Formatting Genre String

[Ernst Wilhelm Grueter]

I have changed my nas system, so i change my music server software from twonky to minim. For Twonky I build up my music collection (managed with itunes) in a specific way. Using the comma as a separator I can convert one complex genre in itunes into 3 simple genres in Twonky.

Genre iTunes :
Blues,|60,|60.Blues

Genre(s) Twonky :
Blues
|60
|60.Blues

If I look at BubbleUPNP on my Android smartphone this doesn't work for minim. Is there a way to get this to work?

Many thanks in advance

[simoncn]

This use of commas is a nonstandard feature of Twonky and is not supported by MinimServer. Instead, you can use a tagging program to convert these tags into the standard format for tags with multiple values. What type of files are these (MP3, FLAC, M4A, WAV, etc.)?

[Ernst Wilhelm Grueter]

Hi Simon. Thanks for coming back on this. My entire music 'chain' is based on mp3.
What would be the standard for multiple entries, can I use itunes for this. I am a bit reluctant to use another additional program?

May I ask you: I am struggling to find a configuration page. After activating the trial version there was no change on the browser page?

Thank you.

[simoncn]

The browser configuration page does not allow all MinimServer properties to be configured. For historical reasons, most properties need be to configured using MinmWatch (see this page). This will change in a future update to MinimServer.

I am not an iTunes user and I don't know whether iTunes allows multiple genre values to be tagged in MP3 files. Perhaps someone who uses iTunes can provide more information.

[Ernst Wilhelm Grueter]

Regarding the configuration page I've activated minimwatch. That's okay. Thank you.

Obviously iTunes is not supporting multiple genres. Is minimserver supporting multiple genre, if provided in standard format?

Thank you, Ernst Wilhelm

[simbun]

It might be quicker to test it yourself by copying an existing album, modifying its album name and inserting the relevant multi-value seperator before loading it back into iTunes to see how it handles it.

If you're on Windows the easiest way would be to install mp3tag.
With a default installation, once you've dragged your copied files onto the UI it'll identify the tagging format for you (ID3v2.3 or ID3v2.4 hopefully) in the Tag column.

If it states it's ID3v2.3:
mp3tag doesn't write a per-spec ID3v2.3 tag so it's best to test with the official separator and with mp3Tags separator (which translates it into a NULL) by typing 'Artist1/Artist2' into the Artist tag, and 'Genre1\\Genre2' into the genre tag, before saving your changes.

If it states it's ID3v2.4 (which uses a NULL separator):
Just type 'Genre1\\Genre2' in the genre tag.

If it states it's anything other than just 'ID3v2.3' or 'ID3v2.4' let us know.

Load the modified album into iTunes, and let us know if the modified tags appear any different to the strings you entered in mp3tag.


EDIT: I've just noticed that mp3tag doesn't save in the same format as the incoming, so best to go to Tools > Options > Tags > Mpeg, and in the 'Write' panel, disable ID3v1, and select ID3v2.4 if the incoming files are 2.4, or ID3v2.3 UTF-16 if the incoming files are ID3v2.3. This assumes the incoming files have just one format (as mentioned above, let us know if there are more than one).

[simoncn]

This will work correctly with MinimServer for all tags with multiple values if the tag is in ID3v2.4 format.

If the tag is in ID3v2.3 format, MinimServer support for multiple values is limited to the Artist, Composer, Lyricist and OriginalArtist tags. This is because of limitations in the ID3v2.3 specification. Specifically, the use by some tagging programs of 'nul' as a separator for multiple values is not consistent with the ID3v2.3 specification. This problem has been fixed in the ID3v2.4 specification, where 'nul' is a valid separator for multiple values in all tags.

[Ernst Wilhelm Grueter]

Hi. Strange, some new hardware is changing my entire workflow

I moved from iTunes to MusicBee. Last but not least because it can save the tags in ID3V2.4. Displaying some items in mp3tag I can see eg. ID3v2.4 (ID3v1 ID3v2.4). I haven't used mp3tag to update. My plan is to make any updates within MusicBee. The check wether it works I've done with my smartphone and BubbleUPNP. Looking at my AV-Receiver it works well too. What I think is better using ";" instead of "\\".

Sample A
Input Genre 1\\Genre 2
MusicBee => Genre 1\\Genre 2
Minim => Genre 1\\Genre 2

Sample B
Input Genre 1;Genre 2
MusicBee => Genre 1
MusicBee => Genre 2
Minim => Genre 1
Minim => Genre 2

Thank you Both

[simoncn]

I'm glad you have found a solution. MusicBee uses ';' to separate multiple values. This is similar to the way that Mp3tag uses '\\'. These separator characters are not stored in the tag values within your files.

[simbun]

I think iTunes can write ID3v2.4 but I've seen many posts about how it's corrupted the tags, so I think moving away from iTunes can only be a good thing.

I'm not sure whether you're saying that MusicBee is converting your existing tags to 2.4, or whether it has the capability to write them, but I'd be very careful about moving to ID3v2.4 unless you know that all your players support it.
As a standard it was published around 2000 but there are still many players out there that don't support it fully e.g. Sonos doesn't support embedded album art in v2.4!

Personally I'd definetly go with 2.4 so I could get full MinimServer functionality, but bear in mind you may need some workarounds for other players e.g. keeping folder.jpg in the root of the album directory for Sonos.

Hope I haven't muddied the waters too much.