On 15 Sep 2007 at 16:53, Silvia Pfeiffer wrote:> Skeleton, CMML and Vorbiscomment are not sufficient for some people - > in particular when there is a more complex piece of metadata to be > communicted, e.g. from an archive that stores a lot more information > than just name-value pairs.In my opinion, for this purpose it would be more appropriate to store the data separate from the audio files -- perhaps another file in the directory, or in a database. -- -:-:- David K. Gasaway -:-:- Email: dave@gasaway.org -:-:- Web : dave.gasaway.org
On Sun, Sep 16, 2007 at 09:54:10PM -0700, David K. Gasaway wrote:> In my opinion, for this purpose it would be more appropriate to store > the data separate from the audio files -- perhaps another file in the > directory, or in a database.These applications are complementary. Many music players do have their own database, and it makes sense to keep metadata there, if only as a cache. It is also to have metadata in the file itself, so that when it is moved, copied, posted for download by others, or just indexed by another music player instance it is easily available. In the other direction many music players use central databases to obtain metadata in the first place. Entering metadata is tedious; the role of software should be to minimize the number of times this needs to be done and mediate smoothly between all the places it is stored. -r
On 16 Sep 2007 at 22:10, Ralph Giles wrote:> These applications are complementary. Many music players do have their > own database, and it makes sense to keep metadata there, if only as a > cache. It is also to have metadata in the file itself, so that when it > is moved, copied, posted for download by others, or just indexed by > another music player instance it is easily available.Absolutely. I was trying to say that *in those scenarios* where complex metadata *needs* to be recorded, storing this data separate from the audio files has numerous benefits: improved editibility; less redundancy; and better expression of the relationships amoung release, discs, and tracks. Even today, I use my own "metadata format" -- essentially a superset of vorbis comments. There is one file per release, even with a multi-disc release. As a final part of the ripping process, I apply this metadata to the FLAC or Vorbis files. -- -:-:- David K. Gasaway -:-:- Email: dave@gasaway.org -:-:- Web : dave.gasaway.org