Playlist problems still

I have my music files on the internal HD in a folder called “Music”.  In that folder all files are stored in folder of artist names.  Then sometimes sub-folders likw CD1, CD2, etc.

I have playlist creator and used it to make playlist from the files on the WD internal HD and saved them in a folder called “Playlists”.   The path to the folders looks correct but it  reports back " no files found in this folder".  But yet other playlists work fine and they look the same as the ones that don’t work???

What am I doing wrong?

Make sure the paths to the files are relative to the playlist file, not absolute paths.

The paths are absolute.  The ones that work and the ones that don’t work.  I have never been able to get any playlists to work with relative paths.

With Playlist Creator I made the playlist using the files on the internal drive and have the playlist stored on the internal drive.  Why would the paths have to be relative?

Why in the world is this so difficult?  Hardly worth the time I have spent on messing with this thing.

Can you post an example playlist that WORKS, and another that DOES NOT?

The paths would need to be relative because ABSOLUTE paths always (if they’re correctly made) include the DRIVE LETTER, something like:

c:\users\Tony\Music\RadioHead.…

C:\users\Tony means absolutely nothing to the Hub, so that would produce the error you see.

Yes, I undeerstand what you are saying.  I have the hub mapped as Z: drive and that is what every line in the playlist has.  One playlist works another doesn’t.

I will post a sample of each when I get off work.

Thanks for helping!

But the Hub doesn’t have any clue what Z: means.   Z: is only interesting to your COMPUTER.

The Hub doesn’t care how your PC connects to the internal drive.

It only cares about WHERE the files are, relative to ITSELF.

So, say you have a folder structure like this:

Playlists/

Artist 1/

   CD 1

       Track 1

       Track 2

   CD 2

       Track 1

       Track 2

Assume your PLAYLIST file is in the PLAYLIST folder.

The entries in the playlist must look like this:

#EXTM3U Example...
..\Artist 1\CD 1\Track 1.mp3
..\Artist 1\CD 2\Track 2.mp3


NOT like this:

Z:\Artist 1\CD 1\Track 1.mp3

The TOP is an example of RELATIVE path [Good].   The BOTTOM is an example of an ABSOLUTE path [Bad.]

If ANY of your playlist entries are preceded with a Drive Letter or a leading slash, it’s an Absolute playlist, NOT relative.

Playlist files on ANY of the WD streamers *MUST* be RELATIVE, as I stated before.

So, I’m curious to see this working playlist that DOES begin with Z:.… on the lines…

The top jpg is a snip of one that works and works well.  The second snip is of one that does not work.   The only difference is one was somehow converted from Mediamonkey and the other was made with Playlist Creator.  They look the same to me.  HELP!

I have changed the Z: to … in a playlist and had no luck making it work.  The hub says there isn’t any files in that folder, or something to that effect.

Ok, I’m confused.

Are you trying to use these playlists ON the Hub, as in PLAY them on the HUB?

Or are you just trying to play them on your PC *FROM* the Hub?

That’s two totally different things.

Also, I want to see the TEXT CONTENTS of the PLAYLIST files themselves, not a screenshot of some application that’s using the playlists.

The playlists are on the hub HD and I have the music files, .MP3s, on the HD and I am trying to play them from the hub, which is located in my shop no where near my PC, which is in my house.

How can I post a “Text” view of the playlist.

The screen snips were from Playlist Creator.

Open the playlist file with Notepad.   It’s just a text file.

One that works.

I see what you mean now.  I have never looked at them as a text file.

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:419,Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler - Brothers In Arms
…\Music\Dire Straits - Mark Knopfler\2005 - Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler - The Best Of (Special Edition)\CD1\09. Brothers In Arms.mp3
#EXTINF:224,Alan Jackson - The Best Keeps Getting Better
…\Music\Alan Jackson\Alan_Jackson-Freight_Train-2010\12-alan_jackson-the_best_keeps_getting_better.mp3
#EXTINF:291,Carlos Santana - Flor d’luna (Moonflower)
…\Music\Carlos Santana\Carlos Santana - Moonflower.mp3
#EXTINF:352,John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers - Wild About You
…\Music\John Mayall and Bluesbreakers\New BluesBreakers\06-Wild About You.mp3
#EXTINF:234,Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler - Tears
…\Music\Dire Straits - Mark Knopfler\1990 - Mark Knopfler & Chet Atkins - Neck And Neck\Mark Knopfler & Chet Atkins - Neck And Neck - 07 - Tears.mp3
#EXTINF:261,Brooks & Dunn - Neon Moon
…\Music\Brooks & Dunn\Brooks & Dunn - Neon Moon.mp3
#EXTINF:227,Alan Jackson - Taillights Blue
…\Music\Alan Jackson\Alan_Jackson-Freight_Train-2010\06-alan_jackson-taillights_blue.mp3
#EXTINF:206,Chet Atkins & Mark Knopfler - Sweet Dreams
…\Music\Dire Straits - Mark Knopfler\1990 - Mark Knopfler & Chet Atkins - Neck And Neck\Mark Knopfler & Chet Atkins - Neck And Neck - 02 - Sweet Dreams.mp3
#EXTINF:238,Alan Jackson - I’ll Go On Loving You
…\Music\Alan Jackson\Alan Jackson - Greatest Hits, Vol. II\05 - Alan Jackson - I’ll Go On Loving You.mp3
#EXTINF:325,Dire Straits - Once Upon A Time In The West
…\Music\Dire Straits - Mark Knopfler\1979 - Dire Straits - Communique\Dire Straits - Communique - 01 - Once Upon A Time In The West.mp3
#EXTINF:168,The Beach Boys - Dont Worry Baby
…\Music\Beach Boys\Beach Boys - Dont Worry Baby.mp3
#EXTINF:270,Alan Jackson - Remember When
…\Music\Alan Jackson\Alan Jackson - Greatest Hits, Vol. II\18 - Alan Jackson - Remember When.mp3
#EXTINF:330,Mark Knopfler - El Macho
…\Music\Dire Straits - Mark Knopfler\2000 - Mark Knopfler - Sailing To Philadelphia\Mark Knopfler - Sailing To Philadelphia - 07 - El Macho.mp3
#EXTINF:144,The Beatles - Drive my car
…\Music\Beatles\Beatles - Drive my car.mp3
#EXTINF:218,Alan Jackson - Here In The Real World
…\Music\Alan Jackson\Alan Jackson - The Very Best of Alan Jackson (2004)\Alan Jackson - The Very Best Of Alan Jackson - 13 - Here In The Real World.mp3
#EXTINF:255,Bruce Springsteen - Brilliant Disguise
…\Music\Springsteen\Bruce Springsteen - Brilliant Disguise.mp3
#EXTINF:359,Mark Knopfler - So Far From The Clyde
…\Music\Dire Straits - Mark Knopfler\2009 - Mark Knopfler - Get Lucky\10. Mark Knopfler - So Far From The Clyde - PANiC.mp3
#EXTINF:236,Alan Jackson - A Woman’s Love
…\Music\Alan Jackson\Alan Jackson-High Millage-1998\08 - A Woman’s Love.mp3

One that does not work.

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1,Pet Shop Boys - Eastern Boys And Western Girls
Z:\Music\Pet Shop Boys\Pet Shop Boys - Eastern Boys And Western Girls.mp3
#EXTINF:-1,Rockwell - Somebody’s Watching Me
Z:\Music\One Hit Winders\Rockwell\Rockwell - Somebody’s Watching Me.mp3
#EXTINF:-1,Mike and The Mechanics - Silent Running
Z:\Music\One Hit Winders\Mike & The Mechanics\Mike and The Mechanics - Silent Running.mp3
#EXTINF:-1,The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Junior’s Grill
Z:\Music\Nitty Gritty Dirt Band\The Rest of The Dream\The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Junior’s Grill.mp3
#EXTINF:-1,Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Long Hard Road
Z:\Music\Nitty Gritty Dirt Band\Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Long Hard Road.mp3
#EXTINF:-1,Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Partners, Brothers And Friends
Z:\Music\Nitty Gritty Dirt Band\Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Partners, Brothers And Friends.mp3

Yep… Top = RELATIVE, bottom = ABSOLUTE. :slight_smile:

Thanks Tony, I got them all working now.  I didn’t realize I could look at them with notepad.

I am having the same problem, but can’t figure it out, even with this help. My music is stored in a folder called “Music”, and a test playlist is stored in the same folder and has the following contents:

…\Music\Tangled.mp3

and I still get the message that there is no media in the current folder.

Your playlist entries need to look like this…

#EXTINF:236,Some singer - Tangled
Tangled.mp3

This is assuming the information you provided was correct…

  • Your playlist is in the music folder

  • Your actual music files [the mp3’s] are also in the music folder  (doesn’t seem like the music files are organized in subdirectories, but that’s just a matter of personal preference; TEHO)

I hope this helps!!!

Jim

Thanks for the advice. I’m not sure what the line: “#EXTINF:236,Some singer - Tangled” means, but type it in exactly as written, took out the "…\Music" and tried it again.

Same message. My playlist and mp3’s are in the same folder.

Strangely, there was an earlier playlist which I had deleted, but still shows up using the WDTV menus, but not when I search via the laptop. If I try to remove it via the WDTV menu, I get a message " Read Fail. PLease check the source device"