Tags II - Types of tags
MP3 Tags - ID3v1 and ID3v2
The inventors of early digital media formats didn't imagine users would have enough music to need tags. MP2 and later MP3 files initially didn't include tags, but as users' media collections grew, an informal - and very limited - tagging standard called ID3v1 (ID3 version 1) emerged. Because it was limited in size (ID3v1 used fixed-length "padding space" at the end of an mp3 file) it included only very basic information, and limited the fields to 30 characters. Initially, ID3v1 didn't even include track numbers, so albums would be played in alphabetical or random order.
Subsequently, some folks defined ID3v2, which allowed longer names, custom genres, and fixed some other nagging problems. A more recent ID3 version is ID3v2.3 (for more information, see www.id3.org), and further versions have been proposed.
A typical mp3 file includes *both* id3v1 and id3v2 tags. Thus, the file starts with an ID3v2, then the music data, and then ends with the id3v1.
Almost all digital media players and devices that support MP3 audio also support some or all parts of the ID3 tagging scheme.
WMA tags
WMA files use the Advanced Systems Format (ASF) file container, which includes a rich tagging scheme. Hundreds of types of metadata and bitmaps are specified within the format. Most WMA-enabled media players use code from the Microsoft Format SDK to read and write WMA tags, which simplifies development and reduces versioning problems (more on that in my next post) that plague ID3 tags. All devices that support WMA also support the ASF/WMA tag standard.
7 Comments:
what is the id3v2 regulation on multiple genere's? WMP supports this (although wmp 11 doesn't seem to yet) but rarely do taggers really take use of this. With library's getting even bigger multiple genere's and added fields of information will be needed.
I've always wanted more freeform tags, such as the ability to tag something as a "cover", "lounge", "sweet loving" as well as the ability to stack or have multiple values for the same named tag, such as "artist=Dean Martin,Frank Sinatra" and "genre=Swing,Crooner,Lounge". With the stacked method the song would now appear both under the artist "Dean Martin" as well as "Frank Sinatra".
I even started writing code that stuffed that type of information into the open area that ID3v2 defines but gave up, knowing that no matter how wonderful my del.icio.us-esque tagging was nothing out there would read it, hence making me either write plug-ins for WinAmp and WMP.
I know Vista is supposed to have much better metadata support but will it allow a more free form tagging like above and how will that information translate down to the Zune-level, if at all?
This is really cool, but I'm wondering...since you guys working on the Zune seem to be stressing Tagging, is this going to play a large role in sharing music and creating a social aspect?
Also, what is Zune (software/hardware) going to do with tagging that hasn't been done before? Anything cool you can talk about?
Just a quick question. Since the Zune will be directory based will we be able to find songs using the Comment portion of the tags?
Not exactly on topic, but I'd like to know a little about the zune OS. Is it a stripped down version of Windows Mobile 5? Will Windows mobile developers (such as myself) one day be able to write their own apps for zune? Will we see a Zune SDK one day? :)
Shawn Oster, you can have multiple values for Artist, Composer, Conductor, Genre, etc. in WMA tags... and bith WMP 10 and WMP 11 supports it.
It even supports it using MP3 ID3v2.3, for Artist, Composer & Conductor. (Internall, the specification definies "/" as a delimiter in the tags.)
In WMP, it displays using ";" between the multiple values.
Yes, you can find tracks in both Dean Martin & Frank Sinatra... as Contributing Artists, as well as any multiple genres you define.
re: SDK....
I wouldn't rule anything out in the future, but for this release we're really making robust reliability the top top priority, so platform/pluggin/SDK stuff is not included.
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