Three months after my previous post, I have to say that the workaround I described then is not very satisfactory to me. If I do want to access the discs as released in the box set, they are available by browsing the music folder, as stated. However, it is not an easy or pleasant task to select all tracks on a single disc from, say, a ten-disc set when all tracks from all discs are in a single folder.
I think I have found a better workaround, though. What's needed is a file format that LMS can recognize and read metadata from while using audio from a linked file. There is a file format that meets that description: cue files. Unfortunately, the standard cue file, which defines individual tracks in a large file, typically the entire contents of a CD, is not suitable for changing the order of tracks and/or omitting some tracks. There are cue files that use separate files as sources (examples 'here' (https://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Cue_sheet#Multiple_files_with_corrected_gaps)) but LMS does not currently support this type of cue file (discussion 'here' (https://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?110141-Multiple-files-per-cue-sheet)). That leaves just one option that I can see: a separate cue file for each track. There is no need to alter the metadata in the original files from the box set, as the metadata will be read from the cue file. Here's an example from a set in my collection: Code: -------------------- REM GENRE Jazz REM DATE 1953 REM COMMENT "from Mingus Complete Debut Recordings" PERFORMER "Charlie Parker\\Dizzy Gillespie\\Bud Powell\\Charles Mingus\\Max Roach" TITLE "Jazz at Massey Hall complete, reconstructed" FILE "02-09 - I've Got You Under My Skin.flac" WAVE TRACK 05 AUDIO TITLE "I've Got You Under My Skin" PERFORMER "Bud Powell\\Charles Mingus\\Max Roach" INDEX 01 00:00:00 -------------------- That's one of thirteen cue files that define an album contained within a box set. Obviously, the album metadata, especially the title, needs to be the same in every file, while the name of the linked file and the track number and title will be different. The biggest disadvantage of this method is that it will not work for those who are already using cue lists with large files containing multiple tracks. The tracks must be split into separate files. And, needless to say, creating all those cue files is a tedious process. I should also note that these cue files do not seem to be picked up by an ad-hoc folder scan. When you add playable files to a folder and then use the browse music folder option to access that folder, LMS usually adds the new files to the library, but not these cue files. So far as I can tell, it is necessary to do a complete rescan. I have only used the "clear library and rescan everything" option, so I don't know if a "new and changed" rescan will work. (I'm currently using the August 16 build of 3.9.2.) There are bound to be other pitfalls that I have not found yet. I hope somebody else will try this and report back on what works and what doesn't. LMS (recent) running on Debian X86_64; 5 Squeezelite players (3 in PiCorePlayer), 3 players connected via Airplay Bridge 1 Squeezebox Radio (upgraded UE Smart Radio) now mostly retired ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RobbH's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=67008 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=108121 _______________________________________________ ripping mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/ripping
