Erase comment field text, then it reappears [#1502]

[jiri]

I reviewed the issue and particularly as ChrisJenkins pointed out at http://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/member ... le&u=11897 , this can be quite nasty consequences. From my point of view there's no longer a reason to not prefer tags over DB, so I resolved the issue.

Jiri

[ChrisJenkins]

That's great news Jiri. Is there any way I can get hold of that build to test it? When might a build with this change in become GA?

Thanks,

Chris

[jiri]

It's usually available within few days in the beta forum (you can subscribe there in order to be notified).

Jiri

[Lowlander]

This has been fixed in build 1368.

[ChrisJenkins]

I've been watching the (MM3) Beta forum but I still don't see buld 1368. The build numbers still seem a long way short of that. Any idea when build 1368 might be available for me to test?

Thanks.

[ChrisJenkins]

Okay, I just checked the MM4 Beta forum and it looks like the 'build 1368' that was referred to is for MM4. I'm not ready to start workign with Beta software at this time; I really need this fix in MM3. WIll this fix be rolled into an MM3 release at some point?

Thanks,

Chris

[Lowlander]

No, fixes are for MM4 only.

[Simian]

So I have the OP’s exact problem, and have had since v.2 (currently at 4.0.3.1476.) Over the years I've half-heartedly searched for an answer, but today I'm digging in. This page is the first I've seen anyone with the same complaint.

The thing is, the MM view of the [Comments] field is being populated from some other field. If I right click on the file in Explorer the comments field is blank. If I do my standard workaround and within MM edit the occasionally pesky files with “The” vs. whatever they thought was so important (a blank space does not work), then I go to Explorer and the “The” value is in the comments. I go back into MM and remove the value, and yep, the Zombie Comment comes back. They are being overlaid in the MM view from another field within the file. I don’t think this has anything to do with MM cashing, but I may be wrong.

I downloaded MP3Tag thinking it might show me ALL tag values, every tag in the file, so I can find where that pesky little bit of marketing text is, but no.

1.) Anyone know where these values are being stored in the file?
2.) Anyone know of a free app to view each and EVERY value across the various ID3v1, v2, v2.3, and v2.4 tag formats, as I assume a file has up to 4 actual comments fields.
3.) What IDx version (field) is being accessed with Windows Explorer (XP-SP3) and right clicking and editing a file’s properties - what tag version is that comment field?

Thanks!

[Simian]

Or, let’s take it from another angle.

~~We here at Simian Inc. take our ripping very seriously. I want “Ripped by DJ Master Simian!!!!!!!” implanted in the minds of EVERY person who ever gets a copy of my superior work. To do that I’ve found a secret. I leave the IDv.3 tags all correct, but I change the doodilie whomp to frighten and confuse Media Monkey into showing my secret payload from a lone IDv.2 tag field that contains my glorious enlightenment - so they have to see my junk, no matter how they edit that field blank with MM. Don’t tell anyone how to do this though – or I won’t be as truly unique as I am, duping all the MM 'tards who succumb to my almighty self-importance. I tag bridges too. And sidewalks and homes. Anything. Your mother’s garage. I think of myself as an artist. The DJ Master Simian!!!!!!!~~

In all seriousness, I have a MP3 file I purchased off Amazon. Its comment field shows in MM “Originally Recorded 1969. All”. Right clicking on the file and looking at its properties from Explorer shows a blank Comments field. I delete the Comments value using MM and upon refresh it's still there.

..Sly And The Family Stone - Thank You.

As far as I can tell, I have no way of editing that text in MM, Explorer (file, properties) or MP3tag (nor does the field/value show up in “Extended Tags”.) Yet MM shows the text in the Comments field.

I don't want to merge, or migrate, or cleanse wholesale – I want to know where that damn field is and how to EDIT it. I want to know what is in my file. (What else is in there?) That's the long game.

[nohitter151]

Check the file with something like this:
http://www.dalepreston.com/Blog/2007/02 ... iewer.html

or use a hex viewer like HxD: http://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/

[richjoh]

Use kid3, http://kid3.sourceforge.net/. Use it ahead of MM to strip the comment field and if your not a Serato user, strip the Serato GEOB field from your files. Using kid3, you select files for editing & make your changes on all at a time or you can do files individually. Kid3 Delete button removes the tag itself. Selecting the tag data field then hit keyboard delete removes the data and not the tag field.

Good Luck

[Simian]

The Hex editor is about what I expected. I’m afraid I’ll corrupt the file going in and editing via that, but darn tootin’ I’m able to find the text.

This is the last 16 HEX lines of the file:

Code: Select all

TAGThank You (Falettinme Be Mice Sly & The Family Stone........Greatest Hits.....................Originally Recorded 1969. All ÿTAGThank You (Falettinme Be Mice Sly & The Family Stone........Greatest Hits.................2007 ..............................

I don’t understand why the two “TAG”s. How would an app know which? Can you just append “TAG” to a file and it somehow works to include info into the file?

But that’s it. MM somehow knows to capture “Originally Recorded 1969. All” – out of the middle. Strange.

Similar text at the very top/start of the file. After some blank space this:

Code: Select all

TCOP.......Originally recorded 1967, 1968, 1969. All rights reserved by SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT. (P) 2007 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

So I edit a copy of my file via right click in Explorer and add “Dork” to my Comments tag. ID3 Raw Tag Viewer then shows:
ID3v1.1 “Comment” tag = “Dork”
ID3v2.3 “COMM” tag is two lines

Code: Select all

COMM……eng.
Dork

I thought there were multiple fields for the multiple IDvX versions, but it looks like that’s not the case, since “Dork” exists only once in the file via HxD.

Two things result of all this.

1.) The RGAD tag = “....@.¿€.../..” - Perhaps a file came from Amazon slightly corrupted? Why would unreadable text be in a text tag?

2.) I’m still not able to see how to edit the text out of MM’s overloaded Comment field.

What do you just copy/paste dots and make sure it’s the exact same number of characters in HxD? Sounds dangerous.

Thank you for the info nohitter151!

[Simian]

Use kid3, http://kid3.sourceforge.net/. Use it ahead of MM to strip the comment field and if your not a Serato user, strip the Serato GEOB field from your files. Using kid3, you select files for editing & make your changes on all at a time or you can do files individually. Kid3 Delete button removes the tag itself. Selecting the tag data field then hit keyboard delete removes the data and not the tag field.

Good Luck

Whoops - this posted while I was replying to the last. I'm on it!! THANKS!

[Simian]

So, what I’m calling a Zombie Comment (the OP’s problelm) is Media Monkey showing numerous frame values (themselves from numerous tags) in some ?undocumented? many-to-1 relationship within the MM [Comments] view field – an “overloaded” view field, to borrow a db term. (Say that three times fast!)

I edited a copy of one such problematic Zombie Comment file with Kid3 and added 2 values to what were blank Comments, a “Dork” text value and the tag version appended. Using HxD I see “Dork” was included 2 times within the file. We’re tracking solid so far!

“COMM...........Dork-ID3v2.3.0” (Top of file, under the jpg image data)
“Dork-ID3v1.1...................” (The very end of the file)

So now that I’ve packed both tags with “Comment” values, MM shows “Dork-ID3v2.3.0”. Fine. What is interesting is that when I use MM to edit that text out, what happens (again, default MM settings) is BOTH tags are cleansed of their data – both “Dork-ID3v2.3.0” & “Dork-ID3v1.1” values are removed, and thus “Dork” is nowhere to be found in the file using HxD.

However, the mysto zombie comment is now all that shows again in MM, and I’m not able to edit it out using MM or Kid3. It is located up a ways from the bottom of the file “TAG…I AM SIMIAN AND I RULE YOUR STUPID WORLD FOOL!!!!!!”

Somehow MM reads that but Kid3 does not recognize it at all. I’m experimenting with just hacking out the entire zombie block using HxD. I’m not hearing any sound corruption, but this is surely entirely dependent on the app playing the file.

Any words of wisdom?

A.) a tag editor that shows ALL tags and allows me to “properly” edit them – or does no such thing exist for a file someone has just hacked with a hex editor to propagate their message to the world?
B.) any info on “don’ts” on running with HxD scissors and MP3 files?

Your time and assistance is appreciated!

So… for the record … this is not a bug, it’s a feature, in the classic tongue-in-cheek programmer sense. The reason why I even show the Comments field in my view is to see where “junk” is in my files. MM does that exceedingly well. It just will not edit anything but for true “Comments” tag values, and it does that in a complex and competent manner.


Ref
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ID3
http://id3.org/Frames

[richjoh]

Do you have the MM option to store v1 & v2 tag or just one version. MM probably showing you whats in boths fields. Version 1 is put at the file end, Version 2 is put at the beginning. Kid3 will show you V1 & V2 fields separately so you can delete what ever version's field. V1 is character limited, V2 is more flexible.

Regards,
Rich J

One of my pet peeves is MM copying Artist field to Album Artist field which I always wipe out since it screws up other DJ software.