2TB Unitiserve

Sorry, I'm completely in the dark about playlists, so I don't know if they are a workaround solution or not.

@Claus-Thoegersen:

thanks for looking into it, I know it's not a big deal to many, I can never see what the fuss is about improperly displayed artwork!

Hope you all had a great Christmas and NY.

After spending time over the break listening to music rather than worrying about the problems I encounter earlier with my new server,  I'm in love.

Musically, my new additions (DAC-V1 and Unitiserve) have allowed me to hear depth and detail that I don't think I've heard for a long time. Old friends are new again. Ripped CD's seem to sound better than the CD. 

I still feel that there are a few minor issues with editing both ripped CDs and items in the download file. I also understand that this may not be a problem for some, I guess it's about choice. I did manage to get all the cover art, thanks for all the suggestions and help.

Yes you are right I could remove those annoying bonus tracks using a PC, but why would I do that. These wouldn't be WAV files (in my system away), kind of defeats the whole idea of having a high quality server. And removing those tracks is not "bastardising" the CD's, record companies do that by adding them there in the first place.

Peter 

Do you want the UnitiServe to exclude all bonus tracks or just the annoying ones?

Keith

I'm very late to this thread, but interesting catching up on it. I don't have anything new to add but thought I would offer some moral support to some of Peter's points.

I'm with him on the point about editing metadata in the Downloads file.  When I got the 2TB upgrade done I assumed that I would be able to use the DTC, nStream, etc to edit metadata on downloaded files in the same way I can for rips.  I was very surprised to find I could not.

As others have pointed out the work around is simple enough - I use dbPoweramp to fix the metadata before copying it into the downloads folder.  But I am a bear of small brain and somewhat lazy and would find it simpler and more elegant if I only had one tool to use to edit metadata.

I have no issues with getting artwork from ripped CD's. My issue is when downloading Hi Res. files from HD Tracks in WAV format. I load on flash drive, then plug it into the UServe I get artwork missing. Does anyone have a fix for this. All tracks are fine but no artwork. Please help.

Thanx

Not a userve owner but IIRC HDTracks downloads usually include artwork in pdf format so you may need to convert the artwork and rename to folder.jpg before transferring to the server.

Banger, are you trying to play from the usb stick, or transfer the files from the stick to the internal hdd of the uServe?

As the poster above me wrote, HDTracks usually provides a pdf file.  That is not a format that the uServe is happy with -- convert to jpg or just go online and download a jpg.  Rename that jpg file as folder.jpg

Yes, I have the hi res. files on a USB stick plugged into the back of the UServe. I did check each music file and they are including a picture but I think they may be adobe format, I will change them to jpg and try that. Thanx for the help, I will post with results. 

Well I converted abobe picture to jpg. No luck still no artwork. I have other hi res music downloaded from HD Tracks and the artwork is there so I am looking at the difference. Here it is, the others that work are in FLAC format and work, the ones in WAV show no artwork, is this possible?? if so do I need to convert to FLAC to get the artwork? Seems kind of stupid but you know?  

No if the wav files are in a folder, and a jpg named folder.jpg is in that same folder, the uServe SHOULD see it.  I can try this myself at home, but it should work!

Here is what the file looks like. This is a copy of the file in the computer the one on the flash drive does not say The Absence it says folder.jpg. Just to be clear on that. 

Hi Banger,

I too had a bit of trouble making some of the covers stick. If you have them tagged correctly they will appear (eventually). I've also had trouble with the server not finding music that been added to the download folder. Again and sometimes annoyingly days later they do turn up.

If the covers don't stick it's better, I've found away, to start again. And there shouldn't be any difference between WAV and Flac files, I have both and the art work has worked after some messing around.

Again, I believe this could be made much easier if you could edit the download files the same way you can a ripped cd.

Cheers

Peter.

I still have not had any luck. Next is to backup music to NAS, another headache. 

To manage and create a correct database need a lot of rigor and maybe some learnings.

I use to manage folders exactly in the same way HDX does ->

Folder Artist / Folder Album / Files

The cover has to be naimed "folder" - as far as i remember, it has been said and explanied many times.

HDX/Userve are ripping correctly and creating them own database. As a server, it is quiet logic it allows only to manage tags on the ripped files. For the download folder, it react more as a streamer i guess.

Don't forget that, as a server, the importance of the database is critical. If corrupted, it will simply not work.

After that, you can correct tags if needed with other applications like "Tag app" for the downloaded files. Simple and efficient.

Respecting these few rules, you will see that it becomes quickly a child game even if at the beginning it seems to be complicated.

Cheers

I agree that with a little attention to detail, it works just fine. 

One of those details that I'll keep posting about, as without a Wiki it keeps cropping up, is to use proper folder naming conventions on your Naim server:  No spaces in the Share or Store or Backup folder names!  And no non-alphanumeric characters.  If you keep it to letters and numbers and use the _ to make a space, you'll have a system that works (if you've done everything else right, of course).

The same applies to some extent to folder names for individual cd's, and individual file names, and to metadata tags.  The system is tolerant of spaces in these cases, but not tolerant of some of the non-alphanumeric characters.  Best to avoid them. 

Well I tried folder.jpg and that does not seem to work. I will try just folder. I have no issues with cd just high res. files from HD Tracks and Naim. On the weekend I downloaded 2 free tracks from Naim one in WAV and one in FLAC, the one in FLAC showed the artwork the one in WAV did not. Stumped??

Hi Banger,

I have a similar issues. All my files are WAV, CD rips via UnitiServe, HD Downloads, HD rips from BR & DVD-A discs.

All US rips from CD to WAV are all fine and the N-Serve app works fine for changing/adding album art and metadata.

My issue is all WAV files outside the US server. 24/48, 24/96 and 24/192 all WAV don't seem to be receptive to the US server for a lot of artwork/metadata. The downloads folder (or your own created music store second folder, mine is WAV HD RIPs for example) that is used to copy across into, the server/software doesn't recognise almost any artwork, even re-saved non .jpg or re-labelled folder.jpg. Then sometimes the artwork pops up and then other times it doesn't. Editing the WAV files to change incorrect naming is difficult also, within the US software it recognises the WAV files exists and plays them but doesn't allow any metadata changes at all.

The US server/software, as I understand it, uses AMG online and applies a secondary metadata file tagged alongside the ripped CD WAVs. I assume this same secondary file is not able to be added to non UnitiServe ripped/copied files?

Bought WAV files from say HD Tracks, sometimes the artwork appears, other times it just doesn't.

I am experiencing the same niggling issues as others with this side of the system. All ripped CDs are fine and no issues, this is for all WAV files that are non-US ripped.

So can non-US ripped WAVs be integrated into the US server and software to allow for easier album art and metadata manipulation and allow total music management under one software roof so to speak?

Thanks

Dan43

Thanks Dan, you nailed it. This bothers the shat out of me.

I've given up on WAV with downloads for the reasons you describe.  All much easier with FLAC.  And then have US transcode to WAV for playback.

Hi Nudger,

This was mentioned by another post earlier elsewhere also, but isn't the reason for the FLAC perceived quality loss is the need to uncompress (uncompressed on the fly during playback), so the US uncompresses the FLAC file and then also converts to WAV.

I may be splitting hairs here but to do the FLAC uncompress and then conversion to WAV cause undue stress on the original file, therefore impact the quality of its playback/delivery? Thus the reason for keeping everything as WAV as your original source media intact without any need for conversions, albeit the pain with the metadata as described?

Can't we get the HD downloads into the US AMG search based software and attach the extra file to keep everything WAV and in the same software server management?

Thanks

Dan43

If you get uncompressed FLAC then it's just the translation to WAV that is possibly the issue.  I cannot hear the difference to be honest, though I confess I have not done really detailed back-to-back comparisons.

I concluded that I was more irritated by the messing around with metadata than I was by any SQ difference I could discern, and settled on an easy life!

If you wanted to see if there is a SQ difference that matters for the way you listen, then you could invest in a buying both a WAV and a FLAC of the same thing.  Or use dbPoweramp or similar to create a FLAC from one of your WAVs and test with that.  If you do the latter you could use dbP to change the metadata in the second version so you can have both on your server at the same time to make doing the comparison easy.

Well I messed with the hi res file photo names again and just named them folder and a few have shown the artwork but not all. 

If you are looking on nserve refresh the image cache.

to be totally clear you showed a file tree earlier with the art work in, the file i assume is a jog and has to be named 'folder' 

FLACs are far more capable of embedding metadata in the actual files than WAVs.  You can also set different levels of lossless compression for FLACs when ripping with DBPoweramp.  If disc space is not an issue choose low compression, that way the system does not have to work hard to decompress.  I rip WAVs and FLACs to give me a choice for playback.  Personally I find the difference between the two is very hard to detect, if not impossible, but that may just be me and my kit.  For me the advantages of FLAC metadata flexibility tips the scales in their favour.

If you create a FLAC from a WAV it will only end up with the level of metadata present in the original WAV, as data isn't embedded in the WAV, if you see what I mean?  I believe that FLACs can embed a file image, WAVs cannot?  I don't know if this partly explains your problems? I know JRiver will look for a file called cover.jpg or folder.jpg in the same folder as the music files and use that.

Hi FLAC files can use OggVorbis metadata tags, and WAV can use ID3 and/or LIST/INFO  metadata tags. Both OggVorbis and ID3,support album art. However as far as I have gathered Naim do not recognise LIST/INFO or ID3,chunks in WAV files and so is unable to directly read the metadata from the WAV file.

I find this strange and as a result of this discovered limitation I cancelled  my US order a few years ago and used an alternate ripper and UPnP streamer.

Simon