HydrogenAudio

Lossless Audio Compression => Lossless / Other Codecs => Topic started by: keiths on 2004-06-30 18:45:31

Title: Updating tags in multiple file formats at one time
Post by: keiths on 2004-06-30 18:45:31
I normally use EAC to rip my CDs to FLAC files first. Since EAC puts the tags in the FLAC files, it makes things nice and easy when I then use Frontah to convert the FLAC files over to MP3 and/or use Nero to convert the FLAC files over to MP4 since the tags are carried over for me automatically.

But... it occassionally happens that I later notice that there are spelling mistakes in a few song titles or name of the album or maybe they had the wrong year or I wanted to change the genre, etc. (you get the idea). Now, if I wanted to go back and correct something (i.e. spelling mistakes, year, genre, or whatever), I would have to go back and correct them by hand in the FLAC files, then again in the MP3 files, and then again in the MP4 files.

Is there an easier way? I was just thinking that it would be cool if there was a way to just store the tag information in a single generic/standard text file or something and keep that text file in the same directory with my songs, just like many of us do now with cue sheet files (to keep TOC and gap info for the purposes of reburning a CD from the FLAC files and having the same track gaps that the original CD had). Then, if I wanted to fix a spelling mistake, year, genre, etc., I would be able to just edit the text file ONCE and run some kind of utility and it would pull the information from this text file and fix all the effected FLAC, MP3, and MP4 files for me automatically all in one shot.

Ideally, it would also be best if such as utility used an already existing file format for the text file, such as cue sheet format and/or freedb format, rather than some newly invented format just for this purpose. Obviously, in the case of the cue sheet format, there is no provision for storing year or genre, but maybe it could use REM (remark) commands for this purpose (i.e. REM Year=1986, REM Genre=Rock) or something.

1. Does such a utility exist?
2. Is this even a good idea?