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[GHammer]

Do we agree on these outstanding items on Alex's list ?

6. CD burning (duration, tags, filename system)
7. Media Server
8. Cue reading (understands only the first filename)

6.- Guess I should reread the list.
     Duration? What do you mean?
     Tags? Is this an audio or data CD?
     Filename system? Already asked what is meant by that.

7.- I do not use Media Server so don't know what the issues are.

8.- I think I asked once if this works on other players. My only concern with this is how it would be done. I wouldn't want MC to write paths for each selection in my usage. Unless of course any other player can use them too.

[GHammer]

I do see one piece of missing info when using CUEs.
There is no bitrate info listed.
Anyway to get that one when you get the tag data Matt?

[JimH]

Just so you don't get too excited, please don't expect cue file support to be everything you can hope for.  We added it to try to satisfy your needs.  We're about done now.  There are other high priority jobs we're working on.

[Rands]

Jim (& Co), thank you very much for taking the time to add this to MC.  It is very appreciated.

As it stands right now, I'm really happy with CUE support with the exception of no ripping (e.g., one .mp3/one .cue) but it's not that big of a deal to hop over to EAC for that kind of thing.  Maybe in MC 12, yeah?

Now only if the iPod supported CUE files...

[Alex B]

... No, but that does not work for APE files either.
I convert an APE to MP3 I get a file with no tag info at all.

When I convert APE or APL files to MP3, OGG, MPC or WMA with MC10/11 all tags specified as "Store in file tags (when possible)" are included. (Except MPC with MC11 because the encoder plugin is not working yet.)

As far as I know MJ/MC has always used library information for tag writing when converting file formats. You can verify that by converting a file to wave format (tags not supported) and back again to a tagged format. The resulting file has tags inside. Of course you must have "Update database" ticked in Converter Settings, because wave files cannot hold any tag information.

6.- Guess I should reread the list.
    Duration? What do you mean?
    Tags? Is this an audio or data CD?
    Filename system? Already asked what is meant by that.

7.- I do not use Media Server so don't know what the issues are.

8.- I think I asked once if this works on other players. My only concern with this is how it would be done. I wouldn't want MC to write paths for each selection in my usage. Unless of course any other player can use them too.

That list is what the word means: only a list. I did about 12 hours of extensive testing over one weekend. I wrote about my findings with examples and argumentation here in this thread. I think I have already answered those questions. Should I copy-paste everything here again? I rather not. Could you please read what I wrote and possibly try those things yourself. Thanks.

I'll try to find out soon what issues remain. Perhaps today, if I have enough time.

Jim, I'll try to explain also why fixes are still needed, if any.

Edit
...and thanks for CUE support!

[GHammer]

Just so you don't get too excited, please don't expect cue file support to be everything you can hope for.  We added it to try to satisfy your needs.  We're about done now.  There are other high priority jobs we're working on.

I'm pretty happy with it the way it is. As you can tell from my posts, I don't use it for other functions, just to index into APE files. That is working fine now.

I'm sure when the no tag info on conversion is sorted for other file types, it will work here too.

[GHammer]

... No, but that does not work for APE files either.
I convert an APE to MP3 I get a file with no tag info at all.

When I convert APE or APL files to MP3, OGG, MPC or WMA with MC10/11 all tags specified as "Store in file tags (when possible)" are included. (Except MPC with MC11 because the encoder plugin is not working yet.)

As far as I know MJ/MC has always used library information for tag writing when converting file formats.

MC 10 default install, nothing in options changed.
Convert an APE to MP3, the MP3 was tagged properly.

MC 11 default install no options changed.
Convert an APE to MP3, no tags.

I don't see the option you mention. Can you point out its location for me?

Thanks!

[hit_ny]

Thanks for the cue fixes. We are taking advantage of the momentum in the CUE area now. Since v11 is still labeled as an alpha, there is time left to handle other issues.

It's almost there.

The only *MUST HAVE* feature on my list for CUE is the ability to save to the cue file, if update when file info changes is checked in Options for the relevant tag.

Why ? Because its consistent with the way audio  files are treated. The power of MC is being able to make mass changes based on a view scheme.

This means tags like track title, track artist, album artist, track number, file title be saved to the cue if desired. Easier to do this in MC than in FB2K.

So pls put this in.

[hit_ny]

How is Alex's list doing doing so far.

Any updates ?

[Monkeyboy]

I have just started playing around with the cue file support and always seem to get the actual mp3 file (as well as the tracks in it that the cue specifies).
I do hope some of the issues are addressed with cue file support.  Not being able to burn, editing cue files etc.

[hit_ny]

I have just started playing around with the cue file support and always seem to get the actual mp3 file (as well as the tracks in it that the cue specifies).

This is normal behavior. You just delete the big mp3 file from the library and leave the tracks that were imported from the cue. I say its normal cos i think it behaves the same way with APE+cue files as well.

I'm not sure how to simplify this process otherwise.

I do hope some of the issues are addressed with cue file support.  Not being able to burn, editing cue files etc.

Scroll up earlier, Alex did some good testing earlier on. Wanted to know how far along we had got.

[hit_ny]

Doof said:
1. For the Rip to Single File option, can we specify filename naming scheme? Currently it just names the ripped file (APE in my case) and CUE sheet as the album name. I'd prefer it as [Artist] - [Album], both for the APE and CUE sheet. For the CD I just ripped (Megadeth - Rust In Peace), I would like to wind up with Megadeth\Rust In Peace\Megadeth - Rust In Peace.ape and Megadeth - Rust In Peace.cue.

Recent Changes

11.0.95 (10/05/04)
6. NEW: CD Ripping: Cue file naming convention is configurable in advanced ripping options dialog.

Wonder if this takes care of

5. When tracks are converted tags are not included and there is no system for filenames.

MC 11 default install no options changed.
Convert an APE to MP3, no tags.

[Alex B]

Quete from MC 11.0.95 thread:

Are there any plans to have MC11 be able to write tag data for CUE sheets out to an external file? Either the CUE, the APE, or even some third file? I don't want to get too far into ripping my CDs and then wish I'd been using APL files the whole time...

Alternatively, do you know if there's any chance MC could optionally create the APL files at rip time? I could just delete the CUE sheet from my library, create the APLs using MAC, and then import those, but it seems like a really roundabout route of doing things.  So if either of these is a possibility, then it would be awesome.

I have asked that and tried to explain why physical files for tags are needed in the Cue file support in MC11 thread.

In my opinion the best solution could be APL files with added support for other filetypes besides APE. That should be possible, because MC can now seek for CUE sheet based MP3, OGG, MPC and WMA files. Actually I have noticed that Foobar2000 can make APL files from CUE+OGG. They can be played with Foobar2000, but not (yet?) with MC.

Maybe MC could just use a slightly modified tagging methodology on the MP3, APE, or what-have-you file?
 
something like this for all the stuff that's common amongst all the tracks in the album:
 
ARTIST=Megadeth
ALBUM=Rust In Peace

and then something like this for all the stuff that varies from track to track:

TRACK1NAME=Holy Wars...The Punishment Due
TRACK1RATING=4
TRACK1LYRICS="..."

TRACK2NAME=Hangar 18
TRACK2RATING=5
TRACK2LYRICS="..."

I was very pleased to find out that CUE entries can be used as links to music media.
E.g. I can compile a best of album with separate tags and the library entries (tracks in the MC library) are still pointing to the other main album files. You can try this by importing a CUE file twice. Take two tracks from the second import and give them a new album name (e.g. "Best Of"). Delete the other duplicates.

That's why I don't like the idea of tagging the actual music file. CUE entries can also point to wave files (tags not supported).

Actually a CUE sheet can contain links to several audio files, not just to one. (Not working in MC yet.)


Edit: Edited a bit.

[Alex B]

For example. A CUE sheet with several filename entries. The MP3s are single-track files.

TITLE "My own best of compilation"
PERFORMER "The Artist"
FILE "D:\The Artist\New Music\New1.mp3" MP3
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "New1"
    PERFORMER "The Artist"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
FILE "D:\The Artist\Alt Music\Alt2.mp3" MP3
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Alt2"
    PERFORMER "The Artist"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00
FILE "D:\The Artist\Old Music\Old3.mp3" MP3
  TRACK 01 AUDIO
    TITLE "Old3"
    PERFORMER "The Artist"
    INDEX 01 00:00:00

MC can import all tracks, but "Filename" tags in the library become like this:
D:\The Artist\New Music\New1.mp3;1
D:\The Artist\New Music\New1.mp3;2
D:\The Artist\New Music\New1.mp3;3

If I edit them manually inside MC to this:
D:\The Artist\New Music\New1.mp3;1
D:\The Artist\Alt Music\Alt2.mp3;1
D:\The Artist\Old Music\Old3.mp3;1

- MC plays them like a charm. The original MP3 files can still exist in the library and can have different tags. This is a way to make "virtual links" in MC.

[Alex B]

This is why I would prefer physical files for tags (container, link, like APL):

1. Tracks exist only in the MC library. They are lost if the library is lost. All tagging is lost then.

2. It's difficult to copy tracks (with tags) to another PC or to another MC library on the same PC. I think MPL playlist files can be used for that, though I have not tried it yet.

3. It's difficult to browse tracks by Hard Disk Location, because MC uses only the filename of the main media file. With "link files" it would be possible to have them in a separate location. E.g. in a folder for a best of compilation.

[hit_ny]

1. Tracks exist only in the MC library. They are lost if the library is lost. All tagging is lost then.

For this exact reason, i would like to be able to save any tag changes to the appropriate cue file. Also to keep the cue file in sync with tag corrections/modifications in the library etc.

[Alex B]

MC don't use CUE files after importing. Unfortunately? I don't think so. I like to keep CUE files clean and as I wrote earlier it is possible to use CUE sheets for making virtual tracks to the library (with different tagging).

This is the information MC has in the library for one of my CUE based tracks. It is from an MPL playlist:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<MPL Version="2.0">
<Item>
<Field Name="Filename">D:\Music\Stravinsky\Concertos Vol.5\Igor_ Stravinsky_Concertos_V5.ogg;3</Field>
<Field Name="Artist">Igor Stravinsky</Field>
<Field Name="Album">Igor Stravinsky edition, vol. 6 of 12, Concertos</Field>
<Field Name="Name">Concerto for piano and wind instruments - III. Allegro</Field>
<Field Name="Band">Columbia Symphony Orchestra</Field>
<Field Name="File Type">ogg</Field>
<Field Name="Genre">Classical</Field>
<Field Name="Date">18328,578125</Field>
<Field Name="Comment">Piano: Philippe Entremont</Field>
<Field Name="Image File">Igor_ Stravinsky_Concertos_V5_Front.JPG</Field>
<Field Name="Media Type">Audio</Field>
<Field Name="Last Played">1097170100</Field>
<Field Name="File Size">2293</Field>
<Field Name="Duration">304</Field>
<Field Name="Number Plays">4</Field>
<Field Name="Track #">3</Field>
<Field Name="Date Created">1097008156</Field>
<Field Name="Date Modified">1097001094</Field>
<Field Name="Date Imported">1097009925</Field>
<Field Name="Replay Gain">-5,9841899999999999</Field>
<Field Name="Peak Level">0,99997</Field>
<Field Name="Intensity">1</Field>
<Field Name="BPM">117</Field>
<Field Name="Composer">Igor Stravinsky</Field>
<Field Name="Playback Range">850160-1154333,333333</Field>
<Field Name="Complete Album">1</Field>
<Field Name="Album Gain">-5,9841899871826172</Field>
<Field Name="Conductor">Igor Stravinsky</Field>
<Field Name="Encoder">OGGenc1.1_q9_ns-15</Field>
<Field Name="Comment 2">Remastered CD 1991</Field>
</Item>
</MPL>

I like to have this information saved to a separate file. It is possible to export playlists, but tag changes are not updated automatically.

Copying to another library is possible with MPL playlists, I tried it. No CUE files are needed.

[sf_adam]

Will version 11 allow you to split an MP3 file with an associated CUE file into its individual files - with proper tags?

Until version 11 is released, can someone please recommenda simple/ free/ easy tool which can break my large files into individual tracks?

thank you.
Adam

[hit_ny]

Musicutter

[Alex B]

Will version 11 allow you to split an MP3 file with an associated CUE file into its individual files - with proper tags?

MC11 can convert the imported cue tracks to separate files. If the main file is MP3 and you convert it to separate MP3 files or to some other lossy format the quality will decrease a bit more. I don't recommend that unless you are converting from high bitrate to low bitrate for portables. Then the extra quality loss might be tolerable.

A better option is to use Musicutter. It can split the audio content of MP3 files losslessly. It cannot write any new ID3 tags, but the resulting filenames are based on the CUE sheet information.

[GHammer]

mp3DirectCut v1.38 is a good choice if you do not have VBR files. It is free and will tag the files for you. For VBR though you have to manually adjust the cut points.

MP3Trim Pro does a nice job too. Has some other options going for it. It's not free.

And of course the one you have already been referred to, musiCutter. I am unable to reach the website for it from China though.

[GHammer]

I think MC 11 should have proper CUE file support when released.
The currrent way does not work well at all, only allowing playback.

I'd also like to see APL ability to be extended to all formats.

[JimH]

Cue file support won't change in this release.