Windows XP vs. Winamp ID3v2?

vanzuylen · 21st June 2001, 05:54

Currently reproduced with Windows XP Build 2486.

When creating/editing ID3v2 tags (Title, Artist, etc.) for MP3 encoded audio files using XP's tools (standard GUI or Media Player 8), the tags generated in the file are incompatible with Winamp 2.7.6. The last character of each piece of text is truncated. For example, "Joe Public" is seen as "Joe Publi" in Winamp... "1985" is "198". The older ID3v1 tags, however, view correctly. The text reads fine in Media Player, and viewing the MP3 file in a hex editor shows the data is indeed there and not truncated.

Reproduction:

1) From the Media Player "Media Library" GUI, select a MP3 audio track and alter the file information (Title, Artist, etc.), 2) Play modified MP3 file in Winamp 2.7.6, 3) Note scrolling title has truncated text, 4) View "file info" in Winamp by double-clicking on scrolling name, 5) Note the last character of each field is missing on the ID3v2 tag. ID3v1 tags are correct.

This can also be reproduced by editing the MP3 ID3v2 attributes in the Explorer GUI.

Can someone shed some light on this problem? I've bugged this with Microsoft, but I don't think it'll get much attention. Is it an incompatibility between version of ID3v2? Is it Nullsoft? Is it Microsoft? With a little more detail, maybe this can be fixed. Odds are MP3 files generated or edited using XP tools will become more common as time goes on.

--Ron

vanzuylen · 8th July 2001, 03:20

Since Windows XP RC1 is now out, does anyone have some insight on this? Winamp still doesn't like XP generated ID3v2 tags.

--Ron

bonj · 8th July 2001, 03:42

I'm running WinXP Pro RC1. Same problem as you.
I checked a file that was tagged using WinXP, and it's an ID3v2.3. Aside from Winamp, MP3Utility also could not read the information in the tag.. only the first letter of each field, so I guess it's just a bug in the OS.
I guess either MS needs to be bothered more about this or everybody will have to support their weird tags. I'm sure the second scenario is more likely

Maybe you could send one of those mp3s to someone at Nullsoft and see if they can figure out what's up.

s1138 · 8th July 2001, 03:47

MS doesnt want to pay people to find bugs so they are making you find them for them.

vanzuylen · 8th July 2001, 07:20

Well, I did some digging since nobody answered.

Windows XP stores the ID3v2.3 text information using Unicode, which is officially in the ID3v2 specification.
I assume this is to be international character ready, which makes sense.

I looked at a clean ID3v2.3 headers generated in Windows XP RC1 and it seems to follow the standard at http://www.id3.org/id3v2.3.0.htm nicely.

Amazingly, Winamp & Nullsoft seems to be at fault instead of the Evil Empire. Winamp has view-only Unicode support, but it doesn't read the last Unicode character of each text string. D'oh!

ID3v2 tags generated in Windows XP needs ID3v2 applications that support Unicode. This explains why MP3Tagger has problems, too.

The only thing Microsoft might have done is to have an optional ASCII/ISO-8859-1 (non-Unicode) ID3v2 mode for us boring 8-bit people & backwards compatibility. Oh, well.

Nullsoft, can you fix this?

--Ron

Thor · 8th July 2001, 21:39

Quote:

Originally posted by vanzuylen
Nullsoft, can you fix this?

They _should_ !

vanzuylen · 11th July 2001, 07:27

Can someone confirm this is a bug with Winamp (reading Unicode ID3v2 tags, the last character not read) and make this an "official bug"?

If someone can prove it isn't a Winamp bug, I can hammer on the Evil Empire engineers again.

--Ron

savoiu · 30th December 2001, 16:17

Quote:

Originally posted by Thor

They _should_ !

Any word on this? I just used the XP Media Player to setup tags (since it kinda has a nice way of doing it) but now the tags are truncated in WinAmp.

It doesn't sound like adding Unicode support should be very difficult?

Nick

peter · 30th December 2001, 16:42

oh well, if i only had in_mp3.dll source...
but i don't have.

DJ Egg · 30th December 2001, 21:01

Yup peter, that's a cryin' shame

For everyone else, the fact that Winamp does NOT support Unicode tags is well documented on these forums, especially here:
Sticky: Why Not UNICODE ??

This is NOT a bug, it's a missing feature!

The simple solution:
If you're using Winamp to play MP3's, then use Winamp's internal ID3 Tag Editor (Alt+3) instead of Windows/WMP tools. Thus, all your truncated problems will go away

savoiu · 30th December 2001, 21:08

Quote:

Originally posted by DJEgg
The simple solution:
If you're using Winamp to play MP3's, then use Winamp's internal ID3 Tag Editor (Alt+3) instead of Windows/WMP tools. Thus, all your truncated problems will go away

Simple solution?

Have you tried clearing the 'Album' part of a tag from thousands of files using WinAmp's braindead ID3 tag editor?

This is

as of now. The Windows Media player's tag editing features are ages ahead... now if only it wasn't lacking in playback

! I suppose a WinAmp with WMP tag editing would be sweeet!

Nick

DJ Egg · 30th December 2001, 22:03

Well, you shouldn't have used it in the first place

Try using a mass tagger maybe?
TSGH -> ID3 Tagging Info

note to Justin: could you fix it . . . pretty please

Or give peter the in_mp3.dll source code

ein · 31st December 2001, 17:08

A temporary solution for multi-language ppl like me love unicode

Try use the Improved Shibatch mpg123 plugin for Winamp2
http://www.aikis.or.jp/~otachan/in_mpg123_118ot27.zip

from http://www.aikis.or.jp/~otachan/in_mpg123.html

To use it, first extract the in_mpg123.dll to the plugin directory
Then remove MP3 from the file association in in_mp3.dll properties so nitrane won't try to play it. (reverse this step to get nitrane to play mp3 again

/me envy the Mac user got to have so much better unicode support than windoze =(
Many of their mp3 applications support unicode id3 tag now...

too bad there isn't any tools for easy 8bits->unicode conversion..
have to do that by hand in wmp8 or DJmix pro

Thor · 31st December 2001, 17:45

nitrane has been gone since v2.666
in_mp3.dll now uses a slightly modified Fraunhofer decoding engine.

8th July 2001, 03:42	#3
bonj Major Dude Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: HEH!!!! :D Posts: 920	I'm running WinXP Pro RC1. Same problem as you. I checked a file that was tagged using WinXP, and it's an ID3v2.3. Aside from Winamp, MP3Utility also could not read the information in the tag.. only the first letter of each field, so I guess it's just a bug in the OS. I guess either MS needs to be bothered more about this or everybody will have to support their weird tags. I'm sure the second scenario is more likely Maybe you could send one of those mp3s to someone at Nullsoft and see if they can figure out what's up. heh?

8th July 2001, 07:20	#5
vanzuylen Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 8	ID3v2 Unicode Support bug in Winamp Well, I did some digging since nobody answered. Windows XP stores the ID3v2.3 text information using Unicode, which is officially in the ID3v2 specification. I assume this is to be international character ready, which makes sense. I looked at a clean ID3v2.3 headers generated in Windows XP RC1 and it seems to follow the standard at http://www.id3.org/id3v2.3.0.htm nicely. Amazingly, Winamp & Nullsoft seems to be at fault instead of the Evil Empire. Winamp has view-only Unicode support, but it doesn't read the last Unicode character of each text string. D'oh! ID3v2 tags generated in Windows XP needs ID3v2 applications that support Unicode. This explains why MP3Tagger has problems, too. The only thing Microsoft might have done is to have an optional ASCII/ISO-8859-1 (non-Unicode) ID3v2 mode for us boring 8-bit people & backwards compatibility. Oh, well. Nullsoft, can you fix this? --Ron

30th December 2001, 21:01	#10
DJ Egg Techorator Winamp Team Join Date: Jun 2000 Posts: 35,155	Yup peter, that's a cryin' shame For everyone else, the fact that Winamp does NOT support Unicode tags is well documented on these forums, especially here: Sticky: Why Not UNICODE ?? This is NOT a bug, it's a missing feature! The simple solution: If you're using Winamp to play MP3's, then use Winamp's internal ID3 Tag Editor (Alt+3) instead of Windows/WMP tools. Thus, all your truncated problems will go away Playlist -\|- Twitter

31st December 2001, 17:45	#14
Thor Major Dude Join Date: May 2000 Location: Gent, Belgium (Europe) Posts: 968	nitrane has been gone since v2.666 in_mp3.dll now uses a slightly modified Fraunhofer decoding engine. http://www.blorp.com/~thor

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21st June 2001, 05:54	#1
vanzuylen Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 8	Currently reproduced with Windows XP Build 2486. When creating/editing ID3v2 tags (Title, Artist, etc.) for MP3 encoded audio files using XP's tools (standard GUI or Media Player 8), the tags generated in the file are incompatible with Winamp 2.7.6. The last character of each piece of text is truncated. For example, "Joe Public" is seen as "Joe Publi" in Winamp... "1985" is "198". The older ID3v1 tags, however, view correctly. The text reads fine in Media Player, and viewing the MP3 file in a hex editor shows the data is indeed there and not truncated. Reproduction: 1) From the Media Player "Media Library" GUI, select a MP3 audio track and alter the file information (Title, Artist, etc.), 2) Play modified MP3 file in Winamp 2.7.6, 3) Note scrolling title has truncated text, 4) View "file info" in Winamp by double-clicking on scrolling name, 5) Note the last character of each field is missing on the ID3v2 tag. ID3v1 tags are correct. This can also be reproduced by editing the MP3 ID3v2 attributes in the Explorer GUI. Can someone shed some light on this problem? I've bugged this with Microsoft, but I don't think it'll get much attention. Is it an incompatibility between version of ID3v2? Is it Nullsoft? Is it Microsoft? With a little more detail, maybe this can be fixed. Odds are MP3 files generated or edited using XP tools will become more common as time goes on. --Ron

8th July 2001, 03:20	#2
vanzuylen Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 8	Since Windows XP RC1 is now out, does anyone have some insight on this? Winamp still doesn't like XP generated ID3v2 tags. --Ron

8th July 2001, 03:47	#4
s1138 Alumni? Join Date: May 2000 Location: joja Posts: 6,932	MS doesnt want to pay people to find bugs so they are making you find them for them.

11th July 2001, 07:27	#7
vanzuylen Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 8	Can someone confirm this is a bug with Winamp (reading Unicode ID3v2 tags, the last character not read) and make this an "official bug"? If someone can prove it isn't a Winamp bug, I can hammer on the Evil Empire engineers again. --Ron

30th December 2001, 16:42	#9
peter ist death Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 3,704	oh well, if i only had in_mp3.dll source... but i don't have.

30th December 2001, 22:03	#12
DJ Egg Techorator Winamp Team Join Date: Jun 2000 Posts: 35,155	Well, you shouldn't have used it in the first place Try using a mass tagger maybe? TSGH -> ID3 Tagging Info note to Justin: could you fix it . . . pretty please Or give peter the in_mp3.dll source code

31st December 2001, 17:08	#13
ein Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 4	A temporary solution for multi-language ppl like me love unicode Try use the Improved Shibatch mpg123 plugin for Winamp2 http://www.aikis.or.jp/~otachan/in_mpg123_118ot27.zip from http://www.aikis.or.jp/~otachan/in_mpg123.html To use it, first extract the in_mpg123.dll to the plugin directory Then remove MP3 from the file association in in_mp3.dll properties so nitrane won't try to play it. (reverse this step to get nitrane to play mp3 again /me envy the Mac user got to have so much better unicode support than windoze =( Many of their mp3 applications support unicode id3 tag now... too bad there isn't any tools for easy 8bits->unicode conversion.. have to do that by hand in wmp8 or DJmix pro