Questions about MusicFab

[Sylvia]

I suppose we HAVE gone (more than) a little off topic in a couple of posts.

Back on Topic: As I mentioned earlier, the "Protected Content" issue is still there in the new release.

The "Window" still pops up on top. This is more than annoying, it's invasive. Once the que is loaded, MusicFab should operate invisibly in the background. I DO want the window to open. Just not on top of everything I'm working on at the moment.

The problem with MusicFab dumping all of the tracks from double and triple albums into a single folder with no disc separation still exists.

When trying to load albums deep in a Discography list of a prolific author, I am bounced all the way back to the top of the list after loading an album or tracks into the que. Wending my way back down the list to where I was is tedious and time consuming. The list appears in stages in the U.I., and I can't just pull the slider down to where I was. When I am towards the top of the list, this does not happen.

The window to import tracks into the que when you click on an album also stops functioning at odd times. I don't know if there is a "Max Limit" for tracks in the cue, but the number of tracks in the que when it stops working is never the same. (I didn't report that aspect through the member portal) Resetting the software sometimes allows me to continue. Today, I wondered how far I could "push" the number of files in the que before it quit. I was up over 800 when the import window ceased to function. That aught to take a few days! (the lowest number so far is 183) 300 of those are "In the can". I thought about deleting the rest, but I believe I'll let them ride, and see what happens.

In the release notes, I read that there is a way to stop the .lrc files from populating in the directory. I still can't find that menu option.

On the positive side, the truncation problem has not re-appeared. Neither has the high failure rate. MusicFab doesn't "Crash off the screen" as frequently either. I have been able to download content from my paid Spotify account for off-line listening. I was also able to load an album (in .flac format) onto my network that is Multi-Channel encoded. I was then, able to listen to it properly in my Livingroom, where I was able to get it into my Multi-Chanel system, that is able to decode the music and render it properly. Oh.. My... Heavens! What a world of heavenly sounds I would have missed in just stereo. I didn't even know (before this) that it was possible to keep Multi-Chanel encoding intact in that format.

Although the software is not quite ready, I can download content from Spotify for off line listening as they advertised, once I get past the "Protected content" screen in the MusicFab browser. That is sometimes a challenging issue. You are limited to 300 downloads per day, but that, (I feel) is not an unreasonable number. It's more than likely, that that's a Spotify cap and not anything MusicFab has any control over.

There are still quite a few bumps hurdles, and challenges to overcome for this software. As I mentioned earlier, I still have every confidence in the "Fab Team".

Once I am able to reliably access Spotify and easily access their entire library; then confidently download and access error free files for off-line listening the rest should be downhill (oh yeah, and put the files in proper directories by disc).

If the "protected content" screen and the multi disc directory issues are taken care of, I think that they are really close to hitting that benchmark. I have already downloaded hundreds of songs for off-line listening. I'm sure that doesn't mean that they will stop working on the frustrating, less impactful issues, but the software aught to be "Basically Usable" by then.

I put in a "Ticket" through the member portal reporting most of these issues. I'll report any other issues that pop up during my "testing" both here and through the portal.

As you have probably surmised, I am constantly "pushing" this software to see if it breaks. There have been a few smaller things that did not make this forum, but they were minor, and some seem to have disappeared after an update. Although I have repeated myself during this journey, I call it "Stressing the issue", or "Missing a fix during an update". At this point, I do not expect to find any more "Major Issues". I'm sure that the "Fab Team" has been working on this as diligently as they can. Hopefully this software (although it's already been released.) will hit the release stage soon. I'm betting that the Fab Team" also already has development teams working to support more streaming platforms. Pandora? Who knows.

You can cancel the output of the lyrics file in Settings
When you open Spotify with another browser, do you also get "Playback of protected content"?

[ord1117]

Hi Supine,

Keep that STICK up their ASS

Maybe things will work OUT.

Looks Like StreamFab is also having problems

[supine]

Hi Supine

Music Fab is probably getting Pisssed at us Talking like this.

BUT I have NOT tried Music Fab YET !!!!!!

I'm waiting for SUPINE,,,,, To tell me it's OK to enter the water !!!!!!!!!!!

I suppose we HAVE gone (more than) a little off topic in a couple of posts.

Back on Topic: As I mentioned earlier, the "Protected Content" issue is still there in the new release.

The "Window" still pops up on top. This is more than annoying, it's invasive. Once the que is loaded, MusicFab should operate invisibly in the background. I DO want the window to open. Just not on top of everything I'm working on at the moment.

The problem with MusicFab dumping all of the tracks from double and triple albums into a single folder with no disc separation still exists.

When trying to load albums deep in a Discography list of a prolific author, I am bounced all the way back to the top of the list after loading an album or tracks into the que. Wending my way back down the list to where I was is tedious and time consuming. The list appears in stages in the U.I., and I can't just pull the slider down to where I was. When I am towards the top of the list, this does not happen.

The window to import tracks into the que when you click on an album also stops functioning at odd times. I don't know if there is a "Max Limit" for tracks in the cue, but the number of tracks in the que when it stops working is never the same. (I didn't report that aspect through the member portal) Resetting the software sometimes allows me to continue. Today, I wondered how far I could "push" the number of files in the que before it quit. I was up over 800 when the import window ceased to function. That aught to take a few days! (the lowest number so far is 183) 300 of those are "In the can". I thought about deleting the rest, but I believe I'll let them ride, and see what happens.

In the release notes, I read that there is a way to stop the .lrc files from populating in the directory. I still can't find that menu option.

On the positive side, the truncation problem has not re-appeared. Neither has the high failure rate. MusicFab doesn't "Crash off the screen" as frequently either. I have been able to download content from my paid Spotify account for off-line listening. I was also able to load an album (in .flac format) onto my network that is Multi-Channel encoded. I was then, able to listen to it properly in my Livingroom, where I was able to get it into my Multi-Chanel system, that is able to decode the music and render it properly. Oh.. My... Heavens! What a world of heavenly sounds I would have missed in just stereo. I didn't even know (before this) that it was possible to keep Multi-Chanel encoding intact in that format.

Although the software is not quite ready, I can download content from Spotify for off line listening as they advertised, once I get past the "Protected content" screen in the MusicFab browser. That is sometimes a challenging issue. You are limited to 300 downloads per day, but that, (I feel) is not an unreasonable number. It's more than likely, that that's a Spotify cap and not anything MusicFab has any control over.

There are still quite a few bumps hurdles, and challenges to overcome for this software. As I mentioned earlier, I still have every confidence in the "Fab Team".

Once I am able to reliably access Spotify and easily access their entire library; then confidently download and access error free files for off-line listening the rest should be downhill (oh yeah, and put the files in proper directories by disc).

If the "protected content" screen and the multi disc directory issues are taken care of, I think that they are really close to hitting that benchmark. I have already downloaded hundreds of songs for off-line listening. I'm sure that doesn't mean that they will stop working on the frustrating, less impactful issues, but the software aught to be "Basically Usable" by then.

I put in a "Ticket" through the member portal reporting most of these issues. I'll report any other issues that pop up during my "testing" both here and through the portal.

As you have probably surmised, I am constantly "pushing" this software to see if it breaks. There have been a few smaller things that did not make this forum, but they were minor, and some seem to have disappeared after an update. Although I have repeated myself during this journey, I call it "Stressing the issue", or "Missing a fix during an update". At this point, I do not expect to find any more "Major Issues". I'm sure that the "Fab Team" has been working on this as diligently as they can. Hopefully this software (although it's already been released.) will hit the release stage soon. I'm betting that the Fab Team" also already has development teams working to support more streaming platforms. Pandora? Who knows.

[supine]

Well... 1,0,0,7 is out. The first thing I ran into is that "Playback of protected content" screen. I cleared my cache and rebooted to make sure MusicFab got a firm foothold. Three restarts and two reboots later, I finally managed to get in. I'll let you all know how the rest turns out.

[ord1117]

Hi Supine

Music Fab is probably getting Pisssed at us Talking like this.

BUT I have NOT tried Music Fab YET !!!!!!

I'm waiting for SUPINE,,,,, To tell me it's OK to enter the water !!!!!!!!!!!

[supine]

YOU mentioned MP4

H265 Gives Good Compression----and Good Quality.

H266 will be coming out Soon.

I have some 2TB--3TB--4TB ---and a 8TB External Drives.

I started out putting My DVD--ISO on a 4 TB Drive

I am NOW on my 3rd 4TB Drive for DVD--ISO's

with Plenty more to go. !!!!!!!

I have started the Simpsons and they have something over 30 Seasons. !!!!!

33 Seasons (and still counting.) There are people with a bunch of consecutive earlier seasons laying around gathering dust, that are willing to part with them for a song.

Spreading out a collection on several very small externals may seem like a pain, but it's a good idea for a couple of reasons. 1. It limits loss in case of failure, and 2. The per TB price of the smaller drives is lower than the big boys, so it's more economical. A 5tb "Pocket Drive" is running around $100.00 U.S., but if I shop around I can pick them up for around $85.00. The "Pocket Drives are small, so several plugged into a powered USB hub wouldn't take up much desk space. Not to mention, that the "Pocket Drives" don't need an external power source. You would though, need a really good powered hub.
I still like my NAS though. I chanced upon an extremely good deal on an 8 bay Synology. I got it for just a little more than the four bay I was initially looking at. (It was last years model when I bought it.) I have it set up in a Raid 5 configuration, so not only do I have a single volume and the redundancy, It doubles as a server. After my conversation with you, I'm looking at my empty bays and thinking about, perhaps, adding a couple more drives. I may not need it now or in the near future, but having the space if I change my mind might be nice. Although there is a storage cost for a Raid 5 in terms of lost space; the redundancy peace of mind I have is priceless. I can loose any drive in the array, and not loose any data.

It sounds like you have a very nice collection. Mine may still be very small, but I believe that I have protected my DVD investment well; which is mostly what I'm after.

[Jaynator495]

Yes, A decent player. I'll have to play with it some more. I don't find the U.I. very intuitive, but it didn't take me long to understand the very basics. It appears to be drag and drop orientated. I don't see a way to get it to automatically scan my computer or network in directories that I designate, for media files. Although it understands .lrc files and does a very good job with them, I found that it totally missed the lyrics imbedded in the tag/metadata. I just don't like separate data files littering the directories. I also use imbedded subtitles in my video files. Although I see the name of the artist in the library, I don't see the name of the album, the Cover art, or a way to "break out" play lists by album without hand feeding each one. So far, I don't see a way to change the library view to include the information I need. The sound reproduction is very clean and crisp using .FLAC files, and the separation is right on point. It does display the art work in the player, and I like the little graphic spinning record in the player. I also like the built in DLNA server. It also got very good user and tech reviews. So far, I appreciate the referral and it is a nice player, but I don't think it will fit my particular user style. I have only been playing with it for a short while. I'll play with it some more Tuesday, and give it a chance. I'm sure that there are features that I have missed. I hope this little off topic blurb doesn't get me in trouble, but I felt compelled to answer your kind referral. Thank you.

I personally use Plex as a music player, with Plexamp. You can view the music by album, artist, search, genre, type, or even "feel", with graphics for all the above.

[ord1117]

YOU mentioned MP4

H265 Gives Good Compression----and Good Quality.

H266 will be coming out Soon.

I have some 2TB--3TB--4TB ---and a 8TB External Drives.

I started out putting My DVD--ISO on a 4 TB Drive

I am NOW on my 3rd 4TB Drive for DVD--ISO's

with Plenty more to go. !!!!!!!

I have started the Simpsons and they have something over 30 Seasons. !!!!!

[supine]

I watch More TV Shows than movies

I used to watch My TV Shows from DVD
by Ripping Each Episode---But there are things you cannot RIP

And you Have to NAME Everything.
And sometimes an Episode would not RIP.

BUT there is something that I did NOT Realize.

When You RIP a DVD
You Rip the Copy Protection etc
Because it says FULL DVD.

When You RIP DVD thru ISO
It tells You the Stuff it has Removed
and Stuff it could not find.

I have several External Drives
and I figure the more I RIP
the less I will have to Download.

External Drives are Getting BIGGER
and the Price's are pretty Good.

First: let me say something on topic.
When I click on "Discography" in the browser, If the artist is prolific there is a considerable list. Some of the later albums that I'm looking for are at the bottom of the list. When I add an album to the cue, I am bounced all the way back to the top of the Discography. Some of these collections are pages long, and it is very tedious to wind my way back in the list to where I was. I wonder if there is a way the developers could stop this from happening.

O.K.! Now I can ramble!

#ord1117, Someone after my own heart. TV shows take up three times more HD space than my Movies. I have Outlander season 6 sitting on my desk in DVD format. I'm looking at it as I type. I'm looking forward to getting it "In the can" so I can stream it over the LAN.

You're right. Ripping TV shows from DVD is difficult. I use a tagging program called Meta X. It helps. There is a one time fee of (I believe) $10.00 U.S. to purchase a license, but I found it worth it. If you have the name of the series, the season and the episode (In standard format) in the tag, Meta X can usually find it, (IE: Outlander - S06E01) but not always. If it doesn't, things, then get a little tedious. DVDFab often fills in enough of the information for Meta X to find it, and do a far better job of tagging each episode.

You're also right, that the cost of storage is dropping. It's not that I couldn't afford it, and I wouldn't have to fill all of the bays at once. I guess that I'm just a cheap S.O.B., and wonder how many months of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and Paramount it would take to cover the cost of another 8 bay NAS, and load it with enterprise drives. I guess that it would however, end any streaming issues I have over the WAN due to spotty internet in this rural area. I do, continue to buy DVDs. There is a person at a local "Flea" market that sells them for $1.00 U.S. each, and has some (somewhat) recent releases. Not to mention the way I'm enticed in the stores by the latest releases before they hit the streamers. DVDs are also going the way of the Dodo (Extinct). If I'm going to start getting digital copies, I will need somewhere to store them. ( Now you've gotten me to start thinking about it!)

You sound like a prime candidate for a NAS, or a simple RAID. Either way, I hope you have your HDD collection arrayed. From what you're describing, If one of your externals fail. the loss you suffer would be considerable.
As far as the Copy protection: I mentioned before, that I rip in MP4 format. When DVDFab backs up my DVDs in that format, I don't believe there is copy protection attached. I don't know if when you Copy weather the protection goes with it.

BTW: This was a while ago, but I had noticed at one time that even ripping in ISO that the frame height was only around 720. I wonder if the larger footprint is worth it. I welcome any input.

Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the now useless physical Discs I own. Those too, I have a tendency to cling to. I've got quite an investment there.

[ord1117]

I watch More TV Shows than movies

I used to watch My TV Shows from DVD
by Ripping Each Episode---But there are things you cannot RIP

And you Have to NAME Everything.
And sometimes an Episode would not RIP.

BUT there is something that I did NOT Realize.

When You RIP a DVD
You Rip the Copy Protection etc
Because it says FULL DVD.

When You RIP DVD thru ISO
It tells You the Stuff it has Removed
and Stuff it could not find.

I have several External Drives
and I figure the more I RIP
the less I will have to Download.

External Drives are Getting BIGGER
and the Price's are pretty Good.

[supine]

DVDFabPlayerUltra is a Good Player

I have been Ripping my DVD's to ISO

and 5K Player plays ISO's very good.

I already have/had that one (Fabplayer 3). I didn't get to far with that one. When I tried to drag and drop an artist folder with Album subdirectories into the interface, they would not open in the player. Neither did individual album folders. Adding directories from the menu didn't work either. After loading individual files, I switched the view to thumbnail, and the cover art didn't show up. After those Go/No-go tests failed, my evaluation of the software stopped. I probably need to give them another shot. I do plan on continuing to evaluate 5K. Sometimes thirty minutes is not enough, and I could have missed something. I never got to the video playback of either Fabplayer, or 5K; nor did I play with the server software included with 5k. Streaming across my network through Windows works fine for me, and it does what I want it to do. in the manner that I want (set up.). ...and no, I don't use Homegroup.

I'm still using MP4 as a video format. I have been buying and ripping DVD's for a very long time. I have boxes and boxes of them. If I used ISO files, the larger footprint would have me swiftly running out of room for storage, even with my very large storage capabilities. I have StreamFab and paid subscriptions to streaming services. I live in a very rural area, and my internet at the time barely supported streaming in low res. I used (and still use) StreamFab as a DVR to download and watch movies in 1080p. Even now, I tend to purge most movies that I get from that source after I watch them. I watch my remaining storage space closely, and don't see a reason to waste storage space to store Movies I can re-download any time. It's true, that I can get another NAS, and load it up with enterprise drives, but I have to wonder if the financial outlay would really be worth it to store Movies that I can get again at any time. I originally got DVDFab to protect my investment in DVD's. Now that I went through the trouble of digitizing and storing them, I guess that I'm clinging to the files, even though I could probably download or stream most of them at a higher resolution than I have them stored at. If Spotify (or more to the point internet on the road.) was more reliable in my area, and their interface would do what I want, I would probably feel the same way about the Music.

[ord1117]

DVDFabPlayerUltra is a Good Player

I have been Ripping my DVD's to ISO

and 5K Player plays ISO's very good.

[supine]

Try the 5K Player-----I Like it better than VLC

Yes, A decent player. I'll have to play with it some more. I don't find the U.I. very intuitive, but it didn't take me long to understand the very basics. It appears to be drag and drop orientated. I don't see a way to get it to automatically scan my computer or network in directories that I designate, for media files. Although it understands .lrc files and does a very good job with them, I found that it totally missed the lyrics imbedded in the tag/metadata. I just don't like separate data files littering the directories. I also use imbedded subtitles in my video files. Although I see the name of the artist in the library, I don't see the name of the album, the Cover art, or a way to "break out" play lists by album without hand feeding each one. So far, I don't see a way to change the library view to include the information I need. The sound reproduction is very clean and crisp using .FLAC files, and the separation is right on point. It does display the art work in the player, and I like the little graphic spinning record in the player. I also like the built in DLNA server. It also got very good user and tech reviews. So far, I appreciate the referral and it is a nice player, but I don't think it will fit my particular user style. I have only been playing with it for a short while. I'll play with it some more Tuesday, and give it a chance. I'm sure that there are features that I have missed. I hope this little off topic blurb doesn't get me in trouble, but I felt compelled to answer your kind referral. Thank you.

[ord1117]

Try the 5K Player-----I Like it better than VLC

[supine]

Hiccup---Hiccup---Hicccup

Update: I'm kind of embarrassed. The "hiccup" I mentioned WAS some sort of fault in the player. I switched players from VLC to Media Monkey and the "hiccup" that I mentioned has disappeared. I don't know what's going on. The "hiccup" remains in VLC, but in Media Monkey it doesn't surface. I guess it IS the player; but I don't know why the problem would be in VLC, and remain constant, in the exact same spot, and those spots are different in different files. Error correcting? In the mean time, I have set my default player to Media Monkey. I don't know if there really is a problem in the file and Media Monkey just corrects it, but as long as I don't hear it, it isn't there.