Anyone having problems with VLC?

[VinyldechezPierre]

I've been using VLC for a few years now but starting a couple months ago it sees files as not readable...

My files are either downloads gotten along with a vinyl or rips from my own CDs which are not even compressed in anyway; straight files copied to my hard drive. Also, 99% of the time, closing VLC and restarting it takes care of the problem. But it's still annoying and I'd like to fix the problem before going further towards my goal of boxing up my CDs.

By the way, it is a recent version of the software on a recent OS.

I've downloaded JRiver Media Center which hasn't acted weird so far but I find it less than intuitive. :(

Any ideas?

Thanks.

[JoeE SP9]

I've tried VLC and JRiver. VLC has IMO a truly agricultural interface for music playback. It's much better suited for video playback. The way JRiver handles compilations has always bothered me. You might want to give Music Bee (my choice), Media Monkey or Foobar an audition. They're all free.

[VinyldechezPierre]

I'll take a look. Thanks.

[VinyldechezPierre]

You might want to give Music Bee...

Ok, a bit more time for a longer answer.

Whatever you mean by an agricultural interface, VLC's works mine for me. Except for the recent problem of course. I just drop a folder (one album) into the window and it starts. I'm not into making playlists or groups or whatever.

I took a quick look at MusicBee before my last answer and, unfortunately, it is a Windows software while I roll with Mac. It seems I can still use it with the addition of another piece of software so I'm going to check that now.

[bernard1]

I've been using VLC for a few years now but starting a couple months ago it sees files as not readable...

My files are either downloads gotten along with a vinyl or rips from my own CDs which are not even compressed in anyway; straight files copied to my hard drive. Also, 99% of the time, closing VLC and restarting it takes care of the problem. But it's still annoying and I'd like to fix the problem before going further towards my goal of boxing up my CDs.

By the way, it is a recent version of the software on a recent OS.

I've downloaded JRiver Media Center which hasn't acted weird so far but I find it less than intuitive. :(

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Have you try to uninstall and reinstall without keeping the former parameters ?

[terry-a]

I have VLC on a mac although I have seldom used it for audio. I used Decibel as my playback software for several years until I discovered that while I appreciated its simple interface it wasn't handling the files according to the claims of the developer. I ran a trial of Amarra and noticed an immediate improvement in sound but was bothered by the interface. I've gotten used to Amarra. It will find your music automatically and create a library, and/or you can direct it to a folder containing music and it will add to the library. It turns out it's pretty simple. I've created playlists in Amarra but I use them in a little different fashion than I did in iTunes or Decibel. The playlists are actually just groups of music that can be played in order or shuffled. So, for example, I have a dinner jazz playlist. I can shuffle it and play it while having dinner, or I can open it and go directly to Chet Baker or Bill Evans or Oscar Peterson and play an album very quickly without having to dig through a larger pile of records by artist or album title. Unfortunately Amarra is not free but after a few false starts and early complaints I can say that I'm pretty happy with Amarra. I use it on a daily basis.

[JoeE SP9]

You might want to give Music Bee...

Ok, a bit more time for a longer answer.

Whatever you mean by an agricultural interface, VLC's works mine for me. Except for the recent problem of course. I just drop a folder (one album) into the window and it starts. I'm not into making playlists or groups or whatever.

I took a quick look at MusicBee before my last answer and, unfortunately, it is a Windows software while I roll with Mac. It seems I can still use it with the addition of another piece of software so I'm going to check that now.

My definition of Agricultural for applications: Tractor like. Gets the job done without regard to aesthetics or user interface. Not attractive or especially easy to use.

Had you posted that you use a Mac I probably wouldn't have initially responded. Even so, VLC's interface IMO still sucks big time. It's more suited to video than audio. Foobar and Media Monkey have Mac versions. Either one is IMO an order of magnitude better than VLC for playing music files. Both are available as free downloads. Although I use Music Bee I have tried Foobar and Media Monkey along with VLC. IMO Media Monkey has a better UI than Foobar. However, both Foobar and Media Monkey have a better UI than VLC.

FWIW: I'm not into playlists either. None of the players I mentioned need to drag and drop anything for playback. Once they are installed and set up opening any of them shows a list of all the available music along with cover art. You merely click on what you want to play. They all also allow the listing of music files any way you want. You can list by artist, song title, genre, date of release, album title and/or several other categories. A single click allows you to select how you want things listed.

Currently installed on my music server laptop are numerous music players.
They are:
Foobar (not terribly fond of the interface)
Music Bee (what I normally use)
Media Monkey
VLC (UI sucks)
WinAmp
Tune Browser (If you have dsd dsf files this is IMO the best for them. I use it for my dsd/dsf files)
Virtual DJ (two deck version)
JRiver (I don't like the way it handles compilations)

[VinyldechezPierre]

Have you try to uninstall and reinstall without keeping the former parameters ?

Yes. Went so far as intalling an older version thinking the newer one had bugs...

[VinyldechezPierre]

My definition of Agricultural for applications: Tractor like. Gets the job done without regard to aesthetics or user interface. Not attractive or especially easy to use.

Guess you have not been near a modern tractor. :lol:

Anyway, sorry about Mac.

[JoeE SP9]

Modern tractors or any tractor for that matter are not attractive to me. They remind me of military gear. Function over form is the rule.

Give Foobar or Media Monkey a try. You've got nothing to lose.

[VinyldechezPierre]

Modern tractors or any tractor for that matter are not attractive to me. They remind me of military gear. Function over form is the rule.

Give Foobar or Media Monkey a try. You've got nothing to lose.

Function over form is the rule today in the car industry also... as can be seen in VM's beautiful thread:
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=114638

I'm going to try every free software that was mentioned that I haven't tried before. Then, if I don't find one that pleases me, I'll try the ones you have to pay for. Last, for the time being, will be Music Bee because the extra software I would have to install to use it is paying. :(

[JoeE SP9]

Would you really choose a tractor or a Humvee as your daily driver? :mrgreen: If the latest Ferrari, Corvette or Lamborghini is function over form I'll take one anyway. The latest Corvette is a gorgeous mid engine V-8 powered dream. At ~$60K it's affordable for many.

Trying every free application is how I went about it. That's how I ended up with so many different players. I even tried both versions of JRiver (Media Jukebox which is free and Media Center which is free for 30 days). The way JRiver handles compilations doesn't work for me.

In any case, good luck with your search.

[VinyldechezPierre]

Would you really choose a tractor or a Humvee as your daily driver?

Neither. Both would be stupid. But I drive a tractor fairly often since I work in agriculture. :D

[JoeE SP9]

Regardless, tractors will never IMO be particularly pleasing to look at. 8)

[rewfew]

Pierre. To me a tractors form, function and aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder category. I like them. I think they are an industrial manifestation of unintended beauty. There is no pretense to their outward style. Just an honest use of frame wheels and motor. Now days a bit more sophisticated than their brethren. And like their vain cousins, cars. The older they are generally, the more attractive they get. You have a admirable occupation. Good luck in your quest your trying to iron out.