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Topic: Looking for a specific SFV/MD5 utility (Read 3316 times) previous topic - next topic
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Looking for a specific SFV/MD5 utility

For all my rips I create SFV files (usually on a level above single releases in the file tree structure to cover several releases with a single SFV file) so that I can quickly check the integrity of the files whenever I need to - either when copying, moving or as a general check.

The problem I have is with maintaining these SFV files, specifically keeping them current as I tend to "mess" with my rips after they've been committed to the library. I might do some renaming, tag fixing, even file deleting in cases where I have the same song appearing on different releases in which case I keep only the best version. For example I'd delete a file, then open the corresponding SFV file, search for the deleted filename and remove it from the list. Doing this manually is a PITA, especially with the knowledge that this kind of job is perfectly suited for automatization.

So is there a utility that could help me here? I'd be already happy if it would just scan through the SFV files looking for files listed there that are no longer present on the disk and remove them from the SFV files. Detecting and updating renames, calculating new CRCs in case of tag fixing, appending new CRCs for the files added to the relevant folder etc being a welcome bonus.

The main goal is having a way to quickly and effectively check that the media files are OK which these SFV files accomplish adequately. However if there's a better way, one that's as hands off as possible and accomplishes the same or better I'm all ears. Unless it's overly radical like changing a whole OS and/or file system which honestly I don't see myself going into anytime soon (currently running Windows and NTFS). Your input is much appreciated.

Re: Looking for a specific SFV/MD5 utility

Reply #1 –
I can't answer your SFV question, but if you're using FLAC you're lucky. FLAC (also WavPack) has a build in audiodata MD5. Any metadata change has no effect to the audiodata MD5. You can verify the audio intregity e.g. with foobar.


.halverhahn

Re: Looking for a specific SFV/MD5 utility

Reply #2 –
Wavpack requires -m switch though.

Re: Looking for a specific SFV/MD5 utility

Reply #3 –
I wonder what I need if I wanted to check metadata integrity as well?  Checking audio integrity is straightforward and easy.

Re: Looking for a specific SFV/MD5 utility

Reply #4 –
Quote from: .halverhahn on
I can't answer your SFV question, but if you're using FLAC you're lucky. FLAC (also WavPack) has a build in audiodata MD5. Any metadata change has no effect to the audiodata MD5. You can verify the audio intregity e.g. with foobar.

Thanks for the tip, but unfortunately I'm not lucky to a considerable extent in this regard. Plenty of files are mp3s and since they're perfectly fine quality wise and ripped from vinyl, redoing them all in flac would be even more time consuming than manually maintaining these SFV files, making the whole re-ripping to FLAC moot.

Re: Looking for a specific SFV/MD5 utility

Reply #5 –
Found something: https://github.com/gurnec/HashCheck/releases/tag/v2.4.0

Seems to work at detecting when I change the metadata or any kind of file.  LOL.  I like to know how well it works for others as well before I decide to fully use it.  Not advertising anything.  I do like how I can check everything with File Explorer with a single click.

Quote
Thanks for the tip, but unfortunately I'm not lucky to a considerable extent in this regard. Plenty of files are mp3s and since they're perfectly fine quality wise and ripped from vinyl, redoing them all in flac would be even more time consuming than manually maintaining these SFV files, making the whole re-ripping to FLAC moot.

What format is SFV?  Because I can tell you that I was able to convert my entire library of Monkey's Audio to FLAC.  I did so in increments that I could manage at a given time.  It took roughly a month or few weeks but I was able to do it.  The best part is I didn't have to re-rip anything.  I used a simple foobar2000 verification utility to detect anything that didn't convert successfully and fixed any problems by re-converting only the affected files.  I used a combo of MP3Tag and foobar2000 to convert tags from ApeTagV2 to Vorbis Comments.

Re: Looking for a specific SFV/MD5 utility

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Chibisteven on
Found something: https://github.com/gurnec/HashCheck/releases/tag/v2.4.0

Cheers, I'll have a look.

In the meantime I found an app that does part of what I needed. I searched many times before (literally years since I first started searching) and never found anything useful, but today I somehow got lucky: http://skwire.dcmembers.com/wb/pages/software/sfv-ninja.php

This app is able to scan for and through your SFV files (also recursively within subfolders - not tested) and immediately upon loading an SFV file checks if there are missing files, allowing to easily remove them from the list. Unfortunately it is somewhat cumbersome as it appears to work on an unusual paradigm that I haven't quite decoded in full, but it is still usable (loading a different SFV file appends it to the one already opened instead of replacing it, it doesn't allow saving the cleaned list unless you also verify the files, but if you select "verify new files only" it skips actually verifying, assumes all files good and lets you save the SFV file). A more serious problem is that it apparently doesn't support unicode filenames - filenames with umlauts and the suchlike are reported as missing files. So it is of some use, but far from perfect.

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edit:
I did have a look at HashCheck and it doesn't appear to deal with any of my specific needs as listed. It is is a nice and simple SFV checker, but that's about it and I already have one I'm happy with - quickSFV.

Quote from: Chibisteven on
What format is SFV?  Because I can tell you that I was able to convert my entire library of Monkey's Audio to FLAC...
SFV is a simple text file with hashes. An app like your HashCheck loads this SFV file, calculates the hashes of the files on the disk and compares with those in the SFV file. If they match the file is fine, if they don't you know something happened to it.

Monkey Audio to FLAC is fine as you're converting lossless to lossless and you can have it all automated. I would have to convert my lossy MP3s to lossless FLAC, which would be easy to do, but doesn't sit well with me as it would be a terrible waste having lossy files with the weight of lossless ones. Or I would have to rerip all the vinyls again simply to encode them in FLAC. Another terrible waste in this case of time, as it would be repeating what has already been done without a substantial improvement (the MP3s are pretty transparent already). Since the sole point of looking for a solution to my listed problem is to save time managing the library, having it as automated as possible, reripping vinyl would be hugely counterproductive. But perhaps I did a poor job describing my needs... I have a music library that I want to be able to check for consistency/integrity. Currently I'm using SFV files for that purpose, but that brings with it the annoying and time consuming part of managing said SFV files to keep them updated as I make changes to the library (add/remove/rename/edit files in the library). I'm looking to automate this as much as possible, having to do as little managing manually as I can. Investing more time into automating than would be spent manually managing then obviously doesn't make much sense.
 

Re: Looking for a specific SFV/MD5 utility

Reply #8 –
Thanks for the links Marko. Those look like interesting projects, but unless I'm missing something they unfortunately aren't quite the solution. For one they only deal with mp3s (I'd rather not tie myself to a format even on the file verifying front and I'd prefer the verification process to be format, ideally file type agnostic) and even then I'm not sure how reliable their routine for discarding tags is. Secondly and perhaps this is my limitation, using either of these two doesn't feel like it would be very handy.