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Topic: Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions... (Read 2842 times) previous topic - next topic
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Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions...

Hi all

For quite a while now I have been ripping my CD collection using dBpoweramp 14.4. When I rip I encode twice, creating one FLAC and one mp3 album. All’s going well with that…

But I also have a fairly large library of stuff I have downloaded, recorded, etc etc. (let’s call that the random collection) and I now want to integrate this into the FLAC and mp3 libraries (from ripped CDs). The random collection is a mixture of FLACs, and mp3s of various quality. I want each album to end up in both the main/parent FLAC and mp3 libraries (created form the rips), even if that means having duplications. All FLACs and high quality mp3s will need to be converted to mp3 –v4 for the mp3 folder. Lower quality mp3s won’t need converting, but I still want a copy in both parent directories. Hope that makes sense!

I have finished tagging all of the audio in the random collection, but there’s more work to be done and I’m a bit stuck on how best to go about it. I'm not even sure what software (or which of the DBPA programmes) to use.  I wondered whether any kind souls might be able to help with any of the points below. Even if you can only answer one or two it would be a massive help.

1. I want to change all of the folder and filenames in the random collection so that they match the same format as the rips I’ve done. I have a naming “script” (Output Location – Dynamic) which I use in DBPA when ripping, if that would help?

2. I use ReplayGain and so want to apply this to all of the files (to the same spec/settings as the rips I’ve done). How?

3. When ripping CDs, DBPA replaces characters that are restricted in Windows to ones that are allowed. I’m guessing I’ll need to do this for the random collection too… I’m just not sure how.

4. I’ve downloaded artwork for the random collection but at the moment all the jpegs are sat in one folder. I don’t embed artwork; I just have a “cover”.jpg in each album folder. Will I have to sort this manually for every album or is there a way to do it quickly and easily?

5. When I rip CDs, there are two different features that I have for the mp3s only. A) I have the track number added to the start of each song title tag. B) I have the artwork reduced to 320 x 320 (and no larger than 50kb). How can I get this done?

6. Some tracks have iTunes tags such as iTunes_CDDB_IDs, iTunNORM, iTunSMPB (there may be more…). Do I need to get rid of them, and if so - how (preferably all in one go)? I’m just worried that they might cause conflicts or problems.

Sorry for the length of the post and the amount of questions. Like I said above, any help would be fantastic, no matter how little.

Cheers

Max

Re: Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions...

Reply #1 –
I would use a combination of foobar2000 and Mp3tag.  Matching up the artwork, unless the files have some sort of consistent naming convention, will probably need to be done manually.  You can batch resize the images using an "image resizer" app.

Re: Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions...

Reply #2 –
1. Into dBpoweramp you can install the Arrange Audio Utility codec and Batch Convert all the files to this to have them renamed.
2. Install the utility codec 'ReplayGain' and batch convert all the files to this tohave the tags applied.
3. Step 1 will automatically do this.
4. Install the ultility codec 'ID Tag Update' and set to import cover.jpg (best doing this before step 1). It can also resize the art (5). and remove specified tags (6)

Re: Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions...

Reply #3 –
Few things got in the way so only just coming back to this.  Apologies first of all for not replying to say thanks for the replies. 

I'll give the above advice a go and come back if I have any problems.  The only part I'm really unsure about this stage is "4"...  How will the ID Tag Update utility know which artwork jpeg belongs n which folder?  What do I need to do exactly? 

Thanks again :)

PS - sorry, one other thing, I've downloaded the codecs but can you please remind me what I have to do with them to install them?  It's been a long while since I last did it. 

Re: Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions...

Reply #4 –
It expects your albums to be in their own folders, and in each folder cover.jpg

Re: Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions...

Reply #5 –
Sorry to be a pain, but I'm confused. 

As things stand, my albums are all in their own folders.  The set up is - Artist folder > Album folder(s) > Individual tracks.  There is currently no album art in any of these folders.   Rather, all the jpegs are together in a single "artwork" folder, and they have various names at the moment; mostly named after the artist/album.  What I need to do is get these jpegs and put them into their respective album folders.  And I also need to change them so that they are all named "cover".

Is that something 'ID Tag Update' can help with and if so how please? 

Or was Apesbrain right when he said I would need to do it manually? 

Many thanks

Re: Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions...

Reply #6 –
Quote
Rather, all the jpegs are together in a single "artwork" folder, and they have various names at the moment; mostly named after the artist/album.  What I need to do is get these jpegs and put them into their respective album folders.
I think you'll have to move them manually.  No matter what, there's going to be some manual checking/verifying and "clean-up" involved if you want consistency and accuracy.    (I like to be consistent with capitalization and abbreviations, and with greatest hits or various artist albums, I take some extra time to tag each song with it's original-release year, and I also change the release year if there was original vinyl.)

Quote
And I also need to change them so that they are all named "cover".
That may not be necessary, depending on your player software.     Before I switched to embedded artwork, I was using the album name.

Quote
I don’t embed artwork
I didn't used to, because it's inefficient to have 10 or 20 copies of the artwork embedded on 10 or 20 files.   But, embedded artwork seems more compatible so now that's what I do.

Re: Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions...

Reply #7 –
Hi DVDdoug

I think you're probably right in that I will have to move them manually, but I'm just holding fire until I hear back from Spoon RE his post above (or someone else who can help).  I don't want to spend a few hours moving them manually only to find out afterwards that I could have done it a quicker and easier way... 

As for the "manual checking/verifying and "clean-up" I've already done that using Mp3tag. 

Cheers

Re: Can anyone help me sort a collection of random music files? Various questions...

Reply #8 –
I've gone ahead and done the artwork manually.  Didn't take as long as I thought actually.  And for the length of time it did take I put on a couple of good albums and  got lost in them while my fingers did the repetitive menial work! 

So that's #4 from the list in the OP crossed off.  When I get home later I'll start on the other 5 points.  Just got a couple of codecs to install and update first.

Cheers