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More => Old Versions => Media Center 11 (Development Ended) => Topic started by: castew on September 13, 2006, 08:29:32 pm

Title: Can Media Center...
Post by: castew on September 13, 2006, 08:29:32 pm
or any plugin thats around take a folder of freshly donwloaded and unzipped music in whatever strange format and convert it into the same format of filename and quality etc of the rest of my mp3 collection and slot it in to the appropiate filepath for me, without too much hassle.

i ask cos the only way ive got upto now of making sure its all in consistent from is to burn the files to an audio cd on a cd image, mount the image and rip that cd to my collection with the right filename formats. then put it in the folders and then import it to my library. its a pain in the er... neck.
Title: Re: Can Media Center...
Post by: KingSparta on September 14, 2006, 04:42:34 am
you can do this with MC with very little work, not sure why you think it is a hassle.
Title: Re: Can Media Center...
Post by: marko on September 14, 2006, 05:19:34 am
Unless the originals are in a lossless format, I'm not too sure why you'd want to do it in the first place.

original/lossless > lossy (mp3) = degradation in quality
any other lossy format > mp3 = even more degradation

There's a high probability that MC can handle playback of the files in their original formats, and if you need them in mp3 for handheld use, MC can convert them to mp3 on-the-fly during transfer.

where are you downloading music from?
Title: Re: Can Media Center...
Post by: castew on September 14, 2006, 07:49:29 am
no sorry i don't think i got it across right.

i'm not concerned here with media centers ability to import the new music into my library. i know it would do that and i wouldnt see the difference inside media center. what i mean is getting the music into my external mp3 collection.

you see i have my music all in one 26Gb folder called mp3 on a seperate physical hard drive reserved for media files. when i download from emule and unzip i end up with an album of mp3s with different formats of filename, probably at differen bit rates and i never know how much Id3 info they have. so i go through the above process so that i know all my music is in consistent form but it takes ages. then i get lazy and leave em there for a bit and i end up with a backlog. at one point i had like 30 albums backed up and it took me 3 months to get round to putting them in my library.

what i want is a one click, take those crappy ones and put them in my nice organised format in that nice organised folder function
Title: Re: Can Media Center...
Post by: glynor on September 14, 2006, 08:21:03 am
If all you want is for the files to be moved and renamed, try the Rename Files from Properties tool.  (Select files --> Right Click --> Library Tools --> Rename Files from Properties).

It wasn't clear at all, but... If you're reencoding the files to make their bitrates all match, you're just making them sound worse.  You can't take a 128 kbit CBR file and reencode it to VBR Preset Extreme and make it sound better.  It will just sound worse than the original 128 kbit file did, so leave them alone.  If you're re-encoding them to reduce quality (make the files smaller) then that's a different story (though usually the quality you can grab over the P2P networks is pretty low-end so I'd also leave them alone there).
Title: Re: Can Media Center...
Post by: KingSparta on September 14, 2006, 10:55:57 am
Quote
If you're re encoding the files to make their bit rates all match

It's A Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Compulsions as defined by (1) and (2):

repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand washing, ordering, checking) or mental acts (e.g., praying, counting, repeating words silently) that the person feels driven to perform in response to an obsession, or according to rules that must be applied rigidly
 
the behaviors or mental acts are aimed at preventing or reducing distress or preventing some dreaded event or situation; however, these behaviors or mental acts either are not connected in a realistic way with what they are designed to neutralize or prevent or are clearly excessive

It is a serious disorder, and I must say I also have this disorder, I must have all my media files dress right dress with all the same Bit-rate just so they are all the same.

I often find my self counting things and making sure they all line up.

I remember counting and ordering things as far-back as a kid counting my Oreo cookies and my lickerish
Title: Re: Can Media Center...
Post by: hit_ny on September 14, 2006, 11:17:06 am
It's A Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Where do you draw the line ?
Title: Re: Can Media Center...
Post by: glynor on September 14, 2006, 12:21:06 pm
It is a serious disorder, and I must say I also have this disorder, I must have all my media files dress right dress with all the same Bit-rate just so they are all the same.

[sarcasm]Noooo, not you King![/sarcasm]   ;)

I must say, I think I have A-OCD-D (Anti - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - Disorder).  I relish chaos.   ;D
Title: Re: Can Media Center...
Post by: KingSparta on September 14, 2006, 12:51:22 pm
Quote
Where do you draw the line?

In the Sand, Of Course

Not everyone is the same so the line is where it reduces distress for the person.

I knew someone that would tell you the same thing 3 times, the difference is each time he would say the same thing in a different way.