The right sidebar Details Panel shows you all the metadata we have found in the selected file while importing by default.
You can also set this to “User Defined” by opening the Settings and check it ON and then click the list looking icon to show all the [fields] you can hide show in the Details Panel.
Once you get all the fields you care about editing….go ahead and tag away by selecting the records you want to change and double clicking a [field] you want to change!
NOTE: Some fields like [sample_rate] and [bit_depth]…etc are dimmed and can’t be edited for obvious reasons…8)
Most all metadata editing in BaseHead is done on this panel.
It can also be done in the Offline Renaming section on the Rename Panel or pressing ‘R’ to just rename a [description].
—-DETAIL PANEL OPTIONS—- (Ultra Only)
click the upper right gear icon to see the options for this panel.
Dynamic Display
choose to show metadata values in the Details Panel that only exist in the selected record.
User Definable Display
let’s you choose fixed fields that you want to display in the Details Panel.
Auto-Complete Editing
when ON will show suggestions while typing based on other values already in the current [field] in the database.
Hide Spectrum Meters
when ON hides and disables the Spectrum Meters at the bottom of this panel.
If you right click any value in the Details Panel, you will get these options in the context menu:
Copy Value of [xxx]
- Remove Entries with [xxx] “XXX” from Database
- Set Entries [xxx] “XXX” to Hidden
- Set Entries with [xxx] “XXX” to Visible
- Search For [xxx] “XXX”
- Create Group from [xxx] – A new quick way to create colored ‘Groups’ Fast!
OUR PREFERRED METADATA FORMAT IS OPEN SOURCE iXML
Steinberg created a metadata-rich sub chunk for SFX and Music inside iXML.
So instead of re-inventing the wheel we decided to use and support this.
Open Standards for Life!!
The huge difference with this from many other programs out there is all metadata will be written in a Non-Encrypted iXML chunk!!
Why is this so Important?
This chunk is a Non-Encrypted and an Open Standard so it can be read by any other program, if they choose to support it, now or in the future!
Programs come and go and your metadata should flow between them also.
BaseHead will NEVER EVER encrypt your hard work and valuable time you spend adding metadata to prevent you from leaving our software.
We don’t believe in locking users into our program, but instead believe in just making better software that people want to use instead of forced to keep using it…..8)
Even our Database is un-encrypted also so you can open it any SQLite editor if you so desire..
Please help us spread the word and inform others so they get the correct information and don’t get stuck in a dead end program.
This is what your hours of hard work of tagging sounds look in another program that is encrypted.
no one in the future will be able to read or parse that cuz it’s impossible…
this is how ours looks…
Huge Difference huh?
so you have the piece of mind that whenever the new hot audio database program comes out that you want to use the data will be readable by it if they spend a day parsing what we wrote.
Currently about 35 fields will go back and forth between BaseHead and Steinberg’s Mediabay.
This is probably a first in the audio metadata world that two program share metadata other then just the bext description……8)
Join us in waiving the Open Standards Metadata flag!!
Nuendo/Cubase Compatibility:
(Here are a few screen caps to show how BaseHead and Mediabay Translate fields)
BaseHead -> Nuendo
Nuendo -> BaseHead
(version 4.x screenshot, Extra compatible fields have been added in version 5.x)
Attention Library Creators!
If you are looking to distribute you SFX to the world and want to make sure your metadata will be read by some (cough cough) “rival” programs then best to ONLY tag your SFX in the 7 fields listed below but makes sure to turn ON the ID3 Chunk Editing in the Metadata Chunk Options Panel first (F4) (Ultra)
This panel can be used to turn on Chunks or off in all three stages from Importing files to Editing them to Transferring and creating new files.
Here is a table to show you what goes where when you tag in these fields in regards to ID3.
WAV and AIF files:
MP3 files:
FYI: BaseHead can now Import/Export various text file formats of all fields that you can also use to import into “rival” programs also now as another option if that is what you prefer
—-ADD YOUR OWN ALBUM ART/IMAGES—-
BaseHead Ultra has the ability to add Album Art/Images to files that burn into the ID3 chunk of a file.
Just drag a .gif .png .jpg or .tif to the Details Panel and it will add the artwork to the selected records.
(Right clicking an image will remove it)
Also if you just place images with the same name as the audio file in the folder with wither the extensions (.png, .jpg and .jpeg)
It will show these as priority over any image burnt into the file.
Image files need to conform to normal album art standards.
Usually a perfectly square 300×300 pixel image is best if you want to play it safe.
Here’s is some good info to make sure you are conforming the ID3 standards
http://www.richardfarrar.com/embedding-album-art-in-mp3-files/
This Video includes Batch Tagging and Renaming along with Image Adding!
(version 4.x Video)
—-METADATA VIEWER PANEL—- (F3)
wanna see the changes you make live?
This panel shows the raw metadata in the selected files, so you can see exactly what is being changed as you tag your files.
Extra Info about some Chunks we write into:
Your can turn Chunks On/Off at will with the Chunk Panel (F4)
BEXT is slow as sh*t cuz it re-writes to the head of the file, it’s more universal, but the whole file needs to be re-written completely every time to do this.
so editing [description] or anything like [originator] will be slow if this chunk in ON.
ID3 even with this OFF it will still write metadata into MP3 files. The ON/OFF of this chunk only affects WAV/BWAV files and should not be used in 2020 and beyond unless you are selling libraries that NEED to be read by old versions by a certain “rival” program.
Writing an ID3 chunk into a WAV file was basically Illegal and we were only doing this to match compatibility with the geniuses that thought it was a good idea. ;-)
UPDATE: Since many have since copied us by adopting open source iXML as a metadata standard also we suggest just leaving this chunk OFF. ;-)
The [fields] that write into ID3 are the six below…
cd_title
publisher
track_title
composer
genre (for WAV files it’s populated from the [category] field instead of [genre] for compatibility)
artist (for WAV files it’s populated from the [library] field instead of [artist] for compatibility))
iXML is the quickest by far cuz it writes to the rear of the files and other programs have copied us and reading/writing in the open format.
So this is the main one you want to worry about nowadays.
Paul Virostek of Creative Field Recording just did a nice write up BaseHead’s metadata editing for beginners.
Check it out Here!!
http://www.creativefieldrecording.com/2016/08/26/basehead-metadata-101/
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