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MythMusic is a sophisticated mythTV plugin that allows you to play and manage music and audio files .i.e MP3, Ogg, FLAC, wav etc.
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{{UpToDate|34}}
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MythMusic is a sophisticated MythTV plugin that allows you to play and manage music and audio files .i.e MP3, Ogg, FLAC, wav etc and play radio streams from the likes of Icecast, Sky FM, Digitally Imported and Radionomy.
 
It is specifically designed to be operated by a normal remote control.
 
It is specifically designed to be operated by a normal remote control.
  
 +
This page describes the regular music files features of MythMusic. For the radio streaming part see [[MythMusic Radio Streaming]].
 +
 +
== Supported Formats and Containers ==
  
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See the section on [[MythMusic Installation]] if you are having problems getting MythMusic to work
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=== Playback ===
 +
* Audio CDs
 +
* MP2
 +
* MP3
 +
* MP4
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* FLAC
 +
* Vorbis Audio (OGG + OGA)
 +
* AAC (iTunes)
 +
* AC3
 +
* Wav + WavPack (WV)
 +
* Windows Media Audio (WMA)
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* Sony OpenMG (OMA + OMG)
 +
* Sony ATRAC (ATP, AA3)
 +
* Real Audio (RA)
 +
* Matroska Audio
 +
* Audio Interchange Format (AIFF)
 +
* True Audio (TTA)
 +
* Shockwave Audio (SWA)
 +
* And more
 +
 
 +
===Encoding===
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* MP3
 +
* FLAC
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* OGG Vorbis Audio
 +
 
 +
== Installing MythMusic ==
 +
The best approach is to follow the installation guides for MythTV and MythMusic that have been developed for your [[Operating System]] and distribution.
  
 
==  Configuring MythMusic ==  
 
==  Configuring MythMusic ==  
  
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For global MythMusic configuration. Go to the Utilities/Setup->Setup->Media Settings->Music Settings->General Settings. In particular you can set up which directory your music is stored in here.  
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For global MythMusic configuration, go to the Utilities/Setup->Setup->Media Settings->Music Settings->General Settings.
 +
MythTV before [[Release_Notes_-_0.28|0.28]] required you to specify a single directory for your music, on this General Settings page.
 +
 
 +
Recent MythTV versions use [[Setup_Storage_Directories|Storage Groups]] to specify where your music is stored, which must be configured with [[Configuring_MythTV|mythtv-setup]].
  
 
There is also a set of music Tools at Utilties/Setup->Music Tools. Here you can rescan your music library, etc.
 
There is also a set of music Tools at Utilties/Setup->Music Tools. Here you can rescan your music library, etc.
 +
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{{Note box|The location of menu items depends on the Menu Theme you have chosen. In the classic menu theme all the menu items are available in the Music menu. In the default menu theme the menu items are scattered thoughout the menus. The menu locations given on this page are for the default layout.}}
  
 
== Using MythMusic ==
 
== Using MythMusic ==
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Because MythMusic has been designed to work with a remote control, people often struggle with it, especially when building and editing playlists. Once you become familiar with how it works, which does not take long, you will be amazed at how much more accessible and enjoyable it makes listening to your music collection.
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Because MythMusic has been designed to work with a remote control, people often struggle with it, especially when building and editing playlists. Once you become familiar with how it works, which does not take long, you will be amazed at how much more accessible and enjoyable it makes listening to your music collection. If you already have music in your Music storage group, you can skip ahead to [[#Playing Music]].  Otherwise, first build your music collection.
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===Building your music collection from CD===
 
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Before you start to import a CD into MythMusic there are a few things you should check.
 
  
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*Make sure that your system is not set up to mount the CD and begin playing it automatically. This is normally configured in your desktop environment ie KDE or Gnome.
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===Building your music collection ===
  
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*It helps to have your system connected to the Internet, so that MythMusic can locate the information about your CD.
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There are three ways to add music to MythMusic. You can rip existing CD's, copy your tracks to the existing music directory and do a rescan or you can also import tracks from another location into your music directory. Each method will be explained below.
  
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*Set up how you want your CDs to be ripped. Goto Utilities/Setup->Setup->Media Settings->Music Settings->Ripper Settings
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====Ripping CDs====
  
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*Insert the CD before selecting "Import CD".
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{{Note box|Since 2020, no metadata lookup is done.  You may want to rip CDs using other desktop software and then move along to [[#Scanning_the_music_directory|the next section]] }}
  
 +
Before you start to rip a CD into MythMusic there are a few things you should check.
 +
*Make sure your CD device is set correctly - Setup->Media Settings->Music Settings->General Settings. 
 +
*Make sure that your system is not set up to mount the CD and begin playing it automatically.
 +
**Gnome: System→Preferences → Removable Drives and Media Preferences.
 +
**KDE: There are two ways to do this (the first is easier):
 +
***Insert an audio CD, which will trigger a pop-up window.  Select "X Do Nothing", tick the "Always do this for this type of media" checkbox and press OK.
 +
*** Go to System Settings → Notifications → Storage Media Notifications → (Notifications tab) Medium types, select: Audio CD. "X Do Nothing" should have "(Auto Action) after it.  If not, press the "Toggle as Auto Action" button.
 +
*It helps to have your system connected to the Internet, so that MythMusic can locate the information about your CD
  
 +
*Set up how you want your CDs to be ripped, including default quality settings. See the section on [[CD Ripper Settings]]
  
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To import (rip) a CD goto Optical Disks ->Import CD
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To import (rip) a CD, you need to select the "Import CD" menu item.  This can be found in two places
 +
*Optical Disks → Import CD
 +
*Utilities/Setup → Music Tools → Import CD
  
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After a few seconds MythTV will query the Internet [[freedb]] database for your CD information and the Import CD screen will show, with the Artist, Album and tracks information.  
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Insert the disk you want to rip, after a few seconds the Import CD screen will show, with the Artist, Album and tracks information. Prior to 2020 MythTV would query the Internet [[freedb]] database for your CD information.  Until a new database connection is developed, you will need to manually enter your information or user other ripping/tagging tools.  Make sure at least Artist and Album are correct to save the tracks to a unique directory.
  
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[[Image:MythMusic1.png]]
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[[Image:MythMusic1.png|450px]]
  
 
Check that the Quality setting is what you need. The options are :-
 
Check that the Quality setting is what you need. The options are :-
  
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*Low    -Low bit rate, low quality, very small file sizes .ogg or .mp3
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*Low    - Low bit rate, low quality, very small file sizes .ogg or .mp3
  
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*Medium  -Medium bit rate, medium quality .ogg or .mp3
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*Medium  - Medium bit rate, medium quality .ogg or .mp3
  
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*High    -High bit rate, high quality  .ogg or .mp3
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*High    - High bit rate, high quality  .ogg or .mp3
  
 
*Perfect - Rips to Lossless FLAC file format. This is CD quality but compressed by about 50%
 
*Perfect - Rips to Lossless FLAC file format. This is CD quality but compressed by about 50%
  
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You can make changes to any of the items on the screen at this point before you finally select the "import this CD" button.
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You can make changes to any of the items on the screen at this point before you finally select the "Rip CD" button. To edit an individual track, use the 'edit' key ([[#Useful keys to know|see below]]).
  
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You now see the progress screen showing each track as it is ripped and transcoded, as well as the overall progress on the whole album. Once import has finished you can configure your CD to be ejected.
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You now see the progress screen showing each track as it is ripped and encoded, as well as the overall progress on the whole album. Once import has finished you can configure your CD to be ejected.
  
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[[Image:MythMusic2.png]]
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[[Image:MythMusic2.png|450px]]
  
 
MythTV stores your ripped music on your hard drive in a structured manner. See the page on [[MythMusic File Organization]]. All your music files will also be tagged using the [[ID3]] standard
 
MythTV stores your ripped music on your hard drive in a structured manner. See the page on [[MythMusic File Organization]]. All your music files will also be tagged using the [[ID3]] standard
  
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===Adding in an existing music collection===
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====Scanning the music directory====
 +
 
 +
If you have copied some new music to your music directory or if you want to scan an existing music collection then you can have MythMusic scan for this. Point MythMusic at the directory in which your music collection is, by changing the location of your music library:
 +
* Utilities/Setup → Setup →Media Settings-> Music Settings → General settings.
 +
Then:
 +
* Utilities/Setup → Music tools → Scan for New Music.
 +
 
 +
MythTV will then scan for music and add the information into the MythTV database.
  
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If you already have an existing music collection then you can have MythMusic Scan for this. Point MythMusic at the directory in which your music collection is by changing the location of your music library in Utilities/Setup->setup->Media Settings->Music Settings-General settings.
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You should also do a rescan if you changed the tag information using a tool outside of MythMusic so it will pick up any changes. Note: for MythMusic to notice the changes the modification time of the files needs to have changed.  
  
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Then goto Utilities/Setup->setup-Music tools->Scan for New Music.
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Alternatively of course, you can copy your existing collection across to the folder that MythMusic has already begun building your collection to.
  
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MythTV will then scan for music and add the information into the MythTV database.
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If you have files that have been ripped to Apple's AAC format this should be no problem. Either copy these files into the MythMusic directory and then scan for new music, or mount your collection onto the systems file system and point your MythMusic directory to it as above.
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 +
====Importing music to the music directory====
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 +
If you have some tracks you want to add to your music directory then one easy way to do it is to import the tracks using MythMusic. It will copy the tracks to your music directory for you creating the necessary directory structure and renaming the files based on the preferences you have told MythMusic to use.
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 +
[[Image:MythMusic_Import.png|450px]]
 +
 
 +
====Removing music from the music directory====
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 +
If you wish to remove some music from MythMusic, remove the files on disk and [[#Scanning the music directory|re-scan]].
  
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'''aac files'''
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====Using Album Art====
  
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If you have files that have been ripped to Apples aac format this should be no problem. Eitther copy these files into the MythMusic directory and then scan for new music, or mount your collection onto the systems file system and point your MythMusic directory to it as above.
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MythMusic supports the display of album art with the name 'cover.jpg' found in the same directory as a music file or embedded in MP3 files with ID3V2.3 or ID3V2.4 tags.
 +
 
 +
The metadata editor also allows you to search Google images for any suitable cover art, artist and genre images. It's up to the user to determine if they are allowed to use any of the images they find.
 +
 +
{{Note box|If you add album art onto an existing collection using software such as "EasyTag" which preserves file modification time by default, you will need to make sure the timestamp of the files is updated (use 'touch') so that Mythmusic rescans the files properly. Otherwise the album art won't appear.}}
  
 
===Playing Music===
 
===Playing Music===
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There are three ways to select music to play
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MythMusic works on the principle that any tracks you wish to play must first be added to a current (working) playlist. If you don't care about this list and just want to play music, don't miss the new [[#Play Now]] feature.
  
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*Directly select an Artist,Album or track to play
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There are several ways to add tracks to this playlist like browsing for them in your music library, searching for individual tracks or using the quick playlists on the popup menu.
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*Add tracks to the Active Playlist and play the Active Playlist
 
−
*Create a new Playlist/Choose an existing Playlist
 
  
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'''''Before you start playing music it is highly recommended that you configure the MythMusic Player to show your entire music tree.''''' This is probably the single biggest reason that people struggle with MythMusic GUI. You can set this in Utilities/Setup->Setup->Media Settings->Player Settings->show entire music tree
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===MythMusic's Views===
 +
There are several views in MythMusic that can have overlapping features depending on what the themer wants to show. Most widgets are optional so it is up to the themer what you get on any view. The following images and descriptions apply to the default and MythCenter themes and most others.
  
 +
From the MythTV main menu you get started at Media Library->Listen To Music. This will show the Current Playlist view.  From there, simply MENU->Browse Music Library.  The music browser is also available at Setup->Media Settings->Music Tools->Select Music. Escape will return to the previous view.  You can also switch to other views by pressing the MENU key.
  
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*The Play screen (set up to show entire music tree)
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====The Current Playlist View====
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[[Image:MythMusic3.png]]
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[[Image:MythMusic3.png|450px]]
  
 +
This view is the main playback screen and shows the current (working) playlist at the top and the current track's metadata below. It also shows some playback controls and the active visualizer along with the current volume status.
  
 +
To add tracks to the list you will MENU->'''Browse Music Library''', described in the next section.  Once you have some tracks, you can select any song to play it now. Basic editing is also available:
  
 +
* hitting I for INFO will show the metadata for that song
 +
* hitting the DELETE key on a line will remove it from the list
 +
* reorder the list at MENU->More Options->Playlist Options->Switch to Move Mode
 +
** then selecting a line will move it up/down and select again will place it
 +
** exit reordering with MENU->Playlist Options->Switch to Select Mode
  
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====Direct music selection====
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To add more tracks to the list, MENU->Browse Music Library:
  
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You don't have to create a Playlist just to play an album or song.
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====Browse Music Library - Tree View====
 +
[[Image:MythMusic4.png|450px]]
  
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With the "show entire music tree" configured, you will see your Playlist's to the left of the Play pane as per the picture above. More importantly you will also see a default Playlist called "All My Music". Once you select this Playlist you will see all your music organized alphabetically by Artist.
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====Browse Music Library - Gallery View====
 +
[[Image:MythMusic5.png|450px]]
  
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Use the Left and right arrow keys to switch between the Playlist pane and the Play pane. Use the up and down arrows to select your Playlist and the the right arrow key to select the Artist then right arrow again to select the Album then right arrow again to select Song etc. Press select to play at any point either the Artist, Album, or Song. Press the left arrow button to backtrack.
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{{Note box|prior to MythTV 34, "Browse Music Library" was called "Playlist Editor" so these terms are interchangable.}}
  
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==== Play from the Active Play Queue ====
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The Browse Music Library view (formerly Playlist Editor) shows the music library tree at the top, the current playlist in the middle and the currently playing track below.  Use tab or Left/Right navigation to move to these sections.  Switch from tree to gallery and vice versa at MENU->Switch To (Other) View.
  
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When you first start using MythMusic you will find two entries in the Playlist pane already defined.  
+
These views allow you to browse your music collection looking for tracks you would like to play. Pressing SELECT (MARK in the gallery view) on any node in the tree will allow you to play, add or replace any tracks below the current node to the working playlist.  A couple of examples will hopefully make things a little clearer (both the tree and gallery views work in the same way though it's easier to see what is happening in the tree view until you get used to it). Lets say you want to play all your Christmas tracks, in the tree on the far left move to 'Genres' then move right to the list of genres, find 'Christmas' in the list then press SELECT/MARK. You will be given the choice to play, add or replace the tracks on the working playlist.
  
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* All My Music -Exactly that, use this to directly access any Artist, Album, Track from the Play pane.
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Lets try a more complex example, say you want to play all you favourite tracks from Dire Straits, in the far left of the tree select Artist and move right, find Dire Straits in the artist list and move right, select 'Ratings' and move right, in the list of ratings press SELECT/MARK on the highest rating to play/add/replace the tracks on the working playlist.
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* All My Playlists -Exactly that, with an initial playlist called the Active Play Queue
 
  
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{{Note box|Some lists can be quite long, like the Artist list. A quick way to find what you are looking for is to use the button list search feature available in MythTV. You access it by pressing CTRL-S or MENU then 'Search List...'. Entering text in the search box will scroll the list to the first item that matches the search text, you can also find the next/previous matches using the buttons in the search popup dialog.}}
  
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'''Active Play Queue'''
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{{Note box|The popup menu that is shown when you press MENU is context sensitive so the options shown will depend on what widget has the focus and even what node in the tree has the focus. For example if the tree has the focus and a playlist node is selected you will see options to play/add/replace as well as an option to remove that playlist. The 'More Options' menu item will always open the standard menu with the usual menu options.}}
  
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This is a temporary playlist that you can add and remove entire Albums or individual tracks to create a Playlist. Once this has your songs you want you can then save it to a named play list. Of course you can play the Active Play Queue just like any other playlist.
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====The Search View====
 +
[[Image:MythMusic_Search.png|450px]]
 +
 +
The Search view shows a list of fields to search, the search text, the number of matches and a list of matching tracks at the top, the current playlist in the middle, and the currently playing track below.  Use Left/Right navigation to move to these sections.
  
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'''Add songs to the Active Play Queue'''
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The search view allows you to do a quick search for a track you want to add to the working playlist. You can search the Artist, Album, Title, Genre or all of them for some text you enter. For example say you are looking for a track that you know has 'cars' in the title but can't remember who it is by or what album it is on you would select 'Title' in the fields to search and enter 'cars' in the search text which would give you a list of matching tracks you can then individually add to the working playlist.
  
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To add songs to the Active play Queue you need to enter the playlist management screen by pressing 3 from the "Play" screen or by selecting the "Select Music" option from the Music Tools menu.  
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====Lyrics View====
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{{VersionNote|0.28|Lyrics support was added in 0.28}}
 +
[[Image:MythMusic_Lyrics.png|450px]]
 +
 +
The Lyrics view shows the lyrics for the currently playing track. See [[MythMusic Lyrics]]
  
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The Playlist Management screen
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=== Play Now ===
  
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[[Image:MythMusic4.png]]
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{{VersionNote|34|Play Now was added in MythTV 34}}
  
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In the above picture you can see the 4 items on the menu that you can select:-
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Sometimes you care less about play lists and just want to play music now.  The new '''Menu -> "Play Now"''' option of the [[#Browse Music Library - Tree View|music browser]] is for you.  Simply browse your collection by Album, Artist, whatever and select a song.  It plays now!  But wait, you wanted the whole album now?  With the album name selected, hit MENU -> Play Now.  All tracks below the selected node are queued and played in order.
  
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1. All My Music -You collection of music files
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You may leave your music browser open in Gallery View or Tree View to play any tracks at any time in this way. The Play Now menu option is also available in Search for Music.
  
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2. An entry showing you what album you have in your CD drive
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Play Now still uses the working playlist (displayed below the browser in most themes), giving you an automated history of songs played.  In fact, Play Now is identical to "Add Tracks" except that it immediately plays the added tracks.  And "Replace Tracks" is identical to Play Now except that it removes all prior tracks.  Therefore when the play history gets too long, simply Replace Tracks.
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3. All your play lists previously defined (empty to start)
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There is also a new "Prefer" toggle on the menu. This preference decides what happens when a single track is selected and which option appears first on the menu.
 +
 
 +
==== Play Now vs. Add Tracks Preference ====
  
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4. Whats currently in you Active Play Queue
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The new '''Play Now''' adds tracks to the end of the list just like '''Add Tracks''' except that it immediately begins playing the new additions.  Since checking a single track with the SELECT key can take only one of these actions, this "preference" can be toggled on the menu.  The chosen preference for SELECTing single tracks also appears as the first option on the menu.
  
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From the the Playlist management screen you can browse the entire collection from "All My Music". Add tracks to the current queue by pressing 'Select' to toggle the checkbox next to it's name. Entire Albums, Genres or Artists may be added in one go.
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{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="center" style="border-collapse:collapse; border-color:silver; background:whitesmoke"
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If you don't have all the items in a sub menu selected it will show as a Grey tick.
+
|- style="background: gainsboro"
 +
!|Prefer:
 +
!|Play Now
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!|Add Tracks
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|-
 +
|Optimized for:
 +
|Playing tracks now
 +
|Queuing more tracks for later
 +
|-
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|Menu options in order:
 +
|Play Now, Add Tracks, Replace Tracks, Prefer Add Tracks
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|Add Tracks, Play Now, Replace Tracks, Prefer Play Now
 +
|-
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|Checking one track:
 +
|Adds track to the list and plays it now
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|Adds track to the list
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|-
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|Shuffle Mode
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|OFF
 +
|unchanged
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|-
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|Repeat Mode
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|OFF
 +
|unchanged
 +
|}
  
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[[Image:MythMusic5.png]]
+
Shuffle and Repeat modes are canceled for Play Now so that you get only your selections played in order.  You can reset your shuffle mode after Play Now or use Add Tracks to add to a shuffle.
  
 +
===Quick Playlists===
  
−
Press the ESC key to go back to the Play screen
+
MythMusic's Quick Playlists allow you to create playlists automatically. From any view showing the current playlist press the Menu/m button and select 'Quick Playlists'. A pop up menu will show the following options
  
−
====Create a Playlist====
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[[Image:MythMusic_Menu1.png|450px]]
  
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When you are happy with the selection you have chosen, go back to the top level menu in Playlist management screen and then scroll down to "Active Play Queue" and press the Menu/m key. Type in the playlist name and then select "Copy to New Playlist". (If you are using a remote for text entry, don't forget to enable your on screen keyboard)
+
*All Tracks
 +
*Tracks by current Artist
 +
*Tracks from current Album
 +
*Tracks from current Genre
 +
*Tracks from current Year
 +
*Tracks with Same Title
  
−
[[Image:MythMusic6.png]]
+
Selecting one of the options will allow you to either replace or append any matching tracks to the working playlist based on the currently playing track. So for example if a track is playing that you would like to hear the rest of the album you would choose 'Tracks from current Album' which would either replace or append all matching tracks to the working playlist.
  
−
==== Edit an existing playlist. ====
+
===Saving a playlist===  
 +
Lets say you have added many tracks to the working playlist and you would like to save it so you can add the same tracks again in the future. On any view that shows the current playlist press MENU then 'Playlist Options' then 'Save to New playlist' and when prompted enter a name for the playlist. Alternatively you can choose 'Save to Existing Playlist' which will prompt you to choose from a list of existing playlists to save to.
  
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From the playlist management screen, browse existing playlists from "All My Playlists". Highlight the playlist and press the I/Menu key. Select "Move to Active Play Queue" from the menu. You can now modify the "Active Play Queue" like normal, adding songs and playlists by selecting them from the song tree.
+
When you later want to add the tracks to the working playlist on any of the Playlist Editor views choose 'Playlists' in the tree then move right to choose one of the saved playlists you can then add/replace the tracks as usual.
  
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When you are done, highlight the "Active Play Queue" in the selection tree and press the I/Menu then select "Save Back to Playlist Tree".
+
===Smart Playlists===
  
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* '''Rearrange the songs in a playlist.''' Highlight a song and hit the "space" bar, the song will now have pair of red arrows in front of it. Use the up and down arrow keys to move it around in the playlist. When you have it where you want it, hit the "space" bar again.
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Smart Playlists are dynamic playlists that are only created when they are used so they will include any new tracks added to your music collection since the last time the playlist was used. The playlists are created by querying the database with the criteria you have entered and optionally the sort order you have choosen to find any matching tracks. There are a few example smart playlists created for you when you first install MythMusic 
  
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* '''Delete an item from a playlist.''' Highlight the item in the selection tree and hit the "d" key.
+
*Decades - 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's - these create playlists based on the year of release of the tracks
 +
*Favorite Tracks - selects tracks with a rating  greater than 7
 +
*100 Most Played Tracks - selects the 100 tracks with the highest playcount
 +
*Never Played Tracks - selects tracks with a playcount of 0
  
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* '''Edit a text field without a keyboard.''' Press ENTER in the empty line edit control. A keyboard will pop up; you can use this keyboard to enter characters.
+
[[Image:MythMusic8.png|450px]]
  
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* '''Delete a playlist.''' Highlight the playlist in the selection tree and hit the I/Menu key then select "Delete this Playlist" from the popup.
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You can add/edit Smart Playlists on both of the Playlist Editor views by selecting the 'Smart Playlist' node in the tree and then depending on what node is selected you can add/edit/delete a smart playlist by pressing EDIT/DELETE or choose an option from the popup menu.
 +
 
 +
Once you have created your Smart Playlists you can use them by going to the Playlist Edit view and in the tree select 'Smart Playlists' then move right and choose the category, then move right and chose the name of the smart playlist you want to use. Select it and you will be able to add/replace the tracks to the working playlist as normal.  
  
 
=== Visualizations ===
 
=== Visualizations ===
−
There are currently a number of visualizations for MythMusic that will be displayed in a small window when while the playlist is visible, but will be displayed full-screen when you change the visualization mode with by pressing '6'.  Which of these visualizations are to be used can be specified as a space-separated list in the Setup menu for MythMusic.
+
Nothing beats listening to your music collection and having an accompanying visualization on your large flat panel TV.
−
* Random - Switches to a different visualization for each song.
+
 
−
* MonoScope - Standard spectrum analyzer, as found on many MP3 players such as XMMS and WinAmp.
+
There are a number of visualizations for MythMusic that will be displayed in a small window on some views (only the Current Playlist view in the default theme but it depends on the theme), but will be displayed full-screen at MENU->Fullscreen Visualizer.
−
* StereoScope - Another spectrum analyzer.  Left and right channels are drawn separately.
+
 
−
* BumpScope - Similar to Monoscope above, but drawn as a "raised relief" on a flat surface (3D visualization)
+
==== Track Info ====
−
* Goom - The classic visualization of crazy lines and patterns.
 
−
* Synaesthesia - A more amorphous visualization similar to plasma clouds displays
 
−
* Spectrum -
 
−
* Squares -
 
−
* AlbumArt - This displays the album art for the currently playing music.  Basically, any image in the same directory as the music file currently playing is treated as if it might be album art, and one is selected randomly for display.
 
−
* Gears - It's the GLXgears demo.
 
−
* Blank - Just a blank screen (not very exciting, but very CPU-efficient).
 
  
−
'''Missing Visualizations after upgrading from 0.19 to latest SVN?'''
+
In full screen visualizer view, track Info is automatically displayed at track change and can be seen any time by hitting the I/INFO key.  As of MythTV 34 music can be controlled from the full screen visualizer and this also pops the track info.  Themes should show the progressbar, time and ratingstate so you can see the results of REW/FFWD, SPEEDUP/DOWN or THUMBUP/DOWN. When track Info is displayed:
−
The visualizations are now selectable via the Setup menus and by default you won't have any selected.  Navigate to Setup > Media Settings > Music Settings > Player Settings and on the third page you'll find the Edit Visualizations button where you can select which visualizations you'd like to show up as options.
 
  
−
'''Looking for more?'''
+
* '''SELECT''' will "stick" the Info box to the screen, like the miniplayer
−
If you're running 0.21 or higher you can use libvisual visualizations.  An easy way to get some is to install the amarok-visualisation package which will add quite a few good ones to your Available Visualizations list.
+
* '''INFO''' again will show the full track metadata
 +
* '''ESCAPE''' will close the Info, needed to get to the menu or visual options:
  
−
You might find it helpful to see the page on [[ProjectM]] visualisations
+
==== Visual Options ====
 +
 
 +
As of MythTV 34 the visuals themselves can have remote key options.  Where available, these are listed below the description in the following table.  Generally:
 +
 
 +
* '''SELECT''' toggles or cycles the primary option
 +
* '''2''' toggles any text overlay
 +
 
 +
The visuals are available on the menu in alphabetical order:
 +
 
 +
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="center" style="border-collapse:collapse; border-color:silver; background:whitesmoke"
 +
|- style="background: gainsboro"
 +
!| Visualization
 +
!| Name
 +
!| Description
 +
|-
 +
|
 +
|align="center"|  Random
 +
|Switches to a different visualization for each song.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz9.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| AlbumArt
 +
|This displays the album art for the currently playing music.  Basically, any image found for the music file currently playing is treated as if it might be album art including any Artist image if available, and each found image will be displayed in sequence.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz11.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| Blank
 +
|Useful if all you want to do is listen to music, saves potential screen burn, as well as putting less stress on your CPU (shown with the track info popup visible, the screen is normally all black)
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz4.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| BumpScope
 +
|The audio signal is drawn as a "raised relief" on a flat surface (3D visualization).
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz5.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| Goom
 +
|The classic visualization of crazy lines and patterns.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz2.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| MonoScope
 +
|Standard oscilloscope, as found on many MP3 players such as XMMS and WinAmp.  Shows just a few milliseconds of the sound wave.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz10.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| Piano
 +
|This one tries to highlight the correct keys on a piano keyboard
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz15.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| Spectrogram (v34+)
 +
|The frequency spectrum over time.  The Y axis is frequency on a Mel Scale while the colored line length and resulting gray pixel intensity is amplitude.  This is a good "picture" of the music history as it plays over time on the X axis.<br>'''SELECT''' cycles color on one or both channels<br>'''2''' toggles frequency labels
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz16.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| Spectrum (v34+)
 +
|A high resolution color spectrum analyzer. The X axis is frequency on a Mel Scale while the Y axis is amplitude in dB.  This is the color section of Spectrogram turned sideways to fill the screen.<br>'''SELECT''' or '''2''' toggles note and frequency labels
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz7.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| SpectrumBars<br>(Spectrum v33-)
 +
|A classic spectrum analyzer.  The sound amplitude is displayed in the frequency domain on a Mel Scale: lower frequency to the left and higher to the right in quickly decaying bars.  This was called "Spectrum" prior to v34.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz8.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| Squares
 +
|The frequency spectrum bars above are collapsed into just a few colored squares.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz3.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| StereoScope
 +
|Stereo oscilloscope.  Left and right channels are drawn separately.  Shows just a few milliseconds of the sound wave.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz6.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| Synaesthesia
 +
|A more amorphous visualization similar to plasma clouds displays.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center"| [[Image:Viz14.png|center|100px]]
 +
|align="center"| WaveForm (v33+)
 +
|An amplitude "picture" of the whole track from start to finish is displayed behind StereoScope above.  Includes peak-to-peak and Root Mean Square amplitude and left/right difference.<br>'''SELECT''' or '''2''' toggles timing text<br>'''DELETE''' clears the waveform, in case you would like to see it redrawn
 +
|}
  
 
=== Shuffle Modes ===
 
=== Shuffle Modes ===
Line 179: Line 362:
  
 
=== Useful keys to know ===
 
=== Useful keys to know ===
−
* some keyboard commands that might come in handy..
 
−
** Change Visualisation mode - 6
 
−
** Change Shuffle mode - 1
 
−
** Change Repeat mode - 2
 
−
** Edit Playlist menu - 3
 
−
** Blank Screen - 5
 
−
** Increase track rating - 9
 
−
** Decrease track rating - 7
 
−
** Refresh music tree - 8
 
−
** Filter all my music - f or m
 
−
** Show incremental search dialog - CTRL + S
 
−
** Incremental search find next match - CTRL + N
 
−
** Edit Track Information(mp3 tags) - i
 
−
** Pause/unPause - p
 
−
** Stop  - o
 
−
** Next  - z
 
−
** Mute  - |  (shift-\  also called "pipe")
 
−
** Volume Up - ] or F11
 
−
** Volume Down - [ or F10)
 
−
** > and < for next and previous track in a playlist. This is especially helpful if you use random track selection -- it will jump to the next (or previous) track in the random list.
 
−
**(note these are based on the default key mappings)
 
  
−
== Troubleshooting ==
+
(note these are based on the default key mappings, you can re-assign these in MythTV's Edit Keys setup screen).
  
−
You may run into errors when running MythMusic.
+
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="center" style="border-collapse:collapse; border-color:silver; background:whitesmoke"
−
When I run MythMusic and try and look up a CD, I get an error message
+
|- style="background: gainsboro"
 +
!| Keybinding
 +
!| Default Keyboard Key
 +
!| Function
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |PLAY
 +
|align="center" | No Default
 +
|Start playback
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |PAUSE
 +
|align="center" |P
 +
|Toggle Play/Pause
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |STOP
 +
|align="center" |O
 +
|Stop Playback
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |NEXTTRACK
 +
|align="center" |>,.,Z,End
 +
|Move to the next track
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |PREVTRACK
 +
|align="center" |,,<,Q,Home
 +
|Move to the previous track
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |FFWD
 +
|align="center" |PgDown
 +
|Fast Forward
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |RWND
 +
|align="center" |PgUp
 +
|Rewind
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |VOLUMEDOWN
 +
|align="center" |[,{,F10,Volume Down
 +
|Volume Down
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |VOLUMEUP
 +
|align="center" |],},F11,Volume Up
 +
|Volume Up
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |MUTE
 +
|align="center" |\,F9,Volume Mute
 +
|Mute
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |TOGGLEUPMIX
 +
|align="center" |CTRL+U
 +
|Toggle audio upmixer
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |THMBUP
 +
|align="center" | 9
 +
|Increase rating of the currently playing track
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |THMBDOWN
 +
|align="center" |7
 +
|Decrease rating of the currently playing track
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |CYCLEVIS
 +
|align="center" |6
 +
|Cycle visualizer mode
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |TOGGLESHUFFLE
 +
|align="center" |No default
 +
|Toggle shuffle mode
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |TOGGLEREPEAT
 +
|align="center" |No default
 +
|Toggle repeat mode
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |SPEEDUP
 +
|align="center" |W,3
 +
|Increase playback speed
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |SPEEDDOWN
 +
|align="center" |X,1
 +
|Decrease playback speed
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |SEARCH
 +
|align="center" | CTRL+S
 +
|Show button list search dialog (Global context). This will only work when a button list has the focus.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |EDIT
 +
|align="center" |E
 +
|Edit a track's metadata (Global context). This is context sensitive so the metadata shown will depend on where the focus is.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |INFO
 +
|align="center" |I
 +
|Show a tracks metadata (Global context). This is context sensitive so the metadata shown will depend on where the focus is.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |DELETE
 +
|align="center" |D
 +
|Delete (Global context). This is context sensitive. In the current playlist it will remove the selected track, on the edit playlist tree it will delete a playlist/smart playlist etc.
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |MARK
 +
|align="center" |T
 +
|Toggle track selection. This has the same effect as pressing SELECT on a node on the playlist editor tree (mostly useful on the gallery view where SELECT has another function).
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |SWITCHTOPLAYLIST
 +
|align="center" |No default
 +
|Switch to the current playlist view
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |SWITCHTOPLAYLISTEDITORTREE
 +
|align="center" |No default
 +
|Switch to the playlist editor tree view
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |SWITCHTOPLAYLISTEDITORGALLERY
 +
|align="center" |No default
 +
|Switch to the playlist editor gallery view
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |SWITCHTOSEARCH
 +
|align="center" |No default
 +
|Switch to the search view
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |SWITCHTOVISUALISER
 +
|align="center" |No default
 +
|Switch to the fullscreen visualiser view
 +
|-
 +
|align="center" |SWITCHTORADIO
 +
|align="center" |No default
 +
|Switch to the radio stream view
 +
|}
  
−
The full text of the message will say:
+
==MythMusic Development==
−
 
+
As with all MythTV development work, modifications are worked on as "tickets" on the [http://svn.mythtv.org/trac/ MythTV Trac Server]. To have a look at the latest developments on the active tickets for the MythMusic module, scroll down to the Plugin - MythMusic section of the [http://svn.mythtv.org/trac/report/11 Active Tickets by Component] page.
−
databasebox.o: Couldn't find your CD. It may not be in the freedb database. More likely, however, is that you need to delete  /.cddb and  /.cdserverrc and restart mythmusic. Have a nice day.
+
===Wishlist===
−
 
+
The wishlist for MythMusic development ideas is part of the [[Feature Wishlist (Plugin Addons)]] page of this wiki.  Before editing this page however, please read the guidelines on the [[Feature Wishlist]] page.
−
If you get this message, you should go to the home directory of whatever user MythMusic is running as and type:
+
[[Category:Plugins]]
−
 
+
===MySQL Database Tables===
−
    rm .cdserverrc
+
MythTV's information, including MythMusic, is organised using MySQL [[database]] tables.  These tables are not accessed directly by the user, but it can be useful to know where the information is stored when administering a MythMusic setup. See [[Database Schema]] for more information.
−
    rm -rf .cddb/
 
  
−
These files aren't automatically deleted because of a conscious design decision by the author that programs that automatically delete things are bad.
+
The following tables are used exclusively by MythMusic:
  
−
The files are used to locally cache CD lookups. If you are re-inserting CDs, your machine will not actually have to go out to the Internet to determine what is on them. However, the URL used to access the freedb database has recently changed, so the stale information in the files from previous runs of MythMusic would cause the error above. Once the files have been deleted the stale information will be gone and your local database will be rebuilt as you use CDs.
+
*Playlist tables
 +
**[[Musicplaylist table|musicplaylist table]]
 +
**[[Music playlists table|music_playlists table]]
 +
**[[Music smartplaylists table|music_smartplaylists table]]
 +
**[[Music smartplaylist categories table|music_smartplaylist_categories table]]
 +
**[[Music smartplaylist items table|music_smartplaylist_items table]]
 +
*[[Music artists table|music_artists table]]
 +
*[[Music albums table|music_albums table]]
 +
*[[Music genres table|music_genres table]]
 +
*[[Music stats table|music_stats table]]
 +
*[[Music songs table|music_songs table]], which replaces [[Musicmetadata table|musicmetadata table]] as of 0.20
  
−
The default cddb server in .cdserverrc doesn't seem to be working very well all the time, here's a list of servers you can add:
+
The following tables are used by MythMusic, alongside other parts of MythTV:
  
−
<nowiki>
+
*[[Keybindings table|keybindings table]]
−
SERVER=cddbp://freedb.freedb.org:8880/ CDDB
+
*[[Settings table|settings table]]
−
SERVER=http://freedb.freedb.org:80/~cddb/cddb.cgi CDDB
 
−
SERVER=cddbp://at.freedb.org:8880/ CDDB
 
−
SERVER=http://at.freedb.org:80/~cddb/cddb.cgi CDDB
 
−
SERVER=cddbp://ca.freedb.org:8880/ CDDB
 
−
SERVER=http://ca.freedb.org:80/~cddb/cddb.cgi CDDB
 
−
SERVER=cddbp://cz.freedb.org:8880/ CDDB
 
−
SERVER=http://cz.freedb.org:80/~cddb/cddb.cgi CDDB
 
−
SERVER=cddbp://no.freedb.org:8880/ CDDB
 
−
SERVER=http://no.freedb.org:80/~cddb/cddb.cgi CDDB
 
−
SERVER=cddbp://uk.freedb.org:8880/ CDDB
 
−
SERVER=http://uk.freedb.org:80/~cddb/cddb.cgi CDDB
 
−
SERVER=cddbp://us.freedb.org:8880/ CDDB
 
−
SERVER=http://us.freedb.org:80/~cddb/cddb.cgi CDDB
 
−
</nowiki>
 
  
 +
== Extra Topics ==
  
−
[[Category:Plugins]]
+
Extra topics not directly about MythMusic itself were here but are moved to [[MythMusic Extra Topics]] as of v34.

Latest revision as of 04:25, 26 January 2024

Software-update-available.png This page is up-to-date as of MythTV version 34, the current release is 34.0


MythMusic is a sophisticated MythTV plugin that allows you to play and manage music and audio files .i.e MP3, Ogg, FLAC, wav etc and play radio streams from the likes of Icecast, Sky FM, Digitally Imported and Radionomy. It is specifically designed to be operated by a normal remote control.

This page describes the regular music files features of MythMusic. For the radio streaming part see MythMusic Radio Streaming.

Supported Formats and Containers

Playback

  • Audio CDs
  • MP2
  • MP3
  • MP4
  • FLAC
  • Vorbis Audio (OGG + OGA)
  • AAC (iTunes)
  • AC3
  • Wav + WavPack (WV)
  • Windows Media Audio (WMA)
  • Sony OpenMG (OMA + OMG)
  • Sony ATRAC (ATP, AA3)
  • Real Audio (RA)
  • Matroska Audio
  • Audio Interchange Format (AIFF)
  • True Audio (TTA)
  • Shockwave Audio (SWA)
  • And more

Encoding

  • MP3
  • FLAC
  • OGG Vorbis Audio

Installing MythMusic

The best approach is to follow the installation guides for MythTV and MythMusic that have been developed for your Operating System and distribution.

Configuring MythMusic

For global MythMusic configuration, go to the Utilities/Setup->Setup->Media Settings->Music Settings->General Settings. MythTV before 0.28 required you to specify a single directory for your music, on this General Settings page.

Recent MythTV versions use Storage Groups to specify where your music is stored, which must be configured with mythtv-setup.

There is also a set of music Tools at Utilties/Setup->Music Tools. Here you can rescan your music library, etc.


Important.png Note: The location of menu items depends on the Menu Theme you have chosen. In the classic menu theme all the menu items are available in the Music menu. In the default menu theme the menu items are scattered thoughout the menus. The menu locations given on this page are for the default layout.

Using MythMusic

Because MythMusic has been designed to work with a remote control, people often struggle with it, especially when building and editing playlists. Once you become familiar with how it works, which does not take long, you will be amazed at how much more accessible and enjoyable it makes listening to your music collection. If you already have music in your Music storage group, you can skip ahead to #Playing Music. Otherwise, first build your music collection.

Building your music collection

There are three ways to add music to MythMusic. You can rip existing CD's, copy your tracks to the existing music directory and do a rescan or you can also import tracks from another location into your music directory. Each method will be explained below.

Ripping CDs

Important.png Note: Since 2020, no metadata lookup is done. You may want to rip CDs using other desktop software and then move along to the next section

Before you start to rip a CD into MythMusic there are a few things you should check.

  • Make sure your CD device is set correctly - Setup->Media Settings->Music Settings->General Settings.
  • Make sure that your system is not set up to mount the CD and begin playing it automatically.
    • Gnome: System→Preferences → Removable Drives and Media Preferences.
    • KDE: There are two ways to do this (the first is easier):
      • Insert an audio CD, which will trigger a pop-up window. Select "X Do Nothing", tick the "Always do this for this type of media" checkbox and press OK.
      • Go to System Settings → Notifications → Storage Media Notifications → (Notifications tab) Medium types, select: Audio CD. "X Do Nothing" should have "(Auto Action) after it. If not, press the "Toggle as Auto Action" button.
  • It helps to have your system connected to the Internet, so that MythMusic can locate the information about your CD
  • Set up how you want your CDs to be ripped, including default quality settings. See the section on CD Ripper Settings

To import (rip) a CD, you need to select the "Import CD" menu item. This can be found in two places

  • Optical Disks → Import CD
  • Utilities/Setup → Music Tools → Import CD

Insert the disk you want to rip, after a few seconds the Import CD screen will show, with the Artist, Album and tracks information. Prior to 2020 MythTV would query the Internet freedb database for your CD information. Until a new database connection is developed, you will need to manually enter your information or user other ripping/tagging tools. Make sure at least Artist and Album are correct to save the tracks to a unique directory.

MythMusic1.png

Check that the Quality setting is what you need. The options are :-

  • Low - Low bit rate, low quality, very small file sizes .ogg or .mp3
  • Medium - Medium bit rate, medium quality .ogg or .mp3
  • High - High bit rate, high quality .ogg or .mp3
  • Perfect - Rips to Lossless FLAC file format. This is CD quality but compressed by about 50%

You can make changes to any of the items on the screen at this point before you finally select the "Rip CD" button. To edit an individual track, use the 'edit' key (see below).

You now see the progress screen showing each track as it is ripped and encoded, as well as the overall progress on the whole album. Once import has finished you can configure your CD to be ejected.

MythMusic2.png

MythTV stores your ripped music on your hard drive in a structured manner. See the page on MythMusic File Organization. All your music files will also be tagged using the ID3 standard

Scanning the music directory

If you have copied some new music to your music directory or if you want to scan an existing music collection then you can have MythMusic scan for this. Point MythMusic at the directory in which your music collection is, by changing the location of your music library:

  • Utilities/Setup → Setup →Media Settings-> Music Settings → General settings.

Then:

  • Utilities/Setup → Music tools → Scan for New Music.

MythTV will then scan for music and add the information into the MythTV database.

You should also do a rescan if you changed the tag information using a tool outside of MythMusic so it will pick up any changes. Note: for MythMusic to notice the changes the modification time of the files needs to have changed.

Alternatively of course, you can copy your existing collection across to the folder that MythMusic has already begun building your collection to.

If you have files that have been ripped to Apple's AAC format this should be no problem. Either copy these files into the MythMusic directory and then scan for new music, or mount your collection onto the systems file system and point your MythMusic directory to it as above.

Importing music to the music directory

If you have some tracks you want to add to your music directory then one easy way to do it is to import the tracks using MythMusic. It will copy the tracks to your music directory for you creating the necessary directory structure and renaming the files based on the preferences you have told MythMusic to use.

MythMusic Import.png

Removing music from the music directory

If you wish to remove some music from MythMusic, remove the files on disk and re-scan.

Using Album Art

MythMusic supports the display of album art with the name 'cover.jpg' found in the same directory as a music file or embedded in MP3 files with ID3V2.3 or ID3V2.4 tags.

The metadata editor also allows you to search Google images for any suitable cover art, artist and genre images. It's up to the user to determine if they are allowed to use any of the images they find.


Important.png Note: If you add album art onto an existing collection using software such as "EasyTag" which preserves file modification time by default, you will need to make sure the timestamp of the files is updated (use 'touch') so that Mythmusic rescans the files properly. Otherwise the album art won't appear.

Playing Music

MythMusic works on the principle that any tracks you wish to play must first be added to a current (working) playlist. If you don't care about this list and just want to play music, don't miss the new #Play Now feature.

There are several ways to add tracks to this playlist like browsing for them in your music library, searching for individual tracks or using the quick playlists on the popup menu.

MythMusic's Views

There are several views in MythMusic that can have overlapping features depending on what the themer wants to show. Most widgets are optional so it is up to the themer what you get on any view. The following images and descriptions apply to the default and MythCenter themes and most others.

From the MythTV main menu you get started at Media Library->Listen To Music. This will show the Current Playlist view. From there, simply MENU->Browse Music Library. The music browser is also available at Setup->Media Settings->Music Tools->Select Music. Escape will return to the previous view. You can also switch to other views by pressing the MENU key.

The Current Playlist View

MythMusic3.png

This view is the main playback screen and shows the current (working) playlist at the top and the current track's metadata below. It also shows some playback controls and the active visualizer along with the current volume status.

To add tracks to the list you will MENU->Browse Music Library, described in the next section. Once you have some tracks, you can select any song to play it now. Basic editing is also available:

  • hitting I for INFO will show the metadata for that song
  • hitting the DELETE key on a line will remove it from the list
  • reorder the list at MENU->More Options->Playlist Options->Switch to Move Mode
    • then selecting a line will move it up/down and select again will place it
    • exit reordering with MENU->Playlist Options->Switch to Select Mode

To add more tracks to the list, MENU->Browse Music Library:

Browse Music Library - Tree View

MythMusic4.png

Browse Music Library - Gallery View

MythMusic5.png


Important.png Note: prior to MythTV 34, "Browse Music Library" was called "Playlist Editor" so these terms are interchangable.

The Browse Music Library view (formerly Playlist Editor) shows the music library tree at the top, the current playlist in the middle and the currently playing track below. Use tab or Left/Right navigation to move to these sections. Switch from tree to gallery and vice versa at MENU->Switch To (Other) View.

These views allow you to browse your music collection looking for tracks you would like to play. Pressing SELECT (MARK in the gallery view) on any node in the tree will allow you to play, add or replace any tracks below the current node to the working playlist. A couple of examples will hopefully make things a little clearer (both the tree and gallery views work in the same way though it's easier to see what is happening in the tree view until you get used to it). Lets say you want to play all your Christmas tracks, in the tree on the far left move to 'Genres' then move right to the list of genres, find 'Christmas' in the list then press SELECT/MARK. You will be given the choice to play, add or replace the tracks on the working playlist.

Lets try a more complex example, say you want to play all you favourite tracks from Dire Straits, in the far left of the tree select Artist and move right, find Dire Straits in the artist list and move right, select 'Ratings' and move right, in the list of ratings press SELECT/MARK on the highest rating to play/add/replace the tracks on the working playlist.


Important.png Note: Some lists can be quite long, like the Artist list. A quick way to find what you are looking for is to use the button list search feature available in MythTV. You access it by pressing CTRL-S or MENU then 'Search List...'. Entering text in the search box will scroll the list to the first item that matches the search text, you can also find the next/previous matches using the buttons in the search popup dialog.


Important.png Note: The popup menu that is shown when you press MENU is context sensitive so the options shown will depend on what widget has the focus and even what node in the tree has the focus. For example if the tree has the focus and a playlist node is selected you will see options to play/add/replace as well as an option to remove that playlist. The 'More Options' menu item will always open the standard menu with the usual menu options.

The Search View

MythMusic Search.png

The Search view shows a list of fields to search, the search text, the number of matches and a list of matching tracks at the top, the current playlist in the middle, and the currently playing track below. Use Left/Right navigation to move to these sections.

The search view allows you to do a quick search for a track you want to add to the working playlist. You can search the Artist, Album, Title, Genre or all of them for some text you enter. For example say you are looking for a track that you know has 'cars' in the title but can't remember who it is by or what album it is on you would select 'Title' in the fields to search and enter 'cars' in the search text which would give you a list of matching tracks you can then individually add to the working playlist.

Lyrics View

Version:
0.28
 Lyrics support was added in 0.28

MythMusic Lyrics.png

The Lyrics view shows the lyrics for the currently playing track. See MythMusic Lyrics

Play Now

Version:
34
 Play Now was added in MythTV 34

Sometimes you care less about play lists and just want to play music now. The new Menu -> "Play Now" option of the music browser is for you. Simply browse your collection by Album, Artist, whatever and select a song. It plays now! But wait, you wanted the whole album now? With the album name selected, hit MENU -> Play Now. All tracks below the selected node are queued and played in order.

You may leave your music browser open in Gallery View or Tree View to play any tracks at any time in this way. The Play Now menu option is also available in Search for Music.

Play Now still uses the working playlist (displayed below the browser in most themes), giving you an automated history of songs played. In fact, Play Now is identical to "Add Tracks" except that it immediately plays the added tracks. And "Replace Tracks" is identical to Play Now except that it removes all prior tracks. Therefore when the play history gets too long, simply Replace Tracks.

There is also a new "Prefer" toggle on the menu. This preference decides what happens when a single track is selected and which option appears first on the menu.

Play Now vs. Add Tracks Preference

The new Play Now adds tracks to the end of the list just like Add Tracks except that it immediately begins playing the new additions. Since checking a single track with the SELECT key can take only one of these actions, this "preference" can be toggled on the menu. The chosen preference for SELECTing single tracks also appears as the first option on the menu.

Prefer: Play Now Add Tracks
Optimized for: Playing tracks now Queuing more tracks for later
Menu options in order: Play Now, Add Tracks, Replace Tracks, Prefer Add Tracks Add Tracks, Play Now, Replace Tracks, Prefer Play Now
Checking one track: Adds track to the list and plays it now Adds track to the list
Shuffle Mode OFF unchanged
Repeat Mode OFF unchanged

Shuffle and Repeat modes are canceled for Play Now so that you get only your selections played in order. You can reset your shuffle mode after Play Now or use Add Tracks to add to a shuffle.

Quick Playlists

MythMusic's Quick Playlists allow you to create playlists automatically. From any view showing the current playlist press the Menu/m button and select 'Quick Playlists'. A pop up menu will show the following options

MythMusic Menu1.png

  • All Tracks
  • Tracks by current Artist
  • Tracks from current Album
  • Tracks from current Genre
  • Tracks from current Year
  • Tracks with Same Title

Selecting one of the options will allow you to either replace or append any matching tracks to the working playlist based on the currently playing track. So for example if a track is playing that you would like to hear the rest of the album you would choose 'Tracks from current Album' which would either replace or append all matching tracks to the working playlist.

Saving a playlist

Lets say you have added many tracks to the working playlist and you would like to save it so you can add the same tracks again in the future. On any view that shows the current playlist press MENU then 'Playlist Options' then 'Save to New playlist' and when prompted enter a name for the playlist. Alternatively you can choose 'Save to Existing Playlist' which will prompt you to choose from a list of existing playlists to save to.

When you later want to add the tracks to the working playlist on any of the Playlist Editor views choose 'Playlists' in the tree then move right to choose one of the saved playlists you can then add/replace the tracks as usual.

Smart Playlists

Smart Playlists are dynamic playlists that are only created when they are used so they will include any new tracks added to your music collection since the last time the playlist was used. The playlists are created by querying the database with the criteria you have entered and optionally the sort order you have choosen to find any matching tracks. There are a few example smart playlists created for you when you first install MythMusic

  • Decades - 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, 2000's - these create playlists based on the year of release of the tracks
  • Favorite Tracks - selects tracks with a rating greater than 7
  • 100 Most Played Tracks - selects the 100 tracks with the highest playcount
  • Never Played Tracks - selects tracks with a playcount of 0

MythMusic8.png

You can add/edit Smart Playlists on both of the Playlist Editor views by selecting the 'Smart Playlist' node in the tree and then depending on what node is selected you can add/edit/delete a smart playlist by pressing EDIT/DELETE or choose an option from the popup menu.

Once you have created your Smart Playlists you can use them by going to the Playlist Edit view and in the tree select 'Smart Playlists' then move right and choose the category, then move right and chose the name of the smart playlist you want to use. Select it and you will be able to add/replace the tracks to the working playlist as normal.

Visualizations

Nothing beats listening to your music collection and having an accompanying visualization on your large flat panel TV.

There are a number of visualizations for MythMusic that will be displayed in a small window on some views (only the Current Playlist view in the default theme but it depends on the theme), but will be displayed full-screen at MENU->Fullscreen Visualizer.

Track Info

In full screen visualizer view, track Info is automatically displayed at track change and can be seen any time by hitting the I/INFO key. As of MythTV 34 music can be controlled from the full screen visualizer and this also pops the track info. Themes should show the progressbar, time and ratingstate so you can see the results of REW/FFWD, SPEEDUP/DOWN or THUMBUP/DOWN. When track Info is displayed:

  • SELECT will "stick" the Info box to the screen, like the miniplayer
  • INFO again will show the full track metadata
  • ESCAPE will close the Info, needed to get to the menu or visual options:

Visual Options

As of MythTV 34 the visuals themselves can have remote key options. Where available, these are listed below the description in the following table. Generally:

  • SELECT toggles or cycles the primary option
  • 2 toggles any text overlay

The visuals are available on the menu in alphabetical order:

Visualization Name Description
Random Switches to a different visualization for each song.
Viz9.png
 AlbumArt This displays the album art for the currently playing music. Basically, any image found for the music file currently playing is treated as if it might be album art including any Artist image if available, and each found image will be displayed in sequence.
Viz11.png
 Blank Useful if all you want to do is listen to music, saves potential screen burn, as well as putting less stress on your CPU (shown with the track info popup visible, the screen is normally all black)
Viz4.png
 BumpScope The audio signal is drawn as a "raised relief" on a flat surface (3D visualization).
Viz5.png
 Goom The classic visualization of crazy lines and patterns.
Viz2.png
 MonoScope Standard oscilloscope, as found on many MP3 players such as XMMS and WinAmp. Shows just a few milliseconds of the sound wave.
Viz10.png
 Piano This one tries to highlight the correct keys on a piano keyboard
Viz15.png
 Spectrogram (v34+) The frequency spectrum over time. The Y axis is frequency on a Mel Scale while the colored line length and resulting gray pixel intensity is amplitude. This is a good "picture" of the music history as it plays over time on the X axis.
SELECT cycles color on one or both channels
2 toggles frequency labels
Viz16.png
 Spectrum (v34+) A high resolution color spectrum analyzer. The X axis is frequency on a Mel Scale while the Y axis is amplitude in dB. This is the color section of Spectrogram turned sideways to fill the screen.
SELECT or 2 toggles note and frequency labels
Viz7.png
 SpectrumBars
(Spectrum v33-) 		A classic spectrum analyzer. The sound amplitude is displayed in the frequency domain on a Mel Scale: lower frequency to the left and higher to the right in quickly decaying bars. This was called "Spectrum" prior to v34.
Viz8.png
 Squares The frequency spectrum bars above are collapsed into just a few colored squares.
Viz3.png
 StereoScope Stereo oscilloscope. Left and right channels are drawn separately. Shows just a few milliseconds of the sound wave.
Viz6.png
 Synaesthesia A more amorphous visualization similar to plasma clouds displays.
Viz14.png
 WaveForm (v33+) An amplitude "picture" of the whole track from start to finish is displayed behind StereoScope above. Includes peak-to-peak and Root Mean Square amplitude and left/right difference.
SELECT or 2 toggles timing text
DELETE clears the waveform, in case you would like to see it redrawn

Shuffle Modes

  • None - plays songs in sequential order
  • Rand - plays songs in random order
  • Smart - plays songs in smart order. Smart order is calculated using following components, each component weight can be configured in MythMusic Player settings:
    • Rating - songs with greater rating are played more
    • Play Count - songs with smaller play count are player more
    • Last Play - songs not heard recently are played more
    • Random - random component
  • Album - plays songs from the current album in random order
  • Artist - plays songs from the current artist in random order

Useful keys to know

(note these are based on the default key mappings, you can re-assign these in MythTV's Edit Keys setup screen).

Keybinding Default Keyboard Key Function
PLAY No Default Start playback
PAUSE P Toggle Play/Pause
STOP O Stop Playback
NEXTTRACK >,.,Z,End Move to the next track
PREVTRACK ,,<,Q,Home Move to the previous track
FFWD PgDown Fast Forward
RWND PgUp Rewind
VOLUMEDOWN [,{,F10,Volume Down Volume Down
VOLUMEUP ],},F11,Volume Up Volume Up
MUTE \,F9,Volume Mute Mute
TOGGLEUPMIX CTRL+U Toggle audio upmixer
THMBUP 9 Increase rating of the currently playing track
THMBDOWN 7 Decrease rating of the currently playing track
CYCLEVIS 6 Cycle visualizer mode
TOGGLESHUFFLE No default Toggle shuffle mode
TOGGLEREPEAT No default Toggle repeat mode
SPEEDUP W,3 Increase playback speed
SPEEDDOWN X,1 Decrease playback speed
SEARCH CTRL+S Show button list search dialog (Global context). This will only work when a button list has the focus.
EDIT E Edit a track's metadata (Global context). This is context sensitive so the metadata shown will depend on where the focus is.
INFO I Show a tracks metadata (Global context). This is context sensitive so the metadata shown will depend on where the focus is.
DELETE D Delete (Global context). This is context sensitive. In the current playlist it will remove the selected track, on the edit playlist tree it will delete a playlist/smart playlist etc.
MARK T Toggle track selection. This has the same effect as pressing SELECT on a node on the playlist editor tree (mostly useful on the gallery view where SELECT has another function).
SWITCHTOPLAYLIST No default Switch to the current playlist view
SWITCHTOPLAYLISTEDITORTREE No default Switch to the playlist editor tree view
SWITCHTOPLAYLISTEDITORGALLERY No default Switch to the playlist editor gallery view
SWITCHTOSEARCH No default Switch to the search view
SWITCHTOVISUALISER No default Switch to the fullscreen visualiser view
SWITCHTORADIO No default Switch to the radio stream view

MythMusic Development

As with all MythTV development work, modifications are worked on as "tickets" on the MythTV Trac Server. To have a look at the latest developments on the active tickets for the MythMusic module, scroll down to the Plugin - MythMusic section of the Active Tickets by Component page.

Wishlist

The wishlist for MythMusic development ideas is part of the Feature Wishlist (Plugin Addons) page of this wiki. Before editing this page however, please read the guidelines on the Feature Wishlist page.

MySQL Database Tables

MythTV's information, including MythMusic, is organised using MySQL database tables. These tables are not accessed directly by the user, but it can be useful to know where the information is stored when administering a MythMusic setup. See Database Schema for more information.

The following tables are used exclusively by MythMusic:

The following tables are used by MythMusic, alongside other parts of MythTV:

Extra Topics

Extra topics not directly about MythMusic itself were here but are moved to MythMusic Extra Topics as of v34.

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