Video tag views go out of whack

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Hi,
I've looked to see if there was already an answer to my question, didn't see any.

I use Winamp solely for video files, I have a single folder with nearly 1,300 movies, cartoons, vids etc.
I adopted Winamp because I wanted something to keep data on my video files and play them as well. Now I'm wondering if I made the right choice.

My filenames are the actual library call numbers for each.
I only use Filename, title, genre and year for metadata.
I keep 2 copies of the database in different folders on different drives, they get updated together.

My problem:
It seems that if I make a typo, touch the wrong key, the entire metadata view (media library) goes out of whack.
All the titles revert to the filename as when I first entered new files.
The years, genres are gone, wiped out.
Only 2-5% of files keep their original metadata but in most cases that isn't useful.
If I reopen after some time, the view has reset itself but this isn't a big plus.

If there is any efficient manner to reset this view on the spot, please tell me what it is.

I understand that the files don't get modified by entering the data but I wish they did, this problem would not present itself.
Why can't Winamp embed the data into the files?
I do this on mp3s using Tag & rename and those files can be read anywhere by anything.

Will this database be useful outside of Winamp (and iTunes) or is it some proprietary thing?

Thanks

RD