I don't think I ever used any sort of normalizing program on these files if that's what you mean that may have made APE tags. But I did convert all the files in the mp3tag program and preceding that I did mess around with those checkboxes when I didn't know what they do.
I will check out that Wizard, but I don't know if it will work. It would have to connect to the database of music albums, as per an internet collective someplace I would think... recognize my mp3 album in some aspect and set the track #s the same.
But check this out:
less quite a lot of space.
MP3tag does not convert files.
right ... I did tag them though. Which is what these checkboxes do too right? Taking a tag out when you click save? Maybe it added in an APE tag? I don't know. Maybe you have to specifically cut tag. I don't know I have never done it deliberately before today so I don't know when it does the 'write tag' option in the middle. I think I checked those boxes all around don't remember which ones.
I do not think that digging around in the past will lead us anywhere as we would still have to take the same actions to get it straight.
AFAI understood the problem, the goal is to get the embedded pictures displayed in the player.
So far some files have been found without embedded pictures,
some files apparently have inconsistent data in different tag versions.
Still to be done: what format do the embedded but not displayed pictures have?
ANd if all that is checked and unified and the pictures still do not show up, the intiative would go to the player and the player's support to find out why it sometimes shows pictures and sometimes it does not.
No that is no problem. These files always had the pictures. It was only after the recent iTunes conversions that that iTunes folder (not relevant here none of this was operating on those files) got its pictures lost for some reason.
This was coming down to fixing those silences that were the root cause before the iTunes operation. Though I did fix a lot while organizing in iTunes over the last month, one letter at a time I scrolled down the list...so this is the best version so far. And removing the silences is much better than converting in iTunes and then trying to recoup the pictures. Frankly I am a bit surprized there were 77 missing artworks I thought I had those down.
However since we can see from the last screenshot I put that this folder was initially created in 2022, that is quite a long time ago and I probably made some changes in the tagging process that didn't come into play here. Or possibly during the last month I made a bad choice while deleting a duplicate or 77 duplicates, and removed the better, newer, artwork improved and completed tagged versions of them and left the older ones with the small or faulty artworks.
This was an older folder, not the one used to do the
Seriously, you blame MP3tag for something that happened while you treated files in iTunes?
How many other programs and processing steps that you don't recall have been involved?
If you want to get anything done with the audio part then MP3tag is the wrong tree to bark at.
If you have problems with tags (and pictures are part of the tag in many cases), then MP3tag may help you.
So: what do you want to do now? Get the audio right? Then we can close this thread as it has nothing to do with MP3tag.
I really think it does have something to do with mp3tag. I see you don't want to hear about it. Be that way . BYE.
If you could only add some proof.
E.g. a file prior to the treatment with MP3tag and the file is the way you expect it to be.
Then a second file after the treatment with MP3tag and now it is not OK any more.
And an accurate description of the steps in between so that others can reproduce it.
I mean: if MP3tag would out of the blue add silence to the audio part then this would be a serious bug and get investigated and at best corrected so that no further files get this extra data.
Could you supply the files and description?
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There is two possible reasons for this reduced file size. First, if the embedded artwork is no longer in those files, that would take the file size down. But also, since you earlier suggested you had "converted" from mp3 to mp3 to trim some silence, then there would have been additional compression applied to those same files. While they are now smaller, they have also had more quality loss versus what they were previously, even if you maintained the same bit and sample rates. (Try compressing a decent quality image in jpeg using the exact same compression levels several times, this will help you literally see the difference get worse each time)
Actually I did get that proof today. There is a backup existing with date modified prior to when I got mp3tag, and no APE tags on any of these same files. In fact the only ape files were all things that had been operated in mp3tag last November (by date modified). I made videos and they show the date modified was in 2022 or before for about 42000 of the 45000+ files. So that's basically proof that the files didn't have APE tags originally. I will try to post the videos someplace but I have a ton of editing to do.
Good news is these files are all looking really good now. The music has lost the silence because it's lost the APE tags that I inadvertantly wrote myself because I didn't realize what it meant to save 26000 files with the APE write box checked.
Yeah I have been making iTunes versions for years. I think the iTunes (mcTunes) versions must be better than the other versions such as those coming from wherever weird sources, because they become standardized to an iTunes 12 mode. This is why I have so many 2.3 v1 tags I suppose.
But you did not make it available to us so that we can check where the mysterious silence came from.
APE tags are valid tags. MP3tag only writes if the user sets the options accordingly (or hasn't checked the defaults).
Adding different tag versions to a file does not lead to extra audio - unless the player cannot cope with it. But then it usually plays the extra data as clicks or some other kind of noise.
So it still would have been interesting to get the hands on the original file, perform the steps that you would have described and then check this against a processed file.
A video will not help a lot, I assume.
I'm not sure if I understand from the various posts what you're trying to proof? If it's about your claim that Mp3tag is adding silence to your files, you can — as @ohrenkino already pointed out — provide a before and after file which shows that Mp3tag is adding silence to your file.
But I think it doesn't add silence. Why? Because I'd know this by now through other reports of this issue — there are many files tagged by Mp3tag since last November.
Please perform a simple experiment: if it shows that Mp3tag is adding silence, I'll happily fix the alleged bug ASAP. If it doesn't, please stop spreading FUD (and I mean it).
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I have no wish to mess up your scheme. However I did verify at least to my own satisfaction that yes although I checked those very boxes to write the APE tags, the files themselves were changed in 27000 instances from the earlier version. If you would like I could upload the short 12 minute video here......waiting to see if you want me to do that or not. I do also have the files.
Which file do you want to see? The ones that were changed from iTunes import or some of the ones that were changed from other sources. Perhaps a Google Music download that got changed? I have all the versions with the added time. As I say, the APE tags were the only difference. Don't know much about how these tags operate but when the APE tags are removed then it has no problem with the time. Attempted to upload the video here it's 54MB and the site won't accept it. Highly doubt the site would accept any of the time added mp3 files with the APE tags either as they get extra bits. I have videos and whatnot of the behavior of the Musicolet player when these songs are encountered. Real PITA they were.
The list of steps should feature MP3tag somewhere.
Also, the settings of MP3tag in the Tags>Mpeg options would be of interest.
Well I can't recall exactly what I did in the MPEG tag in the tool box checkboxes but it seems it would have included checking the APE box in the Write section wouldn't you think? There were 26000 files with APE tags. I have a backup of the APE tagged library which has remained untouched up till now. The next would be that I changed something in the tags for somewhat over half the songs in the library, which I did do. I added Titles to many thousands of title less songs, I made the Album Artist out of the Artist in twice as many as needed Titles. I changed the Album Artist of 4000 compilation songs to the name of the compilation album (personal preference to get rid of any "various artists" items in my library). There was a huge slew of files that needed comments removed, thousands more. Each of these I used the SAVE option and saved. This I assume would have also written APE tags. I don't know how it is that the APE tags added the silence, but again I reiterate taking them off did remove the silence.
If you want I can pick some I know I got into the computer from iTunes import in 2011. I believe the John Mellencamp Greatest Hits was the first to show this. I can also show the video I made at New Years of 7+ hours of songs, where every single song had to be carefully monitored (they were playing in Musicolet) from the playlist because about 70% of them had from 1 to 10 minutes added of silence and you can see as it's a screen recording of the lockscreen (Musicolet features a lockscreen) with the time slider, which I repeatedly slid as I watched the playlist and listened to the music and made the recording.
You claim that a certain mainpulation with MP3tag leads to added silence at the end of files.
So it should be possible to find a file without the silence, supply this file to us, then manipulate it with MP3tag in the way that adds the silence and supply this file also.
All this to reproduce the steps that lead to your allegation that tagging with MP3tag has undesirable effects on the audio part.
And just to get that clear (again): APE tags are valid tags and they usually do not add anything to the audio part. I mentioned these tags only because you also had problems with pictures that your player did not show.
So, could be now get the 2 files and the description, please?
Not likely that I can send one of the APE tagged files. But I can probably send one of the originals.
09 Medac.txt (2.8 MB)
That is Medac by the Who from the Who Sell Out renamed as a .txt file due to the strangulating site restrictions against mp3 uploads and also large files so it is hard to find that short a songs. This is an original file originally ripped from a disc I had into iTunes back in 2011
here are some pictures of the files I got after tagging with the APE file.
The original file has ID3v2.2 tags - a rather outdated tag format.
This leads at least in MP3diags to irritation - perhaps your other players also have problems with that tag format.
The original file does not have any superfluous silence at the beginning or at the end:
So, what about an edited file?
