My adventures with Marv's .m4a files!

[MARV]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Blir[/i]
<br>A most heinous organizing offense is not labeling a comp or soundtrack as a comp. Then the files get scattered all over the place by artist rather than kept together by the comp album name. This doesn't apply to greatest hits comps which shouldn't be labeled a comp so they can indeed be filed appropriately under the artist. Just sayin'. [:I]
[/quote]

Fuckin' ditto.

<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/cetaceans/index.cfm">I dig whales.</a>

[noodles]

new man law-

all comps must be tagged as comps
all greatest hits should not be tagged as comps

to man law!

bv

[coop41]

Indeed, a classic thread![:D]

I love itunes although once I surpassed the 30,000 file mark it has slowed evrything down on my computer and running any other app at the same time is next to impossible. Maybe something else is going on but....
It's funny how we all have our own little "rules" and requirements with file tagging. I am an mp3 only guy as much as I can be. Acouple things that bug me about itunes and maybe someone can educate me but it is sorely missing a file tagging feature like MusicMatch Super tagging, which on the files I DL from here or Slsk desperately need it (and sometimes the Hub too)[:(] The other issue is the broken file tags on itunes when you move file folders is extremely frustrating and the duplicate files are always an issue. Other than that, it suits my needs fine! I do need a service that magically tags all of my files once and for all and organizes them according to the rules I set. I'll gladly ship my hard drive to anyone who wants to do it for me[:D][;)][;)]

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[n/a5]

[quote][i]Originally posted by marvymarv[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by Nero Lance[/i]
<br>Does iTunes still tag songs you rip/download? Does it still automatically overtake every video/audio function?[/quote]

iTunes does it's job exceptionally well. It can't redo the job that others have done half assed. So if you have a file that's already tagged (however poorly), iTunes leaves it as is. And no, it does'nt automatically overtake all audio or video functions if you don't want it to. The program is highly flexible allowing the user to very easily tailor it to his or her own specific needs.

<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/cetaceans/index.cfm">I dig whales.</a>
[/quote]


Used to be the digitally tagged it for tracking purposes....especially the stuff you purchased from iTunes. It was some sort of embedded coding in order to fight filesharing etc. i remember reading about this....or is it just an urban legend?

[SwampThing]

[quote]Used to be the digitally tagged it for tracking purposes....especially the stuff you purchased from iTunes. It was some sort of embedded coding in order to fight filesharing etc. i remember reading about this....or is it just an urban legend?[/quote]Only the stuff purchased from iTunes is digitally tracked.

<font size="1"></font>

[MARV]

Coop, next time I see you on the Hub, I'll talk you through the preference settings so you don't have to deal with those issues anymore. Nero, only files purchased from iTunes are embedded with a security feature so they can only be played on up to five or so computers. Even though it's a pain in the ass, there are ways around that. Personally, I don't bother with the iTunes store unless it's a free download.

<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/cetaceans/index.cfm">I dig whales.</a>

[Frau_Blucher]

[quote][i]Originally posted by MikeP[/i]
<br>It's interesting how we're now talking about file organization. I probably drive y'all crazy (and then some) on the hub.[;)] See, I don't pay the whole Artist/Album folder structure any mind and instead favor of a minimal folder structure based on decade & genre.
[/quote]
Yes, we've been watching you closely Paulsen and have had our fingers on the BAN button many a time! [}:)]


j/k [:D]

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by coop41[/i]
<br>Indeed, a classic thread![:D]


[/quote]

If by "classic thread" you really mean "alarming and unnecessary geekfest" I have to agree.

Why even use itunes at all? I'm just curious what possible benefit there could be to make all of the above worth the trouble. There are so many programs (free ones at that) that do a much better job without causing any of the problems you guys seem to have.

BTW, winamp plays .m4a's flawlessly.

[MARV]

What trouble is there? It works perfectly fine and is free too. Plus it's the best music management software. You get so much...for nothing.

<a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/cetaceans/index.cfm">I dig whales.</a>

[i_like_lectric_motors]

To be fair, I've never used it and never will so maybe the people I constantly hear bitching about it just don't have it down to a science like you do [?].

All I know is that it's annoying as fuck on soulseek when someone's using itunes. I want no part of being one of those people. [:D]

[British]

[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]


If by "classic thread" you really mean "alarming and unnecessary geekfest" I have to agree.

Why even use itunes at all? I'm just curious what possible benefit there could be to make all of the above worth the trouble. There are so many programs (free ones at that) that do a much better job without causing any of the problems you guys seem to have.


[/quote]

I gave Windows Media Player's library an honest try. It sucked ass. The player itself sucks ass. It provides the most amount of excuses for NOT palying a file.

I tried winamp's media library, and I didn't like it either.

ITunes went to the top.

As for Winamp playing a one-off filey you downloaded, it's great. For library functions, I never got around to using it. I also never tried embracing the plug-ins to sync with the Ipod.

As for artist names, for me it's always firstname - lastname. I always switch them if they are reversed on the YSI links. Needless to say, MSKremember's way of tagging files(ie no artist or trackname, just MSK (number)) + ALL UPPERCASE drove me batshit mad. I still have 3 mystery tracks form him I don't know what they are.



ITunes does not handle "moving around files on the hard drive" well at all. like I'm going to tell you where I individually put each and every file. I wish it had an "automatiacally add files if it's new in the folders" function like the Hub's P2p program does. That would save me a ton of time than having to add my "root" folder on a weekly basis.

Of course, I only have a grand total of about 4000 songs or so. And still I always end up with less in my ipod due to weird syncing crap. IpodCleaner(a little freeware utility) sometimes helps, but has a confusing interface.


I wish someone would make an ultimate tag fixer, to your preferences. Sure, some exist, but I dare not touch them. have it, for example change ALL UPPERCASE TAGS to lowercase, etc. or implement fuzzy-logic to fix misspelled artist tags.

Yay for music!

[MikeP]

[quote][i]Originally posted by British[/i]
I gave Windows Media Player's library an honest try. It sucked ass. The player itself sucks ass. It provides the most amount of excuses for NOT palying a file.
[/quote]
Yes, it has loads of problems with various video formats ... more like Windows Media Prayer if you ask me.

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by MikeP[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by British[/i]
I gave Windows Media Player's library an honest try. It sucked ass. The player itself sucks ass. It provides the most amount of excuses for NOT palying a file.
[/quote]
Yes, it has loads of problems with various video formats ... more like Windows Media Prayer if you ask me.
[/quote]

This is the ultimate for video. It'll play just about anything:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

[i_like_lectric_motors]

[quote][i]Originally posted by British[/i]



I wish someone would make an ultimate tag fixer, to your preferences. Sure, some exist, but I dare not touch them. have it, for example change ALL UPPERCASE TAGS to lowercase, etc. or implement fuzzy-logic to fix misspelled artist tags.

Yay for music!
[/quote]

Really? Some exist already? Do you know where to find them? I'd be more than happy to be the lab rat that tests them out. [8D]

[British]

[quote][i]Originally posted by i_like_lectric_motors[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by British[/i]



I wish someone would make an ultimate tag fixer, to your preferences. Sure, some exist, but I dare not touch them. have it, for example change ALL UPPERCASE TAGS to lowercase, etc. or implement fuzzy-logic to fix misspelled artist tags.

Yay for music!
[/quote]

Really? Some exist already? Do you know where to find them? I'd be more than happy to be the lab rat that tests them out. [8D]



[/quote]


Addendium to my previous posts: if it's a vinyl rip, just put in "vinyl rip" in the comments/notes section. Remember kids, always use ID3V2.

just do a google search for mp3 tag, and if it gives too many results, look on sourceforge. There's plenty of fun free open source utilities on sourceforge, and I'm more than betting a frustrated college student has programmed a solution.


If I had more time & a bit more programming knowledge, I would brinstorm a list of all MP3 tag pet peeves and make some sort of universal tag corrector. Imagine if you had Bright, Bette tagged songs an you wanted to change them to Bette Bright, boom, it would do it. Or if it sees an artist in parentheses, it would remove them. The list would be a mile long, and would require database work.


If you want a gallery of badly tagged Mp3s, look at the track list for any artist in last.fm. You can actually see the popularity of them too. Yeah last I checked, Josie cotton didn't sing "I know what boys like". No, it was The Waitresses. Sadly, no way to report mistagged mp3s there.