Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

[John7]

I am ripping some reissued CD's which clearly state "remastered" on them, however as far as I can tell the ripped files don't indicate this. I also have the filenaming set to prefix the folder with the date of issue, and that too is the original date.

Am I missing something? I'd like these remastered discs to be obvious.

thank you

John7

[Spoon]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

You are expecting 24 bit files? I am sorry to so the remastered 24 bit is just marketing, every CD is 16 bit except HDCD.

[Dat Ei]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

Hey Spoon,

I guess that he expects metadata from the metadata databases that are special or have a special hint for those remastered CDs.

As long as there are no special metadata in the databases for those remastered CDs, one can add a hint. I.e. I add "(Remastered)" to the albulm titel and change the year to the year when the remastered CD has been produced.


Dat Ei

[garym]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

Agree with Dat Ei. One needs to remember that the info on a CD is not contained in the CD itself, but in an online database, and those databases are generally populated by other users who rip the CDs, enter the info manually, then submit to the online databases. Sometimes remasters actually show up in the databases with this noted. Most times they don't.

When I purchase remastered CDs (e.g., the Led Zeppelin CDs released in the last year or so), I manually enter something like "[2014 Remaster] in the album title, although I still use the original album release date in "year". So Led Zeppelin II would be album title: "Led Zeppelin II [2014 Remaster]" and 1980s CD would simply be "Led Zeppelin II".

[John7]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

Agree with Dat Ei. One needs to remember that the info on a CD is not contained in the CD itself, but in an online database, and those databases are generally populated by other users who rip the CDs, enter the info manually, then submit to the online databases. Sometimes remasters actually show up in the databases with this noted. Most times they don't.

When I purchase remastered CDs (e.g., the Led Zeppelin CDs released in the last year or so), I manually enter something like "[2014 Remaster] in the album title, although I still use the original album release date in "year". So Led Zeppelin II would be album title: "Led Zeppelin II [2014 Remaster]" and 1980s CD would simply be "Led Zeppelin II".

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. Have to do it manually somewhere.

John7

[BrodyBoy]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

Thanks, that's what I was afraid of. Have to do it manually somewhere.

John7

It's really not that complicated or cumbersome. You could, for example, make a ripping Profile called "Remastered" that's the same as your standard profile, except that it adds whatever extra identifiers you want to whatever fields you want. Then just select that profile whenever you rips one of these remasters.

[John7]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

It's really not that complicated or cumbersome. You could, for example, make a ripping Profile called "Remastered" that's the same as your standard profile, except that it adds whatever extra identifiers you want to whatever fields you want. Then just select that profile whenever you rips one of these remasters.

I can change the folder name in Explorer but what about the album name in the metadata which appears when I hover over a file? Presumably this shows up in a media player (I am not there yet).

I have a few 2 and 3 CD box set rips that have slightly different folder names which is rather annoying. For example:

XYZ - Disc 1
XYZ - CD 2
XYZ (CD 3) and other silly variants.

Thanks

John7

[BrodyBoy]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

I can change the folder name in Explorer but what about the album name in the metadata which appears when I hover over a file? Presumably this shows up in a media player (I am not there yet).

I have a few 2 and 3 CD box set rips that have slightly different folder names which is rather annoying. For example:

XYZ - Disc 1
XYZ - CD 2
XYZ (CD 3) and other silly variants.

Thanks

John7

Yeah, multi-disc sets can be a real hassle. This is because the online databases (that source the metadata) are often very inconsistent, as your example illustrates. I realize that you need to correct the ones you already ripped, but for future situations, the easiest solution is preventative: As you rip each disc in a set, you need to review the metadata and ensure that the ALBUM name, as well as your folder structure, are exactly as you want before hitting the Rip button.

For those already ripped, you can make bulk metadata edits in Windows Explorer. I'd suggest opening each folder (representing a disc in the set), and selecting all files (CTRL+A). Right-click to get the context menu and select Edit ID Tag. Once you're in there, you can change any of the tags that are common to all files...things like ALBUM, DISC, etc. Do this for each folder in the multi-disc set, ensuring that the the ALBUM name is as you want it for all, and the DISC tags are set appropriately. Then, of course, you can also rename the folders to give them a more consistent "look" in Windows Explorer. (It won't matter to your players, since they use the metadata, not your folder names and structure.)

This is also a good way to go back and add the remastered designation you want on those albums already ripped. So for example, go into the folder, select all files, Edit ID Tag, and change the ALBUM tag to This is the Album (Remastered) or however you want it. But again, the easiest way to deal with these things going forward is to review and change the tags as needed before you rip. The less to clean up afterwards, the better.

[garym]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

and once your metadata is corrected to suit you, you can use the ARRANGE AUDIO DSP to rearrange/rename your files/folders to match your metadata. For example, your 3 CD box set that is named badly, can be rearranged automatically to:

c:/music/ARTIST/xyz
c:/music/artist/xyz/disk 1/01 - trackname.flac
c:/music/artist/xyz/disk 2/01 - trackname.flac
c:/music/artist/xyz/disk 3/01 - trackname.flac

etc.

[John7]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

Yeah, multi-disc sets can be a real hassle. This is because the online databases (that source the metadata) are often very inconsistent, as your example illustrates. I realize that you need to correct the ones you already ripped, but for future situations, the easiest solution is preventative: As you rip each disc in a set, you need to review the metadata and ensure that the ALBUM name, as well as your folder structure, are exactly as you want before hitting the Rip button.

For those already ripped, you can make bulk metadata edits in Windows Explorer. I'd suggest opening each folder (representing a disc in the set), and selecting all files (CTRL+A). Right-click to get the context menu and select Edit ID Tag. Once you're in there, you can change any of the tags that are common to all files...things like ALBUM, DISC, etc. Do this for each folder in the multi-disc set, ensuring that the the ALBUM name is as you want it for all, and the DISC tags are set appropriately. Then, of course, you can also rename the folders to give them a more consistent "look" in Windows Explorer. (It won't matter to your players, since they use the metadata, not your folder names and structure.)

This is also a good way to go back and add the remastered designation you want on those albums already ripped. So for example, go into the folder, select all files, Edit ID Tag, and change the ALBUM tag to This is the Album (Remastered) or however you want it. But again, the easiest way to deal with these things going forward is to review and change the tags as needed before you rip. The less to clean up afterwards, the better.

Thank you BrodyBoy, that is exactly the kind of instructions I was looking for.

John7

[Gromit2012]

Re: Remastered discs don't seem to be identified when ripped(?)

You are expecting 24 bit files? I am sorry to so the remastered 24 bit is just marketing, every CD is 16 bit except HDCD.

Whilst I agree with Spoon that reissuing CDs as remasters is a way that the record companies make more money, there is a difference between the original and the remaster. When CDs first came out quite a few were 'rushed to market' and not a lot of care was taken over the transfers (that was almost a third of a century ago now!). Also, the digital master transfer tapes (U-Matics at the time I believe) weren't always free of dropouts, and those dropouts could end up on the CD pressing, resulting in image shifts and cracks and pops when played (always repeatable though, unlike LPs!).

What some companies do is transfer the analogue multitrack tapes into the 24 bit digital domain, remaster them using modern digital mixing technology that wasn't available in the past, mix them down to stereo and then put them out on CD, which as you say is a 16 bit format. The effect of this is slightly different mixes to the original (whether you can tell how different depends on how many times you've played the original and have committed it to memory) and usually a better technical quality, with better noise reduction and noise floor etc.

Although I resent having to pay over and over for the same music that in some cases I originally bought on vinyl, the sound quality improvement is usually worth it. I have recently bought some of the Genesis remasters which have been remixed as well, and the quality of them is stunning compared to the original LP and CD issues. It's like looking at an old painting that has been restored to its sparkling detail - you can hear a lot that was never audible before. The only downside of current remasters/remixes is that if the engineer has succumbed to the current fashion for compressing the signal to make it more punchy and attention-getting (the so-called 'loudness wars') this can result in a loss of dynamic range.

The OPs problem with remasters not being identified as such is a big problem, especially with some record companies that not only use the same catalogue number and barcode as the original release, but in one case I have received what appears to be the identical original CD, despite the cover and inlay saying it's been remastered. On checking the identifiers within the ripped tracks (thanks to dBPowerAmp) I can see that they are very different, but the manufacturers should make it clearer. Having said that, as far as they are concerned, the remaster IS the product they are currently selling, so I suppose from their point of view it is the same product so they have kept the same cat number etc.

I am finding that when dBPowerAmp goes and gets the track data, one of the columns will add 'remaster' to the title, and even if that's not there, the dates often give it away, in that there will be a mix of the original date (eg 1980) and the remastered date (eg 2007). If you put the original and the remaster into the drive you do get different track data, which indicates that the remastered CD is different to the original.

When I rip my remastered CDs I simply manually add the word 'remastered' to the album title, which differentiates it from the original on my NAS box. Once I'm happy that the remaster is a better aural experience than the original, I delete the original and sell that CD. I always upload my track rip data dBPowerAmp and if it takes into account any corrections to the track data, that will eventually filter through to more and more of the databases.