Requesting your input on M3U playlist support for X3, X5

[uzi2]

It's Foobar. So you're saying I have to edit each entry of the list?

Yes, but it's a simple replace all operation in notepad++

 

[JaZZ]

Thank you! 

 

[Joe Bloggs]

And here's the text from one of my test playlists:

#EXTM3U

#198,Alan Price - I put a Spell on you

Pop\Alan Price\Alan Price - I put a Spell on you ('stereo').mp3

#215,Amboy Dukes - Journey to the Center of the Mind

Pop\Amboy Dukes\Amboy Dukes - Journey to the Center...flac

#393,Aquascape - Sunrise

Pop\Aquascape\Aquascape - Sunrise.mp3

#415,Dead Can Dance - Agape

Pop\Dead Can Dance\DeadCanDance - Agape.flac

#163,Damon Albarn - Kingdom of Doom

Pop\Damon Albarn\Damon Albarn - Kingdom of Doom.mp3

#204,Radiohead - Bishop's Robes

Pop\Radiohead\Radiohead - Bishop's Robes.mp3

#290,Radiohead - Pyramid Song

Pop\Radiohead\Radiohead - Pyramid Song.flac

#361,Ultravox - The Voice

Pop\Ultravox\Ultravox - The Voice.flac

#1385,Van der Graaf Generator - A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers

Pop\Van der Graaf Generator\Van der Graaf ...Lighthouse Keepers.flac

I find that if there's an invalid entry in the playlist, the X5 will refuse to read the whole playlist. In your case: is Van der Graaf ...Lighthouse Keepers.flac the actual filename of the last song on your playlist or is something omitted here?

 

[JaZZ]

Normally my filenames consist of the band/composer and the title, divided by a hyphen. Here the whole title would be «A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers», which I abbreviated the way above, and I renounced the hyphen, for the sake of shortness. So the list is effectively correct, just not in the sense of the X5, which needs its own paths indicated. Since I replace the original paths by «TF2:» in front of each line, everything works fine, though.

 

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Normally my filenames consist of the band/composer and the title, divided by a hyphen. Here the whole title would be «A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers», which I abbreviated the way above, and I renounced the hyphen, for the sake of shortness. So the list is effectively correct, just not in the sense of the X5, which needs its own paths indicated. Since I replace the original paths by «TF2:» in front of each line, everything works fine, though.  

Ah. You may want to check out the latest firmware 2.36, in which the requirement for the EXTM3U line has been dropped and you may use relative paths to address the songs (thus no need to add "TF2:") as long as the playlists are in the root folder of the same card as the songs.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/745948/x5-firmware-2-36beta-folder-jump-true-random-shuffle-more-custom-eqs

 

[JaZZ]

Thanks, will try it. But I wonder about your mentioning of FW 2.34, as I was under the impression that FW 2.20 was the latest official version (also according to FiiO's website which ends there). I already wondered how my X5 can come with FW 2.30, which is nowhere else to be found or mentioned. Do you have a link to all available X5 firmware versions, especially 2.30 and 2.34? Just in case I have to downgrade again for whatever reason. However, I'm glad that there will be the possibility to adjust the preset EQs (which were of no use to me). Can they be renamed? I guess no. In any event the X5 now offers saveable custom EQs, so to speak.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Hello JaZZ,

Here you can find all the various X5 firmware versions for download
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/4377ajo5rkpd5/X5

 

[JaZZ]

Thank you, Sir! The new firmware works fine with me, folder jump included, no complaints so far. And I really enjoy the editable EQ presets.
 

 

[Depechetraff]

  Is there a character limit for paths in playlists? I just copied and pasted file paths straight off of my X5 to Notepad and everything else suggested on these forums, but it's saying the files cannot be found after I add the playlist and update my device. As an experiment, I also created a playlist with the same files from the X5's playlist creator on the device. Guess what? The playlist works like that. Any input about this or similar issues would be appreciated. Creating playlists shouldn't be this frustrating. It's absolutely ridiculous.

 
The limit appears to be 128 characters.   The files with long names in the playlist below won't play.  However, they will play absolutely fine if I navigate to them through the file browser.  I have also posted about this in the 2.20 firmware thread.
 
#EXTM3U
Music\A\Alison Moyet\FLAC\Singles (FLAC)\Singles (Disc 1) (FLAC)\04 - Yazoo - Situation.flac
Music\A\Art Of Noise\FLAC\(Who's Afraid Of) The Art Of Noise (FLAC)\06. Moments In Love.flac
Music\A\Aztec Camera\FLAC\High Land, Hard Rain (FLAC)\Aztec Camera - High Land, Hard Rain - 01 - Oblivious.flac
Music\B\Beatles\FLAC\1 (FLAC)\21. Hey Jude - Beatles.flac
Music\B\Bill Withers\FLAC\The Essential Bill Withers (FLAC)\The Essential Bill Withers (Disc 1) (FLAC)\102-bill_withers-aint_no_sunshine.flac
Music\B\Bob Marley And The Wailers\FLAC\Legend (FLAC)\15 - Jamming.flac
Music\B\Brian Ferry\FLAC\The Ultimate Collection (FLAC)\13. Slave To Love.flac
Music\C\Carpenters\FLAC\Gold (FLAC)\01 - Yesterday Once More.flac
Music\C\Chic\FLAC\Freak Out - The Greatest Hits Of Chic And Sister Sledge (FLAC)\03. He's The Greatest Dancer.flac
Music\C\Chris Rea\FLAC\The Very Best Of Chri Rea (FLAC)\01 The Road To Hell (Part 2).flac
Music\C\Chromeo\FLAC\Fancy Footwork (FLAC)\Fancy Footwork (Disc 1) (FLAC)\(11) [Chromeo] 100%.flac
Music\C\Cowboy Junkies\FLAC\The Trinity Session (FLAC)\(02) [Cowboy Junkies] Misguided Angel.flac
Music\C\Cowboy Junkies\FLAC\The Trinity Session (FLAC)\(10) [Cowboy Junkies] Sweet Jane.flac
Music\D\Deadmau5\FLAC\4x4=12 (FLAC)\1- Some Chords.flac
Music\D\Depeche Mode\FLAC\SD\2013 - Delta Machine (FLAC)\Delta Machine (Disc 1) (FLAC)\10 Should Be Higher.flac
Music\D\Depeche Mode\FLAC\SD\2011 - Remixes 2 (FLAC)\Remixes 2 (Disc 3) (FLAC)\03 - Behind The Wheel Vince Clarke Remix [2011].flac
Music\D\Depeche Mode\FLAC\SD\2004 - The Remixes 81...04 (FLAC)\The Remixes 81...04 (Disc 2) (FLAC)\03 - Get The Balance Right! (Combination Mix).flac
Music\D\Depeche Mode\FLAC\HD\1990 - Violator (24-48 FLAC)\06 - Enjoy The Silence.flac
Music\D\Depeche Mode\FLAC\HD\1990 - Violator (24-48 FLAC)\05 - Waiting For The Night.flac
 
EDIT:  The limit is not 128 characters.  I've done some more testing and I've confirmed that up to 129 is fine.  Not sure about 130 since I can't find a playlist entry of that length (and I'm not going to mess around creating one), but 131 for sure will not work.  My fault for immediately assuming the limit would be a power of 2.