iTunes takes 20+ seconds to start playing!!!

Question

Level 1

21 points

iTunes takes 20+ seconds to start playing!!!

Just "upgraded" to 8.1 on my PowerBook G4 (10.4.11). I use iTunes to listen to radio talk shows I recorded. Now when I select one press play it takes forever for it start playing! I get the spinning colored wheel and have to wait and wait every time I pause play...

AND during this waiting period I can't do anything else on the computer, everything freezes for 20 to 30 seconds.....

PowerBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Mar 12, 2009 8:00 PM

Reply

Answer 1

gakker

Level 1

15 points

Mar 12, 2009 10:03 PM in response to JeffNY

Having the same problem here...
I did notice something interesting, though...it only does this if i use the mouse, double-clicking a track to play it.
If i use the keyboard controls for Next Song, Prev Song, etc. it transitions "normally" - meaning it starts playing the Next or Prev track almost instantly...

Reply

Answer 2

b_minor

Level 1

8 points

Mar 18, 2009 8:24 AM in response to JeffNY

I have had the exact same issue I was about to find the 8.0.2 download here http://support.apple.com/downloads/iTunes8_0_2_forMac and I deleted 8.1 and reinstalled 8.0.2 and the freezing is gone.

This may not be the best option, but it works and it doesn't effect me and my iTunes experience at all.

Reply

Answer 3

gakker

Level 1

15 points

Mar 19, 2009 10:45 PM in response to b_minor

hmmm I wasn't able to delete 8.1
No matter what I did to get rid of it, when I tried to install 8.0.2 the Installer would tell me that there was already a newer version of iTunes installed.

Updates: I remembered that I had the "Advantageous MP3" script/add-on loaded, and I thought maybe that third-party plugin was the cause of the issue. I deleted the script and the app but iTunes hangups did not go away.

Finally figured out the "common thread" of which songs hang, when and why. I added thousands of songs to this iTunes library the day I got this iMac (11/13/2007). since then I've added hundreds of songs. I can switch quickly and with NO delay between any of my recently added songs (after 11/13/2007). But whenever I try to play one of the songs that was added on 11/13/2007, it will hang - beach ball and all - for anywhere from 3 to 15 seconds before it starts playing that track.

What is it about that add date that's causing this behavior? Does it have to do with the volume of tracks all with the same Date Added? That doesn't make sense....

Reply

Answer 4

JeffNY Author

Level 1

21 points

May 8, 2009 11:45 PM in response to gakker

I am still having this same problem. I am using 8.1.1 (10). Someone at Apple actually emailed me for some sample files a while back. So I think they are working on the problem. But right now I am using Quicktime Player to play my files. Hope the next update corrects this "bug"...it's another one of those issues that makes you think "How did this get through quality control??"

I also can't get my "On-The-Go" play list to work on my 3G Nano.....but it looks like no one else can either. I see some OLD posts on here about this issue and Apple seems to not be doing anything to fix it. Again, "How did this get through quality control??"

Have also been having major crash issues with Safari on my PowerBook G4, crashing several times a day....I have tried to figure out why but there seems to no rhyme or reason. Still an Apple fan, but REALLY getting worried about Apples quality control here.....

Reply

Answer 5

May 10, 2009 12:57 AM in response to JeffNY

I hope they fix it, because it is really annoying.

Reply

Answer 6

gakker

Level 1

15 points

Jun 1, 2009 11:40 PM in response to ArinArtounian

I was excited to get the update for iTunes 8.2, thinking "ah! I can finally upgrade my iTunes because surely they've fixed this bug."
Nope. itunes 8.2 still has the 3-15 second delay when it plays one of the songs that were added to my library on 11/13/2007. Still has no problems with any add dates after that.
One other interesting thing to note is that once I've waited out the 3-15 second delay and the song finally begins playing, it will not have the delay again. This makes me think it's doing some sort of indexing or converting of some sort and it only does it the first time.
But why only on songs that were added on 11/13/2007?
So I could go through hitting the "next track" button until the song starts, then hitting it again until all of the songs have been "logged" or whatever it's doing....BUT I just did a count of the tracks I added on 11/13/2007...there are 8,217. Sure wish I could find a workaround.
Maybe I can write some script to do this while I'm at work... : )

Reply

Answer 7

Jun 21, 2009 12:08 AM in response to gakker

bumping this hoping for a solution.

Reply

Answer 8

JeffNY Author

Level 1

21 points

Jul 22, 2009 12:19 AM in response to JeffNY

The delay to start playing long MP3's in iTunes appears to have been corrected....when starting to play only. If you pause and move the play location to a new location, then press play again there is still like a 20 to 30 second wait to start playing again. HOWEVER if you do NOT press the Pause button (and move the location icon to a new time/location) it appears you do not get this "start up delay"....

But I have discovered another problem. For the longest time I tried to figure out how to convert an MP3 to a Podcast. I STILL really don't understand what a "Podcast" is technically (a MP3 with another file to save location data?). I just wanted my iPod to remember my play location in the long four hour radio talk shows I record and listen to (so if I go listen to music and come back to my show I don't need to search for my location). Anyway, in my search I discovered the "Remember playback position" feature (do a Get Info on your MP3, click Options)! I had no idea I could add that to an MP3....anyway, in my quest to make a podcast I discovered the "feature" which pretty much does what I want. Great.

BUT I discovered something....say I start listening to a show on my iPod and I listen for 1 hour 10 minuets. I then pause, and connect my iPod to my computer. I then open iTunes and want continue listening to my show from the point I left off...so when I select the show in my iPod and press Play in iTunes it starts playing at 1:10....which it will do. But when I do this it takes like two minuets to start playing again! Apple, you guys aware of this issue? I discovered it the first time I uses the "Remember playback position" feature.

The "Remember playback position" is great, but please the very long delay to start playing again...

Jeff

iTunes 8.2.1 (6) / iPod Nano 3G

Message was edited by: JeffNY

Message was edited by: JeffNY

Reply