Toolbox
This page contains information on and links to software tools you may find useful for editing metadata, creating playlists, converting media, etc.
These are the best of the basics:
- Metadata editor http://www.mp3tag.de/en/
- Metadata editor for Mac http://sbooth.org/Max/
- Metadata viewer Windows Explorer plugin http://www.softpointer.com/AudioShell.htm
- Batch encoders http://www.foobar2000.org/ http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/
- Media library management and tag editor http://www.mediamonkey.com/
Contents
Transcoding
Most digital media collections are populated with media of many different formats. Sometimes you'll need to convert audio from one format to another for playback on portable devices, various media streamers, or specialist computer media applications. The following applications provide excellent batch transcoding features.
Foobar2000
Foobar provides very easy to use batch transcoding feature. This allows you to select a directory of music and a target codec, and it will go and automatically re-encode the entire directory.
The interface is basic, and it has support for a wide range of media formats.
dbPowerAmp
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm
dbPowerAmp is a commercial media mangement tool providing accurate ripping and metadata and library management. The it contains a batch transcoding feature, but it is not as easy to use as foobar.
mediacoder
http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/
Playlist creation with Twonky Media Server
In order to successfully create playlists for use in Twonky Media, here are some tips:
Twonky assumes that playlists that are scanned contain links that are indexed from the location of the playlist. This makes Twonky sensitive to where you up load any playlists with relative references.
Twonky is agnostic to "\" or "/" dir separators, but it is unlikely that it can "fix" mappings between a Linux view of the file system (on the NAS) and the SAMBA view (on Windows) from the Playlist creator if absolute links are used.
Most playlist creating tools default to producing playlists with absolute links to items.
Those that do allow relative paths, default to absolute paths. Out of the ones listed here, only Media Monkey defaults to relative paths.
Playlist creation tools
The following table lists the behaviours of common playlist creation tools
| Application | Playlist Types | Comments |
| WINAMP | M3U | Creates playlists at global root for UNC paths. All items fully qualified drive and path for local files, "export" functionality in sub menu |
| WINAMP | PLS | As M3U above, No options |
| WMP11 | WPL | global root for UNC paths, automatic export to "my documents/my music/my playlists" not settable |
| MUSICIP | XSPF | global root for UNC paths, fully qualified drive and path for local files, "export" functionality in sub menu, "linking" application playlist with on disk playlist, "Use Relative Paths" OFF by default, "Use Extended M3u" |
| MUSICIP | M3U | as above |
| MEDIAMONKEY | M3U | local files relative, (I'm guessing relative to Playlist location...) |
| MP3TAG | M3U | fully qualified drive and path for local files |
More tools
- Album art aggregator (find missing album art for your digital music collection) http://team.thenexusnet.com/nexus/AAA/
- Ripcaster (contains links to various useful tools) https://www.ripcaster.co.uk/node/120
- Tag and rename (multi-format tagging tool) http://www.softpointer.com/tr.htm
