WiiM Amp USB Album Artist / Compilation issue

[middleagedgrump]

Hi all. One for the collective hive-mind of the great-and-good of the WiiM community

Found this thread where the OP seems to perfectly describe the issue I'm also having:

https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/...ums-in-app-usb-media-library-album-view.5729/

However, the solution identified here (i.e. ensuring 'album artist' is the same) doesn't work for me. I use MediaMonkey 5 to rip to FLAC and to organise all my FLACs and DSDs. I'm fastidious to the point of fanaticism when it comes to tags and metadata. The 'album artist' field is correctly filled in MM5 (it doesn't have a 'compilation' flag - I'm lead to believe that the 'album artist' tag is its equivalent) and yet when the files are copied across to a USB stick and plugged into the WiiM Amp, the App shows an album for each song artist. By way of example, here is a screenshot from MM5 showing a file's metadata:



The album is "7 Live #1 [Disc 1]" by Jon Carter. Each track (of which there are 16 in total) is by a different artist. The above screenshot shows track number 9, being Break Dance Electric Boogie by West Street Mob. The album artist is listed as Jon Carter and the disc# and track# fields correctly populated. Yet this file, when moved to a USB stick (512GB SanDisk 3.2 Gen 1), appears in the WiiM app as being a separate album. This is the same for the other 15 tracks on this album, so rather than showing as one album I see 16 different albums, each with one track. This happens for all my compilation albums.

Is this because the WiiM is using the 'artist' tag in preference/priority to the 'album artist' tag? Or is there an album artist option in the WiiM Amp that simply I've overlooked?

Any and all help gratefully received.

 

[Warren]

Hi, I’ve just recently ripped a good proportion of my cd’s and I made a mistake of using windows media player which didn’t include album covers so I switched to Nero ripper which includes Gracenote and that’s been pretty good, I put them on a Samsung memory stick for my wiim amp and I’ve found it a bit of mess just like what you’ve experienced, unless you go into Folders and select the album you want.

 

[simbun]

This is the same for the other 15 tracks on this album, so rather than showing as one album I see 16 different albums, each with one track. This happens for all my compilation albums.

Is this because the WiiM is using the 'artist' tag in preference/priority to the 'album artist' tag? Or is there an album artist option in the WiiM Amp that simply I've overlooked?

I've just performed a quick test with MiniDLNA (the underlying server - although it is possible that WiiM have modified it), and as long as all the tracks are in the same folder it seems to only care about the Album tag.

I tagged 12 tracks and split them into 4 albums. 3 of the albums had 'Various Artists' as the AlbumArtist and the other I left empty. All the remaining tags were unique (TITLE, ARTIST, GENRE, DISC, TRACK, DATE).
Under the Albums index in MiniDLNA it showed Album 1 - Album 4 (the associated "AlbumArtist" of Album 4 was the Artist associated with the first track).

Here's the data in MiniDLNA.

PATH|TITLE|CREATOR|ARTIST|ALBUM|GENRE|DISC|TRACK|DATE
/media/TempMiniDLNA/01.01.flac|Title 01|Artist 01|Various Artists|Album 1|Genre 01|1|1|2001-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/02.02.flac|Title 02|Artist 02|Various Artists|Album 1|Genre 02|2|2|2002-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/03.03.flac|Title 03|Artist 03|Various Artists|Album 1|Genre 03|3|3|2003-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/04.04.flac|Title 04|Artist 04|Various Artists|Album 2|Genre 04|4|4|2004-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/05.05.flac|Title 05|Artist 05|Various Artists|Album 2|Genre 05|5|5|2005-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/06.06.flac|Title 06|Artist 06|Various Artists|Album 2|Genre 06|6|6|2006-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/07.07.flac|Title 07|Artist 07|Various Artists|Album 3|Genre 07|7|7|2007-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/08.08.flac|Title 08|Artist 08|Various Artists|Album 3|Genre 08|8|8|2008-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/09.09.flac|Title 09|Artist 09|Various Artists|Album 3|Genre 09|9|9|2009-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/10.10.flac|Title 10|Artist 10|Artist 10|Album 4|Genre 10|10|10|2010-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/11.11.flac|Title 11|Artist 11|Artist 11|Album 4|Genre 11|11|11|2011-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/12.12.flac|Title 12|Artist 12|Artist 12|Album 4|Genre 12|12|12|2012-01-01

Was AlbumArtist populated before the first scan?

I've attached the tracks just in case you want to test it yourself.

 

[simbun]

Hi, I’ve just recently ripped a good proportion of my cd’s and I made a mistake of using windows media player which didn’t include album covers so I switched to Nero ripper which includes Gracenote and that’s been pretty good, I put them on a Samsung memory stick for my wiim amp and I’ve found it a bit of mess just like what you’ve experienced, unless you go into Folders and select the album you want.

I've never used Nero but I don't think it includes AccurateRip, so if you want to verify your rips run them through CUETools.

A guide to CUETools can be found here: https://captainrookie.com/how-to-use-cuetools-verification-log-feature/

 

[middleagedgrump]

I've just performed a quick test with MiniDLNA (the underlying server - although it is possible that WiiM have modified it), and as long as all the tracks are in the same folder it seems to only care about the Album tag.

I tagged 12 tracks and split them into 4 albums. 3 of the albums had 'Various Artists' as the AlbumArtist and the other I left empty. All the remaining tags were unique (TITLE, ARTIST, GENRE, DISC, TRACK, DATE).
Under the Albums index in MiniDLNA it showed Album 1 - Album 4 (the associated "AlbumArtist" of Album 4 was the Artist associated with the first track).

Here's the data in MiniDLNA.

PATH|TITLE|CREATOR|ARTIST|ALBUM|GENRE|DISC|TRACK|DATE
/media/TempMiniDLNA/01.01.flac|Title 01|Artist 01|Various Artists|Album 1|Genre 01|1|1|2001-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/02.02.flac|Title 02|Artist 02|Various Artists|Album 1|Genre 02|2|2|2002-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/03.03.flac|Title 03|Artist 03|Various Artists|Album 1|Genre 03|3|3|2003-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/04.04.flac|Title 04|Artist 04|Various Artists|Album 2|Genre 04|4|4|2004-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/05.05.flac|Title 05|Artist 05|Various Artists|Album 2|Genre 05|5|5|2005-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/06.06.flac|Title 06|Artist 06|Various Artists|Album 2|Genre 06|6|6|2006-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/07.07.flac|Title 07|Artist 07|Various Artists|Album 3|Genre 07|7|7|2007-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/08.08.flac|Title 08|Artist 08|Various Artists|Album 3|Genre 08|8|8|2008-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/09.09.flac|Title 09|Artist 09|Various Artists|Album 3|Genre 09|9|9|2009-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/10.10.flac|Title 10|Artist 10|Artist 10|Album 4|Genre 10|10|10|2010-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/11.11.flac|Title 11|Artist 11|Artist 11|Album 4|Genre 11|11|11|2011-01-01
/media/TempMiniDLNA/12.12.flac|Title 12|Artist 12|Artist 12|Album 4|Genre 12|12|12|2012-01-01

Was AlbumArtist populated before the first scan?

I've attached the tracks just in case you want to test it yourself.

Thanks for the helpful input @simbun and for going to the trouble to do this. I can confirm that the Album Artist details were indeed populated before the first scan. Before my original post I double checked all the tags in MM5, reformatted the SanDisk and copied the files over again before plugging it back in to the WiiM and reindexing in the App. Alas, the problem persisted which led me onto here. As you say, if all the tracks are in the same folder then it seems as if only the Album tag is being read. An Album Artist option in the App would take care of this.

Do those who have been on here longer than me know whether this has been raised directly with WiiM and whether it's being looked at?

 

[simbun]

As you say, if all the tracks are in the same folder then it seems as if only the Album tag is being read. An Album Artist option in the App would take care of this.

I was only testing a single scenario (tracks contained in a single folder with AlbumArtist set to 'Various Artists' or missing) to see if another tag could cause albums to be split e.g. using the Date tag to represent when the track was first released.

My test showed that your albums (assuming all in one folder) shouldn't be split, but like I said I'm using the MiniDLNA codebase which could be different to that of WiiM.

Did you run the sample tracks through? If they grouped correctly (Album 1 - Album 4) then it must be something in your FLACs.

You can browse the WiiM SQLite database to see how it's indexing your files, but its data model is very flat so you can't tell what it's classified as an album. The database is located in the root of the USB drive in WiiM_Cache/files.db, or something like that.

EDIT: Could you export the tags from two of your tracks that are in the same folder and are split into different albums?

metaflac --export-tags-to=01.01.log 01.01.flac

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

Hi all. One for the collective hive-mind of the great-and-good of the WiiM community

Found this thread where the OP seems to perfectly describe the issue I'm also having:

https://forum.wiimhome.com/threads/...ums-in-app-usb-media-library-album-view.5729/

However, the solution identified here (i.e. ensuring 'album artist' is the same) doesn't work for me. I use MediaMonkey 5 to rip to FLAC and to organise all my FLACs and DSDs. I'm fastidious to the point of fanaticism when it comes to tags and metadata. The 'album artist' field is correctly filled in MM5 (it doesn't have a 'compilation' flag - I'm lead to believe that the 'album artist' tag is its equivalent) and yet when the files are copied across to a USB stick and plugged into the WiiM Amp, the App shows an album for each song artist. By way of example, here is a screenshot from MM5 showing a file's metadata:

View attachment 16878

The album is "7 Live #1 [Disc 1]" by Jon Carter. Each track (of which there are 16 in total) is by a different artist. The above screenshot shows track number 9, being Break Dance Electric Boogie by West Street Mob. The album artist is listed as Jon Carter and the disc# and track# fields correctly populated. Yet this file, when moved to a USB stick (512GB SanDisk 3.2 Gen 1), appears in the WiiM app as being a separate album. This is the same for the other 15 tracks on this album, so rather than showing as one album I see 16 different albums, each with one track. This happens for all my compilation albums.

Is this because the WiiM is using the 'artist' tag in preference/priority to the 'album artist' tag? Or is there an album artist option in the WiiM Amp that simply I've overlooked?

Any and all help gratefully received.

Have you considered changing the album titles from "7 Live..." to "Seven Live..."?

 

[simbun]

Have you considered changing the album titles from "7 Live..." to "Seven Live..."?

They did say:

This happens for all my compilation albums.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

They did say:

The only other thing I'm wondering about is the (very American) use of "#" for 'number', as in "7 Live #1". Is this to denote Disc 1?

Just very generally, I'd try to avoid using symbols like this in file names, etc., and if you do feel the need to use them, try changing them if you get an error as a first response. You can always change it back if it doesn't work; it only takes a few seconds.

That aside, and to bang the drum once again, this is why I use folder view.

HOWEVER, you don't have to use folder view like me to get the benefit.

It's less a question of how you view your library, and more a question of how you organise it. If you organise it with multi-disc compilations in one big folder for the release, and then an extra layer of folders for each disc, you're on to a winner.

And here's the thing, whilst you might usually use tags, if you've sorted your folders to your own liking, you can switch to folder view for the odd occasion when something like this comes up. It's having the best of both worlds.

 

[middleagedgrump]

I was only testing a single scenario (tracks contained in a single folder with AlbumArtist set to 'Various Artists' or missing) to see if another tag could cause albums to be split e.g. using the Date tag to represent when the track was first released.

My test showed that your albums (assuming all in one folder) shouldn't be split, but like I said I'm using the MiniDLNA codebase which could be different to that of WiiM.

Did you run the sample tracks through? If they grouped correctly (Album 1 - Album 4) then it must be something in your FLACs.

You can browse the WiiM SQLite database to see how it's indexing your files, but its data model is very flat so you can't tell what it's classified as an album. The database is located in the root of the USB drive in WiiM_Cache/files.db, or something like that.

EDIT: Could you export the tags from two of your tracks that are in the same folder and are split into different albums?

metaflac --export-tags-to=01.01.log 01.01.flac

Hi @simbun . I transferred your files to the SanDisk and reindexed. The WiiM shows 12 albums and 12 Artists. Album 1 has Artists 01-03; Album 2 has Artists 04-06; Album 3 has Artists 07-09; and Album 4 has Artists 10-12.

From what you say above, are we to assume therefore that the issue is with the tagging of my FLACs?

 

[middleagedgrump]

And here's the thing, whilst you might usually use tags, if you've sorted your folders to your own liking, you can switch to folder view for the odd occasion when something like this comes up. It's having the best of both worlds.

Hi @Steve Woodhouse. Completely agree with this, and it is the go-to workaround in these situations. However, I prefer to have the 'cover flow' style of album listing where I'm able to see the album art as I cycle through my collection - something which isn't possible with the folder view option. I do appreciate your point of view though.

 

[middleagedgrump]

The only other thing I'm wondering about is the (very American) use of "#" for 'number', as in "7 Live #1". Is this to denote Disc 1?

Sorry, forgot to deal with your question: the album is actually titled"7 Live #1". It is the first album in a collection of (I think) 5 albums produced by Mixmag. As it happens, this particular album does have two discs (hence the disc# showing as 1 in my MM5 screenshot above). Cheers.

 

[simbun]

The WiiM shows 12 albums and 12 Artists. Album 1 has Artists 01-03; Album 2 has Artists 04-06; Album 3 has Artists 07-09; and Album 4 has Artists 10-12.

Are you saying that in Album view it shows:

Album 1
Album 1
Album 1
Album 2
...

Or that it shows 4 albums with 3 artists in each?

There was a similar post a couple of weeks ago where adding AlbumArtist fixed the issue. I'd be surprised if it's broken since.

 

[Steve Woodhouse]

Hi @Steve Woodhouse. Completely agree with this, and it is the go-to workaround in these situations. However, I prefer to have the 'cover flow' style of album listing where I'm able to see the album art as I cycle through my collection - something which isn't possible with the folder view option. I do appreciate your point of view though.

Hi mate. You're new, so probably aren't aware, but I'm a Folder View devotee (or bore, whichever way you look at it). Don't shoot me!

I have icons for every folder (so every artist, every album/single/EP) and every track.

Every system has its own quirks, but it shows up perfectly for me on the WiiM app.

But I'm aware I'm an odd one out. I never mind bucking the trend.

 

[simbun]

The only other thing I'm wondering about is the (very American) use of "#" for 'number', as in "7 Live #1". Is this to denote Disc 1?

Just very generally, I'd try to avoid using symbols like this in file names, etc., and if you do feel the need to use them, try changing them if you get an error as a first response. You can always change it back if it doesn't work; it only takes a few seconds.

That was my initial thought when I saw the screenshot - from the bad old days of WiiM - but they're being indexed and all compilations appear to be affected.

The only characters I replace in filenames (for track names I just use %discnumber%.%tracknumber%.flac) are those that aren't allowed, and I replace those with unicode "equivalents" just in case I ever browse the filesystem e.g.

/ to ／
: to ：
? to ？
" to ＂

They do look a bit crap, but at least I know what they should be.

I've never had any issues.

 

[middleagedgrump]

Are you saying that in Album view it shows:

Album 1
Album 1
Album 1
Album 2
...

Or that it shows 4 albums with 3 artists in each?

There was a similar post a couple of weeks ago where adding AlbumArtist fixed the issue. I'd be surprised if it's broken since.

Apologies for any confusion. There are 12 albums, 12 artists and 12 tracks. The 12 albums are as follows:

• 3 separate albums called Album 1 (one by Artist 01, one by Artist 02 and one by Artist 03);
• 3 separate albums called Album 2 (one by Artist 04, one by Artist 05 and one by Artist 06);
• 3 separate albums called Album 3 (one by Artist 07, one by Artist 08 and one by Artist 09); and
• 3 separate albums called Album 4 (one by Artist 10, one by Artist 11 and one by Artist 12).

The Tracks are listed as follows (had to take 2 screenshots to show all 12 tracks):

 

[middleagedgrump]

But I'm aware I'm an odd one out. I never mind bucking the trend.

I don't think it odd in the slightest. To each their own.

 

[simbun]

Apologies for any confusion. There are 12 albums, 12 artists and 12 tracks. The 12 albums are as follows:

• 3 separate albums called Album 1 (one by Artist 01, one by Artist 02 and one by Artist 03);
• 3 separate albums called Album 2 (one by Artist 04, one by Artist 05 and one by Artist 06);
• 3 separate albums called Album 3 (one by Artist 07, one by Artist 08 and one by Artist 09); and
• 3 separate albums called Album 4 (one by Artist 10, one by Artist 11 and one by Artist 12).

If you're seeing 12 albums (Album 1, Album 1, Album 1, Album 2 e.t.c) under the Albums tab then something is wrong. It also doesn't align with the other post I linked to earlier.

Unless @Steve Woodhouse wants to load the sample onto his Wiim, it might be better to raise a ticket in the WHA (More > Send us feedback). I don't see this behaviour in MiniDLNA.

 

[middleagedgrump]

That was my initial thought when I saw the screenshot - from the bad old days of WiiM - but they're being indexed and all compilations appear to be affected.

I can double-confirm this - am having the issue with all compilations. Have just tried Soulwax's/2manydj's "As Heard on Radio Soulwax 2" and the album (which has 30 tracks by different artists) is showing as 30 separate albums (one for each track artist).

 

[middleagedgrump]

If you're seeing 12 albums (Album 1, Album 1, Album 1, Album 2 e.t.c) under the Albums tab then something is wrong. It also doesn't align with the other post I linked to earlier.

Unless @Steve Woodhouse wants to load the sample onto his Wiim, it might be better to raise a ticket in the WHA (More > Send us feedback). I don't see this behaviour in MiniDLNA.

If only to prove to myself that I'm not missing something obvious, this is the Album view in the App: