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Hosted Forums => foobar2000 => General - (fb2k) => Topic started by: someone8 on 2012-09-15 14:02:30

Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: someone8 on 2012-09-15 14:02:30
Previously, I always used a rating scheme which also incorporates one decimal place (mostly .5). But after the recent rating tag change

? ID3v2: “rating” tags now compatible with Windows Media Player (beta 2).


, my old habit can't be realized anymore, as only the number without the decimal places is saved (to assure WMP compatibility). However, if write a "6" (or any higher number) in the rating tag with foobar, it is saved but will never be compatible with WMP. So can the developers please enable the possibility to save floating numbers again, and only write WMP compatible rating tags, if the written rating is [1 2 3 4 5]? This would help me a lot, because I wouldn't have to modify my whole music library to use a custom rating tag or switching to a [1 2 3 ... 10] (from a [1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 ... 5]) rating.

Thanks in advance!
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: q-stankovic on 2012-09-15 16:38:41
Why don't you use just another tag? 
Instead of RATING you could use f.e. MY_RATING or RATED or any other name.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: someone8 on 2012-09-15 17:39:05
As I already said, this would be an option but quite an effort to apply it to the whole library. Additionally, maybe other guys have the same problem. I think the WMP compatibility approach should be reconsidered, as it's not fully compatible when one has it's own rating scheme and using values above 5 for example for finer "rating resolution" (like IMDB rating 1 to 10)
For a long time, I also used 1 to 5 rating. But at some time, it wasn't enough and switched to decimal.

And don't forget this argument: who cares about WMP, when we have foobar2000, right? 
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: MDMA on 2012-09-15 17:42:11
It's not an effort to apply it to the whole library. Select all your tracks, right click > Properties, Add your custom rating field of choice, then select "format from other fields" and set it simply to %rating%
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: someone8 on 2012-09-15 18:24:04
OK, thanks. I will do that. But still, strange behavior. 
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: BenB on 2012-09-15 19:32:40
Quote
http://www.foobar2000.org/changelog (http://www.foobar2000.org/changelog)
■ ID3v2: “rating” tags now compatible with Windows Media Player (beta 2).


Did anyone stop to consider the possibility of a shared media library where one person uses WMP and another uses foobar? Different people have differing tastes which means they'll have separate ratings. One, both or all parties will have to refrain from writing their ratings tags to file (in foobar and WMP) or face having to deal with other people's ratings overwriting theirs. I predict lots of unhappy campers.

I believe further discussion is warranted but it should be in a separate thread.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: shakey_snake on 2012-09-15 19:46:41
Quote
Did anyone stop to consider the possibility of a shared media library where one person uses WMP and another uses foobar?


You are correct that writing user statistics to file tags isn't an idea compatible for multi-user environments. This is why the official rating component (http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_playcount) still maintains a separate database for user specific data (ratings and playback statistics), rather than writing them to the file's tags.

However, for people who insist on writing rating to tags, the way the POPM tag frame is written to is now compatible for them.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: BenB on 2012-09-15 21:01:35
I don't think foobar writing a POPM frame belonging to another software is a good idea. It would be better that foobar writes a POPM frame of its own. This would prevent the situation I described above. If compatibility is needed, then give users the option of exporting their foobar rating to a separate WMP POPM frame.

I need to make one clarification related to my initial post. I incorrectly (but I think reasonably) assumed that because foobar can write a WMP POPM frame that it would also see existing frames and import them for ratings. foobar does NOT do this so if other household members use global ratings in WMP, they can do so without affecting other household members using foobar. foobar users shouldn't write their ratings' tags to file if in the scenario I described in my first post.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: neothe0ne on 2012-09-15 22:31:44
I think a nice compromise would be having an advanced option to toggle what the Rating tag is saved to.  (So that we can turn off the WMP compatibility)
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: shakey_snake on 2012-09-15 23:20:04
I don't think foobar writing a POPM frame belonging to another software is a good idea. It would be better that foobar writes a POPM frame of its own.
Please stop.

You are entirely out of your league and don't even seem to understand grasp the basics of the situation, so please save us from your "fix suggestions". I'm sorry if this seems curt, but I am here in attempt to clarify what the changelog means, I don't need you getting 10 steps ahead of yourself.


This would prevent the situation I described above.
There are many ways to avoid the situation you've described above, one of which has already been implemented in component that I shared above. Why not explore your available options, first, before burdening us with your half-baked ideas?

Until this fix was made there was no way to get the mp3 tag to correctly work between programs. Now there is. Compatibility enhancement added. End of story.

I need to make one clarification related to my initial post. I incorrectly (but I think reasonably) assumed that because foobar can write a WMP POPM frame that it would also see existing frames and import them for ratings. foobar does NOT do this...
It can read a mp3's ratings (and add it to your user-specific statistics database),  by using the "import statistics from file tags" feature found in the playback statistics menu.

I think a nice compromise would be having an advanced option to toggle what the Rating tag is saved to.  (So that we can turn off the WMP compatibility)
If we added a new option every time one user didn't understand something...
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: q-stankovic on 2012-09-16 00:52:13
If the aim is just to avoid the same tag in two different programs so - to repeat a question from another thread - why don't you use fb2k's full capability and use another tag? Let's say: <BENB_RATING>. Via advanced preferences you can make this tag appear in properties dialog and selection info viewer as "rating" what you can use also as name for playlist or facet columns. Is it so important how the name of the frame is?
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: BenB on 2012-09-16 00:59:06
Please stop.

You are entirely out of your league and don't even seem to understand grasp the basics of the situation, so please save us from your "fix suggestions". I'm sorry if this seems curt, but I am here in attempt to clarify what the changelog means, I don't need you getting 10 steps ahead of yourself.

There is no need for personal insults. You don't know me so please refrain from characterizing me or my abilities. I could say more in this regard but I'm not going to engage anyone in a dick-measuring contest. It's irrelevant and pointless. Again, there is no need to make this personal.
There are many ways to avoid the situation you've described above, one of which has already been implemented in component that I shared above. Why not explore your available options, first, before burdening us with your half-baked ideas?

I'm well aware of the various ways to get around the situation and I alluded to them in my previous posts. For the record, this change doesn't affect me. I never write ratings tags to files. I'm speaking up for those who can't or won't speak up for themselves. Now I have a question for you: Why doesn't development seek any input from foobar users before making changes which might negatively affect the users?
Until this fix was made there was no way to get the mp3 tag to correctly work between programs. Now there is. Compatibility enhancement added. End of story.

I wasn't aware there was a high demand for this change. I've not seen any recent posts in this regard. The change doesn't affect me as I've already stated. I'm a fan of compatibility between programs. I raised valid concerns in regard to how this change might affect users and suggested a remedy. Development can take them into consideration or ignore them. I stated my case.
It can read a mp3's ratings (and add it to your user-specific statistics database),  by using the "import statistics from file tags" feature found in the playback statistics menu.

I didn't clarify myself enough. I meant it doesn't import those ratings automatically, forcing users to have to change ratings which aren't theirs. I took it for granted that others would take what I was saying in the context of a multi-user environment (indeed all of my comments were in that context), which I shouldn't have done.
If we added a new option every time one user didn't understand something...

Rather flippant remark (and a mischaracterization if you were referring to me).

I do request that this discussion be split into a separate thread, at least from my second post (with relevant references from earlier posts included, of course).
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: EpicForever on 2012-09-16 21:00:00
If the aim is just to avoid the same tag in two different programs so - to repeat a question from another thread - why don't you use fb2k's full capability and use another tag? Let's say: <BENB_RATING>. Via advanced preferences you can make this tag appear in properties dialog and selection info viewer as "rating" what you can use also as name for playlist or facet columns. Is it so important how the name of the frame is?


Hahaha  This is exactly what I have done, singing loudly how great media player is foobar. I was so loud that my wife called to me "shut up idiot"  . It's funny to see that some foobar users are completely unaware what they could do with their software  . I've never seen such configurable application - especially media player  . I added several own tag types, gave them descriptive names displayed in Properties Window, created own columns using them and I'm happiest music listener around the world  . Leave "POPM" - use "BENB_RATING" instead

Now, the only thing that I need is AIFF tagging - reading and writing metadata from and to AIFF files  . 1.1.16 todo list number one
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: db1989 on 2012-09-17 12:32:29
Quote
? ID3v2: “rating” tags now compatible with Windows Media Player (beta 2).
Did anyone stop to consider the possibility of a shared media library where one person uses WMP and another uses foobar? […]
I believe further discussion is warranted but it should be in a separate thread.

I do request that this discussion be split into a separate thread, at least from my second post (with relevant references from earlier posts included, of course).

Done: I’ve split from the first post about ratings. Since the subject seems to have outgrown the original thread, I ask that interested users try to keep it here.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: shakey_snake on 2012-09-17 13:47:34
I'm well aware of the various ways to get around the situation and I alluded to them in my previous posts. For the record, this change doesn't affect me. I never write ratings tags to files.

Great!

Discussion over, AFAIC.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: Defrance on 2012-09-25 07:04:48
I'd like to explain the issue this implementation has caused for me.

- I use The Godfather as my regular tagging software, and use foobar and The Godfather to rate tracks while listening to them.
- The Godfather uses the "Rating" tag for ratings, and has no support for reading or writing POPM.
- Unsurprisingly then, with 1.1.15, if a rate a track in foobar, it does not show up in the Rating field in The Godfather.

Because of the way this has been implemented in foobar:
- If I set The Godfather to not preserve all ID3v2 frames, it will wipe the POPM frame
- If I set The Godfather to preserve all ID3v2 frames, I will end up with both a POPM and a TXXX frame, this could lead to inconsistent tags (e.g. POPM = 3, Rating = 2)

I don't understand why the decision was made to do away with writing TXXX "Rating" tags in foobar. In the Advanced section, there should be the option of writing TXXX, POPM, or (preferably) both.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: Emerelle on 2012-09-27 11:11:34
+1 for the suggestion to make TXXX rating tags an option. I hate the fact I cannot see my ratings anywhere else than foobar now.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: shakey_snake on 2012-09-27 13:50:33
+1 for the suggestion to make TXXX rating tags an option. I hate the fact I cannot see my ratings anywhere else than foobar now.
What other software do you use that you are having issues with?

Apparently not WMP?
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: Emerelle on 2012-09-27 15:25:42
Exactly, not wmp. Any other software I tried so far, uncluding windows explorer, does not show my new ratings.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: Defrance on 2012-09-27 20:34:16
Other than a few bytes of space per file, what is the negative effect of having foobar2000 write both POPM and TXXX frames?
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: trelain on 2012-10-08 04:33:59
Other than a few bytes of space per file, what is the negative effect of having foobar2000 write both POPM and TXXX frames?


What I am seeing with the new feature is that choosing "RATING" from Masstagger is setting a POPM WMP tag and not a TXXX tag at all, even though there is a separate "RATING WMP" option in Masstagger.  If I wanted a WMP POPM frame for a rating, I would choose "RATING WMP" and not "RATING".  Choosing "RATING" instead as an available alternative obviously means I DON"T want a POPM WMP Rating tag, and am happy with the user TXXX "RATING" tag from a "RATING" option.    I believe MP3Tag expects the user to specify "RATING WMP" to get a POPM WMP tag, why would FB2K do it differently?  What if someone else wants an assumed Media Monkey rating tag from "RATING"?   
Also if FB2K writes both TXXX and POPM from "RATING", but MP3Tag continues to write only the specified one, this will create inconsistent behavior.  I know that MP3Tag and FB2K are not officially supposed to tag the same way, but over time they have been steering their ships more in the same direction, which is nice. 

If the new "assuming" behavior must remain, then I would also like to be able to toggle this as a config option.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: trelain on 2012-10-08 20:35:59
Couple of corrections after more research.  On a fresh install there is only RATING as the default in the Masstagger dropdown to Set a Value, and under v1.1.14a if I try to add a "RATING WMP" entry, it creates a TXXX frame of "RATING WMP" - not very useful.  And according to MP3Tag's tag mapping page, RATING MM for Media Monkey also uses POPM for its file Rating tag, same as WMP.  So before v1.1.15 there was NO way to create a POPM Rating in FB2K?
That said, a config option to toggle mapping to TXXX or POPM would be ideal for folks like me who prefer a generically-named user tag for Rating that won't get overlaid by any over-zealous software copying its database Rating to POPM.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: shakey_snake on 2012-10-08 22:47:37
Couple of corrections after more research.  On a fresh install there is only RATING as the default in the Masstagger dropdown to Set a Value, and under v1.1.14a if I try to add a "RATING WMP" entry, it creates a TXXX frame of "RATING WMP" - not very useful.
Those values shown in masstagger are the default standard fields (Prefs->Advanced->Display->Properties dialog->Standard fields) + other field values you've used in your previous masstagger scripts. Why you used a "not very useful" tag previously is anyone's guess.

And according to MP3Tag's tag mapping page, RATING MM for Media Monkey also uses POPM for its file Rating tag, same as WMP.
To clarify your statement for other readers: "RATING MM" is what mp3tag calls how it is that Windows Media Player, Media Monkey and now foobar2000 all use the POPM id3 frame for rating.

So before v1.1.15 there was NO way to create a POPM Rating in FB2K?
Correct, that's why this is an improvement.

That said, a config option to toggle mapping to TXXX or POPM would be ideal for folks like me who prefer a generically-named user tag for Rating that won't get overlaid by any over-zealous software copying its database Rating to POPM.
People who are so paranoid about other "overzealous software" can just use id3v2.4 and they get their wishes and it won't be interopertable with anything else. Hell if you just want a TXXX:RATING tag in id3v2.3 that isn't interoperable with anything just store your tags with any string value that isn't "1", "2", "3", "4" or "5".

-----

Honestly, this whole thread has so far been a complete overreaction to a very minor change. The mass of users would never notice this, except for "hey my ratings work now!". It's an improvement for them because they need their tags compatible with the most popular software, because it should "just work" for them. And the knowledgeable users don't care because they are already using foo_playcount because they realize storing user-specific data in tags is folly. You have to be right in that uncanny valley of middleground "power user" for this to somehow be a problem for you.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: Sandrine on 2012-10-19 14:26:31
I am not sure I understand all the implications of the change. Here's what my research has uncovered so far:

TXXX seems to be a freeform text field, whereas the "Popularimeter" tag (POPM) stores hex rating values from 1-255, in addition to a bunch of other stuff (cf. http://id3.org/id3v2.3.0/ (http://id3.org/id3v2.3.0/) Section 4.18). Obviously, the POPM tag can be used in a variety of ways, the so-called WM POPM tag being one of them (without knowing what it does exactly).

So the caveat seems to be that different software expects different formats of the rating tag and foobar2000 has chosen the way to make it compatible with Windows Vista and higher. For the everyday foobar2000 user who stores his tag in an audio file there will be no apparent difference.

Did I get this right? Are there other points to consider when chosing the tag type from TXXX or POPM?
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: BenB on 2012-10-20 18:20:24
foobar 1.1.16 beta 1 has been released and the following is listed within the changelog:

ID3v2 tagging compatibility improvements:
Option to write “rating” as TXXX for the few people who want it.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: Sandrine on 2012-10-20 20:59:07
The question remains - which to choose? ... see post #24.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: BenB on 2012-10-20 22:35:20
It's a matter of preference/necessity.

If you want or need ratings portability/compatibility with other media players, then do nothing and allow foobar to continue to write WMP-compatible POPM frames in your MP3s (WMP will see them and various other players can import them).

If you're in a multi-user, shared media environment where someone else uses WMP and writes their ratings to file (i.e. global ratings are enabled in WMP), then I personally suggest choosing to have foobar write ratings to TXXX frames in your MP3s (by changing the setting in Preferences > Advanced > Tagging > MP3 > ID3v2 revision and quirks, as of 1.1.16 beta 1) so that you eliminate the possibility of overwriting one another's ratings. Other than for this reason, I don't really see any need to change the setting.

A note of caution:
If you use any custom tags (i.e. tags written to TXXX frames by foobar, external taggers, etc.), altering any metadata tags in WMP or Windows Explorer will garble those custom tags and render them useless. They cannot distinguish between the tag's description (aka name) and the tag's value. They rewrite the tag's value with the description partially clipped and lose the actual value. (Some COMMENT tags are rewritten this way also).
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: trelain on 2012-10-22 23:02:52
foobar 1.1.16 beta 1 has been released and the following is listed within the changelog:

ID3v2 tagging compatibility improvements:
Option to write “rating” as TXXX for the few people who want it.



THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU !!!
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: roc on 2012-11-06 00:53:10
+1, I'm sure that would help out a lot of people who have the POPM field used by other software that is less flexible / amazing as FB2K

As a DJ / music producer, I can definitely see the benefits of using a Mac OS (a whole other discussion), but the ONLY thing keeping me to windows is FB2K. (Praise the lord of such programs!)

As I have a few days off work I am looking to future proof my setup

Current situation:
I use FB2K 1.1.13 (no revised Rating tagging in that) for music organisation and Native Instruments Traktor Pro for DJing (1 of 2 leading digital/timecode DJ software, the other being Serato [not counting Rekordbox here]). All music is in MP3 format.

Traktor uses the POPM field for it's Rating tag. The format is as follows:
If the song's rating = 5 it populates the Popularimeter (POPM) tag with => "traktor@native-instruments.de|255|0" (without the quotes)
rating = 4 => traktor@native-instruments.de|204|0
rating = 3 => traktor@native-instruments.de|153|0
rating = 2 => traktor@native-instruments.de|102|0
rating = 1 => traktor@native-instruments.de|51|0

I do all my ratings in FB2K v1.1.13, then use a MP3Tag script to export the Rating field to the POPM field of the MP3s. (Every few weeks I re-run the script, so that Traktor has my latest Rating changes)

Now when I load up my MP3s into the latest FB2K version (v1.1.16) (with the "Option to write rating as TXXX" enabled) I see multiple ratings (separated by a comma) for many of my songs.

After many hours/days of research and testing (which I see no need to detail here at this time), I have concluded that FB2K 1.1.16 looks at the usual "rating" tag, as well as the "rating wmp" tag and the "popularimeter" (POPM) tag.

I removed the "rating wmp" tag from all my mp3s to simplify matters (I created them myself previously but they are redundant now in my current setup)

The remaining 'multiple' ratings that can be seen in FB2K 1.1.16 is a combination of the Rating tag and the Traktor POPM tag.
BUT I think FB2K 1.1.16 reads the POPM tags as follows:
traktor@native-instruments.de|255|0  =>  rating = 5
traktor@native-instruments.de|204|0  =>  rating = 4
traktor@native-instruments.de|153|0  =>  rating = 3
traktor@native-instruments.de|102|0  =>  rating = 3 (not 2)
traktor@native-instruments.de|51|0  =>  rating = 2 (not 1)

So FB2K reads 'properly' only the ones rated 3, 4 & 5. (I understand that POPM is more of a favourites/popularity 'meter', and just because Traktor assigns the values as it does doesn't make them 'right')

Also, it seems FB2K writes to the normal Rating tag when the "Option to write rating as TXXX" is ticked (as expected), and the Rating WMP tag when it is unchecked?

I realise I could just stay at the current FB2K version indefinitely, so please do not suggest that. As:
1) would be amazing to have FB2K sync properly with Traktor 2 rating POPM field (ideal, but unlikely, scenario?)
2) more importantly, I am looking ahead here, if in the next 2-3years there comes a point where I am not able to use v1.1.13, I would rather have realised now and prepared for it whilst I have the time to look into it. (ie. might as well use my time off to begin preparation to move onto a Mac lol!)
3) don't know why and if it's coincidence or not, but my Rating field in my FB2K v1.1.13 has stopped showing me the rating in the playlist view (still can see the rating in the property dialog box view of the song). So instead of concentrating my efforts on fixing that (which I have tried somewhat already) thought it would make more sense to try and use the new version (which at least shows something in the Rating column of the playlist view!)
4) I will probably just make my own custom tag and just use that rather than sticking to an old version of FB2K

Questions:
1) Why does FB2K not read the POPM tags as the same as Traktor? ie. What does foobar consider the different rating values
2) FB2K seems to write to Rating (when the "Option to write rating as TXXX" is ticked) and Rating WMP (when the "Option to write rating as TXXX" is not ticked)... where does the Popularimeter come into all this?
3) Will FB2K ever work with the Traktor POPM tag in the future?

Sorry for the massive amount of info here, but wanted to give more rather than less. (I know how annoying it is when people ask for help but have given only very limited info!)

Many thanks
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: shakey_snake on 2012-11-06 03:53:09
Questions:
1) Why does FB2K not read the POPM tags as the same as Traktor? ie. What does foobar consider the different rating values
POPM is an id3 frame that has a complex set of criteria it stores: an email address and a binary value between 0 and 255 (0xFF).

However, this is a pointlessly complex and rigid standard, especially when most people just desire to rate songs on a 1-5 "star" scale (especially as that is how the "rating" is exposed by the WMP interface). So, when you have a standard that is pointless and rigid, it is going to be utilized in a way that is driven by convention. So, fb2k attempts to follow the conventions followed by the most popular software (WMP: garbage email address, and a value that corresponds with a certain number of stars), so that the tag works with the most people.

It appears your chosen software uses a different convention (aka a different number from 0-255 to represent different numbers of stars).

FB2K seems to write to Rating (when the "Option to write rating as TXXX" is ticked) and Rating WMP (when the "Option to write rating as TXXX" is not ticked)... where does the Popularimeter come into all this?
Field names (as shown in fb2k's properties dialog) map to different id3 frames (See outdated chart here (http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Foobar2000:ID3_Tag_Mapping)). It is another layer of abstraction, necessary by the fact that fb2k deals with lots of different formats with various tagging schemes.

So for mp3 you have the following layers, from most abstract down to the most "bare metal":
Code: [Select]
Field name                  (e.g. RATING)
          |
          V
Tag Type Standard               (e.g. id3v2)
          |
          V
Tag Type Standard revision               (e.g. 2.3)
          |
          V
id3 Frame                       (e.g. POPM)
          |
          V
Convention                       (e.g. 255=5 stars)



3) Will FB2K ever work with the Traktor POPM tag in the future?
You would need to convince the author of Traktor to follow the more popular convention. It is unlikely fb2k would abandon compatibility with WMP in order to be compatible with less popular software.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: trelain on 2012-11-06 12:23:24
You are seeing a different interpretive "spread" of the POPM numbers between software, which Traktor appear to be descending values of 255 down to 51, whereas FB2K spreads them out down from POPM 255 to 1, which is I believe fairly common, but again just convention as Shakey stated.    In poking around in the past I've seen these ranges used in POPM (binary hexadecimal in file = decimal equivalent = rating):

x'FF' = 255 = 5
x'C4' = 196 = 4
x'80' = 128 = 3
x'40' = 64 = 2
x'01' = 1 = 1

so FB2K sees your Traktor POPM's:

traktor@native-instruments.de|255|0 => rating = 5
traktor@native-instruments.de|204|0 => rating = 4
traktor@native-instruments.de|153|0 => rating = 3
traktor@native-instruments.de|102|0 => rating = 3 (not 2)
traktor@native-instruments.de|51|0 => rating = 2 (not 1)

and is likely assigning 102 to Rating '3' because 102 is closest to 128 (Rating 3),  and 51 is closest to 64 (Rating 2).

With all its ambiguity, POPM sucks.  I've chosen "Write Rating to TXXX', and copy the simple 1,2,3,4,5 TXXX values to BPM, and use BPM to determine the "Rating" in other software, like iTunes, to avoid all the POPM crap.  But as a DJ roc I understand you may need BPM for its intended purpose.

Also every indication I've seen is that "Rating WMP" always writes to the POPM frame, with a "Windows Media Player 9" as its "email address".    So there should only be two possible resulting tags when toggling "Write Rating to TXXX" in FB2K, a TXXX frame of "RATING", or a POPM tag with its interpreted value, and whatever bogus email address.
Title: Discussion of v1.1.15’s changes to handling of rating field in ID3v2
Post by: roc on 2012-11-06 15:17:54
Thanks for the additional info shakey_snake, trelain.

Interesting to see your thoughts on why FB2K uses those rating values from those POPM numbers, makes sense.

In light of all this I have bypassed all of this by creating a custom tag with my rating in it (can't use BPM as that is used by Traktor / myself also) and will just continue to update the POPM field from this custom tag so that Traktor can read it, using my MP3Tag script ever so often, just as I do now.