Problems with Compilation Albums Appearing n times for n artists

[IanW]

Hi, I have borrowed a Zenith mk3 to see if this is the music serving solution that I want. I am a long term Logitech Media Server User and more recently an Auralic Lightning user.

After importing my DBPowerAmp ripped collection of flac files into the Innuos server it generally works fine. But I have problems with compilation albums (do not have these problems on LMS or Lightning DS). Where no matter what I try Sense displays each track on a compilation album with the correct album name but then adds the track title for each artist. So I am unable select the compilation album to play and it thinks that there are n albums as there are n track authors, whereas it is all from one alum..

The only thing that makes a difference is to tell Sense that tracks from a compilation album are from a compilation album. But this would be a very lengthy process to click on each track and set the compilation flag. Is there an easier way to do this?

Please note all my music is stored under same folder structure from DB PowerAmp where each album is stored in a separate directory, e..g:

Music/AngelsFallDisc1/Angels Fall - 01 - The Memory Band - Why
Music/AngelsFallDisc1/Angels Fall - 02 - Sol Seppy - Enter One
...

With all the metadata also stored in tags in the file metadata.

Any help gratefully received.

 

[Stephen Healy]

Our system looks at the metadata rather than folder container, so it might be that the compilation mode has not been enabled at the track metadata level?

In any case, the fastest way to solve this in Sense (which would need to be running 3.0.1) is go to the ALBUMS view, then enable the multi-select option in the top-right corner. Then, go through and select all of the separate album entries that belong to the same compilation; presumably they should all be in sequence with the same cover art. Once they are all chosen, go back to the options in the top-right again and choose Merge Albums, at which point you will be taken through a quick merging feature to combine this in to one compilation album.

The only other alternative to skip making metadata changes, is to browse be Folder mode, go Music -> Angel Falls Disc 1 and press the play icon on it to play the full album.

 

[guardajoias]

Our system looks at the metadata rather than folder container, so it might be that the compilation mode has not been at the track metadata level?

In any case, the fastest way to solve this in Sense (which would need to be running 3.0.1) is go to the ALBUMS view, then enable the multi-select option in the top-right corner. Then, go through and select all of the separate album entries that belong to the same compilation; presumably they should all be in sequence with the same cover art. Once they are all chosen, go back to the options in the top-right again and choose Merge Albums, at which point you will be taken through a quick merging feature to combine this in to one compilation album.

The only other alternative to skip making metadata changes, is to browse be Folder mode, go Music -> Angel Falls Disc 1 and press the play icon on it to play the full album.

Another, probably faster, solution is to use third party software. These metadata editors allow you to open the compilation album, select all tracks, and check the compilation tag once for all the tracks of the album. Back in Sense, the album will show up as one album.

 

[IanW]

Our system looks at the metadata rather than folder container, so it might be that the compilation mode has not been at the track metadata level?

In any case, the fastest way to solve this in Sense (which would need to be running 3.0.1) is go to the ALBUMS view, then enable the multi-select option in the top-right corner. Then, go through and select all of the separate album entries that belong to the same compilation; presumably they should all be in sequence with the same cover art. Once they are all chosen, go back to the options in the top-right again and choose Merge Albums, at which point you will be taken through a quick merging feature to combine this in to one compilation album.

The only other alternative to skip making metadata changes, is to browse be Folder mode, go Music -> Angel Falls Disc 1 and press the play icon on it to play the full album.

Hi Stephen Healy,

Thanks for the answer to my question. I will have a go at updating the metadata. These files were generally ripped many years ago and so maybe DBPowerAmp did not always add the compilation album flag. It has worked on some albums though.

 

[IanW]

Another, probably faster, solution is to use third party software. These metadata editors allow you to open the compilation album, select all tracks, and check the compilation tag once for all the tracks of the album. Back in Sense, the album will show up as one album.

Hi guardajolas,

Thanks for the additional response. I looked at DBPowerAmp Perfect Tunes, but it did not seem to have the functionality to ?o this in a way that would be easier than using Sense, as described above. Do you have any suggestions for metadata editing software that would be more efficient and easier to use.

 

[guardajoias]

Hi guardajolas,

Thanks for the additional response. I looked at DBPowerAmp Perfect Tunes, but it did not seem to have the functionality to ?o this in a way that would be easier than using Sense, as described above. Do you have any suggestions for metadata editing software that would be more efficient and easier to use.

Hi IanW,

On a Mac I use Yate (and sometimes Tag Editor). You can just drag the album folder on them to open the album, select all tracks and check "Compilation", and it's done. Very simple and fast. I am sure there are equivalents on Windows. Yate has the advantage of also working with dsf (DSD) files. This can be done on the files that are already on the Innuos server. No need to make copies.

 

[Stephen Healy]

Hi guardajolas,

Thanks for the additional response. I looked at DBPowerAmp Perfect Tunes, but it did not seem to have the functionality to ?o this in a way that would be easier than using Sense, as described above. Do you have any suggestions for metadata editing software that would be more efficient and easier to use.

On Windows there is a free tool called Musicbrainz Picard. It has a bit of a learning curve, but powerful once understood. The question is how many albums you need to amend; i would say if 10 or less, then it would just be quicker/easier to get those done through Sense rather than downloading, installing, and learning new software on a computer. But if you have dozens or more than need to be corrected then yes, a third-party tool to 'bulk' process these may be quicker.

 

[IanW]

On Windows there is a free tool called Musicbrainz Picard. It has a bit of a learning curve, but powerful once understood. The question is how many albums you need to amend; i would say if 10 or less, then it would just be quicker/easier to get those done through Sense rather than downloading, installing, and learning new software on a computer. But if you have dozens or more than need to be corrected then yes, a third-party tool to 'bulk' process these may be quicker.

Hi guardajolas and Stephen Healey,

Thanks for the additional suggestions (I use Windows and Ubuntu). I have experimented with one album so far but as it is likely to be 20 or so I will try the tag editors that you have suggested. They do sound like the best way to do this.

Are any of these tools good at dealing with removing duplicate albums as I still have a few that are rarely played, but would rather that I did not need to delete every second or second and third track in Sense?

Best wishes,

Ian

 

[Stephen Healy]

In the case of Musicbrainz, no, that's not part of its features. You may be able to use some generic duplicate-finding software on PC, otherwise i think its a case of diving into the folders manually via PC and deleting the tracks directly that way.

 

[IanW]

In the case of Musicbrainz, no, that's not part of its features. You may be able to use some generic duplicate-finding software on PC, otherwise i think its a case of diving into the folders manually via PC and deleting the tracks directly that way.

Thanks, that was my backup plan.

It will be good to have this all sorted out.

 

[IanW]

After a bit of digging, my number of problem albums was much greater than I thought.

So I am using a combination a windows PC folder view, Musicbrainz and Sense to correct the database.

It looks like many of the problem files are due to how DBPowerAmp ripped the compilation albums many years ago and as such did not add the compilation tag.

So thanks for all the suggestions, I am getting there.

 

[Stephen Healy]

No problem Ian. I seem to recall that there was often a similar issue for discs that were copied or imported using iTunes back in the day that also did not have compilation metadata check enabled.
In 3.1 we will be adding a new mechanism to the import process, whereby if a group of tracks in a folder all share the same album title, but have different artists or resolutions, then during the import Sense will not divide these tracks up - it will be able to make a better approximation that these tracks belong to the same album. The intention here is that it will help minimise encounters such as this where a lot of merging needs to take place to account for metadata/file resolution differences.

 

[IanW]

No problem Ian. I seem to recall that there was often a similar issue for discs that were copied or imported using iTunes back in the day that also did not have compilation metadata check enabled.
In 3.1 we will be adding a new mechanism to the import process, whereby if a group of tracks in a folder all share the same album title, but have different artists or resolutions, then during the import Sense will not divide these tracks up - it will be able to make a better approximation that these tracks belong to the same album. The intention here is that it will help minimise encounters such as this where a lot of merging needs to take place to account for metadata/file resolution differences.

That would be a good feature to have.

I am trying to work out how to fix the occasional problem with the MusicBrainz database where the data is incorrect, ut so far have not found a good way to do it.

 

[Stephen Healy]

That would be a good feature to have.

I am trying to work out how to fix the occasional problem with the MusicBrainz database where the data is incorrect, ut so far have not found a good way to do it.

When MusicBrainz has fetched the suggested metadata on an album, do note you can then right-click on it to list all other found versions - you may then find the right version of the album based on format, year, country, record label, catalogue number etc. This is very important to check, as its first estimation of the pre-fetched metadata can easily be the wrong one.