MP3 Scan+Repair - an ID3 tag evaluator for the Mac.
Yesterday, I encountered an mp3 file that refused to be added to the iTunes library, and I couldn't figure out why. Thanks to insights provided by contributors to the Apple Discussions, I learned that I was not alone in encountering this problem. Apparently, iTunes 8.x is a lot fussier than its predecessors ever were regarding the reading of ID3 tags, to the extent that iTunes 8.x will not even bother to report back that an mp3 file already in my library may not play, or that mp3 files with garbage in their tags may not even be imported.
Of course, such mysteriously bad behavior in such a great product sent me on a day-long mission to learn more about ID3 tags, tag editors, and mp3 tag evaluators to find the fix. I reviewed what I think are all of the related comments in the Apple Discussion groups, and I did some extensive Google searching.
By the end of the day, I learned that, in response to requests for help on the subject of mp3 files not playing, or not getting imported in iTunes, respondents here in Apple Discussions were universally referring people to a September 2008 web site article by Trevin Chow ( http://trevinchow.com/blog/tag/mp3-tag-validator/ ) which explains the nature of the problem. Following Chow's lead, they then recommend using a free, Windows-based, Open Source product called MP3 Validator (commonly known as MP3val) to check out—and fix—their mp3 files.
When Mac users ask if there is an equivalent mp3 evaluator on the Mac, the thread either ends, or they are told "No."
Based on my research yesterday, that answer appears to be misleading and wrong!
I am a little mystified as to why no one with much more expertise than I have in this area has yet reported on this, but, for several months already, there really IS a Mac equivalent of MP3val available for those of us who want to *+get the same functionality of MP3val without loading Windows!+* Instead of following the advice of Mr. Chow, a Microsoft Senior Program Manager, and finding a "friend with a PC" to fix our mp3 file problems, Mac users really do have their version of MP3val to play around with.
It is called MP3 Scan+Repair, and, like MP3val, this Macintosh equivalent of MP3val is free, Open Source software that you can use to evaluate and repair your mp3 files. According to documentation provided by its author, Christian W. Zuckschwerdt, "the MP3 Scan+Repair Cocoa Interface uses the fast and reliable mp3val as engine," so, essentially, he has done us all a great service by putting a Mac OS X interface on top of the exact same software engine that drives the Windows MP3 Validator software that everyone here has been recommending.
As he adds in his introductory notes (which, in concordance with GNU public licensing terms applicable to Open Source, or Free Software, are essentially lifted—with permission—verbatim from the MP3val site itself), Zuckschwerdt says:
"MP3 Scan+Repair for Mac OS X is a small, high-speed tool for MPEG audio file validation and (optionally) fixing problems. It was primarily designed for verification of MPEG 1 Layer III (MP3) files, but supports also other MPEG versions and layers. It can be useful for finding corrupted files (e.g. incomplete downloads).
"MP3 Scan+Repair (with the mp3val core) supports:
• MPEG-1, 2, 2.5; Layers I, II, III
• ID3v1 tags (must be at the very end of the file)
• ID3v2 tags (must be at the very beginning of the file)
• APEv2 tags
"This program is for Mac OS X only. See the mp3val project ( http://mp3val.sourceforge.net/ ) for Windows and Unix version.
"This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
"The latest version of MP3 Scan+Repair (including sources) can be downloaded from the official web site." ( http://triq.net/mac/mp3-validator-mac-os-x )
The main reason that I wrote so much about this issue is that I think Mac users ought to be able to find solutions here and that we should share those solutions when we discover what they are, rather than recycle outdated or incorrect information, as is occurring in regards this particular topic. I hope that this extensive report saves other Mac users from having to waste a whole day researching the solution to the problematic mp3 files in iTunes. Instead, we can now spend that time using an elegantly designed Mac product to evaluate our mp3 files! Enjoy.
bowlerboy_jmb
.
Of course, such mysteriously bad behavior in such a great product sent me on a day-long mission to learn more about ID3 tags, tag editors, and mp3 tag evaluators to find the fix. I reviewed what I think are all of the related comments in the Apple Discussion groups, and I did some extensive Google searching.
By the end of the day, I learned that, in response to requests for help on the subject of mp3 files not playing, or not getting imported in iTunes, respondents here in Apple Discussions were universally referring people to a September 2008 web site article by Trevin Chow ( http://trevinchow.com/blog/tag/mp3-tag-validator/ ) which explains the nature of the problem. Following Chow's lead, they then recommend using a free, Windows-based, Open Source product called MP3 Validator (commonly known as MP3val) to check out—and fix—their mp3 files.
When Mac users ask if there is an equivalent mp3 evaluator on the Mac, the thread either ends, or they are told "No."
Based on my research yesterday, that answer appears to be misleading and wrong!
I am a little mystified as to why no one with much more expertise than I have in this area has yet reported on this, but, for several months already, there really IS a Mac equivalent of MP3val available for those of us who want to *+get the same functionality of MP3val without loading Windows!+* Instead of following the advice of Mr. Chow, a Microsoft Senior Program Manager, and finding a "friend with a PC" to fix our mp3 file problems, Mac users really do have their version of MP3val to play around with.
It is called MP3 Scan+Repair, and, like MP3val, this Macintosh equivalent of MP3val is free, Open Source software that you can use to evaluate and repair your mp3 files. According to documentation provided by its author, Christian W. Zuckschwerdt, "the MP3 Scan+Repair Cocoa Interface uses the fast and reliable mp3val as engine," so, essentially, he has done us all a great service by putting a Mac OS X interface on top of the exact same software engine that drives the Windows MP3 Validator software that everyone here has been recommending.
As he adds in his introductory notes (which, in concordance with GNU public licensing terms applicable to Open Source, or Free Software, are essentially lifted—with permission—verbatim from the MP3val site itself), Zuckschwerdt says:
"MP3 Scan+Repair for Mac OS X is a small, high-speed tool for MPEG audio file validation and (optionally) fixing problems. It was primarily designed for verification of MPEG 1 Layer III (MP3) files, but supports also other MPEG versions and layers. It can be useful for finding corrupted files (e.g. incomplete downloads).
"MP3 Scan+Repair (with the mp3val core) supports:
• MPEG-1, 2, 2.5; Layers I, II, III
• ID3v1 tags (must be at the very end of the file)
• ID3v2 tags (must be at the very beginning of the file)
• APEv2 tags
"This program is for Mac OS X only. See the mp3val project ( http://mp3val.sourceforge.net/ ) for Windows and Unix version.
"This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
"The latest version of MP3 Scan+Repair (including sources) can be downloaded from the official web site." ( http://triq.net/mac/mp3-validator-mac-os-x )
The main reason that I wrote so much about this issue is that I think Mac users ought to be able to find solutions here and that we should share those solutions when we discover what they are, rather than recycle outdated or incorrect information, as is occurring in regards this particular topic. I hope that this extensive report saves other Mac users from having to waste a whole day researching the solution to the problematic mp3 files in iTunes. Instead, we can now spend that time using an elegantly designed Mac product to evaluate our mp3 files! Enjoy.
bowlerboy_jmb
.
PowerMac G4; iMac G5; MacBook Pro., Mac OS X (10.5.7), Running Leopard, Tiger, Panther. LAN. Cloned LaCie FireWire drives as backups.
