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Topic: Playlist creation - artists missing on some  (Read 1838 times) previous topic - next topic
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Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Hi there,

I'm a newbie with foobar having used VLC Media Player to create playlists.

I would save my list of song titles with artist names as a VLC playlist file but if I try to open and play that saved VLC playlists file I get all sorts of error messages and VLC either doesn't display anything but the error messages or won't play any of the songs.

Foobar 2000 was recommended to me as a better alternative.

Foobar 2000 does effortlessly create a playlist but once opened on some of the song titles it doesn’t list the artist.

Instead, it lists a question mark under Artist while others it does list the band name.

Is there a way to rectify that?

Thank you!!

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #1
Most likely missing tags. Right click the file with no artist name and select properties. Does it have the artist name filled in the field named "Artist Name"?

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #2
I'll check on that when I get home and get back to you.

Thank you.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #3
My apologies, I thought I had posted this but hadn't. So sorry for my late response.
In Foobar, if I right click on the song file listed in the playlist it does *not* display the artist name in Properties. In Windows Explorer, if right click on the song file (.wav) and choose Properties it does display the artist name.
What would you suggest?
Thank you.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #4
Wav files? There's your problem. Tag support and wav files are two things that don't go well together in foobar.
This topic is of interest.
My suggestion, convert your wav files to a lossless format like flac.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #5
WAV files in foobar2000 support both ID3v2 ("ID3 " chunks) and RIFF INFO chunks (limited fields, ANSI encoding). Please upload an example file somewhere and PM it to Peter if you want a definite answer, CC to me if possible if you want a fast examination, but no definite answer as to why it isn't supported.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #6
To jazzthieve.

.wav is a lossless format.

Why would changing the .wav to .flac another lossless format matter?

I'll have to see if VLC Media Player will convert .wav to .flac.

Also, are you suggesting I can't "tag" my MP3 files so they play in a saved playlist?

That would mean I would have to convert every .mp3 song (thousands) into .flac just to be able to create a playable playlist in foobar?

To: kode54 - who is Peter here?

Thanks.



Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #7
Most modern media players now RELY on tags to do their job.  The .WAV format is so old, it doesn't really support tagging at all, and random results are to be expected.  If you convert to a more modern lossless format like .FLAC, tagging is built-in and usually works properly.  Foobar2000 can do these conversions for you, if that's what you decide to do.  MP3's should not need conversion for tags to work, and you should never convert them anyway.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #8
^ Agreed. I used to convert all lossless files I get to FLAC just because of tagging, it's so easy to manage tags in FLAC files. I know that I had some tracks that was named track1, track2 etc in folders but was properly tagged so I didn't even notice it because they looked nice in foobar. Then I just renamed them with help from tags using file operation->rename to (yet another great feature of foobar ;) )
Somewhere, there's someone dying in a foreign land
Meanwhile, the world is crying stupidity of man
Tell me why, tell me why

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #9
.WAV is not a format. It is a container type, which mostly cintains uncompressed audio in PCM format, but can also contain compressed ADPCM, lossy MP3 and WMA. The benefits of converting .wav contained PCM to FLAC are both better tagging capabilities/ compatibility as well as saving of disk space, especially if you listen to classical music, which greatly compress in FLAC.
Files can be easily convertible in foobar (PCM to FLAC) and easily taggable in foobar. You can select many MP3 files at once and edit their tags effectively in a single window. You can also configure your title formatting in foobar, so it will display everything nicely no matter if tags are present or not - just search this forum for tips and look into Title Format Reference. Foobar's initial configuration can be widely adopted to personal needs.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #10
Hi tblob, vicas and EpicForver,

Can you please share with me the step-by-step process for me to tag a .wav music file in foobar so it will play in a  playlist with my .mp3 songs? Thank you all!

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #11
^ Simply just with any other file.
Open file in foobar, right click on file -> properties and fill Artist Name, Album Title, Track Title, Date, Genre and any other fields that you want.

But if you use playlist files there may be an problem with playlist types when using it on another player so I would suggest that you save playlist from foobar in few different formats for example one playlist in .m3u and  .m3u8 format.
Somewhere, there's someone dying in a foreign land
Meanwhile, the world is crying stupidity of man
Tell me why, tell me why

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #12
Hi Vicas,

Thank you for all that.

I'll try your suggestions.

Much appreciated.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #13
http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Foobar2000:Title_Formatting_Reference
file:///C:/Program%20Files%20(x86)/foobar2000/titleformat_help.html
especially:
file:///C:/Program%20Files%20(x86)/foobar2000/titleformat_help.html#other  and first operator: [ ]  can be helpful.

Using these operators and variables you can format displaying of titles in foobar playlists accordingly to your wishes (how they are displayed there in foobar - not how they are written to file - you will always have there just file path when saving to .m3u). For example you can create custom column (Preferences -> Display -> Default User Interface -> Playlist view) with code:
Code: [Select]
$if($meta(artist),%artist% - %title%,%filename%)
This will check if tags are present (here: a tag with artist name) and if yes, then it will read artist name and track title, and if not - it will just display filename - not question marks. You just need to click on columns header on playlist view, disable columns from default config and enable the one you have created. You can make those functions nested and do more complicated analysis. My code for "Artist - Title" column is:
Code: [Select]
$if($and($meta(artist),$meta(title)),$meta(artist) – $meta(title)[ '('$meta(subtitle)')'],$if2($meta(title),$if($meta(artist),$meta(artist) – '['%filename%'  (>>>tags missing!<<<)' ']',%filename%'  (>>>tags missing!<<<)')))

 

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #14
Hi Vicas and EpicForver,

I've got a cat a lot like yours in the photo rescued from shelter.

Thank you both so very much for all your kind help.

Say I want to be able to play a song in both VLC Media Player *and* foobar (not simultaneously, but with the ability to play that song in each program as chosen… is there a format to convert the .wav file into so that it will then play in foobar and then when I open VLC it will play there as well? If so, which format would you recommend? .m3u? .m3u8? A different format? 

And just so I’m clear, I should not have to convert an .mp3 song into another format for it to be saved and then played in a playlist in foobar? Ex. If I have both .wav files and .mp3 files I need to convert the .wav files to be played in a saved playlist but in that same playlist I do *not* need to convert the .mp3 files?

Lastly, in foobar when I right click on a .wav song and complete the artist name and song title what’s the next step in converting that .wav file? I’m prompted with an Apply and an OK tab but I don’t see any Convert tab.
Must I first apply the artist name and song title and hit apply or OK and then go elsewhere in foobar to convert that file to a format playable in both foobar and VLC Media Player?

Thank you again so much!

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #15
Hi,
1. You can mix all possible formats/containers in any kind of plalist file (.m3u, .m3u8, .pls and others). Both players must support them all however. But let's be serious - if we talk about all usual formats/containers like FLAC, MP3, MP2, WAV, AIFF - they all should be supported in every app. No need to worry about it.
2. You really don't have to convert anything. You can optionally convert those .WAV contained tracks to FLAC in order to save some space, but it is NOT necessary.
3. I would recommend .m3u8 playlist type for best interoperability between foobar, VLC and even Winamp.
4. File converter is available as a separate entry in track's right click menu. It should look like "Convert..." (sorry, I'm on mobile now, can't look at it). You need to have "Converter" component installed (checked) during foobar's installation - I am not sure if it us checked by default. Also you should download Free Encoders Pack from foobar's website.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #16
Hi EpicForever,

Saving the songs as a .m3u8 playlist did the trick in VLC Media Player and also plays in foobar. Thank you! That was huge!

I’m experiencing trouble converting a .webm file to flac format. I seem to have to create a new playlist in foobar ansd then add the .webm file.

Once that .webm file appeared in foobar in the playlist window pane, I right clicked on that file and chose Convert and then chose flac as the desired format and choose Browse and the location on the flash drive but once it proceeds though its machinations I only find it under Users on the hard drive as a 1KB shortcut.

Can you please share the best way to convert video files (e.g. MP4, .webm, etc.) into flac (audio) files in foobar?

Thanks so very much for all your great help.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #17
You must be more specific about what exactly happens... Do you see warning about conversion from lossy to lossless? Do you see encoding progress? Message about process completion? You can open from there destination folder...
Have you installed Free Encoders Pack? I think it is what you may be missing.
http://www.foobar2000.org/encoderpack

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #18
If I create .jpgs of what I see as I try to convert a .webm file to flac, is there a way to share them here?

Can I simply copy/paste a jpg? Or upload it here?

Thanks.

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #19
If you click "Preview" instead "Post" you will see more options, like adding attachments (files).

Re: Playlist creation - artists missing on some

Reply #20
Hmmm.

If I include a .flac song file in with .mp3 song files in a playlist in VLC Media Player and save those songs as a playlist file in the m3u8 format and then close VLC and then open VLC and try to open that m3u8 playlist file I just saved I get the same error messages as when I tried saving music files as all mp3 as xspf.

That doesn’t happen in foobar. I can add a flac, mp3 and wav files and save as a playlist and open that playlist and it plays all music in the order I saved them in.

VLC has a progress bar along the bottom so you can see how much time has elapsed and how much is left on a song. Is there any way to set up a similar progress bar in foobar?

Finally, converting an mp4 file.

I’ve uploaded the steps so you can see how it progresses until I get an error message. Any idea how to correct that?

Thanks so much!