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random shuffle, not so random?


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I have read similar threads on here but none seems to answer this problem.

When I select random shuffle, that's shuffle all songs in all lists although there are quite a few random songs being selected fro a list of over 50 folders it seems to keep going back to half a dozen folders much more than thev others. After hundreds of hour s of listening it still has yet to visit a lot of the folders. I have updated the library's etc via the scan for music option. Any ideas?

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As a recent example. Shuffle All Songs on. Out of a choice of over 70 folders each containing at least 12 songs in each of ten songs played 4 played from one folder and 3 from another, so that is 7 songs from two albums played in a total of ten songs from thousands of tracks available, now that's NOT very random?

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That's exactly what random means. Poweramp does not remove the rest of an album from the choices list once one song has been played from it, so the next song could conceivably come from that same album again in fact. Randomising everything can even mean all of the songs from one album get played straight in order (although that's highly unlikely of course - but you know what they say about an infinite number of monkeys could type Shakespeare's plays). It's human nature to notice patterns where none exist though.

Andre

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Thanks Andre but From a total of 122 folder, each containing a minimum of 10 tracks for the 'random' function to continually go back to the same folders, again and again is not a 'human noticing a pattern where none exsists' it's a human noticing that a random function isn't in fact being that random. I have used Poweramp now for a number of years, I listen to music with it I would say for at least 3 hours a day and today for example from that 122 folders in the course of just over and hour the selection of tracks chosen 'at random' remember the setting is 'Shuffle All tracks in All lists' came from 7 folders only returning to one 5 times. In the last year there are still numerous folders yet to visited 'at random' ever.

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Each played song is marked as played from the virtual shuffled list, this ensures it won't be played again (and we keep this info persisted in database, so it even survives Poweramp restarts/device reboots) unless:

 

- you have duplications in your library:

  - via double playlist entries - you can create as many playlist entries for the same track file as you want - this is only if you shuffle your playlists

  - via some sd card/storage aliases (for example, some ROMs can display same sd card as external_sd and rw_sdcard, etc.)

  - actual track file duplication

- or you just navigated back - as list is stored you can navigate forward and backward until you re-set the shuffle "session"

 

Please note that if you change shuffle mode, Poweramp will do the new shuffle session and previous "played" marks do not apply for the new shuffle session.

 

Thanks!

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I too have noticed that certain albums get tracks played from them more than others. This happens for a few days then it'll change to another set of albums. However, the tracks played ARE different. But I even had two tracks from the same album played one after the other yesterday.

 

I also read an article by a Spotify guy that helps explain why we, as humans, tend to see patterns where there are none, and what they did to help 'us' out ....  Story from a newspaper ... http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/why-random-shuffle-feels-far-from-random-10066621.html ....  and the actual blog posting from Spotify ... http://www.quora.com/Is-Spotifys-Shuffle-feature-truly-random/answer/Mattias-Petter-Johansson .....

 

Enjoy!

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If I start playing a track from one folder in random mode it will play a good selection of songs but will continually go back to the same folders, maybe selecting songs from 15 folders from 120 plus available. If I then start a new random play from a previously unvisited folder it will then play tracks from another selection of folders but not from the whole amount available to it. These observations are based on months and months of listening for probably 2 to 4 hours a day.

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