Posted by Charles Russell on 10/30/07 15:23

SansaUser wrote:
> On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 20:08:04 -0600 'Charles Russell'
> wrote this on alt.music.mp3.hardware:
>
>> SansaUser wrote:
>>> On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:57:48 -0600 'Charles Russell'
>>> wrote this on alt.music.mp3.hardware:
>>>
>>>> skarkada@gmail.com wrote:
>>>>> I bought iRiver e10 about a week ago and tried many of its features. I was able to transfer some
>>>>> files into the device just by drag-and-drop. Music files transferred
>>>>> like this can be played, but with limitations. First, you have to
>>>>> navigate to that folder to play the music. Second, if you copy
>>>>> multiple music folders, you can only shuffle among the files in a
>>>>> particular folder.
>>>
>>>> Does it support subfolders, so that you can duplicate the directory tree
>>>> from your computer and don't have to depend on ID3 tags for
>>>> organization? Do any players allow this?
>>> Why not simply load MP3 tags into each MP3 file? Easy peasy using
>>> MP3Tag which is a free program. That way you can control what files
>>> appear in which lists on the player.
>> Basically, because I change my mind about file organization as my
>> collection grows and my interests change. 1) It is much easier to
>> reorganize files using the operating system than by changing id3 tags,
>> and 2)I would like to retain the original tag information when
>> reorganizing.
>
> ok but I'm not sure what you use to load MP3s onto your player.

Currently I'm using itunes with ipod, for lack of better alternatives,
but ultimately I would like to move to free software and generic hardware.

> On the Sansa I use a payware filemanager (ZtreeWin) and Windows
> sees the player as a removable drive, so I can add/copy/move/delete
> files willy nilly as I wish using the simple USB connection.
>
> Many other folks don't have such simplicity with their players but
> have to use other s/w like WMP etc. That probably makes it more
> time consuming to shuffle files around than using ID3ags to control
> where they appear on the player lists. I also retain copies of all
> MP3s on my system with their original ID3tags in...
>
> The other thought which comes to mind is installing one of the
> RockBox op/sys for the player you want.

By using the operating system I meant using the computer operating
system (preferably linux) and not some dedicated music management
bloatware. I would prefer to use the same directory tree on the player
as on the computer, and forget about tags except as reference data.

Rockbox has a number of features that I find attractive, but as far as I
know it does not support any cheap players, and I am not eager to risk
voiding the warranty on an expensive one.

That gives many more
> options than the standard op/sys supplied with most players and
> (IIRC) is allows file management along the lines you want. But the
> price of more features is complexity of use. Horses for courses.

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