Threaded Mode | Linear Mode

skeptic Mike · 08-01-2018, 12:50

(06-01-2018 20:11)pask Wrote: Thanks Paul and Beck for taking the time to get back to me do appreciate it a lot
Yes, using multiple platform with complex tagging ( gendar + composer + all artist ) is actually a nightmare :,(
BUT, i do like a lot the way I'm using my NAS + MacBook Air + audirvana(DLNA version) + DLNA AMP, very fast and flexible, on the same time, NAS + Minimserver + iPad + DLNA AMP is so cool and computer free and has a better WAF factor

After doing some investigation, and converting files in different format, I just found out that Andirvana tags are correct via minimserver on all artists tag on files converted to FLAC files. When opening a FLAC file in MP3tag, correct separator are displayed \\, and it works via both platform perfectly... But the same file in M4P version return me ;;;; for miniserver on the all artists tag .... I can't believe I've done something wrong as I ran this test on multiples album with multiples artistes...

A Lord, my collection is 70% M4P... should I really have to convert them to FLAC to get the good display on both platform ? :,(

Well the lazy option could be to only use artist tag when using minimserver on iPad and just forget about the all Artists one ... of course I can live with that

Thanks

You've exposed a problem with tagging mp4/m4a files. There isn't a definitive specification for multi-value tags. The tagging scheme that's normally used for these is an approximation to the (proprietary) Apple iTunes scheme. This doesn't define a method for multi-value tags. So, there are a variety of methods used, and they aren't necessarily compatible. In the file structure each of the elements that make up a tag are called atoms. A "standard tag" such as artist, consists of an atom that shows it is an artist tag, and a subsidiary 'data' atom that contains the artist's name. to get multiple artists, the tagging program developer can:

1. duplicate the whole artist tag so that for each artist there is an artist atom with a single data atom. (e.g. mp3tag or MusicBee, or Jaudiotagger Audio Tagging library from Paul Taylor)

2. attach more than one data atom to a single artist atom. (e.g. mutagen and taglib open source tagging libraries, and puddletag or Picard programs (which use mutagen))

3. choose a separator character to put in a single data atom, such as a semi-colon or forward slash. (e.g. taglib-sharp open source library which uses semicolon, or windows 10 explorer which uses forward slash)

MinimServer recognises 1 and recently 2, but not 3. 1 and 2 require somewhat elastic interpretations of the standard (such as it is), 3 is simply a different 'standard'.

A further issue that arises with these different ways of handling multi-value tags is how programs behave when given files tagged using a different scheme to the one they use. If the program is just reading the tags, e.g. MinimServer, it simply doesn't understand them as you expect. If it is writing them it may overwrite them in some way that deletes some. This is most likely to apply to tags described in 1 and 2. So, if you put multi-valued tags in mp4/m4a files using mp3tag or puddletag, what will your Audivarna make of them when importing the files, and what will it do when writing or updating the tags. Scheme 3 tags are more likely to emerge unscathed by alternative tagging programs.