Premise Apparently Premise Doesn't Like MP3 ID V2.4 Tags

So I had a collection of over 1000 MP3 files in 10 groups. I started playing from number 1. Premise zipped through all 1000 without playing a single one. They had played before.

Perplexed, I started poking around. The files played everywhere else, including in Media Player AND iTunes on the same PC as Premise is on. In fact on every device I have, they played fine. Hmmm...

I decided to go into iTunes and look at the offending files and other MP3s that were still playing in Premise. The only thing I could find is that the problem files were tagged using V2.4. So I figured, what the heck. I had iTunes convert them to v2.3 (like the other known good files).

Low and behold! They play in Premise. I was lucky I spotted that early. This could have gone on for days.

The moral of the story. Don't use MP3 ID V2.4 tags if you're still using Premise.

Now to find out WHAT changed them. Although I suspect iTunes. I always suspect iTunes. I HATE iTunes....

samgreco said:

So I had a collection of over 1000 MP3 files in 10 groups. I started playing from number 1. Premise zipped through all 1000 without playing a single one. They had played before.

Perplexed, I started poking around. The files played everywhere else, including in Media Player AND iTunes on the same PC as Premise is on. In fact on every device I have, they played fine. Hmmm...

I decided to go into iTunes and look at the offending files and other MP3s that were still playing in Premise. The only thing I could find is that the problem files were tagged using V2.4. So I figured, what the heck. I had iTunes convert them to v2.3 (like the other known good files).

Low and behold! They play in Premise. I was lucky I spotted that early. This could have gone on for days.

The moral of the story. Don't use MP3 ID V2.4 tags if you're still using Premise.

Now to find out WHAT changed them. Although I suspect iTunes. I always suspect iTunes. I HATE iTunes....

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Would using iTunes .m4a format instead of .mp3 work better? I have some music in .m4a that I play through Premise but most of my stuff is in .flac.

One major change in 2.4 is how the tag length is handled. 2.3 used a 4 byte integer, 2.4 uses a 4 byte "sync safe" integer.

2.4 has been around for several years now. Software shouldn't crap out because it can't understand the ID3 tags. Its simple enough to check the ID3 version and skip the ID3 block if it can't handle it.

Most of my stuff is in lossless m4a, but this is "legacy stuff.

SDA - Premise is, unfortunately, more than several years old now. That could have something to do with it.

As long as I know the ground rules, I can work with it.

samgreco said:

Premise is, unfortunately, more than several years old now.

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It's a shame Premise was killed off, It would be nice to have a Premise version 4.0 with support for all the latest tech right out of the box and a native iphone/ ipad client. I would pay for for that in a heart beat.

I have been looking at CQC and Elve lately but I still think Premise is far easier to get a basic system up and running.

I wish I knew how to do all the cool stuff Damon does with Premise.

It is a shame. I am considering a switch as well. But it won't be for some time. I've looked at CQC and Elve. If CQC had gone open-source it would have been a no brainer.

I have a license for xLobby V3 (I was a legacy supporter in the early days), but haven't spent the time to learn how to build a system with it. It seems very convoluted in the way it deals with external matrix switches and automation.

I guess I got spoiled by the simple Premise drag and drop builder. Man, they really were light years ahead.

I probably won't be switching right away now either, one of my dogs was just diagnosed with cancer and her treatment will be many thousands of dollars. CQC is not that expensive right now but I have other priorities at the moment.

Sorry to hear about your dog. Very difficult time when your pet is ill.

We are not spending anything right now either. Wife's been out of work for over 2 years now. And my business has JUST started picking up again. I haven't bought a new HA toy in 2 years B)

samgreco said:

Sorry to hear about your dog. Very difficult time when your pet is ill.

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Thanks

samgreco said:

We are not spending anything right now either. Wife's been out of work for over 2 years now. And my business has JUST started picking up again. I haven't bought a new HA toy in 2 years B)

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I have a brother who worked in constrution and has not been able to find a job for over a year and a half,
times are really tough lately.

Agree that some of the new technologies would be great if they were in a Premise 4.0...BUT...

I looked at Elve/J9. Looks good, reads great....maybe it was me, but I couldn't find anything out about the company from the web page?
To put things into perspective, I paid 750 bucks for the dealer edition of Premise way back.

CQC? I thought I read Dean was getting out, or quit or something?
I've thought about making a change, tried a few free trials, tried Lifeware, mControl, even went down the linux path...
I think at the end of the day, unless you want a 'turnkey' system like Control4 or Crestron, Premise is adequate. Actually more than adequate.

Another 2-3 months, I'll prob move away from the AB altogether. I've been beating the heck out of 123's minibrowser enough to give me nearly all of the functionality I need w/o the IE dependency. Then again, processors are getting fast enough that a phone can run w/ the sysconnector.

Premise missing this feature or that? If you're tech guys, you know that any released product has a database of feature requests, bugs, enhancements, and all of the rest. The difference with Premise is there isn't anyone reading those requests anymore. :angry:

As far as the start of this post, I wasn't exactly sure what MP3 ID V2.4 tags were until I searched for it...and I'm fairly certain that whatever system one moves to, someday that system won't work with MP3 ID V3.9 tags... And if you know what a MP3 ID V3.9 tag does, you'll be hitting the forums trying to find out why that system doesnt support it.

It's the nature of this beast we're all hooked on...

...my thoughts are with you guys hit by unemployment. It will get better! I got into this whole Premise thing after the dot-bomb era left me without a job, but with a mortgage, a wife and two kids. It was a long two years before I landed a full time gig..Custom Installs and Home Automation got us thru it. Barely.

Wayne - sorry about your dog. That's a tough one...

Thanks Chuck, the dog is not that old so I hope she can handle the chemotherapy, the doctor told us yesterday that it will be $3500 for the first 3 months and then the treatment will get cheaper after that.
I also found out I need a new septic tank yesterday, when it rains it pours.
I guess I will be using Premise for awhile now, at least Premise is still pretty good.


CQC is I believe $350 until version 3.4 comes out and then I have no idea what it will cost for a nice setup.
Elve looks nice but I think I want to wait until it has been for sale for awhile to make sure it hangs around.

I have tried quite a few times to give up on Premise, but I can't quit her :angry: There are some things that still are unique. mSense being one.

BUT, the farther away we get the more the little issues pile up. I have not been able to use John's UPnP control since updating to Vista 64. But I needed 64-bit for my VMWare server, for non-HA related stuff. I realize that "need" is relative. But I really wanted/needed to minimize hardware.

I can't seem to get ANY internet radio streams working anymore. New hardware comes out all the time that will never be supported, and hard as I try, I can't code. And there's the interface. Getting long in the tooth. So I figure that I'll be using Premise for another 6 months or so, and then move on.

As for CQC, Dean hasn't given up, but there is an air of uncertainty now. He was ][ this close to going open-source and giving up on the business. But I gather there is someone interested in investing. We'll see where that goes. I would love to see an open-source project in HA. I wish that Motorola had released Premise as OS, but that would never have happened.

Meanwhile, the reality is that Premise does probably 80-90% of what I want. I can still play music whenever and where ever I like. Turn all my lights off. What more can I need

Sam - good points, all. I figure by the time I crap out, it can be somebody else's problem...so for now, it's Premise. (actually, like you said, it turns on my lights, my furnace, my music, controls my family room components and whole house audio, lets me read the news, see the surf cams and read the surf report (RSS feeds, tks, John!), see the five day weather forecast and the actual weather, and do a lot of it from the iPhone/Smartphone (tks, 123!)), so I'm fairly content. Once I buy the Elk system (123!), I don't see a lot of drastic changes necessary...as long as it has either a serial port or is infrared controlled...

I do have to say, I've made some HW decisions based on Premise support (Lutron, Aprilaire, etc). I think you would do the same with other systems...

..and one never knows if someday, somebody, somewhere, may buy Premise from Moto.... :angry:

chucklyons said:

..and one never knows if someday, somebody, somewhere, may buy Premise from Moto.... :angry:

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I got $10. Maybe we can all pitch in...

Can someone pm me an MP3 ID V2.4 tagged file? I have done a couple things and want to see if it works....