Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

[mdx1]

From time to time right after a CD is ripped, I noticed the metadata is completely correct. It could be the album art, the genre or album title, or anything else in the ripped files. Since Multi-Encoder option is used, the rip creates 3 sets of files, AIFF, FLAC and MP3. Correcting three sets of files can be tedious. So I would rip the whole CD again to just to update the metadata.

Is there a way to just correct the metadata and update already ripped files? It would be just like the Rip button. Could we have a new button called Update?

[garym]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

no, but there are other easy methods. First, one can always edit the metadata to be correct in the ripping stage BEFORE you rip. Just click on the fields and edit. If you don't notice until after ripping, one can locate the ripped files, right click, and select "Edit ID Tag" (which is a program of dbpa) and edit the tags you want. You can also use dbpa music converter. But instead of converting to a different format, you can convert to ID TAG UPDATE DSP which is a more powerful batch tag editor.

[mdx1]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

It would not be an issue if tags are right before ripping. But that was not the purpose of my original post.

• Getting it right before ripping would imply a re-rip if the tags were discovered not right. With classical music, the tags are generally more than 80% wrong.
• Editing tags on all 3 sets of music files would be tedious.
• The layout of the tags are very easy to find in the CD ripper. I do not see how this is going to working with the ID Tag Update DSP as it is a generic solution. The tags would have to exported to a file, corrected and then used as the input.

Unless I miss something with the ID Tag Update DSP, there is no equivalent functionality in it as is in the CD Ripper.

[garym]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

I understood your question, but you'd be surprised to learn that many users of this program don't realize that they have the option to modify the metadata information within the ripper BEFORE starting the rip. They assume they are stuck with what the program automatically provides with no chance of edit. I didn't know whether that applied to you.

The layout of tags also seem very easy to follow in right clicking and using the EDIT ID tag function. You might also look at mp3tag. I find this to be a very powerful program for tag editing (and yes, it handles more than simply mp3 files).

And I also create mp3 versions of my FLAC files for use in portables. But my work flow is to rip to FLAC (editing the metadata before pressing the rip button if I happen to notice something incorrect and also selecting the best possible artwork). But after ripping, I look at ripped files, make any minor adjustments, name changes, maybe some multiple artist tags, etc. Then, when the FLAC file tagging and artwork is as perfect as I can get it, I use dbpa batch converter to create a set of mp3 files from my FLACs in a batch with only a couple of mouse clicks. This way I only have to fiddle once with the metadata and artwork.

In addition, with classical music, your tags will be wrong (or likely not what you want) 80% of the time as you point out. So doing multiple encoder approach is probably not a great idea, unless you insure that you fix all the metadata before the ripping process begins.

EDIT: Modifying tags NEVER requires a rerip. It only requires editing of the tags themselves. Much easier and faster than reripping.

[pablogm123]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

Press the Review PerfectMeta Matches to edit tags, when the ripper fetches metadata from Internet. It is a more convenient option to edit tags than the main window, because you can use the tab key to jump to another field easily.

Of course, you always can edit tags of already ripped files, no need to reripping anything. dBpoweramp includes a shell extension you can use to edit tags, or you can get a third party application to edit tags.

[mdx1]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

I understood your question, but you'd be surprised to learn that many users of this program don't realize that they have the option to modify the metadata information within the ripper BEFORE starting the rip. They assume they are stuck with what the program automatically provides with no chance of edit. I didn't know whether that applied to you.

No. It does not apply. I never accept the default tags from the meta servers, even ones from freedb as they tend to be more classical music aware. Generally the title tags are close except I want to prefix each track with the name of the composer followed by a shortened version of the work following by the title for the movement.

The default genre is almost always classical when the tags are retrieved from ones of metadata sites. But I want to label it Violin Concerto, Symphony or Clarinet Concerto for example so it had to be edited. Sometimes a CD contains two pieces of work such as xyz's violin concerto no. 1 and no. 2. In that case I would rip a portion of the CD with one album title as xyz abc concerto no. 1 and then another port as xyz abc concerto no. 2. If I forgot that step, then I either have to modify tags and sometimes file names/diretory names for all 3 sets or just rerip the CD.

Do you see my problems now?

The layout of tags also seem very easy to follow in right clicking and using the EDIT ID tag function. You might also look at mp3tag. I find this to be a very powerful program for tag editing (and yes, it handles more than simply mp3 files).

I use the dBpoweramp tag editor and mp3tag all the time but it still requires more work to edit 3 sets of files. mp3tag does not work on AIFF files and ID tag editor would need to edit each tag separately one at a time.

And I also create mp3 versions of my FLAC files for use in portables. But my work flow is to rip to FLAC (editing the metadata before pressing the rip button if I happen to notice something incorrect and also selecting the best possible artwork). But after ripping, I look at ripped files, make any minor adjustments, name changes, maybe some multiple artist tags, etc. Then, when the FLAC file tagging and artwork is as perfect as I can get it, I use dbpa batch converter to create a set of mp3 files from my FLACs in a batch with only a couple of mouse clicks. This way I only have to fiddle once with the metadata and artwork.

I did that way for a while but found out it would be really efficient to let the CD Ripper deal with all formats once if I got it right the first time!

In addition, with classical music, your tags will be wrong (or likely not what you want) 80% of the time as you point out. So doing multiple encoder approach is probably not a great idea, unless you insure that you fix all the metadata before the ripping process begins.

That approach is recommended by the founder of the ComputerAudiophile.com site. Conceptually speaking, it makes sense as conversion could potentially introduce more data errors.

EDIT: Modifying tags NEVER requires a rerip. It only requires editing of the tags themselves. Much easier and faster than reripping.

Thank you for your tips but it is more work nevertheless as compared to if the tags can be edited once in the perfect layout of the CD Ripper and updated w/o re-ripping.

[mdx1]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

Press the Review PerfectMeta Matches to edit tags, when the ripper fetches metadata from Internet. It is a more convenient option to edit tags than the main window, because you can use the tab key to jump to another field easily.

Of course, you always can edit tags of already ripped files, no need to reripping anything. dBpoweramp includes a shell extension you can use to edit tags, or you can get a third party application to edit tags.

Thank you for the tip. I used that to review tags when I did not like the default. 99.5% of the time I want to have my own naming system. As long the title is correct, i.e., matches the CD booklet, it is a good start for me to add my "enhancement".

[mdx1]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

Here's a perfect example which I want to just update the metadata without re-ripping.

A lot of times, the tags are the way I wanted but I want to make a small change. For example I want to change the album name from:

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13 'Winter Dreams' (1995)

to

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13 'Winter Dreams' (A1995)

(I have used ADD-1995 in the past but it is too long.)

To signify it is ADD, not DDD. The early pure digital recordings (DDD) can sometimes sound harsh than the ADD process results. I want to be to tell without going deep into the metadata. Actually, I do not record ADD/AAD/DDD into the metadata as it is not directly supported by the CD Ripper.

[garym]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

Here's a perfect example which I want to just update the metadata without re-ripping.

A lot of times, the tags are the way I wanted but I want to make a small change. For example I want to change the album name from:

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13 'Winter Dreams' (1995)

to

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 13 'Winter Dreams' (A1995)

(I have used ADD-1995 in the past but it is too long.)

To signify it is ADD, not DDD. The early pure digital recordings (DDD) can sometimes sound harsh than the ADD process results. I want to be to tell without going deep into the metadata. Actually, I do not record ADD/AAD/DDD into the metadata as it is not directly supported by the CD Ripper.

Select all tracks in this album with windows file manager. Then right click. Then select "Edit ID Tag" from menu. This will open the window for editing multiple tags. Click on the field containing album name. Edit to what you want. Hit OK at bottom of screen and it will save your edits. Done. No reripping required. EDIT: and even if you have to do this 3 times, it is typically much faster than reripping a CD.

[garym]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

Bottom line: Ripping and tagging is not easy, and particularly not easy with classical music tagging. I'm about 1/2 way through ripping my CDs to FLAC (5,000 down, 5000 to go). But the good news is that once ripped perfectly (and dbpa provides technical means to ensure bit perfect rips and even testing of bit perfect nature of copies made of such files later on, via self-checking nature of FLAC files) and tagged the way you want with artwork, you only have to do it once.

p.s. I know all this too well. I carefully ripped my collection to mp3 years ago before fully understanding lossless vs lossy. So now I have over 200,000 mp3 tracks that I'm slowly reripping to lossless. Live and learn.

[pablogm123]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

The clever way would be edit a set of files, and use an app which can copy/export tags, so that you can paste/import to another set of files the same tags, without retagging everything three times. You could find useful the copy/paste tags function of MP3Tag via right click on selected files: You edit tags of FLAC files, you copy them and you paste them into MP3 files easily and quickly. Of course, this program has nothing to do with dBpoweramp, but I have mentioned for convenience, because if you are a perfecionist (you don't want typos, misscapitalizations...) that task consumes a lot of time.

[garym]

Re: Is it possible to only update metadata with CD Ripper?

I use the dBpoweramp tag editor and mp3tag all the time but it still requires more work to edit 3 sets of files. mp3tag does not work on AIFF files and ID tag editor would need to edit each tag separately one at a time.

And note that you do NOT have to edit each file tag one at a time with ID tag editor. If you are changing something that relates to several files (entire album for example), you can select all files, right click and edit the common field (i.e., album name) for all with a single edit and save.