Substitute for ITunes?

[LTCSZ]

Hi: OK, I admit I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but ITunes is driving me crazy...Is there a viable substitute for ITunes, similar to a file manager? I would love to simplify my IPad Air 2 use by just dragging files, etc...Thanks for your assistance...

Steve in Kansas

 

[giradman]

Hi: OK, I admit I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but ITunes is driving me crazy...Is there a viable substitute for ITunes, similar to a file manager? I would love to simplify my IPad Air 2 use by just dragging files, etc...Thanks for your assistance...

Hi Steve - not sure if you are using iTunes on a PC or a Mac? Unless you 'jailbreak' your iPad (and I'm not sure what the options might even be then?), you are pretty much 'stuck' w/ the program - keep in mind that iTunes serves multiple purposes: 1) Repository & organizer for music on your computer; 2) Conduit for transferring music to your iDevices or burning to an optical disc (I do both); 3) Backup for your iDevices whether cabled or wirelessly; and 4) Store to purchase (or obtain material for free, such as podcasts) your media.

Now you really need to explain how you are using iTunes, especially for your music, e.g. do you do 'automatic syncs' or transfer music manually - makes a big difference - for myself, I purchase or rip music to my MBPro, import into iTunes, make playlists and then drag (or burn) the latter to my iPad via a cabled connection - has worked fine for me. Also, have you used or explored the 'cloud' offerings for your music, such as iTunes Match. If not already done, do some googling for articles, videos, etc. that might help (e.g. HERE). Good luck - Dave

 

[LTCSZ]

Hi Steve - not sure if you are using iTunes on a PC or a Mac? Unless you 'jailbreak' your iPad (and I'm not sure what the options might even be then?), you are pretty much 'stuck' w/ the program - keep in mind that iTunes serves multiple purposes: 1) Repository & organizer for music on your computer; 2) Conduit for transferring music to your iDevices or burning to an optical disc (I do both); 3) Backup for your iDevices whether cabled or wirelessly; and 4) Store to purchase (or obtain material for free, such as podcasts) your media.

Now you really need to explain how you are using iTunes, especially for your music, e.g. do you do 'automatic syncs' or transfer music manually - makes a big difference - for myself, I purchase or rip music to my MBPro, import into iTunes, make playlists and then drag (or burn) the latter to my iPad via a cabled connection - has worked fine for me. Also, have you used or explored the 'cloud' offerings for your music, such as iTunes Match. If not already done, do some googling for articles, videos, etc. that might help (e.g. HERE). Good luck - Dave

 

[LTCSZ]

Dave: Thanks for the reply...I am slowly getting the hang of ITunes...Turns out, I did not have the various categories of files "checked" for synching...Tried a few and now it is working a heck of a lot better...I am using the USB cord method, but want to try the Wi-Fi method too...Thanks for the link to the ITunes help page...I hadn't found that particular page...Thanks for the assistance and encouragement!

Steve

 

[giradman]

Hi again Steve - well, I'm not a big fan of iTunes, myself, but feel pretty much 'chained' to the program and have adopted my needs w/ a minimalist attitude, I guess. One suggestion is to always keep the app 'up to date' on whichever OS you are using - the newest OS X version is 12.0.1.x and introduced some changes that irritated many, so more adjustments which seems to be an Apple pastime -

Hopefully, others will come along w/ their own advice & comments, and likely suggestions on how to avoid using iTunes - Dave

 

[KevinJS]

Have to admit, I'm a big fan of iTunes. I use it on a Mac, and have it wirelessly connected to my Yamaha a/v receiver which is controlled by the Yamaha app on my iPad2, while Remote controls iTunes from my iPhone5S.

As Dave has pointed out, iTunes is a huge program with multiple capabilities, so it's best to concentrate on one capability at a time until you get used to how you want it to work for you.

Rest assured, it DOES work, and works very well, although there are still some idiosyncrasies, which I've learned to live with. For example, although my iPhone readily appears in iTunes wirelessly, and can be manipulated with no problem, my iPad2 never does, although it has done so at odd times in the past.

 

[Nepheler]

I'm using Plex media server on PC as most of my files to stream are videos and music. Plex is much less painful for non-Apple users especially who have several android devices in family.