FLAC Files with the "≫" Character in File Name Won't Play

[simoncn]

Thaks for trying this test and posting the results. It sounds like we now understand the cause of the problem. This is a big step forward.

MinimServer 0.8.5.2 handled these "Windows-style" characters in a different way and this would be why it was working when you first ripped the files in 2017. Unfortunately, this approach didn't work with ffmpeg (as we have discussed earlier on this thread) so I made a change in MinimServer 0.8.5.4 to fix the ffmpeg issue. It is possible that this 0.8.5.4 change might not be compatible with filenames that contain a "Windows-style ≫" character. When you updated to 0.8.5.4 and you posted here that you were able to use ffmpeg with two filenames containing a "≫" character, it could be that these two filenames contained a "Mac-style ≫" character rather than a "Windows-style ≫" character.

MinimServer 2 is using the same approach as MinimServer 0.8.5.4 and this is why I said I didn't think MinimServer 2 is the issue.

I have checked the Melco manual to see what happens if you select the "PC-incompatible characters" option. It says this will cause some characters in filenames to be replaced with underscores. Changing all "≫" characters to underscores should solve the problem with MinimServer not finding these files and it might be the only way to make these files show up in the MinimServer library and also work with transcoding using ffmpeg.

I will do some further testing to see whether it is possible to solve this issue without using the Melco "PC-incompatible characters" option. I will post back here when I have more information.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon, interesting, thanks very much. I will await your next post before running the Melco character replacement option.

[simoncn]

I have not been able to reproduce the symptoms that you have reported. When I use dBpoweramp on Windows to rip a file whose title contains '>' and copy the ripped file from Windows to the Melco, the filename on the Melco contains a '»' character in the correct encoding and the file can be found by MinimServer.

I tried manually editing the filename to produce what I thought was the incorrect encoding. This produced an error in the log but it wasn't the same error that you are getting.

As I can't identify exactly what is wrong with the encoding of your filenames ripped in 2017 and I can't reproduce this problem now, I think it will be necessary to change the filenames so that they use the correct encoding. One way to do this might be to use the Melco option to change "PC-incompatible characters" to underscores. I don't know what Melco means by "PC-incompatible characters" and it is possible that this will change other characters that you don't want to be changed.

An alternative (safer) option would be to copy your library from the Melco to your Mac (perhaps using an external disk on the Mac if you don't have enough space on the internal disk) and then copy it back to the Melco. This should correct the filename encoding issue without changing the '»' characters. You could optimize this process by just copying the albums that are shown in the MinimServer log as having this issue. After doing this copying, you will need to do a MinimServer rescan. As a test, you could try this with one album to see if it fixes the problem. This is the approach that I would use if I were faced with this situation.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon, thanks for the testing and the report. Is there any potential benefit to me sending you one of the original CD11 FLAC files? If so, how should I send it? If not, I will copy just the albums that show up in the MimimServer log from my external HDD to my Mac, and from there to the Melco "share" folder (as I do not want to run the Melco character replacement feature if I do not have to). Thanks again.

[simoncn]

Do you still have the original Windows files for the 2017 CD11 rip (not the Melco copies)? if, so, I will suggest a way you could send these to me.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon, yes I do. I created the test folder described above from the original Windows rip. Thanks.

[simoncn]

The important thing is not to copy the original files (at all) before sending them to me. This is because copying is likely to change the encoding of the filenames and it is the filenames (not the file contents) that are important. I suggest the following:

1) Mount the original external drive on a Windows system
2) Use zip or 7-Zip to create a .zip archive containing the entire CD11 folder from the original external drive
3) Upload this .zip archive file to my FTP server

I will PM you the FTP server details.

[GreenMtnGringo]

Hi Simon. Thanks very much for trying to assist me with this esoteric and apparently Melco-based problem. I understand that you are not able to replicate the problem I am experiencing. As it turns out, the problem is even worse than I thought originally (everything is relative, of course; in the overall scheme of things, this is a "first-world" problem and I am not attempting over-dramatize it). The Melco still does not recognize numerous FLAC files with "≫" in the file name. Except, that is, when I go to delete the folders from the Melco that contain these files. At that point, I get an error message stating that one or more of the seemingly invisible files is "in use" and cannot be removed. I also tried copying a folder from the Melco containing several of these 'invisible' files to my MacBook Pro desktop. The files with "≫" in the name do not copy.

This bizarre behavior is seemingly consistent with @BB1's post from July 2019, in which he wrote in part:

"With [Melco firmware] v.3.90 things became worse. If importing the very same file via USB in this version, it was invisible, i.e. it couldn’t be edited, moved or deleted at all.
In order to get access to the file I had to downgrade the [Melco] firmware."

https://forum.minimserver.com/showthread...1#pid33301

At this point, I am leaning toward running the Melco character replacement option. If I do so, I will report back here as to how it goes. I would rather not have to do so, though, due to the Law of Unintended Consequences, of course. Any other suggestions would be welcome. (The only things that come to mind currently are downgrading the Melco firmware and/or downgrading from MinimServer 2 to MinimServer 0.8.)

[GreenMtnGringo]

By the way, in case anyone following this thread is trying to understand how strange and frustrating this situation is, here is a concrete example:

On June 1, 2019, three FLAC files containing '»' in the file name that I ripped on February 28, 2016 using a Windows 7 PC and transferred to the Melco as part of a six-FLAC-file subfolder shortly after I purchased the Melco in late 2016 were clearly visible on the Melco but would not play. See Post #8, above, and the screenshots attached thereto.

On July 1, 2019, thanks to an update to MinimServer 0.8.x, these same three FLAC files were still visible and now could be played. See Post #15, above.

Today, the same three FLAC files are not even visible on the Melco. They cannot be seen or played. See the two screenshots attached to this post comparing the June 1, 2019 view of this Melco subfolder and the view of the same subfolder today. Three of the six original FLAC files have disappeared from view ... specifically the three containing '»' in their file names (Tracks #s 01, 04 and 05).

I copied these six FLAC files to the Melco in late 2016 or early 2017 and have not touched them since. I have not done anything to manipulate these files since February 29, 2016, when I edited the tags that were created during the CD ripping process the day before. Through no actions on my part (other than applying Melco firmware updates and various MinimServer updates, including updating to MinimServer 2), three of these same six FLAC files went from visible but non-playable to visible and playable and now to invisible and non-playable.

And there are hundreds of such music files on my Melco.

Does anyone have a contact at Melco who would understand this scenario and who has the technical skill to try to do something to remedy it? Thanks.

[simoncn]

At this point I think you need to push the Melco button and hope for the best. The problem is caused by Melco firmware changes and the solution must therefore be a Melco solution. Do you have a backup of the Melco in case the Melco button does something you don't like?