Syncing iTunes

[bronsonelliott]

OK, everything seems to be going good with the GS3 so far. Sold the iPhone I was using so I'm locked in.

My next hurdle is syncing my iTunes content to the phone. I know there's a million threads on this topic but I'm seeing a lot of different programs to accomplish this. Some of the ones that pop up most often are:

• Kies
• doubletwist
• iSyncr
• Easy Phone Sync

I tried Kies and I notice when it brings in my iTunes content, there's A LOT of song information that it didn't pick up for some reason. Like it will show the song title with no artist, album ,genre, etc. Looks fine in iTunes so not sure what the problem is there.

I tried doubletwist but it won't connect to the GS3 so I would have to buy the AirSync add-on to make it work.

Then I see a lot of people saying iSyncr is good. Seems like it will work with the GS3 either via USB or wireless. I prefer USB since it's faster.

Just looking for some input and guidance on the best way to accomplish this. I have all of my music uploaded to Google Music but I would still prefer to have a few songs loaded directly on the phone. Plus, I listen to a lot of podcasts, so whatever program I go with, hopefully it will suppose podcasts as well. Although I know there are specialty apps for this so that's less of a concern.

I'm using a Mac BTW so any desktop software would need to be Mac compatible.

Thanks!

 

[bronsonelliott]

Well, I bought iSyncr. Seems to work ok.

Anyone have any other suggestions or programs they like better? I would prefer to remain in iTunes rather than moving my media to some other platform like WinAmp or MediaMonkney, etc. But I am open to the idea give the user experience and success stories other people have had going this route.

If there are some online reviews or articles on this topic I welcome the information.

Thanks!

 

[lpt2569]

If possible, simply drag and drop your iTunes Music Folder to your SD Card. That's what I did for my GNote, worked like a charm.

 

[OhAlfie]

If possible, simply drag and drop your iTunes Music Folder to your SD Card. That's what I did for my GNote, worked like a charm.

Unless you have 95,000+ songs in that folder.

 

[lpt2569]

Unless you have 95,000+ songs in that folder.

True dat! That might take more than a minute or two...

 

[JRTStudio]

Is there something iSyncr is missing? I'm just curious why you are looking for a different solution.

-Justin

 

[bronsonelliott]

Is there something iSyncr is missing? I'm just curious why you are looking for a different solution.

-Justin

Nothing really missing per se. I'm using the wireless syncing and it's working just fine. One thing I notice though is that when I go back in to sync, it doesn't seem to remember the playlists I had previously synced. For example, I have one playlist that changes pretty regularly and when I go into iSyncr, the playlist shows up in the list but it isn't checked (or marked) as being sync'd. I must reselect it in order for it to take. I know - "first world problem", but you asked.

Other than that, it's meeting my needs just fine. I was simply wondering what other people were using in order to see what's out there.

 

[JRTStudio]

For example, I have one playlist that changes pretty regularly and when I go into iSyncr, the playlist shows up in the list but it isn't checked (or marked) as being sync'd. I must reselect it in order for it to take. I know - "first world problem", but you asked.

That is a pretty bad bug in the software! I've gotten a few scattered reports of this with version 4.0.5 of iSyncr, but haven't been able to reproduce it in the lab (my home office) yet. If you wouldn't mind, can you email me? I'd love to crush this bug and update the Android app. My email address is justin at jrtstudio dot com.

Thanks!

 

[bronsonelliott]

That is a pretty bad bug in the software! I've gotten a few scattered reports of this with version 4.0.5 of iSyncr, but haven't been able to reproduce it in the lab (my home office) yet. If you wouldn't mind, can you email me? I'd love to crush this bug and update the Android app. My email address is justin at jrtstudio dot com.

Thanks!

Sure. I'd love to help you figure this out. Email coming.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[winmod21]

Hey Justin, nice to see you here! Give my regards to Chris.
We've emailed several times; I'm the guy with the Chevy Chase ('Sparky') story ? that Chris & I were discussing ? for a future blog testimonial.

Since October last, have been really enjoying your guys' iSyncr & Rocket Player apps. Thanks again, as always, for your more than excellent customer service!

This (above), folks, is an example of this Developer's dedication and typically excellent customer service.

 

[JRTStudio]

Hello all!

Thanks for the support winmod21 and for the email bronsonelliott.

Just a quick note that I believe I have this issue all wrapped up. Just updating iSyncr Desktop at iSyncr should fix this issue up. If you use both a Mac and a gingerbread Android device, be sure to update the Android app to version 4.0.6 or later.

This was a case of fixing a small bug creating a much larger one. Hopefully I'll learn from it.

Cheers!

Justin

 

[mastavic]

I finally made the jump to Android this month when I purchased the LG Nexus 4. Believe it or not, the primary reason for me not leaving Apple is due to iTunes syncing. I have been using iTunes for nearly a decade, so it's hard to leave it behind, as my music and statistical information - such as play count - are recorded in iTunes.

If possible, simply drag and drop your iTunes Music Folder to your SD Card. That's what I did for my GNote, worked like a charm.

This works for the most part, but you'd only be transferring the music. The play count and such will not be transferred, of course.

I started looking into this 10 months ago, and through talking to people and conducting my own research, iSyncr seems to be the best bet.

The only issue I know of is that iSyncr "will not sync copy protected music or videos." I have thousands of songs obtained through iTunes prior to 2009, which means these files have Digital Rights Management (DRM) attached to them. Unfortunately, iSyncr won't be able to pick up these songs and put them on my phone. The only "fix" I can think of is to convert these songs to a non-DRM mp3 file using a third-party converter, delete or move the iTunes files, and use the converted mp3 files.

The iSyncr FAQ located at iSyncr FAQ - Basic does speak about this issue:

What about music I bought from the iTunes store before April 7, 2009?
Unfortunately, Android devices can not play songs with Digital Rights Management. Ironically Apple calls their DRM "FairPlay". However, all iTunes music (at least in the US) since April 7, 2009 will not have DRM, before that date only iTunes plus music will not have DRM.

Are there any other issues - however minor - regarding iSyncr? Please do let me know.

Thanks!
Vic

 

[lpt2569]

This works for the most part, but you'd only be transferring the music. The play count and such will not be transferred, of course.

Correct. The stock music players usually let you create playlists from your music files after you drag and drop, but this is admittedly a pita and in the end not very useful.

The only issue I know of is that iSyncr "will not sync copy protected music or videos." I have thousands of songs obtained through iTunes prior to 2009, which means these files have Digital Rights Management (DRM) attached to them. Unfortunately, iSyncr won't be able to pick up these songs and put them on my phone. The only "fix" I can think of is to convert these songs to a non-DRM mp3 file using a third-party converter, delete or move the iTunes files, and use the converted mp3 files.

I had the same issue, but I used iTunes Match, and it converted almost all of my DRM songs to non DRM copies in the cloud, which I then re-downloaded into iTunes. There are still a handful of songs that Match could not convert for some reason, but it was not that many out of my more than 4000 songs in my iTunes library. I used DoubleTwist to recreate my music library on my Android Phones, but iSyncr sounds like it might be better. For $25 or whatever it is, the iTunes Match process was worth it for me.