Alternative playlist generator, by Wayne Watson.

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System Requirements:
.NET runtime 2.0 or above.

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History:
23-08-2008 1.0 Initial and hopefully final release.

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The basic idea is to parse an input (media) directory and generate playlists to a different directory.
Example:
input = D:\music
output = D:\music\playlists

Can potentially be used to generate video playlists for MCE/VMC.

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Download pre-compiled binary:

http://www.xpmediacentre.com.au/community/downloads.php?do=file&id=218&act=down

http://wayno.no-ip.org/tools/playlist_1.0.zip

Source code for those who wish to verify code safety:
http://wayno.no-ip.org/tools/playlist_1.0_src.zip

Included in the download:
example.bat
extensions.txt
playlist.exe
readme.txt (this file)

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USAGE:
playlist.exe [/A [.ext]] [/C] [/F] [/H] [/M | /S] [/E extensions.txt]
             /I inputDir /O outputDir

  /A         Generate ASX instead of M3U. (Video playlists for VMC)
  .ext       Extension to use for /A. Eg wmx, wvx, etc.
  /C         Deletes outputDir before generation. outputDir WILL BE DELETED!
  /F         Flat output structure. (No Subdirectories)
  /H         Include hidden files. (Not Recommended)
  /M         Generate master (multi) directory playlists. (Overlap)
  /S         OR Generate single directory playlists. (No Overlap)
  /E         File containing list of extensions to filter. (Recommended)
  /I         Input (Media) Directory. (Required)
  /O         Output (Playlist) Directory. (Required)

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Examples:

Say I have the following file structure:
D:\music\ <folder>
D:\music\rock\ <folder>
D:\music\rock\foo\ <folder>
D:\music\rock\foo\1.mp3
D:\music\rock\foo\album1 <folder>
D:\music\rock\foo\album1_1.mp3
D:\music\rock\foo\album1_2.mp3
D:\music\rock\foo\album2 <folder>
D:\music\rock\foo\album2_1.mp3
D:\music\rock\foo\album2_2.mp3
D:\music\rock\foo\album2_3.mp3

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Example 1 (master playlists):

playlist /master /E extensions.txt /I "D:\Music" /O "D:\Music\Playlists"

Will produce the following playlist structure:

D:\music\Playlists <folder>
D:\music\Playlists\Music <folder>
D:\music\Playlists\Music.m3u <-- everything in "music"
D:\music\Playlists\Music\rock <folder>
D:\music\Playlists\Music\rock.m3u <-- everything in "rock"
D:\music\Playlists\Music\rock\foo.m3u <-- everything in "foo"

Notes:
\Playlists\Music.m3u contains all media files from \music\
\Playlists\Music\rock.m3u contains all media files from \music\rock\
\Playlists\Music\rock\foo.m3u contains all media files from \music\rock\foo\.

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Example 2 (single directory playlists):

playlist /single /E extensions.txt /I "D:\Music" /O "D:\Music\Playlists"

Will produce the following playlist structure:

D:\music\Playlists <folder>
D:\music\Playlists\Music <folder>
D:\music\Playlists\Music\rock <folder>
D:\music\Playlists\Music\rock\foo.m3u
D:\music\Playlists\Music\rock\foo\album1.m3u
D:\music\Playlists\Music\rock\foo\album1.m3u

Note:
foo.m3u contains all files in music\rock\foo, but NOT sub directories.

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Example 3 (FLAT master playlists):

playlist /flat /master /E extensions.txt /I "D:\Music" /O "D:\Music\Playlists"

Will produce the following playlist structure:

D:\music\Playlists <folder>
D:\music\Playlists\Music.m3u <-- everything in "music"
D:\music\Playlists\Music.rock.m3u <-- everything in "rock"
D:\music\Playlists\Music.rock.foo.m3u <-- everything in "foo"

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Example 4 (FLAT single directory playlists):

playlist /flat /single /E extensions.txt /I "D:\Music" /O "D:\Music\Playlists"

Will produce the following playlist structure:

D:\music\Playlists <folder>
D:\music\Playlists\Music.rock.foo.m3u
D:\music\Playlists\Music.rock.foo.album1.m3u
D:\music\Playlists\Music.rock.foo.album1.m3u

Note:
Music.rock.foo.m3u contains all files in music\rock\foo, but NOT sub directories.

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Example 5 (Video playlists):

playlist /asx wvx /single /E extensions.txt /I "D:\Music Videos" /O "D:\Music Videos\Playlists"

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Neat.

I'll have to play with this as soon as I get a chance.  Can you put options for shuffle and repeat in there?

Very nice.  It looks like this could be used for almost any HTPC software.

So am I reading your notes right that this would create a separate playlist for every seperate folder?

I've been using BaldGorilla's Asx Maker software for as long as I can remember. The issue does not lie with what software, script or technique you use to create your playlists, VMC will NOT shuffle or randomize a playlist, period. That, is a Major flaw as far as Im concern. Specially for Music Video where you have to stop every vid/song and select another one, it just kills the magic of running VMC to entertain your family or guests.

Hard randomising the entries in the playlists wouldn't be very difficult at all I would think.