Why is it that only the small capacity iPods get an Autofill feature?
On my 40GB iPod I have to set a defined playlist and manage the size of it in order to fill it up. I have actually chosen to create a single playlist which contains my tracks in order to keep that info in sync. There should be an Auto-Sync feature that is able to manage larger libraries…My library is more than 3x the capacity of my iPod. If I choose Auto-Sync now, I get a psuedo sample of what goes on… and no control. I think Apple is smart enough to create a feature that lets you say which iPod you have and then help you create a playlist or lists that Auto-Sync back to your main library.
I’d like to see both Autofill and Auto-Sync work on all iPods. Not sure why there need to be exclusive features for smaller pods. I get the benefit, but think more users than simply those with the Shuffle or mini would appreciate the flexibility.
i have an immense library as well (almost 750GB) and have found a solution that works for me which echoes your thoughts here.
for simplicity’s sake, let’s suppose my 40GB ipod is called ipod. i went into itunes and created a playlist called ipod-smart which is a smart playlist which pulls from your main library or another playlist (see below) with these criteria: live updating, limit to 35GB (a safe usable amount of space on a 40GB ipod), and then i also set it to select based on most often played since that is a more accurate selection criteria than ratings (i don’t always rate my songs, but if i play them a bunch, then i can safely assume i like them); that last criteria could be whatever you want, most recently added or most highly rated for example. i then set the ipod to auto-sync to that ipod-smart playlist so that every time i hook up my ipod it has that current playlist synched over to it, but also transfers back the play and rating data from my ipod. considering i do most of my listening on my ipod, synching over my play data frommy ipod to my itunes library is crucial.
i also took it a step further, as i mentioned above, in that i linked my ipod-smart playlist to pull from another regular playlist, that i called ipod, and not from my main library. when i add new albums that i want to listen to, or albums i love that i know i want on my ipod, i add them to my ipod playlist. that way, the regular ipod playlist acts as a filter to narrow the scope of the library a bit. also, by doing this chained system, the regular ipod playlist can be a fairly sizable subset of your library, and is not limited to the size of your ipod.
you can also link your smart playlist to several regular playlists, so you can start creating filters of you library, or even to other smart live updating playlists, so your auto generating 35GB one is pulling from a live updating smart playlist based on most recently added, and so on. the possibilities are numerous.
so, each tier links to each tier eblow it based on criteria you set up:
ipod >
……….smart playlist >
……………………………..playlist1
……………………………..playlist2
……………………………..playlistXX
……………………………..smart-playlist1
……………………………..smart-playlist2
……………………………..smart-playlistXX
hope this helps someone out there