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[Jogi]

Hi folks,

I surely missed the right posting somewhere but after quite a while a searching here and googling the net I am still lost with the question, when MC13/14 album analyzer recognizes a set of MP3s as compilation AND set the iPod tags accordingly so that these files show up there as well.

Some more details:
I do have one sampler album which has the right settings in MC: Album type = several artist; Mix album = 1 (fields might have slightly different name in English version - I am using the German version). This one shows up correctly on the iPod as "Compilation". All other compilations are not recognized as such by MC (eg mix album = "empty") and not show as compilation on the iPod accordingly.

1) Problems with the German version? e.g. because the field names and standard contents are different / not translated correctly somewhere in MC?

2) What are the exact mechanisms MC uses for album analysis? What parameters are checked? When is album analysis started/triggered?

3) Any other ideas?

Thanks for your support.

Greetings from Germany,
Jogi

[bunglemebaby]

2) What are the exact mechanisms MC uses for album analysis? What parameters are checked? When is album analysis started/triggered?

I'm not the most knowledgeable on this topic, but I do know that "album analysis" centers around the directory that the files are stored in. In general, if a collection of files is in the same sub-directory and has the [album] field set to the same value, then that collection of files is considered to be an album.
I believe that in order to produce an "album type = several artists" there needs to be more than one [artist] value associated with this album. I thought that the "mix album" followed from this, but I'm not sure of that.
It seems to be triggered any time a file is moved or imported or "updated".

I'm certain that there are details working here that I'm not aware of, but I'm pretty sure that the above in and of itself is correct. If not, somebody will probably come by and correct me.

-JB

[marko]

Album Artist (auto)

This is a built-in automatic field.  It auto-completes as follows:

·      If something is manually typed in the Album Artist field, that content is included in the Album Artist (auto) field as well.

·      If the Album Artist field is empty, then the Album Artist (auto) field gets completed as follows:

·      Single-artist name in the case of a single-artist album.

·      (Multiple Artists)in the case of a multiple-artist album*.

* In order for (Multiple Artists) to appear automatically, the album must be in its own exclusive directory (i.e., if there are files from more than one album in a directory, the program will not label it as Multiple Artist).

Here is the logic. A track is a mix if all the files with the same [Album] value in the same directory:

·      have more than one [Artist] value among them

·      have no other [Album] values used by any other file in the same directory

·      are Audio and have a non-empty [Album] value

Automatic Assorted

When you rename files (right click > Library Tools > Rename Files from Properties), the window that appears provides the option to "Use Assorted for [Artist] on multi-artist albums". This is just under the Directories Rule. When selected, the files will be saved in a directory called Assorted if you have included the [Artist] rule in the directory rule.

Example:

Artist: Stackabones, Album: Best of Truck Driving Songs

Directory Rule:
Base path: M:\Music\
Rule: [Artist]\[Album]
"Use Assorted [Artist] on multi-artist albums" is checked.

Result:
M:\Music\Assorted\Best of Truck Driving Songs\Filename rule

Complete Albums

Media Center can automatically display complete and incomplete albums. An album is considered complete if all the files with the same [Album] value in the same directory:

·      are sequentially numbered tracks starting at 1

·      have at least 2 files or 10 minutes of audio

·      are Audio and have a non-empty [Album] value.

View Schemes for Multiple Artist Albums

Create the following scheme to view Multiple Artist Albums:

1.   Right click on Audio in the tree.

2.   Select Add View Scheme.

3.   Click "Add", Standard View Item, and add the following:

·      Album Type (shows multiple vs. single artist albums, and whether they are complete or incomplete). Note: you may have to scroll up the list to get Album Type. Press Ok.

·      Repeat, and add Album

4.   Or display fields for each of the items displayed in #3:  Album Type, Album Artist (auto), Complete Album, Album.

You can now quickly view your Multiple Artist albums, and better yet, you can view all of your complete and/or incomplete albums. Complete albums are indicated by a "1", and "0" displays incomplete albums.