can SC on ts-109 play itunes songs/playlists withouth manually editing the .XML file?

[hymer]

I've found that the only way I can get Squeezecenter (SC ver 7.3, running on a QNAP TS-109 using SSOTS ver 3.15) to integrate with my Itunes is by manually change the paths in the 'iTunes Library.xml' file before starting the SC scanning.

I'm hoping someone can help me find an easier way of doing this?

Setup:
1) My music files are on the TS-109 in folders under \qmultimedia\Music
2) All music files are in MP3 format (approx. 20000 files)
3) iTunes (ver. 7.6) is running on a PC (win-XP), but the iTunes library files are also stored on the TS-109, under \qmultimedia\ituneslibrary
4) The qmultimedia share is NOT mapped as a drive on the PC, it is only available through the network path '//NAS/qmultimedia'
5) I've had no problem whatsoever with iTunes in this configuration, and daily update my Ipod
6) In the iTunes part of SC settings the 'use iTunes' box is ticked, the (misnamed) 'ITUNES MUSIC LIBRARY.XML LOCATION' field is pointing to my 'iTunes Library.xml' file on the TS-109, and the 'ITUNES MUSIC FOLDER' field is empty.
7) Both paths in the SC 'basic settings' are left blank

The main reason for getting SC to access iTunes is to be able to get the Squeezebox to play the many smart playlists I've created in Itunes.

Problem:
iTunes generates paths to the music files inside the 'Location' tag in the 'iTunes Library.xml' file which looks like this:

file://localhost//NAS/qmultimedia/music/<detailed dir structure>

This path is obviously not valid from the TS-109, because after spending almost an hour scanning the library, SC reports 0 files and 0 playlists.

Current solution:
My only solution so far is to manually replace those paths with a path that looks like this:
file:/Qmultimedia/Music/<detailed dir structure>

2 changes are made to the path:
a) The path is no longer absolute (starting with //), it is relative to the share structure on the TS-109 Starting with only one /)
b) The Q and M in the two first directory names are made uppercase in order to fit the way they look when telneting to the TS-109


I sincerely hope there is a simpler solution to this, but so far I've not been able to find one, even after hours of Google search..

Any thoughts from those of you who have made it work?

//Hymer

[simonjedrake]

Hymer
You should have no problems at all, refer to the below thread for help
http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=56895

Regards
Simon

[hymer]

Thanks simonjedrake!
I actually read your post before I posted my question, and maybe it is my English that is bad, but i don't really understand what you mean with
'auto sideways update/copy' in your posting. I think it is the term 'sideways' that confuses me... Please advice or explain in more detail.

I would really like to avoid having to copy my whole itunes library each time as it contains more than 20000 songs, and the whole point is to make squeezeserver recognize the (frequent) changes i make to my 'smart' playlists in Itunes by e.g. changing the rating of a song.

As I explained above, SC does not find any iTunes songs or playlist if i do not change the paths in the .xml file manually.

//Hymer

[simonjedrake]

Thanks simonjedrake!
I actually read your post before I posted my question, and maybe it is my English that is bad, but i don't really understand what you mean with
'auto sideways update/copy' in your posting. I think it is the term 'sideways' that confuses me... Please advice or explain in more detail.

I would really like to avoid having to copy my whole itunes library each time as it contains more than 20000 songs, and the whole point is to make squeezeserver recognize the (frequent) changes i make to my 'smart' playlists in Itunes by e.g. changing the rating of a song.

As I explained above, SC does not find any iTunes songs or playlist if i do not change the paths in the .xml file manually.

//Hymer

Hymer
The way I use my Qnap & iTunes is as follows:
1. My PC's Hard Drive is were I initially store my music files on which I also run iTunes etc.
2. Then using my Qnap as a BACKUP device I replicate/copy across using an excellent bit of software called "Second Copy" every evening on an auto schedule any changed files etc including the iTunes libary .xml file.
3. My Qnap is on my wireless network which has SC running on it. It is this "copied" music libary etc which is read by SC, NOT the "original" version on my PC's C Drive. That way the kids can happily play music using iTunes while they are on the PC with no impact on SC performance.....and I have a backup which I know works............
Hope this helps
Simon