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Topic: UPnP Media Library multiple artists (Read 2107 times) previous topic - next topic
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UPnP Media Library multiple artists

Trying to figure out how to have the foobar media server output files with multiple tags.

For example I just added my mp3 folder of "Frozen" the movie soundtrack to my library. All the files have multiple tags with multiple artists for example they all have "Disney" as the artist but then also they all have the individual singer as well.

When I look them up in foobar (view by artist), all is as expected and well. For example the song "Let It Go" comes up in two places:
Disney-->Frozen-->05. Let It Go
and also
Idina Menzel-->Frozen-->05. Let It go

However this does not happen when looking things up via the UPnP Media Server, it doesn't split them up properly and show them as separate artist entires. How can I change/modify or add to the media server code to get it to display correctly? The code I am using is listed below (only the artist section is listed):

<SubTree label="Artists">
<spec type="object.container.person.musicArtist">%artist%</spec>
<spec type="object.container.album.musicAlbum">%album%</spec>
</SubTree>

Re: UPnP Media Library multiple artists

Reply #1
I figured it out. Anyone looking to make any field capable of using multiple tags, this will work as long as in the foobar settings you enable that field to be able to have multiple settings:
Preferences > Advanced > Display > Properties dialog > Multivalue fields.

In case anyone else is wondering about this issue: I finally figured it out by looking at the formatting from the album list tab in the settings. Apparently the field needs to be %<artist>% instead of %artist% however it is not as simple as that in the media tree as it is in XML format so simply changing it like that wont' work.

If you open the XML file in a text editor
Instead of %<artist>%
you need to use
%&lt;artist&gt;

Hope this helps someone

Re: UPnP Media Library multiple artists

Reply #2
Very helpful! Thanks.

This does have a weird effect when used in combination with certain artists, like "Earth, Wind & Fire", They show up as both "Earth" and also "Wind & Fire", but not as "Earth, Wind & Fire". So the <artist> syntax seems to cause server to separate artist names on commas, which is how multi-tagged artists are displayed by Foobar2000 (even though you enter them with semicolons).

I'd much rather have it work this way than not at all. There are only a handful of artists who put commas in their names. For a song like "Boogie Wonderland", I can tag "Earth, Wind & Fire" and "The Emotions", and it will show up three places.

Luckily, I don't have any music by the group "Earth" or "Emerson" (assuming they exist; they probably do), or else it would be more annoying. Until there's a conflict like that (which could be resolved, in my case, by browsing "Album Artists") it's just something to keep in mind when you're browsing for Artists. Another solution would be to re-tag the group as "Earth Wind & Fire", under artists.

Minor annoyance, but it would still be cool if foo_upnp could handle this case properly (or if there anyone has any other suggestions).




 

Re: UPnP Media Library multiple artists

Reply #3
This only happens because the values were separated into multiple values when you entered them. You'll also need to track down all the affected files and retag them, being careful to use a form that doesn't auto separate them again.