More > Media Center 14 (Development Ended)
m4a (ALAC) questions
nickharambee:
Hi
I am trying to get my Apple Lossless (ALAC) files working right in MC14. I have succesfully got them all to play (I had to reencode some to get them to work) using the DC-Bass Source filter. However there are a few features that I need to know about before I can proceed with syncing to an iPod:
1. From a browse in this forum it would seem that MC14 can't write any tags to ALAC. Is this correct? Is there any plugin that could get this working? If not, where are the tags stored, in the library? It is not crucial for me that MC writes to tags as I can do the tagging elsewhere, e.g. in iTunes.
2. Most of the ALAC tracks have soundcheck data in them from iTunes. Is there any way for MC to recognise this info and use instead of replaygain, or will I have to re-analyse all tracks with replaygain to get normalised volume control on iPod?
3. At the moment MC seems to be reading all tags in the ALAC files except lyrics. I would really like the lyrics to sync to the iPod, so is there any way of getting this working? I have confirmed that lyrics are in my ALAC files with Tag&Rename.
4. Finally I have my cover art embedded in the ALAC files, and MC isn't adding it to the library when I use 'quick find in file/cover art directory'. is this a limitation with ALAC files? this isn't crucial as I can extract a folder.jpg for each album folder.
Thanks
Nick
nickharambee:
sorry to bump but hoping to get on with a mass conversion!
the main issue is the reading of lyrics tags in m4a (ALAC) files, which i can't get to work in MC14. Seems strange that all other m4a tags are read fine, but not lyrics. i am wondering if there is anything i can do to get this working, such as by installing a plugin, embedding lyrics in a different way???
any help with this issue in particular, but any of the other questions also would be much appreciated.
i am one step away from my masterplan!
thanks
nick
nickharambee:
i am now wondering about the reading of lyrics tags generally in MC14 as i can't get MC to read lyrics tags on MP3 files either. The lyrics tags show up fine in Tag&Rename for both MP3 and m4a. Does the lyrics tag in MC only work with lyrics added using MC, i.e. manually or using a plugin?
Yaobing:
--- Quote from: nick_harambee on September 19, 2009, 05:06:25 am ---1. From a browse in this forum it would seem that MC14 can't write any tags to ALAC. Is this correct? Is there any plugin that could get this working? If not, where are the tags stored, in the library? It is not crucial for me that MC writes to tags as I can do the tagging elsewhere, e.g. in iTunes.
--- End quote ---
Correct. MC does not write tags to mp4/m4a.
--- Quote ---3. At the moment MC seems to be reading all tags in the ALAC files except lyrics. I would really like the lyrics to sync to the iPod, so is there any way of getting this working? I have confirmed that lyrics are in my ALAC files with Tag&Rename.
4. Finally I have my cover art embedded in the ALAC files, and MC isn't adding it to the library when I use 'quick find in file/cover art directory'. is this a limitation with ALAC files? this isn't crucial as I can extract a folder.jpg for each album folder.
--- End quote ---
MC does not read lyrics and cover art from these files.
rick.ca:
--- Quote ---i am now wondering about the reading of lyrics tags generally in MC14 as i can't get MC to read lyrics tags on MP3 files either...
--- End quote ---
It's a different context, but this might help explain what's going on with lyrics tags...
--- Quote from: rick.ca on August 15, 2009, 07:28:44 pm ---As others have noted, MiniLyrics will find, download and tag MP3 files (I don't know about other types) with unsynchronized lyrics, but they are not displayed in MC's lyrics field. I don't understand much about file tags, so I'll just describe what I've found. Using MP3Tag, I can see the lyrics are saved in an extended tag called UNSYNCEDLYRICS. (I'm sure it's saving a synchronized tag as well, but I can't see it in MP3Tag.) There is a difference in how different programs are saving this tag:
* MC ||[lyrics] (the "||" is not displayed in MC)
* MP3Tag eng||[lyrics] (the lyrics are properly displayed in MC)
* MiniLyrics eng|Lyrics was Saved by MiniLyrics.|[lyrics]
I suppose the "||" is meant to separate the tag into different sections for different languages, and MiniLyrics breaks this. This can be fixed by deleting "Lyrics was Saved by MiniLyrics."or, more specifically, what's making it unreadable by MC are the single "|". Deleting both of them, or leaving "||" or "eng||" at the beginning of the first line allows the lyrics to be displayed.
Editing the tag saved by MiniLyrics with a tag editor is obviously not a viable solution. The tag must be readable by other applications, so maybe this is something J River will see fit to make MC able to do as well.
--- End quote ---
There's been no comment my suggestion that maybe MC could be made to handle these situations. Maybe someone who understands tagging can better explain what's going on, and the role of the MC lyrics tag.
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