m3u To pla/plp Converter - Free to All

[TBAFROMCA]

I was frustrated, like all of you, in trying to create Playlists on my Sansa e270...but I have a cool lead software developer to assist me in times of trouble.

Here is rev. 1 of m3u2pla.exe

My configuration:

• Sansa e270 in MSC mode (should work in MTS also)
• Use MediaMonkey to create .m3u playlists and move files to the e270 (or use any other program you wish)
• Run m3u2pla.exe - it is a .NET program so it must be installed - only 37K program
• Drag-and-Drop a m3u file to instantly convert to a compatible pla (you can manually rename to plp if you want)
• Browse to a subdirectory and it will convert all m3u's at once > click "Convert"
• Copy the .pla to your e200 "Playlists" subdirectory or if the m3u files are already in the directory - no more actions are required
• Right mouse click in the application window and you can clear the screen or save the log to a text file.

Note - when in "Browse Mode" the m3u files are not listed - just click the "Convert" button and it will run and display the results.

Program works instantly. Please post any suggestions and maybe when can implement.


Help Notes from the application:

This program will a convert .m3u file(s) to .pla file(s)
The original .m3u file is left in place.

The way to do multiple playlists is to browse to a folder that has .m3u files, then press "Convert".

You may also convert .m3u files by doing a drag-n-drop from Windows Explorer to this display area.

Note: Whenever a .pla file is created, any existing .pla file will be overwritten without notice.

The assumption is that you made the .m3u files using your device drive and the mp3 files are in the correct folders. The program will strip any drive references and format correctly. It is also e200 centric because it sets the path to HARP, MUSIC\ instead of HDD, SYSTEM\MUSIC. Future releases may include a config file so you can set this value and use with any MP3 player that supports pla/plp playlists.



Enjoy!!!

Tim

Quote

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."
Will Rogers
________________________________________________

Updated version of the program 07.06.06 - Release Notes:

20060706 1.0.2378

Cool new icon- Shepard Fairey "Obey" Icon

Dialog is now non-resizeable (shouldn't have been)

Hid "leading slash" checkbox (default was fine).

Save last browsed location as starting point rather than "my music".


________________________________________________

Updated version of the program 09.21.06 - Release Notes:
20060921 1.0.2455

Removes leading drive letter if present. Apparently MediaMonkey
does this for you. Other .m3u sources do not. Now either style
will get converted to a .pla OK.

[CrowdAds]

[TBAFROMCA]

I see people accessing the post but not leaving any replies. I am interested in your results using the application. Thanks.

[six41]

if only we could make playlists work with MTP mode. thx for the effort. sorry that things are so quiet here.

[TBAFROMCA]

I can switch the USB mode on my e270 to either MTS or MSC and the Playlists display and work fine. I just tend to use MSC because the files transfer much faster from my PC.

[six41]

huh, perhaps i have done something wrong since i have not spent a lot of time on this issue. when i tried to drop a playlist output from your app onto the player in MTP mode it claimed that it was an invalid file type.

[13on]

After moving the converted playlists to my player I cannot see them. They do show up in windows explorer when I browse to the player but only the Go List shows up in the playlist folder on the player when not connected to my computer. I have tried MTS and MSC modes with no luck. What am I missing?

[TBAFROMCA]

Once the pla/plp files are on the e200, then you can switch to either MSC/MTS mode to view/use. I guess this is similiar to the firmware updates being required to install in MSC mode.

In case there is another problem with your playlists, I have included a couple sample m3u and converted pla files for you to compare to yours. Remember not to open/save the pla in notepad because it will make it invalid. Their is really no reason to save - only view. If you want to save use Textpad.

If you still have problems in MSC transfer/make playlists on unit - mode, attach a sample m3u file and pla to your post and I can diagnosis.

I am also in the process of writing a step-by-step instructions on how I use the program with MediaMonkey.

[Pardner]

TBAFROMCA Just wanted to say thanks for the effort -- always great for the community to have first adopters with technical skills they are willing to share.

Have not yet tried your process because I'm not technical and wanting to learn more and see other people's experience before I jump in (I bet there are a lot like me that is why the low response). I look forward to your mediamonkey steps since I have been thinking of trying that also (I use windows explorer musicmatch and rhapsody 1 month free trial right now).

[shades66]

If anyone is interested here is a quick perl script I hacked up to create playlists in linux. It's nothing special but did what I wanted.

To run it you 'cd' into the directory containing the tracks you want to create a playlist out of (eg on my setup it could be /mnt/Sansa_e270/music/Nerina_Pallot/ )and type createpla (assuming it's in your path somewhere). It then,using mp3info, extracts the track number from each file and creates a .pla file with the same name as the current directory in the PLAYLISTS directory with all the files in track order.

Feel free to change at will and posting back here any changes would be nice so everyone can enjoy


Mark.

(remove the .txt extension and set as executable) ** new version attached futher down the thread **

[vagabund]

Originally Posted by shades66

To run it you 'cd' into the directory containing the tracks you want to create a playlist out of (eg on my setup it could be /mnt/Sansa_e270/music/Nerina_Pallot/ )and type createpla (assuming it's in your path somewhere). It then,using mp3info, extracts the track number from each file and creates a .pla file with the same name as the current directory in the PLAYLISTS directory with all the files in track order.

Hi Mark,

thanks for the script it works good for me but if the mp3's in a sub folder like this
Amanda McBroom
- Dreaming
- Midnight Matinee

it doesn't work. Only if i rename the folders to
Amanda McBroom - Dreaming
it works!
The second point is, it doesn't work if are special character (like & () ) in the folder or song description.

And what can i do if i have many folders with music?

Regards
Michael

[shades66]

Michael,

Give this a try..

It now supports multiple directories within the /music/ directory and hopefully other symbols within the filenames/directorys shouldn't be a problem.

Mark.

[Roy Azlan Jensen]

I can't seem to open the m3u2pla program - it says :
"THe application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135)."

You mentioned that I should install the program, but how? I just extracted the file to a folder and tried to open it, where I then failed..

What am I doing wrong?

[kwerdenker]

Originally Posted by Roy Azlan Jensen

I can't seem to open the m3u2pla program - it says :
"THe application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135)."

You mentioned that I should install the program, but how? I just extracted the file to a folder and tried to open it, where I then failed..

What am I doing wrong?

"it is a .NET program so it must be installed" -> this means you need the .NET-framework from microsoft installed on your computer. you can find it here.

the test-file i converted showed up correctly on my sansa but it didn't contained any songs. controlled the file and it seemed to be correct, so i have no idea why it wouldn't work.

[TBAFROMCA]

Originally Posted by kwerdenker

"it is a .NET program so it must be installed" -> this means you need the .NET-framework from microsoft installed on your computer. you can find it here.

the test-file i converted showed up correctly on my sansa but it didn't contained any songs. controlled the file and it seemed to be correct, so i have no idea why it wouldn't work.

The playlist needs to be made based upon the subdirectory structure of your e200. Mine are automatic because I create a Playlist in MediaMonkey, add files, then send the Playlist (with files) to my e270. I then run the program pointed to the Playlists subdirectory on the e270.

Please add your m3u playlist to your post as an attachment. I can then review and comment or adapt the program to support. You can also download some of my samples from post 3 of this thread to compare. Thanks.

Tim

[hamchoba]

Works, and works well. Simple. Thanks.

People at fatwallet were asking for something like this... linked them to this thread from here:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/mess...hreadid=624663

[StretchArm]

Love this program. It works a treat for me.
It helped me decide to get an e270 as I'm a big mediamonkey fan and I'm glad I did it's a great little player.

Is there any way to change the default path I always convert the playlists on the player?

The only other improvement I can think of is to automate it as Mediamonkey syncs.

[TBAFROMCA]

Originally Posted by StretchArm

Love this program. It works a treat for me.
It helped me decide to get an e270 as I'm a big mediamonkey fan and I'm glad I did it's a great little player.

Is there any way to change the default path I always convert the playlists on the player?

The only other improvement I can think of is to automate it as Mediamonkey syncs.

I assume that you are describing that when you click "Browse" it doesn't remember the last file location. Remembering the file location is an easy change. Note - you can also just drag and drop the m3u file but you then still need Windows Explorer open and pointed to the right subdirectory.

My e270 has changed the drive letter a couple times, so I am concerned if it is a fixed program setting. We could also do a directory watch for new playlists but don't think people want us to have that much access to their computers.

Any other change requests?

[StretchArm]

Yes remembering the last browse folder would be perfect.

My drive letter has stayed static so far. If it changes maybe you could just detect if the folder exists and warn the user they have to browse again.

[mades]

Originally Posted by TBAFROMCA

The playlist needs to be made based upon the subdirectory structure of your e200. Mine are automatic because I create a Playlist in MediaMonkey, add files, then send the Playlist (with files) to my e270. I then run the program pointed to the Playlists subdirectory on the e270.
<snip>
Tim

I just downloaded and used the latest free version of Media Monkey (thank you). I created a playlist and sent it to my e260. The playlist showed up as a .pla

[TBAFROMCA]

m3u2pla Release Notes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
20060706 1.0.2378

Cool new icon - Shepard Fairey "Obey" Icon

Dialog is now non-resizeable (shouldn't have been)

Hid "leading slash" checkbox (default was fine).

Save last browsed location as starting point rather than "my music".

Download the attachment of this post and the original post has been updated with the latest file.