Trancoding for Downloaded Files

[gjriehl]

Hey so I've re-ripped my entire library to FLAC instead of having it in MP3. I can have subsonic transcode the FLAC for streaming but is there a way to have it transcode stuff from FLAC to MP3 (preferrably v0) when I download the stuff? When I download it, it's still FLAC. Is there a way around that and have it be MP3?

[GJ51]

It has been requested as a feature to be added, but as yet I don't think anyone has found a way to do it.

[Kirk]

It has been requested as a feature to be added, but as yet I don't think anyone has found a way to do it.

I actually made this request awhile back. Nobody ever responded to my thread about it.

-Kirk

[sno crash]

I have a solution... of sorts. It does work really well to accomplish what you are wanting to do.

The scenario is this:

(1) I have a mixed library of MP3s and FLACs. I'm gradually re-ripping my CDs to FLACs, and updating my library. So the question is do I REPLACE my MP3s, or keep two copies?
(2) I access my library from home, work, iPhone and iPad, using both Wifi and cellular connections.
(3) I have family members that access the jukebox, but only to download and use on their iPods.

Having FLAC makes sense for Home, since it presents the highest quality in the right setting.
But streaming FLAC over cellular is no good; it has to be transcoded. So I accept a lossy version of the audio for this setting. No big deal.
Downloading a FLAC is also a pain. The file sizes are x10.

The solution is to keep BOTH copies of the music, but do it in a smart way. I use MediaMonkey as the primary back-end for my music. All tagging and organization gets done in this app. Subsonic simply sits on top of the MediaMonkey created structure and serves up the MP3s. Mediamonkey sees both the MP3s and the FLACs.

Here's how:

(1) All incoming music that is ready for MM goes into a folder called "Music Staging". Put this folder OUTSIDE of your library structure. Music is structured into <Artist>\<Album>\<Track> folders when staged in this folder. Naming convention for the tracks isn't too critical, but the foldering is. Don't worry about tags or art. MM will do this. Put a blank text file in this same folder (trust me on this...)
(2) Set up two Collection Nodes in MM. The first is "Music - MP3". Set a Criteria for this node to EXCLUDE any EXTENSION of FLAC.
(3) The second node is called "Music - FLAC". Criteria for this collection node should only INCLUDE EXTENSION FLAC.
(4) You now have two collections of music. One has all your FLAC, one has all your MP3s. Now for the folder structure.
(5) Set MM Folder Monitor to actively monitor "Music Staging".
(6) Under Options, MM is set to infer tagging information from FOLDER first, then TAGS if possible.
(7) MM is set to Auto-Organize files in the library. Set up two Auto-Organize Rules.
(8) First Auto-Organize rule is for the Music-MP3 Collection. Set a rule that organizes as follows: Music - MP3\<Album Artist>\<Album>\<Artist> - <Title>
Set the Criteria for this rule as the Collection "Music - MP3". Double click to set criteria.
(9) Second Auto-Organize rule is for the FLAC collection. Set a rule that organizes as follows: Music - flac\<Album Artist>\<Album>\<Artist> - <Title>
Set the Criteria for this rule as the Collection "Music - Flac". Double click to set criteria.

Here's the workflow:

(1) Stage a ripped disc of audio in your Music Staging folder. Watch MM grab it automatically and throw it into the library by moving the tracks from staging to your Music folder structure. It won't delete your staging folder because you put a dummy text file in it.
(2) If you are constantly feeding FLAC files into your library, they should get moved into your FLAC collection and your FLAC directory structure.
(3) Auto-Tag from Web. Choose the album, art, etc from a tag service like Amazon (works pretty well).
(4) Now that the music is tagged and properly organized, now its time to convert out a copy to MP3.
(5) Once you have a FLAC album in the library, select the tracks and go to Tools > Convert Format. Choose an MP3 format, then choose the destination as "Music - MP3\<Album Artist>\<Album>\<Artist> - <Title>"
(6) Your two Collections should keep your MP3 and FLAC separate (but equal), and in separate directory structures.

Serve it up:
Subsonic should now be set to serve up the "Music - MP3" folder. As a bonus, you could separately serve up the "Music - FLAC" folder. This will list as a separate folder in the list, just in case you still wanted access to the FLACs remotely. By making them distinct sources, you can keep them as distinct list items.

Now, if someone wants to download an album, they can get the MP3s. If I want to stream non-transcoded FLACs, I can set up a player for myself and do it. If I want to listen via iSub on my phone, I will only look at the MP3 folder.

MM is EXTREMELY powerful in this regard. The monitoring, tagging and auto-organize features are highly underrated. It is the perfect pairing with Subsonic.