Songbird vs iTunes where libraries go big (500-1000Gb)!

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Songbird vs iTunes where libraries go big (500-1000Gb)!

Submitted by eldino on Thu, 05/15/2008 - 1:58am.

Hi there :)

I want to build up a portable database starting from my massive iTunes library (~700GB), so I can have all my music infos handy (tags+ratings) on my USB pendrive (Windows) and on my Mac HD.

Actually I use 2 pdfs as catalogues but I'd like to build up something more interactive. Something such a library browser. I don't need to play tracks, just to browse, search and view ratings.

I'd like to use a portable version of Songbird to browse my library on the go and on my Mac (because luckily Songbird is multiplatform).

I have Songbird 0.5 with iTunes import plugin 3.0.1.
My test machine is a Toshiba laptop with a Centrino 1.4 and 512MB RAM (4-5years old machine).

I attempted to import my 450gb iTunes library (110MB xml) and Songbird (after 9 hours of work )imported 71% of it, then it freezed. I rebooted and I found that 53000/66000 tracks were there.

I said "No problems! Lemme test how Songbird performs before starting a new import". Here the result: Songbird with a 53000 tracks library isn't usable, at least on my machine. If you scroll the library with the scroll-wheel, it scrolls, but if you click on random parts of scroll bar, Songbird hangs for many minutes before visualize the stuff. Unusable really. The others features arent usable as well. Is there a workaround to this?

iTunes uses a XML as a database and performs really faster with the same library (the 100% one, not the 71% one), but it needs ages to boot and it's not portable. Btw, search, smart playlists and scroll work well.

Im trying some SQLite GUIs too, but im not skilled with databases (yet). They are fast! and portable, but a Songbird-like view of music is what Im looking for.

Every advice or tip is cool :)

Regards,
eldino

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eldino Says: Thu, 05/15/2008 - 3:14am

I'm testing the Songbird_0.6pre_20080509_windows-i686-msvc8.exe
with itunes_importer-3.2.0pre-20080514.xpi.
I read it should perform better.
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iTunes, Music 2.0, Netlabels, Creative Commons: http://eldino.wordpress.com

eldino Says: Thu, 05/15/2008 - 3:30am

Songbird_0.6pre_20080509_windows-i686-msvc8.exe
starts importing my iTunes library, then it stops (4%) saying there's an error. Dunno if it's my computer but it imports max 12697 tracks. i tried also importing other libraries, same errors and same max number of tracks. SWith Songbird, as I said, I succesfully imported 53000 tracks from the same xmls. Any advice?

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iTunes, Music 2.0, Netlabels, Creative Commons: http://eldino.wordpress.com

ErikStaats Says: Thu, 05/15/2008 - 12:40pm

I've successfully imported a 300MB iTunes library XML file with 90,000+ tracks. If there's anyway you can get your XML file to me, I can try it out and see if I can fix the problem. I don't need any of the media, just the XML file, to test.