Vanishing ID3 tags
Posted: October 1st, 2009, 7:30 am
Wendel,
I did some trouble shooting of the ID3 tag problem, you informed me of. You didn't see the ID3 tags, and yet I remember putting ID3 tags in the MP3 file. I can confirm that both of us are right!
***** Long-winded explanation follows, get cup of coffee now ;-):
FYI, on my PC at home, I'm running Slackware 13 (64 bit) Linux and using Audacity 1.3.7.
When I export the audio book from Audacity ".aup" file to mp3, I put the desired data in the ID3 tags with Audacity's editor. I've inspected the ID3 tags in the ".mp3" file with four applications, including Audacity (opening the ".mp3" file separately), soxi (an application that displays metadata), Juk (a jukebox media player) and a hex-editor (an application that allows binary editing of a file). In all four applications the ID3 tags appear in the file and correct.
On the other hand, when I open the ".mp3" file in XMMS (a media player, with an ID3 tag editor) there is no data in the ID3 tags, as shown in the editor.
I assume the application that you open the ".mp3" file in, is like my XMMS, and you see no ID3 tags.
I think I've found the problem. Unfortunately, I don't have an easy solution. I may have a clumsy solution.
Further examination with the hex-editor indicates that the ID3 information is placed by Audacity is at the beginning of the ".mp3" file (only). However, some applications appear put duplicate ID3 tag information at the end of the ".mp3" file, also.
The applications, Audacity, soxi and JuK, apparently use the ID3 information at the beginning of the file. XMMS (and presumably your application) uses the ID3 information at the end of the ".mp3" file. I don't know which is "formally" correct. I suspect "formal correctness" is irrelevant.
Therefore, I place and see ID3 tags, and you don't. Ergo, I've put them in and you don't see them; we both are right.
Furthermore, I don't know if this occurs on Windows/Audacity or with audio editors other than Audacity. I have neither a Windows PC nor another audio editor to work with.
Next, I can use the editor in XMMS to add the duplicate information at the end of the ".mp3" file as a separate extra step.
Thus, I have several questions for you:
- Would you be willing to inspect a file so edited (by XMMS with duplicate ID3 tags at the end)?
- Is there any Librivox issue with uploading a test file for this purpose (it can be deleted as soon as you determine whether or not you can see the ID3 tags)? Disk space considerations and all that.
- Please let me know.
Should you see the ID3 tags in the test file, then we know the source of the problem. I see the ID3 tags in the file with XMMS, after editing with the XMMS tag editor. Also, I see the tags at both the beginning and end of the XMMS editted file, in the hex-editor.
In addition, I've seen this problem in several books that I've contributed to. I was wondering if there was so many forgetful people, or something else was occurring. I suspect that "this" is the something else is occuring (over and above to much less frequent forgetfullness).
As a solution (if you see the ID3 tags in the XMMS editted ".mp3" file), I can use XMMS to post process the ".mp3" file. Other Linux users could post process the ID3 tags XMMS also. This is clumsy but not difficult. If this tag issue occurs on Windows/Audacity, I assume that there is some ID3 tag editor that they could use for post processing. If you don't see the ID3 tags in a file post-processed with XMMS, I'll need to find another solution. Perhaps, I can find a ID3 tag editor for Linux, I've not looked for one lately.
As an aside, I assume that someone at LibriVox has been post processing the ".mp3" files that I've contributed, and I was unaware of it. I check several previous contributions. There are ID3 tags using Audacity, but no ID3 tags in XMMS. Perhaps this ID3 tag issue is even a known problem that I was unaware of.
If this is not a known problem (other than some people regularly upload files that don't appear to have ID3 tags), perhaps there is somewhere in the LibriVox forums that this discussion can be placed, in order to alert people to the quirkiness of some applications and the need to possibly post process the ".mp3" files to include "all" the ID3 tags. Perhaps a better worded/explained discussion (than this one) can be posted.
Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.
Regards,
Ric F.
I did some trouble shooting of the ID3 tag problem, you informed me of. You didn't see the ID3 tags, and yet I remember putting ID3 tags in the MP3 file. I can confirm that both of us are right!
***** Long-winded explanation follows, get cup of coffee now ;-):
FYI, on my PC at home, I'm running Slackware 13 (64 bit) Linux and using Audacity 1.3.7.
When I export the audio book from Audacity ".aup" file to mp3, I put the desired data in the ID3 tags with Audacity's editor. I've inspected the ID3 tags in the ".mp3" file with four applications, including Audacity (opening the ".mp3" file separately), soxi (an application that displays metadata), Juk (a jukebox media player) and a hex-editor (an application that allows binary editing of a file). In all four applications the ID3 tags appear in the file and correct.
On the other hand, when I open the ".mp3" file in XMMS (a media player, with an ID3 tag editor) there is no data in the ID3 tags, as shown in the editor.
I assume the application that you open the ".mp3" file in, is like my XMMS, and you see no ID3 tags.
I think I've found the problem. Unfortunately, I don't have an easy solution. I may have a clumsy solution.
Further examination with the hex-editor indicates that the ID3 information is placed by Audacity is at the beginning of the ".mp3" file (only). However, some applications appear put duplicate ID3 tag information at the end of the ".mp3" file, also.
The applications, Audacity, soxi and JuK, apparently use the ID3 information at the beginning of the file. XMMS (and presumably your application) uses the ID3 information at the end of the ".mp3" file. I don't know which is "formally" correct. I suspect "formal correctness" is irrelevant.
Therefore, I place and see ID3 tags, and you don't. Ergo, I've put them in and you don't see them; we both are right.
Furthermore, I don't know if this occurs on Windows/Audacity or with audio editors other than Audacity. I have neither a Windows PC nor another audio editor to work with.
Next, I can use the editor in XMMS to add the duplicate information at the end of the ".mp3" file as a separate extra step.
Thus, I have several questions for you:
- Would you be willing to inspect a file so edited (by XMMS with duplicate ID3 tags at the end)?
- Is there any Librivox issue with uploading a test file for this purpose (it can be deleted as soon as you determine whether or not you can see the ID3 tags)? Disk space considerations and all that.
- Please let me know.
Should you see the ID3 tags in the test file, then we know the source of the problem. I see the ID3 tags in the file with XMMS, after editing with the XMMS tag editor. Also, I see the tags at both the beginning and end of the XMMS editted file, in the hex-editor.
In addition, I've seen this problem in several books that I've contributed to. I was wondering if there was so many forgetful people, or something else was occurring. I suspect that "this" is the something else is occuring (over and above to much less frequent forgetfullness).
As a solution (if you see the ID3 tags in the XMMS editted ".mp3" file), I can use XMMS to post process the ".mp3" file. Other Linux users could post process the ID3 tags XMMS also. This is clumsy but not difficult. If this tag issue occurs on Windows/Audacity, I assume that there is some ID3 tag editor that they could use for post processing. If you don't see the ID3 tags in a file post-processed with XMMS, I'll need to find another solution. Perhaps, I can find a ID3 tag editor for Linux, I've not looked for one lately.
As an aside, I assume that someone at LibriVox has been post processing the ".mp3" files that I've contributed, and I was unaware of it. I check several previous contributions. There are ID3 tags using Audacity, but no ID3 tags in XMMS. Perhaps this ID3 tag issue is even a known problem that I was unaware of.
If this is not a known problem (other than some people regularly upload files that don't appear to have ID3 tags), perhaps there is somewhere in the LibriVox forums that this discussion can be placed, in order to alert people to the quirkiness of some applications and the need to possibly post process the ".mp3" files to include "all" the ID3 tags. Perhaps a better worded/explained discussion (than this one) can be posted.
Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.
Regards,
Ric F.