tired of itunes

[geo22]

my ipod is old
i do not like that you can not remove anything from the ipod have delete it

i have a pc running windows 7 a laptop with windows 8
i am looking for software similiar to itunes that will let me install my cds
mp3 etc and make playlists
i assume i will have to get a older android phone to replace my ipod
i have a marantz sr-5010 receiver
would like to use my pc as a library for music and movies
anyone have any suggestions or links
i do not no why it is so hard to find software

i am trying to post all this in one place so it is easy to have a discussion maybe some other people are looking for the same thing or are using software to do this

merry xmas eve

 

[photonboy]

Musicbee
http://getmusicbee.com/

small learning curve.

Sorry you couldn't find good software, but I've used this for years and it works great. I can't speak for a mobile device because most will do just fine.

 

[skittle]

Hard to find? There are probably 10000+ different media players. More exist for linux/bsd as well.

I don't use windows but there is foobar2000 which is really popular. The Zune software is still popular. Clemintine is also nice.

On Linux I use mpd, it has too many features to possibly list. I use it with a raspberry pi hooked to my receiver and running OpenELEC, IMO this is a hard setup to beat.

 

[photonboy]

Library:

I would strongly suggest buying a WDMYCLOUD. It's basically a USB hard drive but connects to your router (via an Ethernet cable not USB) and thus is available to all your network.

I use it to stream videos and it work great. It will work fine for music and I will be setting that up soon, in fact you can even stream over the INTERNET from your device (probably only enough bandwidth for AUDO since you'd be limited by your ISP upload speed) and even use to copy pictures to from some cameras (or other computers).

Basically:
1) MusicBee to rip CD
2) MusicBee to play CD on Windows machines
3) Copy/Move audio files to WDMYCLOUD to make available to all devices with minimal hassle.

I tried to use a PC as a server type device but it's too problematic (for me) and the WDMYCLOUD works quite easily. It auto shuts down to save power and reduce noise as well, and basically "just works".

Other:
*MusicBee quick tips:
a) If using MP3 follow the download/install instructions to add LAME (they can't include it by default) but that takes five minutes or so
b) setup your desired compression settings (simple)
c) Setup other ripping parameters

*MusicBee can VERIFY your final rip for most CD's by checking with the site AccurateRip so if the results is good the music is 100% fine as a reproduction of the CD.

**Once I set everything up and got going I could basically stick in a new audio CD, click to start, and everything was handled and a few minutes later I could add another CD.

 

[photonboy]

*May want to COPY my handbrake settings suggestions.

WDMYCLOUD:

3TB example ($140USD): http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Personal-Network-Attached-Storage/dp/B00EVVGAC6/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1451128687&sr=1-3&keywords=wdmycloud

(I have a 4TB model and added a 4TB WD Elements USB directly to it as an automated BACKUP because ripping again would be a lot of work)

Please note the reviews may seem low but they had initial software/firmware issues that have been resolved. I bought a long time ago and only had issues for the first month or so and it's been flawless since and streamed to my WDTV Live Hub, Samsung player, computer, phone etc.

*Do note that Cinavia watermarking exists and BluRay players will mute audio for any video you compressed that has this. The players started coming out 2013 I believe (it was mandatory) though I have no issues on other devices (though other future devices and software will end up requiring this).

Great video ripping software:
1) MakeMKV (no compression, just main movie with MKV container)
2) Handbrake (small learning curve but quality is awesome if you do it properly)
other:
3) MKVMerge (not necessary but I use it to remove subs/audio tracks in some videos)

I built up a library of several MakeMKV rips, then added them all to a queued list in Handbrake to run until completed.

*You should EXPERIMENT with a small video file (MKVMerge can actually snip off a piece of video such as say five minutes). I ended up with these basic settings (for 2D):
a) NORMAL profile (for device decoding compatibility)
b) anamorphic->none
c) filters-> none (decomb for DVD though)
d) H.264
e) variable (do NOT use constant)
f) 8,000Kbps (plus or minus if space is an issue such as fitting to a DVD to store... otherwise beyond this is rapidly diminishing noticeable quality)
g) 2-pass
h) optimize-> Medium (slower didn't seem to help much... unless low bit rate to save space)
i) Audio-> pass-through of DTS/DTS-HD etc, or keep DTS and AC3 (for compatibility)
j) Chapters-> yep.

*Other than Handbrake?
There's nothing else I like. Some are a lot faster but at lower quality. Some are similar but confusing. It's also free.

H.265?
Avoid this completely. Minimal decoding support, and while space savings is nice hard drives are fairly cheap. I averaged about 7GB per movie (looks same as BluRay original to my eyes even fairly close). So that's roughly FOUR HUNDRED movies you can store on a $140 WDMYCLOUD server.

For 22-minute BluRay anime episodes I've found 400MB is roughly the max I needed for near-perfect. You don't need as much for cartoon/anime content due to the compression algorithms. Heck, I even got as low as 50MB which was surprisingly good on my phone.