Metadata editing for the novice

I can't help on structures as everyone has different priorities, preferences etc.  However as far as metadata editors for Mac are concerned there are a number of options with Yate and Metadatics being two of the most popular ones.  I trialled each one with minor success and ultimately bought metadatics and am very happy with it.  It takes a bit of experimenting but I quickly got the hang of it and thought to myself "if only I had done this sooner".

Metadatics works for me. Simple and intuitive to use with a good range of features.

Another vote for Metadatics.

Hi Kend

I use Minimserver as my UPnP server and Metadatics for tag editing.  They work well together and Metadatics is easy to use and comes with good help files.

My main reason for choosing Minimserver is that classical music is a major part of my collection (well over half) and Minimserver was designed with classical music in mind.  It is extremely flexible and customisable, but this does mean that there is a fairly steep learning curve which puts some people off.  I needed to read the user guide carefully (in fact, more than once!)  I am not sure I can advise you on the 'best' structure to use as this will depend on the type of music you typically listen to, how you browse your collection and other aspects of personal taste.  (An example: I enter Composer tags in the form: Surname, Forename and I have set up Minimserver to sort composers alphabetically by surname but display them in the form: Forename Surname.)  A web search will find some suggestions to get you started.  Whatever you do, I would recommend choosing a small selection of your ripped files and trying various tagging regimes on these, perhaps starting with default choices, until you find a structure you are satisfied with.  Otherwise, every time you make a change you may need to edit the tags on most or all of your files and this can be very time consuming.

Incidentally, one useful feature of Minimserver is that when you scan your files, it provides a log of tagging problems which can be useful for picking up inconsistent tags.

Roger

kend posted:

I have a Superuniti streaming from a WD myCloud NAS using Twonky, I am about to upgrade the NAS to a Synology unit running Minimserver. I ripped all of my CD's in the ALAC format using iTunes and apart from some basic title editing due to title clashes, I have not edited any metadata. Now with the NAS change I feel  it is the right time to improve the metadata.

When searching for iMac metadata editors, the choice is bewildering. I am looking for a recommendation for an editor that is suitable for a novice to start with but will also be suitable to grow with me. For the novice is there an idiots guide to metadata editing? I was looking for something that gives me a clue to the structures I should use.

Deciding which indexes to use for organizing your music files is prior to deciding which software to use for editing metadata. I mainly search my music after "Composer", "Work", "Conductor", "Ensemble", "Genre" and "Form" but I use a few more indexes. For editing I use Ex Falso but any decent software that let you define whatever indexes you want to use is fine.

Thank you for your helpful answers, it has helped clear some of the fog. I will now have a look at metadatics and look at which indexes to prioritise.

nbpf posted:

kend posted:

I have a Superuniti streaming from a WD myCloud NAS using Twonky, I am about to upgrade the NAS to a Synology unit running Minimserver. I ripped all of my CD's in the ALAC format using iTunes and apart from some basic title editing due to title clashes, I have not edited any metadata. Now with the NAS change I feel  it is the right time to improve the metadata.

When searching for iMac metadata editors, the choice is bewildering. I am looking for a recommendation for an editor that is suitable for a novice to start with but will also be suitable to grow with me. For the novice is there an idiots guide to metadata editing? I was looking for something that gives me a clue to the structures I should use.

Deciding which indexes to use for organizing your music files is prior to deciding which software to use for editing metadata. I mainly search my music after "Composer", "Work", "Conductor", "Ensemble", "Genre" and "Form" but I use a few more indexes. For editing I use Ex Falso but any decent software that let you define whatever indexes you want to use is fine.

Metadatics allows you to define your own tags (at least with FLAC files, I have not tried it with ALAC.)  You can then set up Minimserver to recognise these and use them for sorting, grouping etc all of which show up in the Naim App.  When choosing a tag editor I looked at several possibilities and the main advantage of Metadatics to me was ease of use and, in particular, the spreadsheet-like appearance of the main editing window.  YMMV.

Roger

Peakman posted:

nbpf posted:

kend posted:

I have a Superuniti streaming from a WD myCloud NAS using Twonky, I am about to upgrade the NAS to a Synology unit running Minimserver ...

When searching for iMac metadata editors, the choice is bewildering. I am looking for a recommendation for an editor that is suitable for a novice to start with but will also be suitable to grow with me ...

Deciding which indexes to use for organizing your music files is prior to deciding which software ...

Metadatics allows you to define your own tags (at least with FLAC files, I have not tried it with ALAC.)  You can then set up Minimserver to recognise these and use them for sorting, grouping etc all of which show up in the Naim App.  When choosing a tag editor I looked at several possibilities and the main advantage of Metadatics to me was ease of use and, in particular, the spreadsheet-like appearance of the main editing window.  YMMV.

Roger

+1 I am a big fan of Minimserver! If you are interested in classical music, Minimserver is almost mandatory: lightweight, fast and with excellent support for user-specific indexes, transcoding and more. If you plan to use Minimserver, you might want to install Minimwatch on a laptop or desktop computer connected to your LAN. You will then be able to control Minimserver and manage upgrades very comfortably via Minimwatch. 

I run Minimserver and upmpdcli (a MPD-based UPnP renderer) on a small headless and fanless computer. This is directly connected to my Naim DAC. Thus, no need for a NAS and for data transfer over the LAN: a minimal, flexible and reliable system. Control is via any UPnP control point: LInn Kazoo, Lumin, etc.