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In iTunes Match, why are Smart Playlists messed up?

Two REAL problems I notice with iTunes Match:


1. Any Smart Playlist that refers to another playlist will not upload to iCloud. That is COMPLETELY ABSURD!!! I have many smart playlists that use "builder" lists to help refine what they contain. Makes me want my money back.


2. Limits to playlists, such as "Limit to 40 lest recently played items" are not honered. When viewed on the iOS device, the full playlist is shown, not the one limited. I use this for a number of reasons, not repeating, not playing too often, etc. Why is this configured that way?


All this said, there is a possibility I am doing something wrong. If anyone knows better, please advise.


Kevin

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Nov 14, 2011 12:58 PM

Reply
101 replies

Nov 14, 2011 1:05 PM in response to hoffmanFamily4

I've hit a similar problem, I have a smart playlist that's limited to 150 most played songs. Right now it shows my entire libary of 6 thousand plus on my iPhone. However I have other smart playlists that are fine and playing by the "rules". Going to give it alittle time and the delet the playlist and build a new one. will let you know if that works!

Nov 15, 2011 5:07 AM in response to hoffmanFamily4

I don't think the iOS devices have ever understtod things like 'Last Played' in smart playlists. With Match, this becomes a big issue, however. I have playlists like Media Kind=Music and Last Played>9 months. On my iPad and iPhone, these contain all my music.


Like others have stated, this is a deal breaker for me (along with the fact that Plays and Last Played does not update when I play a song from the cloud on an iOS device).


Bruce

Nov 15, 2011 7:37 AM in response to hoffmanFamily4

I had a few smart playlists that referenced other playlists and it simply doesn't work with match at this time. I was really excited about the potential of the service and signed up right away but this was pretty much a deal breaker for me. I just got done turning iTunes match off on all my devices, even my MacBook and requested a refund. I hope they get these bugs/features working right in future releases.

Nov 15, 2011 7:38 AM in response to hoffmanFamily4

I am having the same problems on my iPhone and iPad. Smart playlists are correct when signing into different computers in iTunes (regular/manual playlists transfer over fine). However, smart playlists are not correct at all on my iPhone and iPad. They do not appear to have any ruleset that matches the criteria I set up. This is a deal breaker. Apple, please fix! If anyone finds a way to fix this, please let me know.

Nov 15, 2011 9:56 PM in response to Rangeshooter

I have some folders that contain playlists that are all "Not Eligible" since they reference other playlists. When I try to browse to those folders on my iPhone 4S, the Music App freezes every time. Some of the times that I tried this, I was able to get back out to the home screen and force quit the Music App (though this was not graceful- the home and hold buttons didn't do anything until I left the phone alone long enough for the display to "go to sleep" on its own). The last time I tried to access one of those folders on my device, I kept the screen active, and the 4S eventually rebooted itself.

Nov 16, 2011 10:37 PM in response to hoffmanFamily4

Seeing the same issue as listed. This smart playlist issue and the lack of real streaming to iOS devices is quite frustrating. I don't see any reason to not just have an option available to only stream the music. Even giving the option to disable streaming while on 3G to keep people from having data overages. Really though, I would be happy if my Smart playlists would correctly stay in sync and the SORT ORDER would follow whaterver option I had last set on my Mac. Or even better give a sorting option on iOS for playlists.


Anyway, everyone that has posted please make an effort to hit up http://www.apple.com/feedback/icloud.html to make sure this is well documented.

Nov 19, 2011 4:36 AM in response to hoffmanFamily4


1. Any Smart Playlist that refers to another playlist will not upload to iCloud. That is COMPLETELY ABSURD!!! I have many smart playlists that use "builder" lists to help refine what they contain. Makes me want my money back.



This can typically be overcome by using nested rules which can in most case eliminat the need to use "builder lists".


To create a nested rule, in the smart playlist rule dialog, press the option key, the + button will then turn into a ... button and let you create a nested subrule.

User uploaded file


And yes, I agree these are stupid limitations and a serious oversight on Apple's part. Like Steve Jobs like to say it should have just worked.

In iTunes Match, why are Smart Playlists messed up?

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