25 April 2010
Photo Nightmare on Apple TV
29/04/10 08:12
One of our earliest CD ripping clients moved on to install an Apple TV unit. He has a B&O TV system with great speakers so the first asset was hearing his music streamed into his lounge area. Next was watching Youtube clips and seeing photos of his lovely family in big screen clarity.
Then the photos wouldn’t sync.
I think the start of the sync problem was when he upgraded his PC to a new unit with Windows 7. So I was called in to fix the issue.
First thing I did was see if iTunes needed to be upgraded, and sure enough an upgrade came down the line. I again configured the photo sync but although the computer thought iTunes was syncing it was clear nothing was happening. I reset the Apple TV, still no improvement. I reset to factory defaults, re-installed Apple TV, updated its software, still no photo sync.
Trying to force things along by opening / closing iTunes I noticed and error message saying Corefoundation.dll was missing. Quick Google search suggested this caused a problem with iTunes sync server program which would be fixed by uninstalling Windows then downloading a fresh version to install.
I did this using the download function on the iTunes page of the Apple website. A few minutes later I got a message saying this version would not install under 64bit Windows 7. I searched Apple’s website and found yes, there is a 64bit version of iTunes so I dug around and found it. This version has 64 in its name, so I downloaded that and the install went ahead OK.
Back to Apple TV - things were worse than when I arrived, Youtube was OK but no music, no photos. Went back to PC (on the otherside of the apartment) checked settings a couple of times and eventually music was syncing and could be heard. But no photo sync.
Three hours after arriving we were no further forward than when I arrived, except for a long list of things that don’t get iTunes on Windows 7 to sync with Apple TV. I’m left with thinking this is an Apple or Microsoft issue, but I’ll keep digging.
Then the photos wouldn’t sync.
I think the start of the sync problem was when he upgraded his PC to a new unit with Windows 7. So I was called in to fix the issue.
First thing I did was see if iTunes needed to be upgraded, and sure enough an upgrade came down the line. I again configured the photo sync but although the computer thought iTunes was syncing it was clear nothing was happening. I reset the Apple TV, still no improvement. I reset to factory defaults, re-installed Apple TV, updated its software, still no photo sync.
Trying to force things along by opening / closing iTunes I noticed and error message saying Corefoundation.dll was missing. Quick Google search suggested this caused a problem with iTunes sync server program which would be fixed by uninstalling Windows then downloading a fresh version to install.
I did this using the download function on the iTunes page of the Apple website. A few minutes later I got a message saying this version would not install under 64bit Windows 7. I searched Apple’s website and found yes, there is a 64bit version of iTunes so I dug around and found it. This version has 64 in its name, so I downloaded that and the install went ahead OK.
Back to Apple TV - things were worse than when I arrived, Youtube was OK but no music, no photos. Went back to PC (on the otherside of the apartment) checked settings a couple of times and eventually music was syncing and could be heard. But no photo sync.
Three hours after arriving we were no further forward than when I arrived, except for a long list of things that don’t get iTunes on Windows 7 to sync with Apple TV. I’m left with thinking this is an Apple or Microsoft issue, but I’ll keep digging.
0 Comments
Spotify - Breaking the Mould
28/04/10 08:07
CD ripping is a very dull occupation so I often open up Spotify and enjoy music from their service, often new music, tracks I would be unlikely to buy. You don’t get to keep the music, much like a radio it is streamed to your computer. It works fine for me.
Spotify have trailed a major upgrade to their service enabling users to share music and playlists via services such as Facebook. I’ll be keen to give it a try but this does seem to me to be yet another nail in the coffin of owning music. I’d be intrigued to hear another snappy term to emerge to describe long-term rental of music. I’m suggesting “play-lease” in the hope it would get shortened to “pleeease”.
Spotify have trailed a major upgrade to their service enabling users to share music and playlists via services such as Facebook. I’ll be keen to give it a try but this does seem to me to be yet another nail in the coffin of owning music. I’d be intrigued to hear another snappy term to emerge to describe long-term rental of music. I’m suggesting “play-lease” in the hope it would get shortened to “pleeease”.
iPod Battery
27/04/10 08:00
We get calls from people asking for help, no problem, we do what we can and its a good marketing investment as many turn into clients.
Often the answer to a question demonstrates our detailed knowledge of all things iPod and iTunes. But sometimes what we say stretches their credulity - take yesterday for example. A call from a lady who’d bought an iPod Touch and just wanted to download her music. She’d done the right thing in connecting the iPod but for 30 minutes her computer failed to initiate the sync. Hence the call.
My answer was just wait, not fiddle under the hood with some obscure settings, just wait. You could hear the lack of faith coming over the line. Trust me, just wait. I explained that it can take a long time to charge an iPod and it needs a level of charge just to be recognised. I did manage to convince the caller to wait and I’m pleased to say she rang back an hour later to say all her music was safely downloaded to the new iPod. Much more confidence coming over the line, maybe even a future client - who knows.
Often the answer to a question demonstrates our detailed knowledge of all things iPod and iTunes. But sometimes what we say stretches their credulity - take yesterday for example. A call from a lady who’d bought an iPod Touch and just wanted to download her music. She’d done the right thing in connecting the iPod but for 30 minutes her computer failed to initiate the sync. Hence the call.
My answer was just wait, not fiddle under the hood with some obscure settings, just wait. You could hear the lack of faith coming over the line. Trust me, just wait. I explained that it can take a long time to charge an iPod and it needs a level of charge just to be recognised. I did manage to convince the caller to wait and I’m pleased to say she rang back an hour later to say all her music was safely downloaded to the new iPod. Much more confidence coming over the line, maybe even a future client - who knows.