How do you identify CDs that come up as unknown with no info when you rip them to a hard drive?
If you have tried all the databases then you’re left with using the old fashioned way - entering info and track data yourself manually.
and once done this - please consider submitting your data to your favourite database provider for others to benefit, although most rippers support this - a few don’t.
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What ripper are you using?
Are you sure the online lookup process has actually connected and still found no metadata, or is it just that the lookup failed?
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Thanks. Sorry to be so ill informed. How do you enter it manually or search other databases?
Which ripper or ripping software are you using?
Play them to Shazam on a mobile phone that will narrow it down, then search on Discogs for the version you have.
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EAC gives you the option of choosing a few different tagging sources.
I can recommend mp3tag for manually editing tags.
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+1 Discogs rocks, also if you can’t find the artwork Discogs will have it.
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Unitiserve and the Nam app.
I’m using the Naim Uniti Serve. Now about 10% of the CDs aren’t identified. I can’t work out how to use the app to identify them.
First, check that the Unitiserve is on the latest firmware, which is version 1.7c
In the N-Serve app, open an album, select the edit option, and select Online Lookup at the bottom of the page to make another attempt. If the first attempt after ripping was unsuccessful, either the internet connection was interrupted, or the database didn’t have information for that album, which occasionally happens with very recently released or obscure material.
If all else fails, add the information manually using the iOS app. It’s pretty quick and easy to type in track names, genre etc. and add artwork. Do not attempt to use third party metadata editing software to alter CD rips, as this can cause problems later on with the database.
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I have found the accuracy of meta data from specific locations to be hilariously overstated. I’ve just ripped 1600 CDs and the images and data from Discogs in particular were dreadful. I had to edit pretty much each one. Images especially of vinyl sat on a table in a plastic cover seemed to be a disproportionate occurance.
Virtually all new rips appeared with either no genre or hilariously bad ones and my task for the next month is clearly going to be fixing that. I don’t consider my music collection to be especially obscure but goodness me there is some work to be done on meta data.
I find Discogs to be hopeless for CD cover art images. Google works fine most of the time.
Best
David
I have managed to almost wholly remove Google from my life. Hard but not impossible. DuckDuckGo search has found me almost all I needed. I had to photograph 2 of my own covers as they simply didn’t exist online. Have yet to do it for my copy of Distillation by Erin McKeown. My copy appears to have a cover which exists nowhere except this house.
Why? I can’t be bothered with all of that nonsense.
Best
David
It’s a poor search engine corrupted by sponsorship.
It’s intrusive in terms of the data it gathers and what it does with it and life is all about choices. We can passively accept intrusion to all parts of our existence or actively resist. I happen to be in the latter camp. The effort is minimal and the rewards are plenty.
Plenty of other fish in the sea.
It’s a much better search engine than you suggest. I don’t find it intrusive, but I can understand why you might. It depends what you are searching for I suppose.
Best
David
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Sorry David, I didn’t mean the search engine was intrusive. More Google as an organisation.
As regards search accuracy I absolutely disagree. Google have a significant advantage in volume but in terms of first 10 results the number of papers showing that their results are skewed and often way off are growing by the day. Their advantages in search have eroded dramatically in the past 5 years.
Just ripped Disc 2 of the recent reissue of The Band - Stagefright - Live at the RHA 1971.
It came up as Tom Waits, Tom Troubert’s Blues, incorrect spelling and all with some tracks capitalised.
(Unitiserve with 1.7c)