Sansa Playlists

[bascule]

...a different editor that supports UTF-8 (e.g. notepad++)...

Get it here

This won't have anything to do with line endings - Rockbox doesn't care.

If that is true, then it is probably a BOM problem. This previous thread goes into some depth on this very same issue...

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=3444.0

[cpchan]

You're wrong, if it were easy I wouldn't be bothering you about this.  

It is easy, I have no problems using m3u files created under Linux with easytag, grip, xmms, Amarok, etc. I am also the Sansa Rockbox moderator over at "Anything but iPod" and none of the Windows users in the forum  have any problems either- I believe the majority of them use MediaMonkey, you might want to give that a try.

Charles

[mdouet]

That does not help me, here is what I need....

I need to be able to convert my pla files to m3u files, if you can tell me how to do that then you can say it's easy, but no one has shown me an easy way to do it thusfar, only convoluted ways to do it by editing text files and such.

Ok, I downloaded notepad++ and I was able to successfully convert a pla file to a m3u file that RB could understand, but this is very tedious to have to do everytime.  Are there no tools that will convert from pla to m3u?  If not I'll try my hand at writing one using VBScript.  

This functionality should really be native to RB, it's pretty ridiculous to expect a user to be able to jump through all these hoops just to get basic functionality out of this firmware.

[GodEater]

a .pla file is not "Basic functionality" it's a propriertary format.

We support .m3u's - which are a standard format.

[bascule]

Curiouser and curiouser...

According to this accepted patch Rockbox should correctly deal with a byte order mark...

Are there no tools that will convert from pla to m3u?  If not I'll try my hand at writing one using VBScript.  

This may be your best bet. Even the previous thread I linked to didn't have a definitive answer, although a link was given to 'iconv', but that doesn't look like a particularly elegant solution, either.

[cpchan]

I need to be able to convert my pla files to m3u files, if you can tell me how to do that then you can say it's easy, but no one has shown me an easy way to do it thusfar, only convoluted ways to do it by editing text files and such.

Huh, I offered a couple of solutions here:

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=12908.msg97644#msg97644

including the fact tha winamp does support m3u.

This functionality should really be native to RB, it's pretty ridiculous to expect a user to be able to jump through all these hoops just to get basic functionality out of this firmware.

You are actually the only one that I know who have problems creating playlists.

Charles

[mdouet]

a .pla file is not "Basic functionality" it's a propriertary format.

We support .m3u's - which are a standard format.

How can you say you support Sansa if you don't support their playlist format?  

I need to be able to convert my pla files to m3u files, if you can tell me how to do that then you can say it's easy, but no one has shown me an easy way to do it thusfar, only convoluted ways to do it by editing text files and such.

Huh, I offered a couple of solutions here:

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=12908.msg97644#msg97644

including the fact tha winamp does support m3u.

This functionality should really be native to RB, it's pretty ridiculous to expect a user to be able to jump through all these hoops just to get basic functionality out of this firmware.

You are actually the only one that I know who have problems creating playlists.

Charles

The only solution you offered me isn't acceptable.  I already created playlists in Winamp, I'm not going to recreate them again just so I can play them in RockBox.  A more elegant solution would be to have a program that converts between pla and m3u, you have not supplied that solution.  And I am not the only one experiencing this problem, read the boards, there are several other users having this same issue.  I'm a software developer, so if II'm having these types of issues using this firmware, just image what issues a normal user is having.  Someone needs to write a plugin to allow you to convert your pla playlists to m3u on the fly because doing it manually is BS.

[GodEater]

Because we support the hardware - NOT the crumby firmware and it's features that it shipped with.

We don't do the same thing for any of the other players we have as targets, and don't plan on making any exceptions for the sansa.

[bascule]

The aim of Rockbox is not to support all the original features of the device. If a model is 'supported', it means Rockbox runs on it.

We also do not 'support' iPod playlists or database format.

[mdouet]

Then your soltuion is broken IMO, I shouldn't have to do extra work just to use your product.

[GodEater]

Fine - then don't use it.

[mdouet]

If I don't find a solution to this I won't don't worry, it's useless without this feature.

[linuxstb]

I'm a software developer, so if II'm having these types of issues using this firmware, just image what issues a normal user is having.  Someone needs to write a plugin to allow you to convert your pla playlists to m3u on the fly because doing it manually is BS.

Rockbox is a community project - all developers are volunteers contributing to the project in their spare time.

If you would like to write a plugin to convert playlists for the Sansa, I'm sure it would be welcomed.  

[Chronon]

mdouet, it has been pointed out that Winamp supports m3u playlists.  I don't understand why you can't save your playlists in the proper format.  Or is opening your .pls playlists in Winamp and resaving them in the proper format too much work for you?

[scorche]

You seem to think that Rockbox is merely an extension to the OF.  It is not.  Rockbox is intended as a replacement firmware.  By this model, why should we make an extra effort to implement proprietary "standards" just because the OF uses it on one device?  You have to keep in mind that we really don't care what the OF does, and there isn't much reason to, as Rockbox runs on many different devices (that is a lot of firmwares to support their bad decisions).  As well, Rockbox isn't a "product" as you call it.  This can explain why you think we have any obligation at all to make you happy.

And for the record, demanding that we do something for you is NOT the right way to go about things and only serves to get people very angry at you.