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Registered
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Hamburg & Vancouver
Posts: 7,693
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iPod Randomness Question..
This is clearly a trite question, but so what.
Has anyone else noticed that the "random songs" feature on an iPod is not really random? The same sequences of songs are played regularly. Some songs never appear. Some appear with incredible frequency. Some albums appear to be favoured. etc Anyone know what accounts for this?
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_____________________ These are my principles. If you don't like them, I have others.—Groucho Marx |
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06-07-2010, 05:49 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: I'm out there.
Posts: 13,084
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Tis the nature of randomness.
Yes, shuffle is truly random unless you specify otherwise. http://www.cnet.com.au/itunes-just-how-random-is-random-339274094.htm
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My work here is nearly finished.
Last edited by Moses; 06-07-2010 at 06:19 AM.. |
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06-07-2010, 06:15 AM
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The Unsettler
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Lantanna TX
Posts: 23,885
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Roulette is random but still some numbers come up with greater frequency.
No idea.
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"I want my two dollars" "Goodbye and thanks for the fish" "Proud Member and Supporter of the YWL" "Brandon Won" |
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06-07-2010, 06:19 AM
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I've had three songs come up in shuffle mode in the same sequence they're in on the album. I onlt have around 800 songs, but still, three like that?
I've also popped a CD out of the player in the car and the radio had the exact same song on and in the exact same place in the song.
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2022 BMW 530i 2021 MB GLA250 2020 BMW R1250GS |
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06-07-2010, 06:57 AM
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Back in the saddle again
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Central TX west of Houston
Posts: 56,178
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Quote:
Anyway, I used to be frustrated by shuffle because I noticed that it was the same order every time. I then discovered that I was using it wrong. I eventually got pissed and did some Internet sleuthing to figure out my problem. If you have a playlist, and you click the center button to enter the playlist and then hit play, you bypass the shuffle feature. I assume that it's the same if you go into "artist" or "genre" or whatever. If you highlight the category that you want to play and then hit play, you actually get a random sampling in a random order. With a little over 400 songs in my classic rock playlist, listening in the car and at work (about 10 hours), I don't think I normally hear the same song twice. Yeah, I think the problem is more about the control surrounding shuffle being counterintuitive than the shuffle feature not actually working well.
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Steve '08 Boxster RS60 Spyder #0099/1960 - never named a car before, but this is Charlotte. '88 targa  SOLD 2004 - gone but not forgotten
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06-07-2010, 07:15 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SoCal
Posts: 582
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It's not just Ipods even my cheap zen 16gb mosaic w/ ~2200 songs just playing on random tends to favor albums and certain songs. I would happen a guess that it happens on most mp3 players in general because no matter how "random" it claims it's still based on a formula.
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06-07-2010, 11:25 AM
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winter-hater club member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: salt lake city, utah
Posts: 24,705
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i don't have an ipod, but i do use itunes on my PC. the shuffle feature does not seem very random. i'll hear three live versions of the same song, sometimes, in less than a couple of hours. especially when i have the clash stuff in the mix.
however, my zune really mixes it up.
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2000 Corvette - ????, 2007 Buell XB9R - Astrid, 1996 Discovery - Piglet, 2000 Forester "COOL PRIUS!" - Nobody Ever |
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06-07-2010, 11:41 AM
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Only Porsche
Only bike
