Need some help with M3U format specifiers

[PC Pete]

I've read the various M3U format threads here and in the Wikipedia reference page for M3Us, but I need some specific help.

I've created a simple music list conversion tool for my own use that allows any combination of individual files, CUE lists, and M3U playlists to be merged and exported as CUE and/or M3U playlists. You're welcome to try it out, it's available for free download from http://www.audiography.com.au/images/MusicList_B92.zip. There's no help, but most of the program is relatively self-explanatory. If you get stuck defining templates, PM me and I'll explain the logic (and any windows-related bugs).

This tool works well in my application, with really simple CUE and M3U files (one file per entry, no subtracks), but I've been asked by some users if I can add support for multitrack (also called multi-part) CUE/M3U files.

These are files with one single filename as the "master track", and all the CUE sheet entries show the title, performer, and position within the master track where this track begins. Unlike most standard M3U and CUE sheet files, there isn't a separate track/file entry one-per-track.

Unfortunately, I don't ever use multitrack CUE or M3U files for any reason, and it's unlikely that I will ever use them, so my understanding of the different options in terms of parsing M3U and CUE files is a bit limited. (I DO use RIFF cue entries in some raw files, but since these are all 192k/24bit stereo PCM WAV or BWF files, and most are well over 10Gb in size, these don't apply to Winamp or ImgBurn or anything else useful... )

Actually, I don't really need such CUE/M3U files, since my parse logic should work anyway, but it would be nice to be able to test the results!

What I'm after are some typical CUE and M3U files that do use relative offsets, and any M3U files with complex formats (using the #EXTM3U commands).

If anyone can send me some examples of the kinds of CUE and M3U files they regularly use, I'd be very grateful.

You can PM me if you like, or just post here - but please just include a few track entries, not your entire music collection!

Currently, there doesn't seem to be a good way to include multiple CUE tracks selected from multiple multipart CUE files into a single multipart CUE sheet, so the more information I have, the merrier I'll be.

If it's possible to track all this information, I'll add the #EXTM3U as an output option, if enough people want it.

[PC Pete]

Well, some users have submitted their multipart CUEs, and after some testing, it looks like the list tool now works properly parsing those files.

The download for the latest build (98) is (from the base URL of my website) /images/MusicList_B98.zip.

If anyone's interested, it should be possible now to specify multiple multipart and one-file-per-track CUE files, as well as mixing M3U and single files as well.

The parse routines must be used to correctly get metadata from the M3U/file inputs, but if the CUE inputs are correctly formatted, tracks should be able to be deleted and reorganised before output to a new CUE.

Note that currently, because it appears that the M3U format doesn't permit relative track offsets within a single input file (such as when a single MP3 contains more than one track), the M3U output of the tool may result in invalid M3U entries if relative offsets are used. The CUE output will (or at least should!) work with them without problem.

If you do download the tool, please let me know if you strike trouble, and if so, send me the CUE or M3U it choked on.

As always, CUE or M3U file entries with relative PATHS (no path information) won't work between music tools if the music player's relative paths aren't identical. So the tool allows hand-editing of filename path information in that case. And once you've added that info and saved as CUE or M3U, it will remain in that file so you can use it later as the basis for a new mix.