Messages

1681

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: [UNDER DEVELOPMENT] A Replacement for Gracenote CDDB support

« on: December 08, 2016, 07:06:36 PM »

For CD tagging, the freedb methods is the most common option that I've seen come up so by going with that and the emulated musicbrainz option, I can get something working with both of them (and potentially any alternative solutions that are freedb compatible) with a common code base (i.e. it makes things easier to get started with as the data format coming back should be the same).

For the other method, that is what be used for anything non-CD related (in addition to getting the mbid to start with). I see that it can also be used to do the CD info lookup but I'd then be running with two different implementations to get the equivalent information but in a different format (at least that's how it seems from a brief look - I've probably looked at that page back in 2014 but I don't remember it off-hand).

So for CDs I don't think it's too helpful but for non-CD / file tagging then it would be what would need to be used in part to get an auto-tagging option working.


In simple summary, for CDs it's use a freedb / cddb system and for already ripped files it's use musicbrainz.

-dro

1682

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 08, 2016, 05:15:47 PM »

AutoTagging is on it's way back! Might be cool (If it is possible) to be able to choose which service you get results from. For example, I only want Musicbrainz tags, but some people might only want freedb tags. And some people might want both.

It's not auto-tagging like I think you're thinking (that would involve other things needing to be done) and this just relates to getting CD info. As there can be variations in the information that either of those two services can provide (which is why I've never liked CD lookup as the data can be really bad at times), it'd have to be exposed as some sort of selectable list to get what's actually wanted as the 'best' solution.

Re: burning support
I was totally wrong and I apologize to all burning fans. I didn't think that anyone still used that. I wonder if there is a way to implement burning through the windows API so that you don't have to use a depreciated 3rd party plugin.

Using IMAPI2 is one of the things I've been considering but it's the hassle in making the new code to do it. Is why I'd prefer to make use of a pre-existing solution which is known to work. As http://cdrtools.sourceforge.net is one of the things that has come up as potentially being viable as there's a few odd Windows gui wrappers around them - so that's one possible option that I've found so far. Until I do more research (or any other suggestions come in) I'm still somewhat uncertain about what to do regarding burning support.

I feel like I am asking a lot and making a lot of suggestions. I am sorry to put so many random ideas on your plate.

I'd rather have that than no feedback at all

-dro

1683

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 08, 2016, 04:11:44 PM »

Any progress for a replacement for Gracenotes in the near future?

I spent last night properly looking into this and I've started writing the code needed to make use of the freedb service from freedb.org as well as the equivalent from MusicBrainz via the MusicBrainz to FreeDB gateway

With the few CDs i've tried I've only gotten results from the normal freedb service but I'm going to leverage both of these services (and anything else that comes up from further research / viable suggestions) to try to ensure that if there is applicable information that it can be used in the ripping / playback handling

I'd expect to have a beta version working and included in the WACUP beta builds within the next few weeks... (maybe a bit sooner, maybe a bit later but the coding has started which is the main thing!).

-dro

1684

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 08, 2016, 04:02:29 PM »

I can see why people do use it as it's generally easier if you've got your library in the program already an can then just send that to a disc as needed.

Due to the general split, I'm going to have to do some proper research into burning options (although not immediately) as there is some demand.

The more important thing is that those who have replied generally want playback / ripping support maintained so at least that's consistent. Though that could be biased based on the habits of those responding but it makes sense to me to maintain at least parity compared to existing playback support

-dro

1685

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: WiFi Sync to Android Phone

« on: December 07, 2016, 09:32:02 PM »

The keeping it on the same network is the bit that they don't do. They typically upload to 'cloud' storage and then any connected devices on the account see the changes and pull them down as required.

Am wondering if a UPNP solution could work instead but it'd depend on the device side if it's then able to grab those files or just stream / play them (which I don't think you'd really want & would prefer getting local copies on the device to then be played).

The key thing is that any solution would need to be interoperable with other solutions just to make it worthwhile. Will have to do a bit of research as I've only briefly looked into the likes of dropbox & upnp options back in 2014 so it's not too fresh in my mind.

-dro

1686

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: WiFi Sync to Android Phone

« on: December 07, 2016, 07:00:11 PM »

Tbh I'd have thought having a means to use one of the existing file storage / sharing services (dropbox, onedrive, box, etc) would make more sense than re-inventing the wheel seeing as they've got things in place to handle file syncing between devices.

Unless I'm missing the point with the request... (which is possible ).

-dro

1687

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 07, 2016, 06:53:48 PM »

Thanks for the comments so far.

From what I've seen so far there seems to be roughly a 50/50 split between views on here vs those from the blog / facebook page on whether burning support should be kept or not.

I'll be keeping an eye on further comments here and elsewhere and will also do a bit more research to see if there's anything free & viable that can be used to if needed provide burning support in any replacements I make. Though everything so far has either been old &/or costly to get a license to be able to use it.

-dro

1688

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: WiFi Sync to Android Phone

« on: December 06, 2016, 09:37:26 PM »

Alas that's just not possible to my knowledge. As the issue with wi-fi sync + WAFA (I assume that's what you're referring to) is due to the protocol being used. So unless it was improved in both WAFA and the respective portable plug-in I don't see how any improvement could be done.

-dro

1689

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 06, 2016, 05:24:51 PM »

TOTALLY! Plus, DAE is a bit more stable if you ask me.

Just from my initial re-tests of things, I get decent playback with my basic DAE version compared to the native one with out Sonic being used so I've got to agree on my limited data set

I understand the quandry as you never want to "REMOVE" features that were there. I am usually not for that, but when you have something as antiquated as burning an MP3 CD AND it was an incomplete feature anyway. I say move on. But that is just me and other people are free to voice their opinions also.

Aye, am just aware of some of the past feedback when I had an official hat about how irate people get with things that aren't working or get removed & removing burning support would be a biggy.

You said dropping ripping support, did you mean to say burning support?

I did and I've fixed my above post, thanks

Now with all this said, I am usually a fan of "dropping" antiquated things that only serve a few people. (XP support?) Sometimes that puts ME in that minority of people, but sometimes it is time to move on.

Could say that audio CDs (and Winamp, heh) are well within that but I know people who still use CDs e.g. I've got access to a load of audio CDs due to my gf liking to listen to them at night.

Though just having decent playback / ripping is the main thing I've seen talked about so hopefully you're right that dropping burning support is probably not that big of an issue for most. Have put up a blog post (https://getwacup.com/blog/index.php/2016/12/06/is-maintaining-audio-cd-burning-support-a-good-idea/) & related social media posts to see what others may think.

-dro

1690

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 06, 2016, 04:33:40 PM »

Just re-checking, Sonic uses ~5.3MB when installed & ~1.3MB of the installer size. That isn't too bad considering what the likes of Nero ended up being but I fully get the point as all of it can be done directly for what's needed in a few 100KB at most

Keeping ripping support make sense (since it's just normal playback being sent to an encoder instead of speakers) but dropping burning support leaves me in a bit of a quandary. As just based on the odd comments in the Enthusiasts group page, some are still trying to use Winamp for burning CDs & removing something that was available to the old pro users doesn't quite sit right (even if there's better options for doing burning anyway), hence my quandary.

But dropping burning support would make it so much easier for me to make a replacement ml_disc which is just focused on viewing / ripping audio CDs (never liked the data CD view as it wasn't nice to use & seemed at odds with Winamp not being able to create data CDs).

-dro

[edit]
fixed last sentence, oops

1691

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 06, 2016, 03:19:53 PM »

It should remove the need for it with playback and ripping, just not with the existing burning support.

-dro

1692

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 06, 2016, 04:22:55 AM »

I'll cover it a bit more in the blog post that I need to finish off but from my Sunday night "fun time" I've managed to get the basis of a replacement CD playback plug-in working as I was able to find a copy of the example code that I'd used to test out using the Windows DAE (Digital Audio Extraction) support before refining it for the company that shall not be named.

The end result is a very basic replacement plug-in that does just enough to play a CD for me without the need for the Sonic engine. The native CD playback plug-in also doesn't work for me unless Sonic is present which I assume is due to something about Windows 10 &/or how the native plug-in does fallback to other methods (which unless DAE fails for a number of people, I don't plan on trying to re-create).

-dro

1693

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 03, 2016, 05:38:49 PM »

Time will tell if the random BSODs go away with these hardware changes or not (as it can range from twice in a day to 3-4 days until it happens).

As for CD support, I've got my notes still somewhere for what I'd used in the version that I'd worked on post-sale. It worked ok for what I could test against with playback and ripping of CDs including supporting reading CD-Text without Sonic being enabled & I don't think it was speed limited (as it then depends on the OS more than the control that Sonic + pro licensing implied).

Though for certain things (mainly writing to CDs) then Sonic is still needed or is just easier / better to use a dedicated burner instead. But I'd assume (bad thing to do, heh) that playback / ripping were the more commonly used options compared to burning of CDs (especially as it couldn't do MP3 CDs).

-dro

1694

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 03, 2016, 05:07:57 PM »

... as currently I don't have a CD/DVD drive connected to my development machine.

...

Unless I can work out why the 7th & 8th SATA ports on the motherboard won't work with the SATA DVD I've got (as the other 6 SATA ports have SSDs & HDDs connected to them which I need)

Either it was a bad cable (possible) or the machine is just being nice to me (it's probably fed up of me cursing it) but I've finally got a working DVD drive in the machine again. This makes it easier for me now if I decide to do something about this broken support.

-dro

[can ignore this as it's more for my record]
So somewhere between changing most of the SATA cables (I need to get a few more now) to ones that have locking connectors on them (one of the old cables I had was a bit loose on trying to diagnose the BSOD issues I've been having of late), replacing the last HDD I've got (needed to anyway as it's almost full) & moving most of the SSDs into a drive bay cage that fits into a 5.25" bay (makes it easier to access / move things around for me now) & resetting a number of options in the BIOS, the secondary drive controller finally recognised the DVD drive.

1695

Wishlist / Feature Requests / Re: A Replacement for Gracenotes

« on: December 01, 2016, 04:57:22 AM »

Like I said, it is definitely something to look at in the future.
Sure there are better CD rippers out there and there are better metadata taggers out there. Having it all in one place makes it nifty.

That seemed to be one of the reasons why people liked it (and others despised it due to it bastardising their player).

With what you mentioned with the consistent metadata handling implementation for all the plugins...  this sounds like its a bigger task than it seems.

It probably is but I won't know until I do the proper research on what to use. As rolling my own tag libraries isn't worth the hassle but working with existing matured solutions is what I'd prefer to do (quicker & as long as I pick the right ones then should make it easier to maintain / tweak if needed and be stable).

I use CDex a lot and it uses freedb.org for album lookups when ripping.  Another option.

I vaguely remember looking into that but there was something about it that put me off for some reason. But yes it's another option if I were to do anything

-dro