[Flac] Flac] Where Cover Art?

[Santiago Jimeno]

Thank you Martin for your answer.

Regarding the COVERARTMIME name, I found this entry in ExifTool:
http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca/~phil/exiftool/TagNames/Vorbis.html#Comments
I suppose that it would be useful to enlarge the information of which
COVERART lacked.

To change the code to use METADATA_BLOCK_PICTURE is simple, since COVERART
also wrote in Base64. The result continues being the same handling easiness
of Vorbis Comments.

But in the FLAC case the problem continues existing. When I spoke of error,
I referred to try editing (adding or removing comments or pictures, writing
besides reading) in two different blocks at the same time. We can call it
error, ambiguous or otherwise. But, have you tried to write code to maintain
this double localization in a simultaneous way?

My code for editing Comments in Ogg has 50 lines around. In FLAC case 200
more lines are added, 5 times more. A similar situation, or maybe worse,
happens with Matroska that has separated Tags on one hand and Pictures on
the other. Pictures are in a Attachments block that is a bag for everything
that also includes fonts, text and subtitles and located in any place of the
file. The result in this case is that, in spite of its initial advantages,
it doesn't exist a program for editing Tags and I think it's for its extreme
difficulty that implies to almost modify the whole file. Only FLAC and
Matroska act this way among all Tags types existent.

Now I should add code to convert COVERTART to METADATA_BLOCK_PICTURE. For
the same work I also have code to edit Pictures in FLAC, converting the
whole content of the block 6 to the block 4. I think that to correct this
problem is simple, declaring obsolete the block 6 of FLAC in the same way
that Vorbis has made with COVERART. But as you say:  "There clearly needs to
be some official guidance".

In LYRICS case, also "needs to be some official guidance." It's possibly not
very utilized, but it's used. But I cannot invent a Comment name, although
this you suggest could be the most appropriate. If somebody that works in
Vorbis Proposal reads this that takes note of the suggestion.

In any event, if we want Vorbis comments have the same success in FLAC like
in OGG, we need clear, simple and mainly effective official norms.

Regards. Santiago

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Martin Leese" <martin.leese at stanfordalumni.org>
To: <flac at xiph.org>
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: [Flac] Flac] Where Cover Art?


> "Santiago Jimeno" wrote:
>
>> Flac files, as us knows, follows the Vorbis Tags system included in block
>> 4
>> Recently Vorbis has established the possibility to include picture files
>> by
>> means of 2 Tags:  COVERARTMIME AND COVERART.
>> To work therewith is quite easy.
>
> No. this in incorrect.  The VorbisComment
> "COVERART" was only ever unofficial, and
> has been deprecated in favour of
> "METADATA_BLOCK_PICTURE".  (I have
> never heard of "COVERARTMIME".)  Please
> see:
> https://wiki.xiph.org/VorbisComment#Unofficial_COVERART_field_.28deprecated.29
>
>> However Flac stores picture files in block 6. The edition (to add and to
>> modify Tags and pictures simultaneously in two separate blocks) becomes a
>> difficult and tedious task in comparison with the easiness of Vorbis
>> handling .
>
> The intention was never for the same picture
> file to be included twice (once in a
> VorbisComment and again in a FLAC
> METADATA_BLOCK, confusingly also called
> "METADATA_BLOCK_PICTURE").
>
>> I think the current situation is an error. No Tags type acts this way,
>> except Matroska.
>> Would not it be better for Flac to follow Vorbis approach, including
>> covert
>> art in block 4 and to abandon the insertion of pictures in block 6?
>
> The current situation is not in error, as such,
> but is ambiguious.  There clearly needs to be
> some official guidance on the preferred
> location for picture files in FLAC streams.
>
>> Another question. Where a Tag should be included with song lyrics?
>
> Regards,
> Martin
> -- 
> Martin J Leese
> E-mail: martin.leese  stanfordalumni.org
> Web: http://members.tripod.com/martin_leese/
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