How can I get AB repeat functionality on iTunes/Mac OS X?

Question

I'm wondering if there's an A-B repeat feature on iTunes, a quick google found nothing, but I was hoping there was a plugin or maybe a separate app that provided this.

For me it's useful for learning guitar riffs/solos, but it's also good for people trying to learn another language.

Solution 1

You can do this with the Quciktime Player.

Select the section that you want looped using the sliders on the progress bar or the keyboard shortcuts, and choose "View->Play Selection Only" and "View->Loop."

Selection keyboard shortcuts:

Move In marker to playhead location "I"
Move Out marker to playhead location "O" 

Solution 2

Another solution from within iTunes:

1. Right click on the track in iTunes and click Get Info
2. Under Options tab set the Start Time and End Time
3. Click ok and play the track

This isn't as convenient as a real A/B repeat feature since you need to input time code, but it does work.

Solution 3

I've been trying to find the answer to this when playing DVDs in DVD Player & just stumbled upon the answer just now. You use Video Clips!

It's a little more fiddly than the A-B repeat function but it works out to the same thing, & you can have multiple saved.

1. When playing the part you want, go to "Controls -> New Video Clip", a little window will pop up with the main video on the left.

2. Underneath that, on the left are three buttons with arrows, rewind, play and fast forward, left to right. Set the video to where you want it to start, then on the right, click the "Set" button that's to the left of the box that says "Start" above it.

3. Then set the video to where you want it to end, then click the "Set" button that's to the left of the box that says "End" above it.

4. Give it a name, then click "Save".

5. Open "Window -> Video Clips" & double click on your saved video clip.

6. To repeat it, go to "Go -> Video Clips -> Repeat Clip", the clip has to be playing or paused to select this otherwise it will be greyed out. You'll notice there is "Exit Clip Mode" there as well, which will return to the normal playing of the DVD.

Comments

[Olof]

this doesnt seem to work on 10.0

[xji]

This is very useful, especially for Audible audiobook which is not easy to get A-B repeat in other ways. You'll also have to choose "repeat one" for the looping to work, otherwise it will stop at the end but not start again.