I don't know if this is possible. I have made a custom column which is picking up the values Foobar's Dynamic Range plugin creates after evaluating tracks.They are also present in the extended tags panel. I can not, however, edit these values. If I try on the column browser, nothing happens and the old value remains. I assume that means MP3Tag cannot write to these values.
Either way, I want to map these to iTunes TVEPISODEID, so I can view them there. Here is how I set up the mapping:
Unfortunately, iTunes is not picking up the values I see in MP3tag. I did try inputing values in iTunes and seeing if they showed up in the custom column I created, but they did not show there (maybe bc MP3Tag cannot write them?). However, if I open the extended tag panel, I do see the values, under the same title "DYNAMIC RANGE,"
but as a duplicate or, rather additional entry on a separate line.
Ask and you shall receive! This value ("1234" which I added through iTunes) does not show in the column browser in the custom column I created. It still reports 6. There are no double forward slashes either.
No mapping required again for this field TVEPISODEID. I tried make some changes to some TV Shows in my library in iTunes, then checked them in mp3tag. They show up in the Alt-T extended tag window, and I could edit them there. The changes would be reflected back to iTunes after a refresh. So the field works both ways. I tried with a file I created, and another that was downloaded from Apple, with alpha and numerical characters. Both worked as expected.
In your mapping setup, isn't DYNAMIC RANGE your source, and TVEPISODEID your target?
I am dyslexic and I get very confused with this but considering what I put in involved people in MP3tag shows up in description in iTunes, and that what insert in episodeid is reported under Dynamic Range in the extended panel, I would think I have it set up right, but I am not sure.
Jeez Louise, ohrenkino, of course, you are right! Man, I wish I could cook you a meal. Just know that I really do appreciate your help. You have saved me thousands of hours over the years.
I have no idea why I would have to but that in (feel free to post a link), and why it reported the values before, but now everything works perfectly both ways.
I can edit the values, I can input/edit them through iTunes and MP3Tag. And they both read what foobar's Dynamic Range plugin creates.
I may have understood. I thought you wanted the DYNAMIC RANGE Value that had already been written by Foobar to appear in the TVEPISODEID field in iTunes. Your screen shot show duplicate fields of DYNAMIC RANGE only.
Did the suggestion from @ohrenkino help to put this field in the correct place?
I realize now that when I map this information, once I hit save, MP3Tag then moves the information from one field to the other, it does not copy the information over. I was wondering if there is a way to just copy the information over so it exists in the Dynamic Range field and also in the TVEPISODEID field.
This quote from the help section makes it seem this is not possible:
Please note that this implies that all Source fields are written on tag updates. Mapping one Source field to multiple Target fields is not supported.
The problem I am having is that after I save the m4a (ALAC) files, which maps the Dynamic Range Values produced by foobar to TVEPISODEID, they are no longer read by foobar. They simply disappear as if they were moved. But if I re run the dynamic range plug-in, then the values get doubled in MP3Tag.
Perhaps I could avoid all these problems by simply copying the Dynamic Range values to TVEPISODEID instead of mapping them?
I am currently experimenting with it. I am wondering if it is a good strategy. I really don't like appropriating fields as they cause problems, but I figure TVEPISODEID would be a instance where I could do it without issues.
I just did not realize that when I mapped the fields I was actually moving it through MP3Tag from one field to another when I hit save. I did not know that all .m4a files would have the dynamic range (DR) figures moved to tv episode id. I guess because I used iTunes to access m4a files and MP3Tag and Foobar for flacs. I only dealt with the m4a files in MP3Tag for initial conversion and tagging before importing them into itunes and rarely looked at them afterwards. It is only now when I am accessing and working on the files with all three that I am grasping everything that is going on.
So now I am trying to devise a strategy where I can access all these values that I will use to make decisions on files to keep etc and keep them consistent. I was hoping that there was a way to map them to a field while keeping them in their original field and perhaps the way to accomplish that is with an action which copies the DR numbers to TVEPISODEID, and making sure that I always use it in my conversion protocol.
Mapping seems like it would be the best strategy as it would be automatic. Perhaps I can figure a way to have foobar map the values for m4a files, I am not well-versed with it.
TBH: I don't understand why it is necessary to have different fields for iTunes and other programs as apparently, iTunes is o.k. with DYNAMIC RANGE.
You said
TVEPISODEID, I would assume has a completely different purpose and using it for DYNAMIC RANGE looks like abuse.
Also: does iTunes do anything with the parameters in this field? I doubt it (as iTunes will probably take that as the id of a tv episode...)
And if iTunes doesn't bother why map and cause havoc?
The reason I am doing this is I want a tool to make rather quick decisions on which version of a song to keep in my library. I may have 6 versions of Aha's "Take on me" because I have various compilation albums in my library. I want to keep one. If I have dynamic range I can make a quick assessment in itunes on which to keep and then use a script to replace the version I keep on all playlists the non keepers existed. I need to clean up my library badly.
So it would be very useful to see DR in iTunes but iTunes does not let you create new fields, as we all know. So, just as others use the comments or description fields for various uses, such as sub genres, I want to use TVEPISODEID to have a column that I can see in iTunes to make these decisions. Yes I am appropriating a field for my use, but what other use would TVESPISODEID have with music? So I thought there would be no deleterious effects using that field. But I am open to other ideas. Things I have read here have definitely changed my way of thinking on various things.
The problem is that I need to know which songs I have run DR on in foobar, so I use the DR field there to sort the songs. I am trying to learn how I can map things in foobar but am currently having trouble just getting TVEPISODEID to who in that program, so I may just copy the values and be vigilant for any discrepancies.
It seems to me that this is really a lot of effort to pound a square peg into a round hole. I would suggest that iTunes is definitely not going to use this information for anything within its' library management.
Can't this same process be done within mp3tag already, sorting first by song name, then artist, and finally by the existing field for this DYNAMIC RANGE? You can delete the files from this list too.
Did you know that MP3tag and Foobar have almost the same powerful filter function, much more powerful than iTunes?
Did you know that you can drag&drop files from Foobar to MP3tag and vice versa?
Did you know that you can define special sorting criteria for a (dummy) column, e.g. somethink like %artist%%title%$num(%DR%,3)
Sorting by a column with this set in "Sort by" lists the files by artist, title and then DR.
The effort of mapping and copying only to satisfy iTunes short comings would be a clear indication to me that iTunes is not the best tool to achieve what you planned.
Yes, iTunes has many limitations and I hate it for many reasons, BUT it has the most stable streaming experience at my home with manifold ways to control volume from a watch to a phone to a remote. I have tried to do this with Foobar and Winamp and there always seems to be a problem somewhere along the chain. There is only so much time I can spend on all of this. I choose to spend it organizing and tagging and am a bit lazy with the player. iTunes just works most times, at least as far as playing my music throughout my home for every day enjoyment. Perhaps just as important is that I can also share a lot more with iTunes than Foobar, which I know is probably the best choice for my purposes.
You both make cogent points about trying to repurpose things. I have learned the hard way that it leads to a lot of problems. However, I cannot run the scripts that repopulate the songs on the playlists I have made in iTunes with foobar, and I have done a lot of work on those playlists. With iTunes I can bring in new versions/masterings of songs and with some scripts replace existing songs in playlists automatically, which saves a ton of time because I have many playlists. I do not know of a way to do this in foobar, and even if I did it would not solve the problem of me being able to share certain things with family and friends who own iphones. Though, I must admit, they are all moving to spotify, more3 and more.
In short, as much as I hate iTunes, I feel, at this time, that there is still a need for it as a tool to aid my music-listening in certain situations. As such, I need its library to be svelte and organized, so I need to be able to see dynamic range in iTunes and the only way to do it is to copy or map. I just have to figure out what is the best approach. Probably to copy.
I am trying to get a handle on Foobar and am trying to use it more and more as an additional tool that can do much more. I believe it is the music manager I will end up using for my main library. It is just extremely hard to learn. I have tried and quit many times but this time I am getting a little further. Any advice on how to get a handle on that bear would be very much appreciated.
Those options ohrenkino spoke of and the many others I have read about are exciting and it does seem there are some ways to clean up playlists. I just need to figure out how and documentation that I can find, at least, is very lacking.
I know that you can d&d files from iTunes into MP3tag. This would also apply to playlists.
My idea would be to d&d the files into MP3tag, clean up all the files. iTunes will then not find the removed or renamed files and remove them from the playlist.
Foobar, BTW, has a similar filter function to that in MP3tag with almost the same syntax. So it should be possible to find the files with the best dynamic range without the need to copy or map.
I think this is getting more and more off-topic.
So either a concrete question about an MP3tag function in a new topic would be nice and/or a discussion in the off-topic seciton about the workflow between different programs would be good.
Sounds good. I am going to do some more work and research and once I have something solid to offer I will report back. Thanks for the ideas and suggestions. Both of you have me thinking....
