May 19, 2009 - 5:27pm
re: ID3 tagging best practices
It is relatively old now, so may not take into account changes in iTunes, but you may want to read "Formatting ID3 Tags for your listeners" as a starting point for ID3 tagging.
May 20, 2009 - 9:05am
Thanks
Ed, thanks. I'm actually doing most of that already... I understand how the tags will show up in iTunes, iPod, etc. What I'm more concerned about is getting the info [I think] I want into the tags, and was curious how other folks map their sermon/church info to the ID3 tags -- and whether anyone actually pays attention to v1 tags anymore.
Thanks
Tom
May 23, 2009 - 4:06am
May 23, 2009 - 9:50am
May 23, 2009 - 10:28am
I usually try and tell
I usually try and tell pastors that they should have an "outro" which basically says "Thanks for listening etc. If you need prayer, etc. If you'd like to contact us, etc." A female voice (pastor's wife) is good for this. With getID3, you can automatically splice the outro to the sermon.
Intro's are, in my book, not important. But if you do want an intro, please make it short, I hate having to fast forward over long intros. Calvary Albuquerque has a good intro.
Anyway, my standard fields are usually:
- Title: Sermon Title
- Album Artist: Pastor Name or Church name
- Artist: Pastor Name or Church name
- Album: Series Name or Sermon Title
- Genre: Either "Podcast", the denomination (Baptist, Calvary Chapel, etc), Church Name, or "Bible Teaching" or whatever (just make it easy to find in an ipod)
- Year
- Track Number: if part of a series else leave blank
- Comment: I use this field for an extended copyright statement. I ripped and edited a ton of mp3's for Impact Apologetics and I used this field to give info:
Copyright 2009 Impact Apologetics
Unauthorized Reproduction Prohibited (Exodus 20:15)
Impact Apologetics
P.O. Box 78956,
Charlotte, NC 28271
(704) 846-1226
www.ImpactApologetics.com
I'd just say, edit it, then load it to an ipod and see whether you like the structure. I don't think it matters that much because when I get a new sermon, I re-edit the tags anyway to fit MY preferences especially if it's a sermon that goes in my archive. But for podcasts, it's nice to know where it will automatically go.
Also, you could use the lyrics tag (or the comment tag) to store sermon notes. That's a big +1 in my book.
Oh, and don't forget to set the image! Those make the mp3 just that much more shiny.
I'm kind of going back and forth with this, so I'd appreciate your feedback on this! We've been posting our sermons online, we currently have hundreds, but I've never like the way our podcasts are done nor the way our sermons were tagged. Very inconsistent. I'd like to get your opinions on how you tag your MP3's. Basically, I'd like (but maybe you can change my mind) to capture the following information:
Sermon title
Speaker
Scripture verse
Series
Date preached
Church name
Now, obviously, ID3 doesn't have those specific titles, so I have to "map" them. Here's what I've been thinking:
Title = Sermon title (scripture verse in parentheses)
Artist = speaker
Album = Series
Comments = Date preached @ Church name
Alternatively:
Comments = Date preached
Subtitle = scripture verse
Album Artist = Church name
What's the best for an iTunes podcast, and what's good for a personal library?
Also, do you all consider ID3 v1 character limitations -- do any MP3 players even read from v1 anymore? Or do you just go with v2?
Your thoughts appreciated!
Blessings
Tom
Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. (Col 2:6-7)