Below, I am going to list the things I need MC11 to be capable of for me to upgrade from 10. I’ll also list some features that I would like to have either in 11 or a later version.
First, let me start out by saying that I have been a long time fan of the APE format and still am. Its compression is top-notch compared to other codecs when you consider decoding performance. That said, I have decided to convert my library from APE to FLAC. The reasons are listed below (note: if something changes with the APE format in the future that allows me to do these things, I would switch back):
1. FLAC is open source. It has wide popularity and seems to be gaining ground. It has support in several hardware devices. It supports streaming. But the number one reason I am switching is because with it, and Slim Server, I can stream my entire library over a low bandwidth upstream (aDSL) connection. Slim Server performs real time transcoding from FLAC to several formats including MP3. This means that I can stream my library to myself where ever I am – and it can be adjusted to meet the available bandwidth. This has been asked for in MC several times that I have seen and the usual response is to suggest that the user copy the library and convert the copy to MP3. Well, in my case, that’s simply not going to happen (it more than negates any space savings APE provides). I will not maintain multiple copies of my library, especially when there are options available that make it unnecessary.
1. I have seen, on a couple of product’s message forums, reasons stated for not supporting the APE format. These reasons usually include licensing fees and patents. I’ve never looked into APE’s licensing restrictions for commercial products and this perception may very well be invalid – many software products do have APE support. However, the fact remains that some people are afraid to incorporate it into their products. This tells me that it is very unlikely that we will see hardware or 3rd party software APE support anytime in the near future.
Having said all that, I would actually prefer to stay with APE, but with what I want to be able to do, it currently isn’t possible.
Things I need in MC11:
1. Full FLAC support (encode & decode) including tagging. The last version of MC11 I tried (before the license requirement) wouldn’t play FLAC files even with the FLAC plugin installed. MC10 will play FLAC files, but won’t tag them.
2. User adjustable Album Gain. Album Gain was a welcome addition to MC11, but it needs to be user adjustable (as the Replay Gain proposal outlines). I suggest that the AG calculation be performed upon audio analysis, after which the user can make manual adjustments as they require.
3. The option to turn off AutoRip. To me, this is one of the most irritating things I have seen. I want the ability to rip multiple CDs without MC taking off on its own and potentially ripping a bunch of “unknown – unknown” tracks or accidentally overwriting music files I have already ripped (it gives no warning).
4. Ability to update the server's database using the client (also asked for many times).
Things I would like:
1. The option to reduce thread priority during audio analysis. Currently my computer (AMD XP 3200) gets sluggish when I am analyzing files. Right now, I reduce the priority manually with the task manager, but it would be nice if this was automatic.
2. Make 'Tools > Options > File Location > Base Path' always be the default for renaming operations. I would rather change it on the fly for exceptions than have to remember to constantly check it to make sure it is correct. If I perform a rename and need to change the base path for this one time only, MC defaults to this changed value next time instead of using the "Base Path" defined in options.
3. Ability to connect directly to MC11’s library database and perform queries.
4. “File Manager” function. Suggest: when dragging files/folders in the My Computer section of the Tree View, MC should update the database for all files affected without having to perform an import/update. The current method of “Rename Files from Properties” to move files around leaves behind ripping logs, covert art and whatever other files you have associated with your music. The result is that you end up with a bunch of extraneous folders containing only a few items that should have been moved with the music.
If MC supported real time transcoding of APE files for streaming across the internet, then I would probably stick with APE. However it still doesn’t solve the problem of hardware support (minor issue currently).
Thanks for consideration of these requests and I hope that this sparks some constructive dialog.
Paul
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Topic: Things I need in MC 11 (Read 906 times)