iTunes update to address truncating glitch

[AppleInsider]

Apple is working on a maintenance update to its iTunes software that will address a number of performance issues, AppleInsider has learned, including nasty bug which shaves off a portion of the last track during CD imports.

Apple reportedly became aware of the truncating problem following a flurry of reports from disgruntled users who've been congregating on the company's support forums for the past three weeks.

One, going by the name of dlalla, reported that since upgrading to iTunes 7.6.1, all his CD imports have resulted in the last 6 seconds of the final track getting cut short.

"I'm having the same issue, and didn't notice it until today," said another. "Considering the volume of CDs I import on a regular basis, this is going to be a real pain - I have to go back now and figure out when I upgraded, and what I have imported since then that will need to be fixed."

Other users confirm the glitch to have turned up as part of the iTunes 7.6.1 update released February 21st. They note that the issue is particularly prevalent while importing to compressed formats such as AAC or MP3 using a speedy optical drive. Users of slower optical drives say they haven't noticed the issue.

While they await the forthcoming iTunes update, some users have resorted to a workaround. They've found that by importing the final track of each CD to AIFF format, then converting it to a compressed format afterwards, they can avoid the problem.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[stompy]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

"I have to go back now and figure out when I upgraded, and what I have imported since then that will need to be fixed."

The support forums probably have the following tip (but no link from AI). It's pretty simple to make a smart playlist that will identify potentially bad rips.
1. "Date Added" "is after" "2/20/2008"
2. "Track Number" "is" "1"

Get info on the first track, see if 7.6.1 was used to encode it. Command + N through the playlist.
This will identify each CD that might have the 6 second problem; then listen to the last track to verify good/bad rip.

Sucks if you ripped a lot in those 3 weeks though.

[zanshin]

Originally Posted by stompy

The support forums probably have the following tip (but no link from AI). It's pretty simple to make a smart playlist that will identify potentially bad rips.
1. "Date Added" "is after" "2/20/2008"
2. "Track Number" "is" "1"

Get info on the first track, see if 7.6.1 was used to encode it. Command + N through all tracks.

Sucks if you ripped a lot in those 3 weeks though.

I didn't think anybody bought CDs anymore... Aren't they dead? Where would you even go to find one to buy???

[Porchland]

I've had problems getting the optical drive in my PowerBook to eject a disc after I burn it since the last update of iTunes.

[webfrasse]

Originally Posted by zanshin

I didn't think anybody bought CDs anymore... Aren't they dead? Where would you even go to find one to buy???

amazon.com. It's cheaper than on iTunes and MUCH better sound quality.

/Mikael

[Louzer]

Originally Posted by stompy

The support forums probably have the following tip (but no link from AI). It's pretty simple to make a smart playlist that will identify potentially bad rips.
1. "Date Added" "is after" "2/20/2008"
2. "Track Number" "is" "1"

Get info on the first track, see if 7.6.1 was used to encode it. Command + N through all tracks.

Sucks if you ripped a lot in those 3 weeks though.

Isn't item #2 incorrect, since it is the last track, not the first one, that is bad?

[Bloodshotrollin'red]

and here was I thinking that my DVD drive laser was *ucked...

Apple and 21st Century QA = 0

I never buy from iTunes store as Amazon is so cheap and you get a real CD to sell later on in life.

Anyone here tried to sell off an iTunes purchased item?

[4 Chord Max]

I think this iTunes issue is only affecting iTunes for Windows users, not iTunes for Mac users.

I was unable to reproduce this problem on my Mac Pro, and I checked the MP3s I imported earlier this week using 7.6.1 (9). All were fine.

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear if any Mac people are affected by this bug or if this is limited to the Windows version.

[stompy]

Originally Posted by Louzer

Isn't item #2 incorrect, since it is the last track, not the first one, that is bad?

I should have specified, this will identify the rips that might have the 6 second problem, not the specific tracks.

Not sure what rule would get you the last tracks from varying length albums, and I wanted to limit the results to 1 track / album so I could quickly scan the "Encoded with" info. (My assumption is that all tracks on an album would be ripped with the same software/version.)

[stokessd]

the iTunes MP3 encoder is about as crappy as they come. I'd recommend using Max to rip the CD (which uses cdparanoia) so you have some reasonable confidence that what you are about to encode is really what was on the CD. Then use LAME to do the actual encoding. The LAME algorithm is really much better sounding (at the same bitrate) to my ears than the fraunhoffer encoder in iTunes. Then drop the encoded files into iTunes.

Sheldon

[Chris_CA]

Originally Posted by stokessd

the iTunes MP3 encoder is about as crappy as they come.

Why use MP3 at all?

[bradwjensen]

Originally Posted by Chris_CA

Why use MP3 at all?

Exactly!!

All of you people who are way behind need to update your album collections to nice, open source, full quality FLAC files!!

I'm surprised how stubborn Apple is; they still hasn't added support for it in iTunes or the iPod, yet.

Until then I will use Banshee or Winamp!

[Walter Slocombe]

Originally Posted by Louzer

Isn't item #2 incorrect, since it is the last track, not the first one, that is bad?

please think before you post, ALL CDs have a track 1

the more i see of the world the less logic i find applied to it

[demenas]

Originally Posted by 4 Chord Max

I think this iTunes issue is only affecting iTunes for Windows users, not iTunes for Mac users.

I was unable to reproduce this problem on my Mac Pro, and I checked the MP3s I imported earlier this week using 7.6.1 (9). All were fine.

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear if any Mac people are affected by this bug or if this is limited to the Windows version.

I heard the problem about a week ago on a recent rip on my Mac Pro with 7.6.1 and OS X 10.5.2. I haven't gone back and checked other rips. I do a LOT of rips.

Steve

[demenas]

Originally Posted by stokessd

the iTunes MP3 encoder is about as crappy as they come. I'd recommend using Max to rip the CD (which uses cdparanoia) so you have some reasonable confidence that what you are about to encode is really what was on the CD. Then use LAME to do the actual encoding. The LAME algorithm is really much better sounding (at the same bitrate) to my ears than the fraunhoffer encoder in iTunes. Then drop the encoded files into iTunes.

Sheldon

I rip to AAC at 256kbps.

Steve

[4 Chord Max]

Originally Posted by demenas

I rip to AAC at 256kbps.

Thanks Steve; I'm trying to determine whether there's any value in writing an Applescript workaround for this.

Unfortunately, I think iTunes for Windows needs VB to automate, if it can at all...

Steve, is your Mac Pro PowerPC or Intel-based? Just trying to narrow whether it's a G5 thing.

I'm ripping 192kbps MP3 without any issues. Also using 10.5.2. Also using error correction when importing and do NOT play songs while importing or converting.

If any other Mac people are seeing this issue with their imports, please respond to this thread. Also note if it's just the last track or all tracks that are getting cut off. Thanks in advance.

[demenas]

Originally Posted by 4 Chord Max

Thanks Steve; I'm trying to determine whether there's any value in writing an Applescript workaround for this.

Unfortunately, I think iTunes for Windows needs VB to automate, if it can at all...

Steve, is your Mac Pro PowerPC or Intel-based? Just trying to narrow whether it's a G5 thing.

I'm ripping 192kbps MP3 without any issues. Also using 10.5.2. Also using error correction when importing and do NOT play songs while importing or converting.

If any other Mac people are seeing this issue with their imports, please respond to this thread. Also note if it's just the last track or all tracks that are getting cut off. Thanks in advance.

Hi,

I have an Intel Core 2 Duo Mac Pro from mid 2006 (the first Intel Mac Pro) with 6GB RAM.
I always have Error Correction on and do NOT play songs while importing or converting (except for those times I accidentally hit the Play button!)

The only one I have heard was the last track. I'll try and go through my recent rips tomorrow.

Steve

[stokessd]

Originally Posted by Walter Slocombe

please think before you post, ALL CDs have a track 1

the more i see of the world the less logic i find applied to it

Whoosh!!!!

That's the sound of the concept completely missing you. The idea wasn't that the track listed is bad, the idea is that you now have a list of albums that are potentially bad where you now have to go in and check the last track. It's much harder to make a smart folder that lists the last track of every album but super easy to make one that lists the first track.

If you note the date of creation would be after iTunes 7.6.1.

Sheldon

[gatomiao2]

I found another work around to overcome the truncating glitch, which does not require any intermediate compression nor changing the audio format.

After inserting your CD and before importing it, select the last track, open the info dialog (Apple+I), go to the Options pane and check the "Begin" and "End" checkboxes leaving the duration of the song as detected from the CD. Save this setting and import the track: now iTunes during the import will be forced to read the whole track until its end.

In this way I managed importing the last track at its full length.

(iMac G5 2.1GHz running Leopard 10.5.2 and latest iTunes).

[elroth]

It's an issue for Macs (iMac G5). I had ripped about 90 CDs since installing iTunes 7.6.1, and 12-14 were bad. I checked them by loading the CD and comparing the last track's time on the CD with the time of the imported track in iTunes. A couple of tracks were 1 second short, most were 3-5 seconds short.

Re-importing was fine - only once did the imported single track have the same problem (in that case I dragged the file from the CD to the desktop, opened with iTunes (which imports it as AIFF). I converted using the Advanced menu and then deleted the AIFF file). I only use Apple Lossless - I don't know if the amount of compressin makes a difference.

It took about 2.5 hours to fix it all.

[stompy]

Originally Posted by elroth

It's an issue for Macs (iMac G5). I had ripped about 90 CDs since installing iTunes 7.6.1, and 12-14 were bad. I checked them by loading the CD and comparing the last track's time on the CD with the time of the imported track in iTunes. A couple of tracks were 1 second short, most were 3-5 seconds short.

Just another point of reference, my library has two 7.6.1 rips, one was ok, the other was 3 seconds shorter than the CD. The missing time was originally silent anyway, maybe that's normal? (iMac Intel, Apple Lossless rip)

[Aflaaak]

Unfortunately I started adding my CD collection (probably ripped 170 or more full CDs) around this time, and have noticed the problem on my iPod, but haven't confirmed the problem yet that when listening to the clipped songs through my computer via iTunes. When I notice the song, I manage to forget which ones to check when I am in front of the computer. Has anyone else noticed if it's just the uploaded songs that are affected, or the iTunes library on the computer too?

[Galley]

It affected the tracks in your iTunes library as well. If you search in the iLounge.com forums, you should be able to find the date that the defective version of iTunes was released. You can create a smart playlist that shows which albums may need to be re-ripped.

[Aflaaak]

Originally Posted by Galley

It affected the tracks in your iTunes library as well. If you search in the iLounge.com forums, you should be able to find the date that the defective version of iTunes was released. You can create a smart playlist that shows which albums may need to be re-ripped.

Most of my albums were ripped with the defective iTunes version. I just don't always listen to one from start to end to hear the clipped part of which songs .