Itunes Alternatives

[Paul K]

Itunes has to be the most counter-intuitive software that Apple have ever produced. I sit here going through (no)help files, and watching tutorial youtubes which show an Itunes interface that never quite matches mine because a) they are doing it on a Mac and/or b) theirs is an earlier version of Itunes. If you go to Apple, they want you to install Quicktime, which I thought I had anyway, but obviously do not. Or do I ? After years of owning an Ipad and Iphone, I still can't get to grips with fecking Itunes. It's so bloody baffling it makes Rome Total War look like Minesweeper.

So, I'm now looking at alternatives, and came across this list:

http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best- ... -to-itunes

Have any Ipad/phone users of this parish got any recommendations ?

[DaveG]

Interesting you should post this. I was looking for an alternative myself just last weekend.
Using Music Bee at the moment. Imported my iTunes library and play lists ok. Seems good so far.

[TSR2]

I've used Jriver Media Centre for years and love it. It's not free though.

Www.jriver.com

[Paul K]

Dave, Music Bee is first on the list at that Tech Radar site I linked, so I'll have a closer look. Thanks !

Ben, can you use Jriver for syncing playlists on the PC with an Iphone or Ipad?

[TSR2]

You can use it for everything, literally. I pay $20 roughly and can install it on multiple PC's or Macs (if I was stupid enough to own the latter.) I think there's a 30 day free trial, and loads of great features.

[Jon.M]

I've been using Media Monkey, which is also on the list for years, and it was fine on Windows 7. Since moving to Windows 10 on my new computer it hasn't been working well. On launching I get several messages to authorise the program which is annoying.

Apart from keeping my music collection organised I use the program to download podcasts from BBC radio that I then transfer to a USB stick and listen to in the car while commuting. On the Windows 10 computer the podcasts haven't been downloading although I can listen to them through streaming on the computer.

I installed Music Bee last night and it's working perfectly. It's also a much nicer interface than Media Monkey, I especially like the way it finds background images, and frequently lyrics, during playback of music tracks.

One thing that Media Monkey does do that Music Bee doesn't (unless I've missed it) is organise and play videos as well as music.

Jon

[Vancouver]

Still use Winamp after all these years.

[nigelb]

I still use Winamp and wonder if it will ever be updated again. May have to look at other alternatives.

Nigel²

[JohnWillimas]

Interesting you should post this. I was looking for an alternative myself just last weekend.
Using Music Bee at the moment. Imported my iTunes library and play lists ok. Seems good so far.

Thanks for this pointer, I had a look at it and it seems an improvement on Media Monkey. My sundry music devices around the house seem to play nicely with it too.

[Paul K]

Thanks for all the responses, gents. I've got a day off tomorrow, so I'll get to grips with the recommendations and see what suits me best.