After just few hours of playing with empeg, i am pretentious enough () to compile a short list of wishes:

emplode

I understand emplode was not meant to be the user's main ID3 editing tool, but quite often it is (e.g. when uploading tunes ripped long ago directly from CDR). So, make it possible to change settings of several tunes at once, and make commiting changes and going to the next one-click (or even better, keypress) affair.

Please keep original filename as an entry within track's tags. They come handy in the situation as above, when filenames contain more info (e.g. non-truncated titles) than old ID3 tags, and one notices that too late.

Menu navigation

Somebody passed a tip about turning the player off from the remote by ' * 5 enter ', or accessing visuals by ' * 4 enter '. It seem the nth menu entry is being highlighted, the firts being 'Playlists'. So far so good. Visuals menu, however, works by selecting the first letter from the remote. This is slightly confusing, but probably in line with the fact that list of visuals is somewhat dynamic, like playlist tree. However, I would like to have an option to always select menu entry numerically, without even having to press enter. In that way one could remember 2-digit code of favoutire visuals and select them by ' * 4 code '. I have no idea how to squeeze this into UI without eliminating present functionalyty, which also makes sense.

BTW, is a neat feature that the beep that is heard when traversing the menu is different when reaching the start of the menu anywhere documented?

Info & Visuals

It would be nice to duplicate 'down hold' (switch info and visual) behaviour on the remote (again, I don't know how - perhaps CD when already playing MP3s?)

I strongly support popular demand for a 'show info of a new track for a few seconds' feature.

Searching

Include playlist tags in searches. Sometimes I would like to continue to listen to particular other playlist, but after this one is finished. I would then just do append by title.

Add 'insert after current' to append and select (i.e. replace) search options.

I think that both track list and multiple selection would come quite handy in search. I would both like to see which lists and tracks I have by, say, Mike Oldfield, and in some cases jusr add few pops with vocals, and in another several strong ones from 'Killing Fields'. Obviously, I would then also need a means to tick those tracks I want.

Configuring

It would be very nice to be able to change config parameters (e.g. DHCP use, IP address, even config.ini options) from within the empeg itself. It does not have to be very easy or user-friendly, just to be there as the last resort.

Intra-track indices

This has been mentioned several times. Include the posibility of encoding a whole CD as one MP3 file, adding some kind of cue sheet with time marks and usual tags. One could handle such a file as a (probably un-shufflable) playlist.

Documentation

Please make manual more comprehensive, with all tricks mentioned on this BBS, more examples, more details on various features (e.g. EQ: what are the units of Q?) etc. Also include (probably in a separate manual or a good readme) geek info (like serial command codes, how to add telnet and ftp functionality etc).

Misc

Is there any hope of doing shuffling in the backgroud? When I turn it on on even a relatively short playlist (~150 tracks), delay is noticable.


That's it, so far

Cheers!

Dragi "Bonzi" Raos
Zagreb, Croatia
Q#5196, MkII#80000376, 18GB green

doing shuffling in the backgroud? When I turn it on on even a relatively short playlist (~150 tracks), delay is noticable.

Hugo/Mike, how about the this:
If you can't push it entirely to the background, may be you can shuffle the list immedeately upon selection and have the player hold on to both the shuffled and un-shuffled list. When shuffle-mode is changed, the player merely needs to change lists . . . .

Henno
mk2 6 nr 6

Shuffle in another thread is on the wishlist. I can't remember if it will be in 1.1, but I hope so personally :)

Hugo

So, make it possible to change settings of several tunes at once, and make commiting changes and going to the next one-click (or even better, keypress) affair.

I so very agree with this. There was a point in time when I was encoding everything with command-line tools. I had tried a few dedicated ID3-editing programs, and even THOSE didn't make filling out the tags a next-keypress affair. I got so frustrated that I wrote my own program to work around it- Jack the Ripper (at my home page). Jack automatically moves to the next track as soon as you're done filling in the current track. I'm sure there have been better tag editors made since that time, but when I wrote it, it was the only program which behaved the way I wanted it to.

I haven't needed to do any bulk tag editing in Emplode, but I can imagine the huge frustration associated with having to do this without the next-keypress ability.

Please keep original filename as an entry within track's tags.

Yeah, this could have other uses, too. I'd like to see another column of data in Emplode which contains the original file name. Then you could sort/search on that field if you wanted. Of course, if Empeg did that, then everyone would start asking for stuff like resynchronizations based on directory changes.

I strongly support popular demand for a 'show info of a new track for a few seconds' feature.

Me, too. Perhaps if we harp on it enough times we'll see it soon?


___________
Tony Fabris

I can't remember if it will be in 1.1

The worst that can happen is everything to wish for in the next release . . .

Henno
mk2 6 nr 6

Ah, yes, let's not forget dynamic compression, be it UI for kernel hack by our RJ Lovejoy or something else. Richard's compressor works like charm (I have been playing only with Linux utility version of it so far), but some music (especially clasical) needs all the dynamics one can get when listening in nice listening room, or at least using headphones, and all compression it can get when listening in a speeding car with open top, so ability to swithch it off and on from empeg UI is a must.

Dragi "Bonzi" Raos
Zagreb, Croatia
Q#5196, MkII#80000376, 18GB green