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Author Topic: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....  (Read 6538 times)

ssands

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Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« on: October 11, 2016, 02:41:18 am »

When I select this setting there is only one option and that is video.

Shouldn't there be an option for audio also?

I ask because my library just reset as I watched it and lost the content of some of my custom tags.

Any clues?
(Running V22.0.21 on Win 10)
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Spike1000

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #1 on: October 11, 2016, 04:08:53 am »

Restore from one of the regular MC backups?

Spike

ssands

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #2 on: October 11, 2016, 09:38:02 am »

I did that, but still needed to fix a lot of things.

But that is actually besides the point.

I'm really wondering if the only media option for Storing Tags in External Sidecar files is Video or if something is not OK with my install.
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mwillems

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2016, 09:50:15 am »

I did that, but still needed to fix a lot of things.

But that is actually besides the point.

I'm really wondering if the only media option for Storing Tags in External Sidecar files is Video or if something is not OK with my install.

Your install is fine, the sidecar implementation is currently limited to Video.  Some of us have been lobbying to open up sidecars for other formats (Data files as well as Audio), but not much traction yet. 
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adphil

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #4 on: October 11, 2016, 09:53:58 am »

Your install is fine, the sidecar implementation is currently limited to Video.  Some of us have been lobbying to open up sidecars for other formats (Data files as well as Audio), but not much traction yet.

Why would you want the tags in separate files? I'm happy with the fact that my tags can be added to the audio files so you never lose them. I actually wish I could do the same thing with video files.
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mwillems

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2016, 10:01:43 am »

Why would you want the tags in separate files? I'm happy with the fact that my tags can be added to the audio files so you never lose them. I actually wish I could do the same thing with video files.

Because some audio and data formats don't support tags in the files.  I agree with you, I prefer tags in the files whenever possible, but when one can't write tags to files it would be nice to have a way to store those tags outside of the database.
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ssands

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #6 on: October 11, 2016, 10:52:42 am »

mwillems,

Thanks for the info. And yes, while I'd rather not store tags in sidecar files, the option is there for those formats that don't support (or perhaps only support a limited number of) tags.

I suppose one solution would be to convert all my audio to FLAC, but there is a lot and, so far, it has not been a priority. Maybe it will be now.

I still don't know why my library reset like that as I watch it...very strange.
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adphil

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2016, 10:58:02 am »

mwillems,

Thanks for the info. And yes, while I'd rather not store tags in sidecar files, the option is there for those formats that don't support (or perhaps only support a limited number of) tags.

I suppose one solution would be to convert all my audio to FLAC, but there is a lot and, so far, it has not been a priority. Maybe it will be now.

I still don't know why my library reset like that as I watch it...very strange.

I'm using flac, ape, mp3, m4a, wma and wav files, and they all let me store tags inside their file. So no need to convert everything to flac for this reason alone, although it is also my preferred format. I wonder which esoteric format actually wouldn't accept tags . . .
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ssands

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #8 on: October 11, 2016, 11:11:43 am »

I'm using flac, ape, mp3, m4a, wma and wav files, and they all let me store tags inside their file. So no need to convert everything to flac for this reason alone, although it is also my preferred format. I wonder which esoteric format actually wouldn't accept tags . . .

I *thought* that not all audio formats fully supported tags, but I really don't know. I'm search-fu is failing as I just keep coming up with results about the HTML audio tag which is not what I want at all. I use some custom tags and maybe that is an issue.

Either way, something went wrong and my library dropped support for some tags.
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mwillems

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2016, 11:34:26 am »

I'm using flac, ape, mp3, m4a, wma and wav files, and they all let me store tags inside their file. So no need to convert everything to flac for this reason alone, although it is also my preferred format. I wonder which esoteric format actually wouldn't accept tags . . .

SACD ISOs and DSFs (and other DSD formats) don't accept tags as I understand it, and the WAV format's tagging support is a bit flaky at best (there's no standard so using different programs to edit WAV tags is asking for trouble, and the number of supported tags is limited). 
This is all secondhand from folks who've had issues over the years; I keep all audio as FLAC personally, but there are folks with SACD/DSD files that they want to keep in their native format (because they're not PCM) and have had tagging woes.
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adphil

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #10 on: October 11, 2016, 11:48:01 am »

SACD ISOs and DSFs (and other DSD formats) don't accept tags as I understand it, and the WAV format's tagging support is a bit flaky at best (there's no standard so using different programs to edit WAV tags is asking for trouble, and the number of supported tags is limited). 
This is all secondhand from folks who've had issues over the years; I keep all audio as FLAC personally, but there are folks with SACD/DSD files that they want to keep in their native format (because they're not PCM) and have had tagging woes.

Yes, that's true, I remember now converting my ISO files into flac for that reason. And I'm only using a humble amount of tags like artist, genre etc. and, of course, the cover image. Also, I'm sticking exclusively to MC for tagging. So, wav files haven't given me any trouble.
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blgentry

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #11 on: October 11, 2016, 02:32:06 pm »

I still don't know why my library reset like that as I watch it...very strange.

What does that mean?  "reset" "as I watch it" .  What version of MC are you using?  Where is your library (the database) stored?  Do you have a registry cleaner or some new anti-virus software installed?

Brian.
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ssands

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2016, 03:21:15 pm »

What does that mean?  "reset" "as I watch it" .  What version of MC are you using?  Where is your library (the database) stored?  Do you have a registry cleaner or some new anti-virus software installed?

I moved music from my local machine to my NAS which is watched by auto-import. It imported just fine and then the view I use (not sure the "correct" term but sorted by Artist) started to shift. I sort by LastName, FirstName, but display FirstName LastName. So, for example, as I watched, Al Kooper showed up in the "A"'s. My "801 Live" album disappeared from the beginning of the sort and didn't return for another 20+ minutes.

I'm using the latest stable version: V22.0.21 on Win 10-64.

The library lives on the local machine on an SSD. No registry cleaners, no new anti-virus.
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blgentry

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2016, 03:36:16 pm »

It sounds like your move caused the issues.  Unless the view is brand new too?  If the view worked before the move, it should work after also.  Oh but wait a minute...  You're using custom fields aren't you?  LastName and FirstName.  These won't necessarily be stored inside your files tags if the files can't handle it.  Or if you haven't checked the box in the Library Fields Manager to tell MC to try to store those tags.

So, if you just did an external move, MC would lose all of your custom tags.

The proper way to do this is to use RM&C to do the move OR to use RM&C after your move to tell MC where the files are now located.  All with auto import disabled until everything looks correct.

RM&C has an UPDATE mode, which lets you tell MC that you have moved files and to specify and RM&C operation that renames the pointers.  This is usually done with the Find & Replace template.

You could roll back to an earlier database backup, turn off auto import, and then run your RM&C in update mode to tell MC where the files are now located.  That should fix up everything if my above assumptions are correct.

Brian.
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ssands

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #14 on: October 11, 2016, 04:01:52 pm »

Custom Fields: I do use them. The option to store inside files is selected but I'm not sure how MC handles it when the format doesn't support a custom field.

The Move:
I wasn't clear about the move. It wasn't from a directory in my library to another directory in my lib.

I generally rip discs to my PC (not part of my lib) and once ripped, move the ripped music to my NAS (which is part of my lib). I've been doing this for a few years now.

So, RM&C would not have been a tool for this (by my understanding).
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blgentry

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #15 on: October 11, 2016, 04:22:57 pm »

The Move:
I wasn't clear about the move. It wasn't from a directory in my library to another directory in my lib.

I generally rip discs to my PC (not part of my lib) and once ripped, move the ripped music to my NAS (which is part of my lib). I've been doing this for a few years now.

So, when you noticed things "shifting" in your library, you were NOT moving files that were already imported?  You were just moving one album that was not yet imported?

Something doesn't seem right.  Has something else changed recently with your setup or configuration?

Brian.
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ssands

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #16 on: October 11, 2016, 04:34:32 pm »

So, when you noticed things "shifting" in your library, you were NOT moving files that were already imported?  You were just moving one album that was not yet imported?
That is correct.

Something doesn't seem right.  Has something else changed recently with your setup or configuration?
There was a change! Yet it happened 5 days before. I copied my files from one NAS disc to another. I copied them when MC was not running. Then I fired up MC and used RMC to redirect the lib. That seemed to work fast and well. I also made sure I moved *all* files and changed auto-import to look at the new location and removed the old location. Once that was done, MC ran fine, played music from the new location and the lib worked well, displaying music as I wanted it to. This went on for 5 days before last nights issue. I should have mentioned this before, but it does seem weird that it worked fine for 5 days. Last night may have been the first time I added new music to the lib since the move. Also, as I recall, I have seen this happen once before, but there were no NAS moves involved.
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blgentry

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #17 on: October 11, 2016, 04:58:35 pm »

I would just be guessing if I said that I thought auto import, coupled with your move, is the problem.  Just guessing.  Without more info it's hard to say what's going on.

Are all of your files in your library and you've just lost your custom tags?  Or have you lost files from the library (MC's database)?

Brian.
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ssands

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #18 on: October 11, 2016, 05:05:45 pm »

Not only did I copy them all, I then ran a job to verify that every file was copied over (47,000+ files). Everything was there.

Who knows?

If it happens again, I'll bring it up. Strange behavior, though.

I do appreciate your replies and comments.
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Fitzcaraldo215

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Re: Store Tags In external Sidecar files....
« Reply #19 on: October 12, 2016, 09:30:24 am »

SACD ISOs and DSFs (and other DSD formats) don't accept tags as I understand it, and the WAV format's tagging support is a bit flaky at best (there's no standard so using different programs to edit WAV tags is asking for trouble, and the number of supported tags is limited). 
This is all secondhand from folks who've had issues over the years; I keep all audio as FLAC personally, but there are folks with SACD/DSD files that they want to keep in their native format (because they're not PCM) and have had tagging woes.

Just to avoid misleading information, there is no tagging problem with DSD using the DSF file format.  That format can accept tags in the DSF media file, including any custom tags you may have set up in the library.  It is the DFF and SACD ISO formats that are limited, compromised and therefore troublesome.

I have about 3,000 discs in my library in DSF format, and they contain all my tags from extensive edits of the library.  No problem.
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