Audio Media file format question

[fearingsept]

I know LMCE will detect mp3's but I have a lot of .m4a files that I had backed up from my ipod.

Does LMCE detect these files and add them to the audio library automatically?

Do I need to download anything?

If so from where?

If not supported is my best solution just to convert them to mp3?

I am sure this has been asked before so I will search but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask.

[fearingsept]

anyone?...

[colinjones]

Sorry, been on holidays!

No need for anything extra - Xine is perfectly capable of playing these. Its just that UpdateMedia doesn't recognise them as media files so doesn't add them to the database. This will likely change in future releases (I know that other new file types have been added).

In the meantime, find the files in the Media Sync menu, drop down the media type box and choose LMCE Audio File for each then hit OK. Then you will be able to find and play them just fine.

EDIT: btw, if you search the forums you will find a post (from ages ago) on a sql command you can execute to include this file type extension permanently.... the advice back then was for video file types, but the same should apply...

[fearingsept]

good deal, thank you...
I actually just went back and converted all my m4a files to mp3. In the future I will keep this in mind.

[e102]

Hi,

This is exactly what I need. I (stupidly) imported all my CDs onto my apple mac mini (do'h). I have now converted it to run Linux MCE (yeah!) and don't want to re-import over 300 cds.... but I can't find the old post relating to hacking the sql database to accept other file extensions.

Any help would be great. Linux MCE is excellent. I have a Nokia N800 as an Orbiter now, and once all my media appears, I will be truly happy.

(I have been using Linux exclusively for over 8 years now, and should have known better, buying a mac... what was I thinking).
Cheers

[colinjones]

The post is here - http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=3734.0

As I say, this is for adding a video type, so will need to be adapted into something like:

mysql -u root -D pluto_main -N -e "UPDATE MediaType SET Extensions = 'wav,mp3,flac,ogg,wma,m4a' WHERE Extensions = 'wav,mp3,flac,ogg,wma'"

Of you can install MySQL Query Browser and edit the entry directly in the Pluto_Main database, MediaType table... that is pretty self explanatory...

[e102]

Thanks. I have done exactly that, and have both reset the core (hybrid in my case), and done a resynchronise on the media.

In the media sync the m4a files show as being in the database (as do the mp3 files), however, in the Orbiter they do not show up!

[krys]

make sure that the sort value is set correctly on the orbiter ie: if the media files in question dont have a performer listed under web admin and you are sorting by performer... they wont show on the orbiter.

[colinjones]

The requirements for them to show up are:

1. the share/drive must be "online" - if there are mp3 files in the same folder that show up, then it must be online, you can look in the admin console under the devices tree at the share device data, it has an online tick box, if ticked then it is online.

2. the files need to be scanned into the data (as audio files, ie make sure you added the file type to the StoredAudio entry), in the file sync section of the admin site, the files must show up with a big tick mark next to them, not as a "drive" icon; and they must not appear in the "missing from disk" section.

3. you either need to be looking in the audio browser using Filename sort mode and navigate to the appropriate folder to see them, or they need to be tagged with meta data such as "Album", etc and be looking in that sort mode instead - note that only mp3 files get their meta data imported from the id3 tags embedded in the file. m4a files do not, and so you either have to tag them manually in the admin console, or only use Filename sort mode and navigate to the correct folder.

[tschak909]

You need to make sure your files are properly tagged.

For audio you need at a minimum:

* Performer
* Album
* Title

-Thom

[e102]

Thanks all.
I had not realised that m4a files did not contain any tags (serves me right for buying an apple!). Anyway, I am looking at converting the m4a files to mp3. I know it is slightly lossy, but I can probably recover the tags. I don't fancy re-ripping my cd collection!

[colinjones]

Thanks all.
I had not realised that m4a files did not contain any tags (serves me right for buying an apple!). Anyway, I am looking at converting the m4a files to mp3. I know it is slightly lossy, but I can probably recover the tags. I don't fancy re-ripping my cd collection!

Its not so much that they can't contain tags (I believe they can), its more that LMCE's UpdateMedia daemon does not currently import them. It is tilted towards mp3 files...

[e102]

thanks to all who posted.
I have basically converted (or am in the process of converting) my m4a files into mp3s. Then I will add tags based on directory structure using a script.
Not ideal, but better than using file browse method (in my opinion).

[organicveggie]

Thanks all.
I had not realised that m4a files did not contain any tags (serves me right for buying an apple!). Anyway, I am looking at converting the m4a files to mp3. I know it is slightly lossy, but I can probably recover the tags. I don't fancy re-ripping my cd collection!

Its not so much that they can't contain tags (I believe they can), its more that LinuxMCE's UpdateMedia daemon does not currently import them. It is tilted towards mp3 files...

I have a large number (2,000+) of m4a and flac files that are already perfectly tagged and I'd rather not convert them. And sadly the admin interface is not well suited for correcting metadata on such a large number of files.

If someone could direct me to the appropriate place(s) in the LMCE codebase that handle importing the tags, I'd be willing to a take a look and possibly submit a patch.

Thanks.

-Sean

[colinjones]

UpdateMedia