiple albums affected per playlist).

Can you check if they are in the order in which they were added?

[CritterMan]

I just manually re-created the playlist I've been testing with, adding the tracks to the new playlist in the order they should be in without using any sorting. I then deleted the original playlist and renamed the new one to match.

Synced to the virtual device, order preserved.

Synced to the X5, order corrupted, same changes as before.

Synced to the virtual device again, order corrupted as above.

I haven't been able find any factor that changes the results of the testing except changing the playlist format for the local playlists from mbp to m3u, and that causes the same corruption when I sync to the virtual device without requiring I sync to the X5 first. I may need to create copies of albums and then strip off one tag at a time until there's a change. Not looking forward to that.

[redwing]

See if this is related and try with the latest patch: https://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=28645.0
Also try with "manual order" sorting for the playlist.

[CritterMan]

On 3.3.7074 now. The bug I encountered during my testing that caused the issue when syncing first to the virtual device after changing the local playlist format from mbp to m3u has stopped, so that's something.

If I change the local playlist format from mbp to m3u, the issue is triggered when I sync to the virtual device as well as the X5.

The primary issue in which the track order within the synced playlist is corrupted when syncing the list to my X5 and then occurs when syncing the same list to the virtual device continues. I've been using manual order since I first set up MB and verified the setting is still active.

I ran another test today using a blank SD card in my X5 using the default settings for a new device. Same problem. Not sure what to test next, maybe different views on my music tab.

[redwing]

Can you check if they are in the order in which they were added?

You didn't answer my question, but your device might be acting like an old car stereo.
See this thread: https://getmusicbee.com/forum/index.php?topic=24770
I don't know that program works for exFAT format but you could try.

[CritterMan]

I did answer your question, I just didn't understand what you were asking. I added tracks to a test playlist in the order they should appear:

I just manually re-created the playlist I've been testing with, adding the tracks to the new playlist in the order they should be in without using any sorting. I then deleted the original playlist and renamed the new one to match.

Synced to the virtual device, order preserved.

Synced to the X5, order corrupted, same changes as before.

Synced to the virtual device again, order corrupted as above.

I now think you mean the order in which they are copied to the SD card. Note that the issue is the order of the tracks in the m3u8 playlist file as viewed with Notepad, not the player's interpretation of the order. Remember, the issue is "contagious" after a newly created playlist is synced to the X5 and occurs on the virtual device that is just a folder on my desktop. Also, all of my track filenames start with the track number. That's just good practice. I've ruled out the SD card itself as well, testing cards of multiple capacities and brands with identical results.

But, I ran a fresh sync to the blank card and bingo: the order in which the tracks are synced from MB to the SD card matches the incorrect order in the m3u8 file precisely! To top it off, if I sync a fresh test playlist to my local virtual device, the tracks sync in the same order that they appear in the local playlist!

Finally, I know what dictates the order of the tracks in the synced playlist. Now, two mysteries remain: what triggers the issue and why is the order cached in MB to affect a completely different device?

---

Okay, I was about to go to bed and I decided to try something I hadn't tried since updating MB. I made a fresh copy of my test playlist and synced it to my virtual device. As expected, the m3u8 contained the correct track order. Then, I synced it to the test card (in the #2 card slot in my X5, only the playlist needed to sync) and the order of the tracks in the m3u8 was correct. So, I then synced my 512GB card. Again, only the playlists being overwritten. The test playlist m3u8 on the card showed the correct track order. Excited, I checked another playlist. But, alas, the other playlists still have the incorrect order issue. Can't give up now, so I duplicated an affected playlist, deleted the original, and removed (copy) from the name of the fresh copy of the playlist. Synced the 512GB card in the X5 again, and the new test playlist also showed the correct order! But, the other playlists still had the issue. I made copies of all of my playlists, synced my 512GB card, and all were in the correct order.

So, as the professional troubleshooter I am, I set out to break it again. I succeeded. I had misspoken above, I set manual order since I altered the MB settings early in the testing, not since I set up MB to start with. I changed it again:

1) I set a sort order for my playlists by holding Ctrl and clicking the column headers on my Playlists tab in the order I like for my playlists:
-Album Artist
-Original Year
-Year
-Album
-Disc-Track#

2) I used Update Play Order to lock in the sorted order.

3) I synced my 512GB card in my X5 again. Broken. All playlists with multiple albums on them show the same exact track order problem they did before.

Under specific circumstances, this issue can be reproduced. The bad part is that I can no longer get the correct play order by syncing to the virtual device. I may need to retrace my steps earlier in this thread, but not tonight. Perhaps I'll try a fresh copy of MB portable and import my settings and library to see if that helps. If someone, maybe a mod like phred, with an X5 Gen 3 wants my MB settings file and has the willpower to take the time to retrace my poorly structured steps, I'd consider sharing it.

[Steven]

I havent read everything in this thread in detail.
I have made a simple change on the MusicBee side that undoes an optimisation i made to see if it makes any difference to the order playlist files are synch'ed

https://getmusicbee.com/patches/MusicBee33_Patched.zip

[CritterMan]

I havent read everything in this thread in detail.
I have made a simple change on the MusicBee side that undoes an optimisation i made to see if it makes any difference to the order playlist files are synch'ed

Well, I had planned on spending my Sunday setting up a fresh copy of MB and working to produce steps to reproduce the issue for you to read, Steven. But, since you made the change, nothing I do can reproduce the issue. I've tried everything I can think of and tested syncing multiple times on three separate devices but the playlists are always perfect. Now, I need to figure out what to do with the rest of my day.

I'd like to remind everyone that Steven does this for free and has no other developers to help out.