Toolbox

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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:



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

http://www.foobar2000.org/

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

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, however it cannot "fix" mappings between diffferent views of the same file system.  For example a media library on a NAS with Twonky installed will have a "Linux view" that is used directly by Twonky.  The same files will also be available over a SAMBA view (on Windows clients).  The Samba view is where the Playlist creation tool will run, but Twonky must use the "Linux view".  This will effect playlists with absolute paths are used.

Most playlist creating tools default to producing playlists with absolute links to items.

Those playlist tools 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

Ensure that the Playlist is saved as a .M3Ufile and is saved in the same root folder as the Music. The playlist file will have to be scanned by the UPnP server software (such as Twonky), before it is displayed on the GUI


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

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