Need some help with my Core please, before i contact tech support.
Background to system: S’nait 2, NDX 1 (one of the last, if not the, last off the line ) Unite-Core.
Background to problem:
Previously had a (borrowed) UnitiServe in the system for a brief period, and ripped some CDs, moved the ripped WAVs to my MacBook desktop as was having problems backing the US up.
US left the home
Core arrived, connected via ethernet to Airport Express acting as a bridge on the same network as NDX, app etc. so no probs there
Core Music Folder functioning perfectly with newly ripped CDs showing in Music folder
Core Downloads folder working perfectly with ‘The Beatles FLAC USB’ files transferred, and all tracks showing and accessible via app, and playing perfectly
Core Downloads folder working perfectly with UnitiServe ripped WAVs with album folder and all sub folder tracks showing in the downloads folder when viewed via MacBook ‘finder’ but - the album title is visible in the app but NO tracks are available to play - when one selects the album and hits play, nothing happens and when one views the albums within the app there are no tracks listed.
now, these CDs were ripped on the unitiserve and originally resided in the Music store of that device but is the fact they are now in the downloads folder of the Core at the heart of the issue or, is there something else going on that prevents the app ‘seeing’ the tracks that are clearly visible when the downloads folder is viewed from our computer.
any help appreciated as to what might fix this, before asking tech support.
Hi, I am not sure what i would need to do do ensure it is however, it must be as i can see within the app and play from the app, all my beatles files that are stored in the downloads folder…
I’m not entirely sure that I understand your explanation of the problem, but I think you are saying that the Core works fine for its own rips and for files that you put into the downloads folder manually, but the transfer of files from your macbook didn’t work properly and you can see the folders inside the downloads folders but not any files in the folders?
When you moved the files from your MacBook to your Core, did you use the Import function in the app? If so then the Core should put rips from a Naim server into the Core’s music folder and files from the Naim server’s downloads folder into the Core’s downloads folder. Normally in order to be able to see the source of such an import, you have to enable it as a share first, which you do in the Naim app. Then you unshare it after the import. But if the Core isn’t certain that it’s importing from a Naim server then it will save all the files in the Core’s downloads folder. I recall that Naim’s former technical support wizard Phil saying that the Core errs OB the safe side, so if you were importing from a macbook, even if they were Naim rips, you might well expect to see all the imported files end up in the Core’s download folder.
If the sub-folders are there but no music files then the import probably didn’t work properly and as they are going to end up in the downloads folder anyway, I suggest you delete the empty sub folders in the Core’s downloads folder and then move the music into the Core’s downloads folder again by dragging and dropping.
You may need to rebuild the Core’s database after doing this, but it doesn’t take too long to do.
I suspect that in moving the files from the US to a non-Naim device, then back to the Core, you have lost the Metadata, due to way in which the Naim ripper/servers store it. You could put a metadata editor on your Mac, and have a look at the files to check this.
Do you still have access to the Unitiserve, as the easiest way to sort this would be to start again from there.
Chris
The OP does say that he moved the US on. And if it was just lost metadata then he would still be able to see the music files in the folders with his macbook.
Best
David
I think he’s saying that he can see it on his Mac. The OP says “…album folder and all sub folder tracks showing in the downloads folder when viewed via MacBook ‘finder’…
Thanks for the replies - to clarify, I can see the downloads folder, album folders, and tracks in album sub folders when viewing via my MacBook, so the files exist but within the app, I can only see the album folder and no tracks.
The only files I can see in both the downloads folder AND the app are the ones I transferred from The Beatles USB, so the metadata theory makes sense.
Whats the best / easiest way to try and restore this?
Yes well I now think Chris is right about the metadata as being the source of the problem, although if they are WAV they should show up in the app even without metadata.
Assuming you don’t have the Unitiserve or that you can get it but it doesn’t have your files anymore, then ripping the CDs again with the Core is probably the easiest thing. You could edit the metadata on the files in your Core’s downloads folder using dbpoweramp or similar but if there are a lot of them it will be quite tedious I guess.
Best
David
In that case you may need to add the metadata back in, have a look at an OSX app called Metadatics to really see what’s going on with the metadata and to add to it.
you’ll see that i have attempted to transfer both elton john and courtney pine across from my mac to the downloads folder and both appear to be successful -
what has surprised me is that the elton john is visible and plays via the app with all tracks visible but the courtney pine is showing no tracks within the app, as per the screenshot from my iPad below:
Regarding the move of US ripped music to a Core MQ folder, prepare to be disappointed.
I did this a couple of years ago and it didn’t go well. The Core adds files to the album folder that are different to what the US did. Therefore, when I added those album folders to the Core MQ, they never appeared right in the Naim app. As I may recall, they ended up as “Unknown Tracks” in the “U” Artists folder in the app.
I used dbpoweramp to reformat them as FLAC (and embedded the cover art, obviously) and stuck them in the Download folder. THAT fixed the issue once and for all.
So, user beware. Although I should mention that the Core software has changed in the meantime and may be more accommodating.
Thank you all - will try this evening but, isn’t the MQ / music folder restricted to naim staff or is there a way around this ? ( I access via finder as a ‘guest’ on my own network which works fine for the downloads folder but not sure about the music folder …???
) Unite-Core.
