Gapless playback broken in 5.0.3.2627 (worked in 5.0.0.2268)

[xor]

Hi,

a while back, I reported an issue with gapless playback that was fixed in MM 5.0.0.2268.

Now, in MM 5.0.3.2627, with the exact same two MP3 files I supplied as an example then, I now have an extreme gap of about 3 seconds between those two tracks. This is much worse than before (which was just a tiny glitch caused by MM not handling the
MP3 encoding padding).

I installed MM 5.0.0.2268 to cross check and indeed, these same files still play fine with this old version of MM.

If somebody from MM development is interested, I would be happy to again supply the two MP3 files in question.

The related old thread is here:
https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewt ... 4&start=15

The related old bug report is here:
https://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=16940

Cheers,
Olaf

[Lowlander]

Check the settings under Tools > Options > Playback Rules. Make sure it's not set to introduce a gap between files.

[xor]

Check the settings under Tools > Options > Playback Rules. Make sure it's not set to introduce a gap between files.

Thanks for the hint, I verified these settings and the MP3s are of type "Classical Music" which has no "fade in", no "fade out" and no "gap" set in these options.

Other MP3's of type "Classical Music" don't show this strange 3 second gap.

I also copied these files to the system drive (SSD), to rule out read performance issues.

[Monotonedef]

Check the settings under Tools > Options > Playback Rules. Make sure it's not set to introduce a gap between files.

Hi,
I'm experiencing a similar problem. I just downloaded the same version. Unfortunately, moving the slider to "0.5 Overlap" doesn't give you true gapless - it still jumps forward slightly slipping the beat. I'm listening to "Fabric 41: Luciano" which I ripped onto my laptop (Acer Aspire 5733z - yes, very old) years ago using Windows Media Player, directly off the CD I bought. I haven't had this problem before, and I've had one of the oldest versions of Media Monkey (4.1.13.1919). I'm also surprised that this problem exists in 2022 - especially with constant updates, bug fixes, forums, and feedback (I also mean this for other media apps like VLC, Media Player Classic, AIMP and Winamp too). I regularly have this problem with Android apps. One thing I'm thinking is maybe it could have something to do with ripping it to Mp3 and not WMA. Though, I doubt it, as it has no problems with Windows Media Player (the only good thing about Windows Media Player besides easy ripping; it never updates my media files completely or properly either - swings and roundabouts).
Could the way data was coded onto older CDs have anything to do with it? As so many mixes are just done as podcasts, there don't seem to be any mixes on CD that I'm willing to buy to test this theory.
Another thing is DVD and CD players don't have this problem as they are purpose-built for decoding CDA (which I think is the codec used when making CDs.
Anyway - enough said.
Answers and insights would be very welcome!

Thanks.

[Monotonedef]

Check the settings under Tools > Options > Playback Rules. Make sure it's not set to introduce a gap between files.

Hi (again),

I forgot to say that I did have the same problem regarding gapless with Media Monkey version 4.1.13.1919. It was the first one I downloaded in 2013 (I have no idea what version that was) that was problem free (the same for other media players, actually, until they get updated with newer versions of the codecs; maybe that's why Windows Media Player still works fine, due to the fact they're not updating it anymore and hadn't brought out a new version at all - if I remember correctly - since it was installed in my laptop from the factory in July 2012).
That's another reason I think that as the codec reading improves, the old way that codecs were coded onto CDs might be the issue. Similar to pictures and videos that were taken in older formats and in lower resolutions: it just doesn't translate properly.

Again, thanks for any insight and knowledge.

[Peke]

Hi,
Past 1h I tried to replicate and Gapless works normally in Latest Beta https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewt ... 86639&sd=d

There was a regression that cut playback on the end, but we fixed it.

If you do not want to update normal install that is on stable version 5627 install it separately as portable installation to for example c:\MMTemp and import MM5 settings so that you can try playback.

[MiPi]

xor: please try with latest Beta (5.0.4.2657), you can install it separately as portable and test it there. Does it work for you?

[xor]

Hi,
Past 1h I tried to replicate and Gapless works normally in Latest Beta https://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewt ... 86639&sd=d

There was a regression that cut playback on the end, but we fixed it.

If you do not want to update normal install that is on stable version 5627 install it separately as portable installation to for example c:\MMTemp and import MM5 settings so that you can try playback.

Thanks Peke,

I can confirm that I can not reproduce the issue with the latest beta (5.0.4.2657), great!

Thanks a lot!

[xor]

Again, thanks for any insight and knowledge.

Hi Monotonedef,

yes, gapless playback is kind of tough, especially since it may be hard to figure out if it is the player or the audio file that is to blame for gaps.

For MP3, there is a mechanism in place that allows for perfect gapless playback, if the MP3 file was encoded for gapless (it then contains certain markers that tell the player exactly where to cut over from one audio file to the next) and if the player supports it.

Mediamonkey 5 now does support this gapless MP3 mechanism, while Mediamonkey 4 does not.

Both Winamp and Foobar2000 do support gapless MP3 (again, only if the MP3 was encoded for gapless).

In Foobar2000, you can check if your MP3 was encoded for gapless: Right click on a track, choose "Properties", then go to the "Details" tab and check for "ENC_DELAY" and end "ENC_PADDING":



Cross fading on the other hand will never give you true gapless playback, it can just try to make the gap less obvious.

Hope that helps a bit with finding the root cause in your case.

PS: Make sure to turn off cross fading when diagnosing gapless playback issues!

[xor]

xor: please try with latest Beta (5.0.4.2657), you can install it separately as portable and test it there. Does it work for you?

Yes, it works, thanks a lot!