listening to mp3 cds without importing

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listening to mp3 cds without importing

I know that itunes doesn't mount the disk as it would an audio disk (unfortunate). So given that, is there a script, or other method, that can help me listen to mp3 disks without leaving orphaned files in my library?

The real issue is that there is limited disk space on the computer, therefore I want to keep the files on the disk only - having access to those files ONLY when the disk is inserted.

(One of the other issues in this scenario is that even if I could deal with the orphaned files while the disk is not inserted, when the disk IS inserted again, the songs are not automatically re-linked. I know this is just the way itunes works, but it's also unfortunate.)

Anyone have any help with this? Does the scripting library allow for a workaround?

Thanks.

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jan 12, 2009 10:22 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 12, 2009 3:29 PM in response to fcluck

Welcome to the forums fcluck !

I'm a bit puzzled here - iTunes should read and play MP3 CDs just the same as full quality. Look next time you burn from iTunes, you will see one of the options is to burn MP3 CDs.

You will need to explain more fully what you mean.

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Answer 2

fcluck Author

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Jan 12, 2009 4:13 PM in response to fcluck

Thanks for the reply & attempt at assistance!

Yes, itunes burns & plays MP3 disks at full quality. But, once you play MP3s +from a disk+ (or external hard drive or any other removable media for that matter) when your settings are such that you do NOT "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library", the song remains in the library but is marked as missing if the media (in this case, an MP3 cd) is not present (i.e. ejected). This leaves that orphaned file in your library until you manually re-link the file. Simply re-inserting the CD does not re-link the file upon attempt at play, unfortunately.

If iTunes were to treat an MP3 disk the same as an audio disk, you would be able to insert the disk, play without importing, eject and not be plagued with orphaned song files in your library from that disk (because that's how the audio disk feature works currently).

So since iTunes doesn't have that functionality, and I don't know applescript enough to know whether there is a way around the lack of this feature, I was wondering if there was anyone here who might know if it's a possibility at all (scripting or otherwise).

Thanks again!

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Answer 3

Jan 13, 2009 4:01 AM in response to fcluck

Ok, several issues here :

1. If you simply play tracks from a CD, iTunes does not add these to its Library in any way shape or form - this only happens if you import as well as playing. You can use iTunes as a simple player if you want, but the tracks will be missing from its Library of course, as with any CD from your collection unless you ripped it.

2. If you import but use the option 'Do not add tracks to iTunes Music folder' then as you say, the tracks will remain orphaned (this is why I use iTunes to keep all my music centralised).

3. If you play tracks from a hard drive or non-optical drive, you could bypass iTunes altogether and use the Finder Preview option to play them (in Column View you get a slider and minimal play / pause controls); you could also use QuickTime or VLC to play them. I think you can even do this with a CD, even after iTunes has launched - simply go back to Finder.

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Answer 4

fcluck Author

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Jan 13, 2009 2:27 PM in response to christopher rigby1

christopher rigby1 wrote:
1. If you simply play tracks from a CD, iTunes does not add these to its Library in any way shape or form - this only happens if you import as well as playing. You can use iTunes as a simple player if you want, but the tracks will be missing from its Library of course, as with any CD from your collection unless you ripped it.

Thanks, but that functionality only works for Audio CDs.

2. If you import but use the option 'Do not add tracks to iTunes Music folder' then as you say, the tracks will remain orphaned (this is why I use iTunes to keep all my music centralised).

And this is my problem exactly.

3. If you play tracks from a hard drive or non-optical drive, you could bypass iTunes altogether and use the Finder Preview option to play them (in Column View you get a slider and minimal play / pause controls); you could also use QuickTime or VLC to play them. I think you can even do this with a CD, even after iTunes has launched - simply go back to Finder.

While I appreciate this possibility as a workaround, it's really not going to be sufficient for me in my quest to make iTunes work for the MP3 disks.

-----

For those still reading this and willing to offer some scripting help: I discovered something that gives me hope...

In Automator, there is an item called "Filter Sources in iTunes". Within that, you can select "Kind"-"Is"-"MP3 CD". I can't seem to get this to filter my MP3 disk items, but it gives me hope that there might be a way via scripting to get a workaround.

Does anyone have any advanced iTunes scripting skills that could shed some light on this for me?

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Answer 5

Jan 13, 2009 2:39 PM in response to fcluck

I think I (and maybe others) are being confused by your terminology fcluck. You insist on referring to MP3 CDs - well, in my understanding this refers to a CD that is burned in iTunes to hold a larger number of tracks, in other words taking only the 700MB into account, not the 80 minutes. iTunes will fit as many MP3 tracks into 700MB as it can, whatever their playing time.

But IT IS STILL AN AUDIO CD. It is exactly the same as if you burned an audio CD using AIFF tracks, and is subject to the same rules, with one exception - some older CD players in the home or in the car will not play them.

I think when you speak of an "MP3 CD" what you actually mean is a DATA CD - yes? If so, then this discussion moves into a whole different area.

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Answer 6

ed2345

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Jan 13, 2009 6:05 PM in response to fcluck

No workaround needed. Go into your preferences and uncheck "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library."

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Answer 7

ed2345

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Jan 13, 2009 6:31 PM in response to christopher rigby1

Christopher, an MP3 CD refers to a CD with each song in MP3 format, with or without folders. Many car stereos can play MP3 CDs. It is not the same as an audio CD. It is not the same as a data CD, which can contain lots of things besides MP3s.

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Answer 8

Jan 14, 2009 1:55 AM in response to ed2345

ed, we may be getting hung up on definitions here - to me an audio CD is one that plays in a modern CD player, it doesn't matter whether its contents are AIFF, WAV, or MP3. The 'other' kind of CD is a data CD which doesn't play.

The bottom line is, when you insert a CD, iTunes either recognises it as one that will 'play' or else simply ignores it. None of the Preferences in iTunes for playing / storing / adding music is interested in what format the songs are in.

Therefore, fcluck's original post applies to all audio CDs not just to MP3s, and his iTunes preferences will apply to all CDs that iTunes recognises. 'Importing', 'adding to Library', 'playing without importing' - these things don't change just because a CD was burned with MP3s instead of AIFFs.

That's the point I was making.

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Answer 9

ed2345

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Jan 14, 2009 4:31 PM in response to christopher rigby1

In iTunes, and everywhere else for that matter, "audio CD" refers to a CD whose tracks are in Red Book audio format. That is the standard for music CDs that have been sold since the early 80s.

fcluck used the terms quite precisely.

An MP3 CD is seen by iTunes as a set of MP3 files. If iTunes plays one of the files, it automatically adds the track to its library; there is no option about that. However, it only makes a copy of the file if the "Copy..." preference is set. Other wise, the library will reference the copy on the MP3 CD. That is the key to fcluck's question.

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Answer 10

fcluck Author

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Jan 16, 2009 9:27 AM in response to ed2345

ed2345 wrote:
No workaround needed. Go into your preferences and uncheck "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library."

Ed, thanks for the input. Unfortunately, the original problem still exists in this case (see original & follow-up post in this thread).

I do really appreciate your input into the Audio CD vs MP3 CD "debate"/discussion. Thanks.

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Answer 11

ed2345

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Jan 16, 2009 3:17 PM in response to fcluck

fcluck,

You are welcome. But, I could not reproduce the problem that you describe as +"Simply re-inserting the CD does not re-link the file upon attempt at play, unfortunately."+

As an experiment, I added a file from an MP3 CD, and iTunes created the library entry. I removed the3 MP3 CD, and next time trying to play the song, got the exclamation point. I re-inserted the MP3 CD into another drive, and iTunes of course still could not find it. Then I re-inserted it into the original drive, and (after waiting a bit for the drive to spin up) iTunes found it and played it fine.

If I am missing something in the explanation, let us know and we can try to solve it.

Ed

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