[maxwalrath]

Can a squeezebox start playing a tune as it is actively being ripped? Can I just pop a cd in and listen to the first few tracks while it gets copied, or does the whole thing need to be on the computer first?

Thanks.

[pugs]

The way I have mine set up, once a song is ripped it goes to my music folder.  Once it's in the music folder I can rescan my library and those songs will then be on the slim server.  You will have to rescan everytime a new song is ripped to your library.  I hope that makes sense.

[Eli]

Can a squeezebox start playing a tune as it is actively being ripped? Can I just pop a cd in and listen to the first few tracks while it gets copied, or does the whole thing need to be on the computer first?

I think for the most part, you can do this.  Finish a track and once SlimServer has added it to its library you can listen to it.  You can add the remaining tracks later.  SlimServer, though, won't automatically see the new files - that takes some active measure on your part.

if you're wondering how you can mimic the way you use your CD player whenever you have a new CD in your hand - you can't.  Here's the drill:
[list=1]

• Rip the CD to either a single WAV file or one per track to multiple WAV files.
• Encode the resulting WAV(s) into your desired format.  This is usually combined in a single step with the previous one.
• Move the encoded digital music files into your designated SlimServer music folder.  (Not a single gigantic folder - you can have subfolders).  This, too, can be done along with the previous two steps.  I keep my music on a network storage device, so I generally rip/encode to a temporary folder first.
• Have SlimServer catalog the new music files.  Two ways to do this:

[list=1]

• Run a complete server scan.  Depending on the size of your library and the speed of your computer, this could take anywhere from a couple minutes to a couple hours.
• To immediately pick up new music, use the Browse Music Folder method.  Drill down to the folder where you stored the new files.  When SlimServer sees them it will add them to its library.
[/list:o][/list:o]The second method of adding new music is quickest, but not terribly convenient if you're adding a lot of music, such as when you've just completed a lengthy session of ripping CDs.  In that case it's usually worthwhile to go do something else while running a complete library scan.

[ctviggen]

What are the benefit of subfolders?  Could you, for instance, store Christmas music there so that you won't hear it as part of the main list (if you choose 'random songs')?  Or would you have to store Christmas music in a completely different folder?

[Eli]

What are the benefit of subfolders?  Could you, for instance, store Christmas music there so that you won't hear it as part of the main list (if you choose 'random songs')?  Or would you have to store Christmas music in a completely different folder?

Just to simplify music organization.  Most people keep each album in its own folder.  Some people organize things:

Genre/Album

some use:

Genre/Artist/Album

some use:

Artist/Album

I use the latter.  The thing you need for controlling random play as you mention would be accurate tagging of the files.  Precise tagging is key to using SlimServer - without it, your library is likely to end up a mess.

[DSK]

What are the benefit of subfolders?  Could you, for instance, store Christmas music there so that you won't hear it as part of the main list (if you choose 'random songs')?  Or would you have to store Christmas music in a completely different folder?

Bob raises a good point here.... is there a way to exclude specific albums from the 'Random' function? I would like to rip my test CD's (test tones, burn-in tracks, deep bass tests etc) for occasional use but would hate a subsonic or 0db test tone to come on at typical listening volumes ...bye-bye speakers  

[jakepunk]

If you click Random Mix on the slimserver web interface, there are checkboxes for each genre you want to include.  As long as your songs are tagged with genres, you can include and exclude genres to your heart's content.

[ctviggen]

That could work.  Since I've been using FLAC, I'd have to go in and change the tags.  That could be easier than copying to another folder, although you'd have to remember not to check certain checkboxes.

[samplesj]

Well I don't think just moving the files around will matter much at all.

(Un)fortunately [take your pick] SlimServer seems to really only care about the tags.  The dir structure just isn't that important from what I've seen [I had some problems with common titles and compilations that dir structure didn't help and only tagging could fix].

ctviggen if you are using EAC to build those FLACs with a freedb lookup then you've gotten a genre automatically.  I actually found most of my collection tagged pretty good using just the looked up genres, but I wanted to use my own method so I've since retagged them with Tag and Rename.