Author Topic: Using Duplicate manager to compare a playlist to the rest of the library  (Read 4016 times)

Phaedrus

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I have a folder of what I call "Separates" in my folder structure. These are all songs that I downloaded from various sources over the years. As time has progressed, I find that I have obtained these songs as part of a purchased album, whether the original, or a compilation. I would like to clean this folder out, by comparing folders that are in this directory, with the larger library. I have assigned "Separates" as the "Album Artist" for all of the tracks in this folder.

I know I'm close; I have an Auto-Playlist to find files that are both in the "Duplicate Manager" playlist I created for the entire library, and have an Album Artist of "Separates." Now I have a list of files that are presumably duplicates in the with "Separates" as the "Album Artist."

Now I want to see a list of the duplicate files in both places. I'm hoping for both the entries that are in Separates, and in the larger library, so I can compare them personally before deleting. (I want to make sure that both files are good, and that I'm not losing a remix or alternate version because the file in Separates is mis-tagged.)

I feel like an Auto-Playlist is the answer, but I can't seem to figure out the logic. New here, but not to the concept of auto-playlists. I love auto-playlists.
Dell Inspiron, i5, 16GB, 256GBSSD
Windows 11 Preview
MusicBee 3.5.8447, standard install on C:\
Library on External drive;
293,621 Tracks, 18,393 Albums, 4461.93GB, 850d 12:20

Topping D10 32bit 384 kHz USB DAC
O2 Headphone Amplifier
beyerdynamic DT770M 80 ohm
Crossfade M-100 Master Over-Ear

hiccup

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I am sure I am probably missing something:
If you have created a playlist from the Duplicate manager, you then have all duplicates in view. If you then add a column for the url and/or album artist you can quickly see where's what, and compare easily?

Phaedrus

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That is a huge playlist for me to sort through. I started on that, but it quickly got cumbersome. If I use just artist/title, I get 10k+ entries. Jazz, Classical, and Live albums are the biggest offenders, but Greatest Hits, and Box Sets don't help either. The more criteria I add, the fewer matches, but then, the less chance I have of finding a real duplicate.

I'm hoping for Auto-Playlists, because then I can not only keep track of what I've finished, but then I can re-use it when I get more music.

*Ninja edit; I see what you are saying about sorting, and highlighting, It would work, but I'm looking for a bit more automation.
Dell Inspiron, i5, 16GB, 256GBSSD
Windows 11 Preview
MusicBee 3.5.8447, standard install on C:\
Library on External drive;
293,621 Tracks, 18,393 Albums, 4461.93GB, 850d 12:20

Topping D10 32bit 384 kHz USB DAC
O2 Headphone Amplifier
beyerdynamic DT770M 80 ohm
Crossfade M-100 Master Over-Ear

hiccup

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Wow. It's been a while since I had a similar task to complete. (never again I hope)
Part of the problem is that you might have a lot of files that are technical identical (musically), but tagged differently.
Those can be a bit difficult to find through MusicBee. Also finding exact matching file sizes won't help, since even the smallest difference in metadata will change the size of a file with a few bits.
Have you considered starting with running some dedicated 'duplicate finder' software? Some have some specialized features for music, photo's, etc.
Adjustable allowed percentage of similarity between files, etc.
I believe some are even able to analyze and compare sound-fingerprint. (so that could even work without distinction of the files being mp3, flac, aac etc.)

Well, at least your agenda for 2017 is filled well already ;-)

Phaedrus

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I may not have been as clear as I could have been; I'm not concerned about what I consider a legitimate duplicate. (In a Box Set, and on the original album.) As far as I'm concerned, the vast majority of that 10k+ list is not a duplicate. It's the 50 to 100 that are in the "Separates" folder that are the potential duplicates. Drive space is cheap, and I use my folder structure to differentiate between Original albums, live albums and Compilations within my playlists.

My previous Media Manager had a method to show me a list of duplicates where one of the duplicates met some specific criteria. For Example; If I had a track in Separates, that was also on two other albums, the list would show all three tracks. If I had another track which is on three different albums, but none in "Separates," none of those would show on the list.

Since I continue to get new music all the time, and I add new music to the "Separates" folder constantly, I would rather have this a bit less cumbersome, than sorting through a fresh playlist every time I get new music. I'm hoping for a way to streamline my process to; "add and tag albums, check my custom playlist, remove real duplicates from separates, and then auto-organize to the appropriate location." I also had some auto-playlists I could make from this; based on number of entries for the title in the database, tracks with at least 3 starts that only exist on regular albums, Tracks that don't appear on any compilation, and one of my favorites; songs with the same title, from all artists.

I hope that makes sense to you. It sounded perfectly understandable in my head, but I'm not sure it all went out through my fingers.
Dell Inspiron, i5, 16GB, 256GBSSD
Windows 11 Preview
MusicBee 3.5.8447, standard install on C:\
Library on External drive;
293,621 Tracks, 18,393 Albums, 4461.93GB, 850d 12:20

Topping D10 32bit 384 kHz USB DAC
O2 Headphone Amplifier
beyerdynamic DT770M 80 ohm
Crossfade M-100 Master Over-Ear

hiccup

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I think I am beginning to understand ;-)
Let me rephrase it a bit differently just to check if I'm on the right track:

You would like to be able to have a view of all duplicate files, but only those that have at least one duplicate present in a 'source'.
'Source' would probably be a folder structure, but could also be determined by a tag field. (In your case 'Album Artist')

Does that cover it adequately?

Just curious, what music manager did have that function?
I am guessing that option there is in the duplicate-filtering stage, and not afterwards using some sort of auto-playlists?

Hopefully some black-belt auto-playlist guru member can jump in here, but this might turn out to be something that will require a wish for an additional option in the Duplicate Manager.
Last Edit: January 03, 2017, 08:41:15 AM by hiccup

Phaedrus

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Now you've got it exactly.  :)

I could do this with a plugin for Media Monkey called "Advanced Duplicate Find and Fix." Basically, this allowed searching for duplicates using criteria similar to Music Bee. It also had the option to specify an "At Least One Playlist."

This was at the duplicate filtering stage, not in the auto-playlists. I'm hoping to simulate it there. Auto playlists have their limitations but maybe  I can expand this one.

As a "Database Guy" by trade, I could probably cobble together an SQL query to do this, but my focus is on keeping the data available, not using the data.
Dell Inspiron, i5, 16GB, 256GBSSD
Windows 11 Preview
MusicBee 3.5.8447, standard install on C:\
Library on External drive;
293,621 Tracks, 18,393 Albums, 4461.93GB, 850d 12:20

Topping D10 32bit 384 kHz USB DAC
O2 Headphone Amplifier
beyerdynamic DT770M 80 ohm
Crossfade M-100 Master Over-Ear

hiccup

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Now that I thought this through, I could see myself using such a feature.
It would be quite helpful to quickly ascertain if a newly acquired track is already in your existing library somewhere.


Phaedrus

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Because of the way MM was designed, it would separate the matches by groups. I don't think that would work in Music Bee, but if it can be incorporated as an auto playlist, it becomes a bit easier to manage. You wouldn't have to manage a static playlist to keep track of where you left off; If it's in the list, it needs to be addressed. Handy if you have more than a handful to work through.

I'll work on making an official request in the Wishlist. I want to make sure I word it well, and I have to go to work, now.
Dell Inspiron, i5, 16GB, 256GBSSD
Windows 11 Preview
MusicBee 3.5.8447, standard install on C:\
Library on External drive;
293,621 Tracks, 18,393 Albums, 4461.93GB, 850d 12:20

Topping D10 32bit 384 kHz USB DAC
O2 Headphone Amplifier
beyerdynamic DT770M 80 ohm
Crossfade M-100 Master Over-Ear

Phaedrus

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  • Posts: 117
Update;

I discovered Highlighting, the context menu item "Use the selected file to replace another file," and the ability to delete files from the playlist and computer. Now I'm even closer.

Still looking for a way to prune items from my playlist where one of the matches are not in my "Separates" list.
Dell Inspiron, i5, 16GB, 256GBSSD
Windows 11 Preview
MusicBee 3.5.8447, standard install on C:\
Library on External drive;
293,621 Tracks, 18,393 Albums, 4461.93GB, 850d 12:20

Topping D10 32bit 384 kHz USB DAC
O2 Headphone Amplifier
beyerdynamic DT770M 80 ohm
Crossfade M-100 Master Over-Ear