FAQs

Q: What does MusicBridge do?
A: MusicBridge copies music meta-data in both directions between Windows Media Player (WMP) and iTunes.

Q: What is "meta-data"?
A: Meta-data is information about you music files such as artist, album, ratings and album art. Each application stores this information in its library in a slightly different way.

Q: Why would I want to do this?
A: There are a number of reasons why you might find this useful. Many people find they need to use both applications and perhaps are forced to use iTunes specifically for iPod use. If you can't think of a reason you would want to manage meta-data like this you probably don't need this application.

Q: Will MusicBridge copy or move my music from iTunes to WMP or vice versa?
A: No. MusicBridge does not physically move any files, or add/remove files from either application.

Q: How can I play AAC/m4a files in WMP?
A: WMP does not natively support AAC files, however if you install the right codec you can enable this functionality. I have personally used a codec from 3ivx (www.3ivx.com) which costs less than $10, there are also free codecs available. These codecs do not however allow the direct editing of library information in WMP.

Q: How can I play iTunes purchased DRM protected files in WMP?
A: I don't know of any way to do this without removing the DRM which is illegal and would break the license.

Q: How can I play purchased DRM protected WMA files in iTunes?
A: I don't know of any way to do this without removing the DRM which is illegal and would break the license.

Q: Can I use MusicBridge to sync video and TV meta-data?
A: No, Musicbridge only works with music files.

Q: How can I set MusicBridge to run on a schedule?
A: MusicBridge has a full featured command line interface. You can use this along with Windows scheduler to run MusicBridge as and when desired. This is described fully in the readme.

Q: I have iTunes on one machine and WMP on another can I use MusicBridge?
A: No, both applications must be installed and running on the same machine.

Q: I have WMP and iTunes pointing at identical files sets in two locations, can I use MusicBridge?
A: No, both applications must be pointint at the identical files in a single location.

Q: I'm having a problem using MusicBridge what should I do?
A: You can send me an e-mail (jrmwillis.hotmail.com) detailing the problem you are having. Please include the versions of MusicBridge, Windows, WMP, and iTunes that you are using. Also send the log which can be found at C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\JimbobSoft\

Q: I am getting an error that looks something like this: "Error020: Access is denied. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070005
(E_ACCESSDENIED)) FAIL: ". What is wrong?
A: This error is usually caused by your music files not being recognized by WMP as music and being categorized as "Other Media". This is often the case with AAC/m4a files. To use MusicBridge you need WMP to recognize your files as music.
The following Microsoft article will help you to do this

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322642

For .m4a files when you get done it should look something like:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.m4a
   Content Type        REG_SZ    audio/m4a
   PerceivedType       REG_SZ    audio

An alternative solution might be:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Multimedia\
WMPlayer\Extensions\.m4a]
"Extension.Handler"="m4afile"
"PerceivedType"="audio"
"MediaType.Description"="M4A Format Sound"
"AlreadyRegistered"="yes"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\MLS\
Extensions]
"m4a" = "audio"

You may need to re-add your files to have them appear in the music category.

Q: I want to backup my iTunes library in case something goes wrong, how would I do that?
A: This Apple article describes the structure of the iTunes library

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732

Q: I want to backup my WMP library in case something goes wrong, how would I do that?
A: On XP the files you should backup are located at C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Data\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Player 

On Vista they are located at C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player