ID3 Auto-Tag function

Shaq · 4th April 2010, 11:37

Hello everyone, I guess most of you know iTunes and it's auto-tag features (works pretty much like Winamp's feature), but what you may not know is a plug-in called Tune-Up, which helps you fill all missing info (ID3) of your music. anyway, this plug-in has a very good option for filling the missing info called "Try not to tag to compilations".

As you may know or not know, Winamp's auto-tag algorithm tends to recognize songs as part of compilations. Unfortunately, I prefer all songs to be part of the original albums, which is almost impossible to do using Winamp.

I was wondering, what it takes to add such an option to Winamp, and is there any sort of plug-in able to do this?

Thank you!

BKbroila · 5th April 2010, 05:18

Yeah, this is was really bothering me. I really need to decide on a media library to stick with and like Winamp. But this is one of the feature-less things that are annoying. I don't understand why there can't be any simple tagging like in MediaMonkey...
But I got Mp3tag and it's alright. I can't tag in blocks of files. Kinda weird....
From what I've read on the forums is that you need another tagging program which is kinda sad....

Shaq · 5th April 2010, 10:48

Well, I tried looking for other tagging program, but none does it good enough like Winamp...
Tune-Up is pretty expensive, MP3Tag has no acoustic fingerprint recognition, and I never really liked MusicBrainz and MediaMonkey.

Does MusicBrainz and MediaMonkey has this feature? how are those apps? which one is better?

RennyAvM · 11th August 2010, 21:59

I also prefer tagging to original albums instead of compilations, so I suggest that Winamp's auto-tag should either give you a choice if a song appears on multiple albums/compilations after querying or have a "prefer original album" option in a config panel.

Batter Pudding · 14th August 2010, 12:56

Winamp's Auto-Tag is based around the physical CDs. So a compilation disk will be just that.

Have you tried using the RIGHT CLICK \ EDIT METADATA FOR SELECTION option from the media library?

This option lets you select a group of tracks at the same time, and then set the MP3 tags to a common value. So, if you wanted to name ten tracks as all from being from a certain album, you highlight all ten. Then right click \ edit metadata and then correct just the Album field.

I often use this to clear out rubbish comments that auto-tag sometimes adds.

RennyAvM · 14th August 2010, 15:30

The objective is that when I have a compilation album, say a Best-Of, I want the album tag to contain the album that the song originally appeared on. So an Edit Metadata for the whole album won't do the trick - instead I have to find out where each song came from and edit each separately.

As I understand it, the Auto-Tag generates an audio fingerprint for each song and finds a closest match in the database. There's no reason to pick the compilation album over the studio album, since the fingerprints should be the same, except maybe that the compilation album is more popular.

Batter Pudding · 15th August 2010, 13:11

Winamp has no control over the Gracenote database. You will never get what you are asking for in an "automated" way as it will not work as you expect. Gracenote is based around the CD disk the tracks came from. I don't know how the algorithms work, but I do know they also take the track name and number into account and the other tracks selected with it.

(Also, as you note, compilations often have different edited tracks. And sometimes a track gets released on more than one album.)

What I think you need to do is turn on your "Album Artist" columns in the Media Library. This will then show the information you require.

And it does not take that much work to adjust any titles you need as you are ripping your disks. (Unless you are sitting there with a heap of P2P sourced chaos...)

4th April 2010, 11:37	#1
Shaq Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 6	ID3 Auto-Tag function Hello everyone, I guess most of you know iTunes and it's auto-tag features (works pretty much like Winamp's feature), but what you may not know is a plug-in called Tune-Up, which helps you fill all missing info (ID3) of your music. anyway, this plug-in has a very good option for filling the missing info called "Try not to tag to compilations". As you may know or not know, Winamp's auto-tag algorithm tends to recognize songs as part of compilations. Unfortunately, I prefer all songs to be part of the original albums, which is almost impossible to do using Winamp. I was wondering, what it takes to add such an option to Winamp, and is there any sort of plug-in able to do this? Thank you!

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5th April 2010, 05:18	#2
BKbroila Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 5	Yeah, this is was really bothering me. I really need to decide on a media library to stick with and like Winamp. But this is one of the feature-less things that are annoying. I don't understand why there can't be any simple tagging like in MediaMonkey... But I got Mp3tag and it's alright. I can't tag in blocks of files. Kinda weird.... From what I've read on the forums is that you need another tagging program which is kinda sad....

5th April 2010, 10:48	#3
Shaq Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 6	Well, I tried looking for other tagging program, but none does it good enough like Winamp... Tune-Up is pretty expensive, MP3Tag has no acoustic fingerprint recognition, and I never really liked MusicBrainz and MediaMonkey. Does MusicBrainz and MediaMonkey has this feature? how are those apps? which one is better?

11th August 2010, 21:59	#4
RennyAvM Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 4	I also prefer tagging to original albums instead of compilations, so I suggest that Winamp's auto-tag should either give you a choice if a song appears on multiple albums/compilations after querying or have a "prefer original album" option in a config panel.

14th August 2010, 12:56	#5
Batter Pudding Major Dude Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,665	Winamp's Auto-Tag is based around the physical CDs. So a compilation disk will be just that. Have you tried using the RIGHT CLICK \ EDIT METADATA FOR SELECTION option from the media library? This option lets you select a group of tracks at the same time, and then set the MP3 tags to a common value. So, if you wanted to name ten tracks as all from being from a certain album, you highlight all ten. Then right click \ edit metadata and then correct just the Album field. I often use this to clear out rubbish comments that auto-tag sometimes adds.

14th August 2010, 15:30	#6
RennyAvM Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 4	The objective is that when I have a compilation album, say a Best-Of, I want the album tag to contain the album that the song originally appeared on. So an Edit Metadata for the whole album won't do the trick - instead I have to find out where each song came from and edit each separately. As I understand it, the Auto-Tag generates an audio fingerprint for each song and finds a closest match in the database. There's no reason to pick the compilation album over the studio album, since the fingerprints should be the same, except maybe that the compilation album is more popular.

15th August 2010, 13:11	#7
Batter Pudding Major Dude Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,665	Winamp has no control over the Gracenote database. You will never get what you are asking for in an "automated" way as it will not work as you expect. Gracenote is based around the CD disk the tracks came from. I don't know how the algorithms work, but I do know they also take the track name and number into account and the other tracks selected with it. (Also, as you note, compilations often have different edited tracks. And sometimes a track gets released on more than one album.) What I think you need to do is turn on your "Album Artist" columns in the Media Library. This will then show the information you require. And it does not take that much work to adjust any titles you need as you are ripping your disks. (Unless you are sitting there with a heap of P2P sourced chaos...)