Batch FLAC metadata edits... best way?

2004-03-20 23:09:23

As anyone who has read my two previous threads is aware I have an archive of FLAC files, sans SEEKTABLEs, encoded using ECDDA.  Recently after reading up on the way FLAC applies default seek points, the hit that results from the absence of seek data, etc., I've decided I should probably go back and apply seektables with 1s seek points to all my files.  This seems especially worthwhile since the application of 1s seekpoints to each file only adds about 6b to each files size, meaning I get something for just about nothing.

The problem I've enocuntered is how to do this without ripping out my frontal lobe.  Preferably I'm looking for an easy way to do a recursive run through my archive (currently in artist\album\title - number.flac format) that I can jsut start and leave running.  I'm thinking of something a la the godfather or tagrename here, though I have NO expectation of anything on that level of control or refinement.  Basically I'd take a batch file if it could do the job with some tailoring.

So does anyone know of anything like this that's out there?  Any possibility of getting this kind of capability added into windows FLAC Front-end?  Maybe a control for adding or applying seekpoints from the Front-End interface?

I have no experience creating executables or writing batch files, so I'm trying to see if anything exists or could be modifed before I delve into learning how to write the batch file I need.  Yeah, knowing how to make batch files for all sorts of tasks would probably be useful, but I'd rather avoid the need to learn the "world of DOS batch" if I don't have to.

Thanks in advance for any help, I've scoured the net and can't really find anything that meets my needs (that isn't grossly irritating).

-rt

Batch FLAC metadata edits... best way?

Reply #1 – 2004-03-21 04:41:09

Well due to the lack of interest and input I just sucked it up, reviewed some information on batch files and commands, and wrote up a quick script to do what I'm looking for.

The following batch script will add a seektable with 1s seek points to all files recursively within a given directory.  It echos program start, echos the beginning of each file edit,  and echos a message when it finishes each file.  It also logs any errors to a separate file.

seektabler zip

I've included a recent copy of metaflac in the zip, but you should probably replace it with the most recent version if you find yourself using this at a much later date (I just put it in for convenience).

To configure the batch file you will need to change the directory line at the beginning of the FOR statement to point to the top level of your archive directory (so it knows where to start the recursive search, "C:\Downloads" in the included script).  As for the commmands in the file, they should be self-evident:

- For larger seek points just edit the "--add-seekpoint=1s" line to reflect the desired number.

- To add in more commands just create a new line with the desired commands between the "(echo "Editing %%i"" and the "echo "Finished editing %%i"" lines.

Hope this is useful if anyone else finds themselves confronting a similar problem.

Best,
rt

Batch FLAC metadata edits... best way?

Reply #2 – 2004-03-22 05:25:54

1s seekpoints is probably overkill; 10s is more reasonable and should fit in the default padding, which will make the whole process much faster.

seekpoints don't determine the minimum seek resolution, they are just hints where to jump in the file.  10 sec seekpoints are usually <50 frames away from any target.

Josh

Batch FLAC metadata edits... best way?

Reply #3 – 2004-03-22 06:22:05

Thanks for the 411 man, preciate it.  Not really too knowledgable about all the little settings, etc.

Best,
rt