View Issue Details
| ID | Project | Category | View Status | Date Submitted | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0001352 | MMW v4 | Synchronization | public | 2004-05-12 16:30 | 2005-10-28 05:29 |
| Reporter | rusty | Assigned To | |||
| Priority | urgent | Severity | feature | Reproducibility | always |
| Status | closed | Resolution | fixed | ||
| Fixed in Version | 2.5 | ||||
| Summary | 0001352: Portable devices: Auto-transcoding & conversion | ||||
| Description | If users have collections stored on their PC at high bitrates, they'll typically want to export them at much lower bitrates to their portable devices. The following config changes would enable this (on a per device basis): Audio Formats . . . . . . Resample if above [x] MP3 CBR . . . . . . . . [x] _160_ Kbps [x] MP3 VBR . . . . . . . . [x] _160_ Kbps [ ] WMA . . . . . . . . . . [ ] _160_ Kbps [ ] OGG . . . . . . . . . . [ ] _160_ Kbps [x] Convert unsupported formats to: _MP3__v [Settings] [x] Level Track Volume (MP3 only) | ||||
| Additional Information | Note: this should be a Gold only feature | ||||
| Tags | No tags attached. | ||||
| Fixed in build | 906 | ||||
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Note: the key aspects of the above UI are that: -Unsupported formats (e.g. FLAC) can be converted on the fly to a supported format at a defined bandwidth -Supported formats can be 'shrunk' on a per format basis (since each has different thresholds of acceptability) -Ability to level track volume for MP3 One item that isn't covered that would need to be thought about is how to ensure that these tracks don't overwrite the original source tracks when bi-directional synchronization is implemented. |
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I'd propose a little modified interface, it's easier in some sense, but more flexible: [x] Convert unsupported formats to: _MP3__v [Settings] Other conversion rules: ------------------------------------------------- | From Format | bitrate | To Format | bitrate | ------------------------------------------------- | FLAC any MP3 128 | | MP3 above 192 OGG 96 | | MP3 128-192 OGG 64 | | Audiobooks >64 MP3 32 | | Podcasts >64 MP3 32 | ------------------------------------------------- [Add] [Edit] [Remove] [^] [v] The idea is that usually that 'Convert unsupported ...' option will be enough for a user. In case the user would like to have more fine control over the convertions, he can add an unlimited number of conversion rules, examples are above. Audiobooks and Podcasts categories are just ideas for future use (but hopefully soon implemented). |
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1) Tab name: Auto-Conversions --> Auto-Conversion 2) The Auto-Conversion tab should appear between 'Synchronization options' and 'Device configuration' 3)i) Users have no way of knowing what happens to what formats because there's: -No indication of what formats are supported -No means of choosing what formats are supported ii) In addition, it's unclear what the relationship is between the 'Top level' 'Convert unsupported formats' rule and the 'Other conversion rules'. In fact, the visual presentation implies that the 'Convert unsupported formats' rule is superior when in fact it is the lowest priority rule. iii) It's unclear whether 'Other conversion rules' are applied if 'Convert unsupported formats' is disabled. iv) It's also unclear what happens when formats that aren't supported aren't converted. i.e. are they copied to the device or not? I would suggest that a few changes could solve these issues: |-Copy the following formats when synchronizing (supported formats)------ | [ ] MP3 [ ] OGG [ ] etc. | [ ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Convert the following formats when synchronizing: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Format on PC | Bitrate | Format on Device |------------------------------------------------------------------------ | [ ] Any | > 160 Kbps | MP3 128 Kbps | [x] Unsupported | Any | MP3 128 Kbps | <Add Auto-Conversion Rule> | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^ V X [ ] Level volume when synchronizing Notes: The two rules shown above appear in the manner displayed by default. NOTE: If the above is too much to implement in the time we have available, an alternate approach could be as follows: Convert the following formats when synchronizing: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Format on PC | Bitrate | Format on Device |------------------------------------------------------------------------ | [ ] Any | > 160 Kbps | MP3 128 Kbps | [x] Unsupported | Any | MP3 128 Kbps | <Add Conversion Rule> | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^ V x [ ] Level volume when synchronizing |-Supported formats on device--------------------------------------------- | 'MP3, OGG, etc.' OR 'Unknown (all formats)' | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Misc. terminology changes. I've made a few minor terminology changes above. I'll just point them out here so they won't be lost: a) Format in PC --> Format on PC b) Format in Device --> Format on Device c) <Add Conversion Rule...> --> <Add Auto-Conversion Rule...> d) Target Format --> Format on device 5) Level track volume functionality is missing. As discussed, I think that this should be available as a globally set rule if it's easy to implement. Per discussion with Jiri: Jirka: Maybe it could be like: [ ] Level volume when synchronizing [ ] Even for tracks that don't need auto-conversion Rusty: I'm thinking that since this feature is only valuable to the user if All tracks are levelled, and since levelling all tracks varies in efficiency/effectiveness based on the format of the tracks that we might as well just make it a single option, but warn the user about the cost. e.g. [ ] Level volume when synchronizing (in the help explain that this: a) adds a lot of time for non-MP3 tracks b) decreases quality for non MP3 tracks). i.e. if we assume that the feature is valuable only when all tracks are leveled, then there's no use in adding a feature that allows it to be applied selectively. As discussed, would be nice to fit into 2.5, but not critical. 6) In terms of Gold functionality, I would suggest that a single rule be available for non-gold users so that they can try it out. e.g. unsupported formats to MP3 96kbps. As mentioned by Jiri, would be cleaner to just enable/disable for Gold. |
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7) Bug: tested autoconversion with iPod Mini on build 904 and it doesn't work at all. Tested the following scenarios: a) Enable auto-conversion for unsupported file types and try to re-synch existing playlists which contain FLAC and OGG files. The five files that should have been added were not. b) Enable auto-conversion rules to convert OGG and FLAC files and try to re-synch existing playlists which contain FLAC and OGG files. The five files that should have been added were not. c) Same as A) but tested with new playlist containing 10 ogg files d) Same as B) but tested with new playlist containing 10 ogg files |
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Tested in 905 and it's working nicely! The following issues are still open: 3) We still need to communicate what formats are not supported on the device in question. Also, Format on PC = 'Unknown' is very confusing. 'Unsupported' is also confusing because the layout implies 'Unsupported on PC' whereas what is meant is 'Unsupported on device' but it is better than 'Unknown'. If we want to be more wordy, we can write 'Unsupported on device'. 5) Volume leveling is still open. 8) The text in the status bar is a bit confusing and should be changed as follows: Copying x of y: Artist - Title - Converting to mp3 --> Copying x of y (Converting to MP3): Artist - Title 9) The new default rules don't work correctly for MP3 files that = 128 kbps. What happens is that the files get converted to 80 Kbps Even though the files are supported by the MP3 player (i.e. the rule Convert to MP3 80kbps when Source is between 0 and 128kbps and format is 'unknown' gets triggered even though the MP3 format is 'known' to the device). |
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3) I was thinking about the same, the longer string would be better, but we would have to sacrifice a lot of space because of that. Another idea I had was 'incompatible', but the problem is probably still the same... |
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'Incompatible' is a great idea. I'd go with that. |
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All is fixed in build 906, except for: 5) It isn't that hard to implement, I'd just like to note possible problems, mainly that it probably won't be possible to level volume of all tracks. Most likely we won't find any option how to do it for DRM protected WMAs (or other formats). |
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Verified 906. |
