Where is iTunes DJ in iTunes 11?

Kasimir13,

You are incorrect, you can not replicate every feature of iTunes DJ. Go through the post and you will find several features of iTunes DJ that can not be fully replicated. As I've said in the post before, I've been using iTunes since before it was iTunes, when it was Sound Jam, I'm an iTunes expert. And you absolutely can not replicate some key features of iTunes DJ. If you don't believe me, then go through the posts.

However, I aggree with your point that many people, if not most, weren't using iTunes DJ. Apple should have found a better method for keeping all the functionality of iTunes DJ and intergrating it with something that would better get user's attention.

When I found a friend or family memember that didn't know about iTunes DJ, I would introduce it to them, and they where always thankful, impressed with it and used it from then on. It was one of the best, if not the best, featured of iTunes.

cheers.

I'm glad you posted this. I totally agree that Apple made the right decision. I'd guess .001% of iTunes fans used the iTunes DJ feature. Cleaning up the app was the right thing to do.

But iTunes DJ was my favorite feature. The party voting is a huge hit at my house with my friends and even my wife and kids. I've gone back to 10.7 and we use it every night. Every night.

Please oh please, Apple, make a seperate iTunes DJ app for Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPod touch. It could still utilize the iTunes Library and it would be more mass appeal and easy for more users to grasp. Maybe call it "iTunes Party". If I were you, I'd charge $5-$10 for the "party host" app and offer free "party guest" app downloads.

Everyone I introduced to iTunes DJ's features became a user and fan as well.

Kasimir, I challenge you to just play your library of music (except songs marked as skip when random), and play more liked songs more often.

If you can tell me how to do that, I'll switch to iTunes 11.

The number of people complaining on this thread is not the only people who have an opinion, but only the select few who felt strong enough about it, searched enough to actually find this site, felt that registering (and thus exposing your mail address to yet another hoard of spammers) was worth it, and then wrote here complaining...

By the way - Apple do not have a particularly strong record for being backwards compatible, keeping features around, listening to any customers, or doing anything particlarly right. They have always been very strong-headed in that they know what is best for the customer. Sometimes they have been right, other times they have been wrong. But if you want to talk backwards compatible, Microsoft is a much better company. I can actually take a 20 year old MS-DOS program, and still expect it to work on the latest Windows. Take a 10 year old Apple binary of any kind, and try running that if you can...

(Not at all happy or impressed by Apple, I just happen to like some of their products.)

Hi bqt,

bqt wrote:

Kasimir, I challenge you to just play your library of music (except songs marked as skip when random), and play more liked songs more often.

I never used the "play highter rated songs more often" since it didnt give me enough control. I always did it by creating a smart playlist:

1. Playlist is "Music"

2. Rating is 5*, last played is not in the last 2 weeks

3. Rating is 4*, last played is not in the last 2 months

4. Rating is 3*, last played is not in the last 6 months

5. etc...

When you shuffle/add the playlist to Up Next it will still skip (not add) songs that have been marked as "Skip when shuffle".

I'm not saying that this is easier than it was with iTunes DJ but it still can be done. And Up Next just came out and I'm sure there will be improvements. Nobody HAS to upgrade. But I think if you do you can take advantage of many new features now and the ones to come.

Ok, Kasimir, so you can't do the same as DJ with the new iTunes. Well, if you restrict yourself to just playing songs, then sure, any version of iTunes works just as well. However, as you yourself now admit, there are several things iTunes 11 can't do, which DJ did...

I guess I am staying with 10 for now. 😟

Kasmir,

You solution does not mimic the "Play higher rated songs more often" feature in iTunes DJ. Your solution simply plays songs with a certain rating or in a rating range. iTunes DJ would randomly decide to favor songs in a playlist that where rated higher than others.

Kasmir, I suggest you back up your iTunes and then downgrade to iTunes 10. Then try using all of iTunes DJ's features, you'll have a better understanding of what's now missing in iTunes 11.

cheers.

I agree! I loved being able to pick a play list or the entire library to play randomly. Up Next is not more simple, its more work.

Kasimir13 wrote:

I'm thinking quite the opposite. Even though this discussion is now going on for over 30 pages and it is clear that the people on this thread LOVE the old iTunes DJ, the huge majority of iTunes users did not even know what iTunes DJ is/was. I used it every day. So every time I visited friends I expected them to use it as well. But all I ever got was: "What is iTunes DJ? I never use it."

Abandoning iTunes DJ seems to have been a logical step. I was a big part of iTunes and since the majority didn't use it, they got rid of it and replaced it with something different. Up Next is a new feature and they will improve it over the next years. The best sign that Apple cares about their customers and about their software is the fact that iTunes is CHANGING. And change is always difficult - but to never change means to slowly die.

I can replicate every functionality of iTunes DJ with Up Next. Everything but the voting feature. And to be honest, I'm pretty sure that the voting feature has been used by even less people.

I disagree with this statement and I will not upgrade to 11. UP NEXT is a poor excuse for all of the features that iTunes DJ had plus every time I edit a playlist in 11, Up Next stops playing the list. Heck WinAmp in a Windows virtual environment does a better job at playing random then Up Next and I can edit one playlist while playing from another.

Just because a feature that works has a specific job and used by a few people -- I say just because they don't appear here in this forum -- I would estimate that worldwide there is probably a 3 or 4 million people that used this feature.

Personally, I think that Apple has lost its way since the death of Steve Job.

Features that 10.7 has that are missing in 11.x:

Ability to put a playlist in a separate window pane.

iTunes DJ.

In iTunes DJ you can see what has played from one playlist. Up Next doesn't have this never mind the remote access. Up Next you cannot see what has played -- iTunes DJ you could see the up to the last 100 tracks.

The only reason I use iTunes in the first place is because of my iPod and as long is 10.7 syncs with my 160 gb iPod Classic and my 120 gb iPod Classic I will be fine without upgrading -- IMHO the iPod Touch is a downgrade doesn't hold enough music.

Another feature that is totally missing from Up Next that was in iTunes DJ, the ability to put weight on most highly rated tracks.

Also if I wanted a tablet interface, I would go buy a tablet. My 10 year old nephew called me up and asked me how to go back to 10.7 as he thought that it was childish.

brad5am wrote:

I'm glad you posted this. I totally agree that Apple made the right decision. I'd guess .001% of iTunes fans used the iTunes DJ feature. Cleaning up the app was the right thing to do.

But iTunes DJ was my favorite feature. The party voting is a huge hit at my house with my friends and even my wife and kids. I've gone back to 10.7 and we use it every night. Every night.

Please oh please, Apple, make a seperate iTunes DJ app for Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPod touch. It could still utilize the iTunes Library and it would be more mass appeal and easy for more users to grasp. Maybe call it "iTunes Party". If I were you, I'd charge $5-$10 for the "party host" app and offer free "party guest" app downloads.

Separate App????? when it was right where it should be!!!! A separate bill just to play your local music????? Just so that you can play your music? If this happens I will find another app that also be a poor substitute for iTunes DJ. Maybe Rhapsody in a victual desktop -- it sync's with iPod. For every person that complains about iTunes DJ being missing in action, there are probably 10 that doesn't complain they just accept or don't upgrade.

You are right Apple needs to clean it up however getting rid of a feature that so many use is unfathomable. You get up to where I am about 1 TB of music it sometimes becomes very slow.

George

Guess what, George. I would pay $100 for an iTunes DJ app. I must like it more than you.

Kasimir13 wrote:

Hi bqt,

bqt wrote:

Kasimir, I challenge you to just play your library of music (except songs marked as skip when random), and play more liked songs more often.

I never used the "play highter rated songs more often" since it didnt give me enough control. I always did it by creating a smart playlist:

1. Playlist is "Music"

2. Rating is 5*, last played is not in the last 2 weeks

3. Rating is 4*, last played is not in the last 2 months

4. Rating is 3*, last played is not in the last 6 months

5. etc...

When you shuffle/add the playlist to Up Next it will still skip (not add) songs that have been marked as "Skip when shuffle".

I'm not saying that this is easier than it was with iTunes DJ but it still can be done. And Up Next just came out and I'm sure there will be improvements. Nobody HAS to upgrade. But I think if you do you can take advantage of many new features now and the ones to come.

Since I use the ratings to sync my 4 iPods (2 with music and 2 with audio books on them), this is impractical and really doesn't mimic the true functionality of iTunes DJ.

The real issue here is most users didn't know that iTunes DJ was going to be missing when the upgrade was performed nor other features that was in 10.7 that just isn't t there anymore. So the user performed the upgrade and the upgrade changed the iTunes library. Next the user that did the upgrade wanted to go back to old version. The user uninstalled the new version and installed the old version and launched iTunes only to find out that the library was not useable anymore. So they start seeking help to revert back to the old version. The user didn't use Time Machine, maybe was using a version of the OS-X older than 10.5 "Leopard", or some other form of backup. Now iTunes does create a backup of the database but it doesn't contain everything and some if not all playlist are gone.

I learned a long time ago to make a complete back of the iTunes library which I do daily,.

Apple IMHO has lost it way.

brad5am wrote:

Guess what, George. I would pay $100 for an iTunes DJ app. I must like it more than you.

I have rule never pay for something that was free in the first place.

That's a very good rule.

withatrace wrote:

I agree! I loved being able to pick a play list or the entire library to play randomly.

You can still pick a play list or the entire library to play randomly...