Wierd Characters in Metadata Crashing Winamp

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  • MadJack
    Member
    • Oct 2013
    • 63

    Wierd Characters in Metadata Crashing Winamp

    Has anyone seen anything like this in an MP3's metadata (see attachments)?

    I've had a terrible time over the past few months with Winamp crashing for apparently no good reason. After using every fix I could find, it turns out that Winamp just so happened to crash when tracks with metadata like this has these odd characters. I've seen Greek male and female symbols, playing card suits like diamonds and clubs etc. I've gone through and removed them and they all play fine.

    Anyone know what these little buggers are about?
    Attached Files
    Event Horizon Radio - It's radio for your head.
  • MrSinatra
    Forum King
    • Dec 2004
    • 5899

    #2
    UNICODE characters maybe?



    idk, but i only use id3v2.3 as UTF-16. you can mass convert using mp3tag.

    don't know if that will delete weird characters or convert them, but either way should (hopefully) stop the crashes.

    Read-only forum with answers to the most commonly asked newbie techsupport questions pulled from all the other forums. Check here for basic Winamp support answers before digging into the forums.
    PENN STATE Radio or http://www.LION-Radio.org/
    --
    BUG #1 = Winamp skips short tracks
    Wish #1 = Multiple Column Sorting
    Wish #2 = Add TCMP/Compilation editing

    Comment

    • ryerman
      Major Dude
      • Mar 2010
      • 768

      #3
      Originally Posted by MadJack View Post
      Anyone know what these little buggers are about?
      If you provide a problem file, we can examine it and experiment.
      Upload the file to a file sharing site and post a link here.
      Sendspace works well: https://www.sendspace.com/
      Windows 10 Home, 64 bit, Winamp 5.666, Bento Skin

      Comment

      • MadJack
        Member
        • Oct 2013
        • 63

        #4
        Thank you for your quick responses.

        I had failed to mention this occurs when I stream with SCv2. Rather recent occurrence considering. Sometimes it will throw the stream off and SC will disconnect, otherwise Winamp just crashes.

        I'll send a crash report the next time it happens.
        Event Horizon Radio - It's radio for your head.

        Comment

        • ryerman
          Major Dude
          • Mar 2010
          • 768

          #5
          Does Winamp play the "problem" files on your local computer, without streaming with SCv2?
          If so, it seems there is no problem with Winamp and you should probably post in the Shoutcast sub-forum.
          If not, then a problem file to examine is necessary.
          Windows 10 Home, 64 bit, Winamp 5.666, Bento Skin

          Comment

          • MadJack
            Member
            • Oct 2013
            • 63

            #6
            Sometimes. More than not.

            So you're saying that it could be a SC problem that kills Winamp?
            Event Horizon Radio - It's radio for your head.

            Comment

            • ryerman
              Major Dude
              • Mar 2010
              • 768

              #7
              Originally Posted by MadJack View Post
              Sometimes. More than not....
              Your first post indicates that problems occurred because of a file's metadata.
              If Winamp plays a file sometimes, not always, then it is illogical to blame the file.
              Originally Posted by MadJack View Post
              ....So you're saying that it could be a SC problem that kills Winamp?
              That seems possible, but I don't know enough about SC to say.

              You said that Winamp crashed while streaming with SCv2: I'm saying that it is useful to eliminate Winamp (if possible) as the source of the problem.
              If you have a file that always causes a crash, then it is necessary to examine the file in order to find out why.
              If all you want is to identify and/or deal with the unknown characters in the metadata, then MrSinatra has provided some guidance.
              Windows 10 Home, 64 bit, Winamp 5.666, Bento Skin

              Comment

              • MadJack
                Member
                • Oct 2013
                • 63

                #8
                There are hundreds of files like this. I catch them when I can. Took MrSinatra's advice too.

                I came to the conclusion after trial and error. Every time Winamp crashed, it's because of a weird character as shown above, or it has an umlout or an accent punctuation etc.. I was aware of the problems the previous version had playing letters with those punctuation marks from previous threads and planned ahead when putting them in the playlist, but the unicode in the meta-data was a new one on me. No one was talking about it, so I thought I would share.


                Thanks again.
                Event Horizon Radio - It's radio for your head.

                Comment

                • MadJack
                  Member
                  • Oct 2013
                  • 63

                  #9
                  Problem solved... to a degree.

                  For some time I've been using the base level playlist maker from stationplaylist dot com and it's really a good product, but it's the cause of these odd little characters.

                  I was going to get a link to the latest MP3 download the recently crashed SCv2 while stopping up the latest WA release so you guys could take a look. When I loaded the new version of the old track in to WA, there were no characters. So I removed the original file and made sure both WA and the Creator program recognized it's absence. I then loaded it as a new file to WA, no change. Put in through the Creator program and sure enough, it came back marked, but only on the ID3v1 tag, as usual.

                  StationPlaylist Creator tags files with info such as category, last played, etc. when they get recognized and it's regularly updated. For 5 years it worked with WA 5.666 patched with the latest SCv2 like a dream, but for about several months or so, things changed... and same behavior on the latest WA 5.8.

                  I've not updated the SPC program and have made no changes to how it tags MP3s as there seems to be no way to do so. From now on I will take the needed steps to clear this up. Thanks for your time and efforts, folks.
                  Event Horizon Radio - It's radio for your head.

                  Comment

                  • MrSinatra
                    Forum King
                    • Dec 2004
                    • 5899

                    #10
                    an example file would still be appreciated.

                    i also recommend stripping all v1 tags and just using v2.3
                    PENN STATE Radio or http://www.LION-Radio.org/
                    --
                    BUG #1 = Winamp skips short tracks
                    Wish #1 = Multiple Column Sorting
                    Wish #2 = Add TCMP/Compilation editing

                    Comment

                    • MadJack
                      Member
                      • Oct 2013
                      • 63

                      #11
                      Here are both files. One as it was downloaded and the other (processed) after it was tagged in StationPlaylist Creator.

                      Hope this helps.



                      Event Horizon Radio - It's radio for your head.

                      Comment

                      • ryerman
                        Major Dude
                        • Mar 2010
                        • 768

                        #12
                        Originally Posted by MadJack View Post
                        Hope this helps.
                        It is helpful only if one of the files causes the problem you tried to explain in the original post.
                        Do either of these files cause your Winamp to crash?
                        Originally Posted by MadJack View Post
                        ...it turns out that Winamp just so happened to crash when tracks with metadata like this has these odd characters. I've seen Greek male and female symbols, playing card suits like diamonds and clubs etc.....
                        I don't see any metadata with "these odd characters".

                        Why do you feel these tracks may be useful?
                        Windows 10 Home, 64 bit, Winamp 5.666, Bento Skin

                        Comment

                        • MadJack
                          Member
                          • Oct 2013
                          • 63

                          #13
                          "Do either of these files cause your Winamp to crash?"

                          The "processed one", yes. That's why I sent it as I explained above.



                          "I don't see any metadata with 'these odd characters'.

                          1. Are you allowing Winamp to read ID3v1 tags? If not, it will not show up.



                          "Why do you feel these tracks may be useful?"

                          Is this question supposed to be funny? Do you seriously believe I would waste your time and mine? I explained everything above and why I sent the two.
                          Event Horizon Radio - It's radio for your head.

                          Comment

                          • ryerman
                            Major Dude
                            • Mar 2010
                            • 768

                            #14
                            Originally Posted by MadJack View Post
                            ....1. Are you allowing Winamp to read ID3v1 tags? If not, it will not show up.
                            Yes, but I see no weird characters. (see attached)
                            Originally Posted by MadJack View Post
                            "Do either of these files cause your Winamp to crash?"
                            The "processed one", yes. That's why I sent it as I explained above.
                            My Winamp does not crash when playing that file.
                            Winamp can play the file without crashing. Maybe you're using a plugin that cannot handle it.
                            Did you try playing it in safe mode and without streaming?
                            Attached Files
                            Windows 10 Home, 64 bit, Winamp 5.666, Bento Skin

                            Comment

                            • MadJack
                              Member
                              • Oct 2013
                              • 63

                              #15
                              Here's what that same file looks like on my end. Notice a right angle in comments.

                              Maybe it is a plug in that can't handle it, but keep in mind, these files played fine for several years on the same plugins.
                              Attached Files
                              Event Horizon Radio - It's radio for your head.

                              Comment

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