Last.fm/AudioScrobbler support
From Winamp iPod plugin ml_iPod
Versions of ml_ipod, 2.02 and above now include optional last.fm/Audioscrobbler support, based on code from audioPod goes iScrobbler and from the old official Audioscrobbler plugin for Winamp.
Please note, these versions include a modified version of the ml_audioscrobbler plugin. They do NOT work with the new last.fm client, only with the included companion plugin.
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What is last.fm?
Last.fm is a social website devoted to collecting a database of songs listened to by their users. When song plays are collected, they are organized into charts for each user, showing statistics such as “Most Played Artists”, “Most Played Songs,” for varying spans of time (week, month, year). The website can also makes custom radio stations or artist recommendations based on your past listening habits. Finally, as a social site, you can talk with friends or view their listening habits as well.
How does it work with ml_ipod?
Prerequisites
- A last.fm account (free)
- The iPod must support time/date stamps--sorry, no Shuffles.
- You must choose to install the modified ml_audioscrobbler plugin when installing ml_ipod (you will be asked.) If you have another Winamp Audioscrobbler plugin running, maybe you should make a backup before you install this! Installation will remove all other AudioScrobbler plugins from the plugin folder!
- Make sure your time and timezone is set properly on your iPod and your computer. The iPod does not save the time in UTC format, so we convert to UTC using the current timezone offset of your computer. If these are different, your play time will be computed improperly.
How to use
Generally speaking, there isn't a lot to do differently than normal listening. Once set up with a username and password, the audioscrobbler plugin itself does not ask you anything else or require constant attention.
The only thing that must be set is the ml_ipod setting for iPod submission of tracks to last.fm, this should be set depending on your listening habits:
Listening Habits/Situations
To work properly with ml_ipod, you must select the appropriate situation for your listening habits. This is due to the fact that songs submitted out of chronological order are rejected from last.fm because of spam protection.
- Note: For this same reason, if you listen to the same track more than one time without syncing, it will only be submitted once (using the last play time as the timestamp). This is because the "Play Counts" file only keeps track of the last time the track was played.
iPod mode
- Immediate Submission while iPod is connected: If a song is played in Winamp and the iPod is not connected, the song submission to last.fm will be held until the iPod is reopened in Winamp, and its song plays can be retrieved. If the iPod is connected, its songs have already been submitted, so Winamp song plays are sent immediately. This mode is ideal for situations when music is played on both iPod and Winamp frequently.
Manual Modes
- Cache everything (offline mode): Winamp holds everything played on both the iPod and Winamp in a cache until Online mode is enabled.
- Immediate submission, even if iPod is not connected (Online mode): As the name implies, all Winamp tracks are submitted as soon as they are played through. If you want to submit tracks from Winamp and do not have/do not care about iPod tracks, this is the option to choose. This mode is ideal when you will be listening only on Winamp for some time, and may not have the iPod connected.
These modes can either be set in the ml_ipod preferences, under the last.fm tab, or they can be assigned to global hotkeys, and accessed by the keyboard.
Hotkeys
Another option for controlling submissions are three global hotkeys to switch AudioScrobbler between iPod/offline/online modes. They have to be configured in the prefs of the "Global Hotkeys" plugin. You can use any key combination you like. In pictured example, Ctrl-Alt-O is used for online, Ctrl-Alt-I for iPod mode.
The current setting is saved to the registry and reloaded when Winamp starts, so it is persistent.
Other Questions
last.fm client support
The last.fm client software is currently NOT supported. Sad, but it's simply not possible. The protocol that is set up by last.fm to communicate between player (Winamp in our case) and the client does not provide the necessary interface. It is simply not possible to submit tracks from past times. Maybe that will change in the future, but it is last.fm that has to provide better support for portable players. At the moment ml_iPod can ONLY work with the special ml_AudioScrobbler plugin, which submits directy to last.fm, not via the client.
As a side effect, even if you have installed the last.fm software, it will not show the curently playing track from Winamp. Sorry...
Spam protection
The biggest reason that iPod/Online/Offline modes of submission must be selected is because of last.fm's spam protection against submissions it deems unreasonable. If The following is taken from the last.fm site, it's here simply for easy reading...
Spam Prevention Rules: The server employs a few basic anti-spam rules to guard against broken plugins / abuse.
- Any submissions caught by the spam filter will be silently dropped (you will receive an OK response). In such cases, an error message is usually placed on the user page for a few hours.
- Chronological Order Rule
- Songs must be submitted in chronological order. This means that if you were listening offline, and the plugin has cached some tracks waiting to submit when you reconnect to the internet, the plugin needs to send the cached tracks in the order they were played BEFORE it sends the track you are now listening to. Once you submit a track, anything with an earlier date is rejected.
- UTC Only Rule
- Your plugin must submit the time in UTC. Any submissions with a date too far ahead or behind UTC will be rejected.
- Realtime Listening Rule
- The server will ignore subsequent submissions if you claim to have played more tracks in one time period that you could fit in, if you listened to all of them most of the way through.
If you're offline for a day, then reconnect, the previous days' tracks are submitted with dates set to yesterday, so this would not trigger the spam filter.
Other Methods For iPod last.fm Submission
People using last.fm have found several other ways to submit their tracks played on the iPod to last.fm. Most of these ways force you to run a specific application BEFORE you run Winamp or iTunes or any other iPod management tool. Examples are audiopod+ for the last.fm client or audioPod goes iScrobbler for iTunes iScrobbler/Winamp AudioScrobbler plugins.
It should be noted again, that last.fm currently does not accept submissions not in chronological order, so if using most of these methods, one must take care to not submit a song in Winamp or iTunes before uploading iPod track plays.
