Flac Doesn't Let Me Embed This Cuesheet, What's wrong with it? Options

[smz]

Flac (1.1.2) doesn't let me embed the follwing cuesheet

CODE

PERFORMER "Performer Name"
TITLE "Album Title"
FILE "mytestfile.wav" WAVE
 TRACK 01 AUDIO
   TITLE "Track01 Title"
   PERFORMER "Performer Name"
   INDEX 01 00:00:00

   ...

with this error:

CODE

ERROR initializing encoder
state= FLAC_STREAM_ENCODER_INVALID_METADATA

Is this a bug or there is something wrong with my cuesheet that I can't spot?

Cheers

Sergio


Edit: spelling. If also a mod could fix the topic title... thanks! (Done, thanks to the mod!)

Edit2: removed great part of the cuesheet as the problem was not with it (see subsequent posts), to make the thread more readable.

Edit3: Modified cuesheet example so that RIAA doesn't sue me, in case I die...

This post has been edited by smz: Feb 9 2005, 02:34

[jcoalson]

I see the problem, but I'm not sure what to do about it. here's the problem:

1. the wave file has a number of samples that is not evenly divisible by 588, i.e. not a full CD sector

2. when importing a cuesheet, flac creates a 'leadout' track for the cuesheet implicitly based on the size of the wave file, since cuesheets do not explicitly describe the leadout track.

3. when flac is told to apply a cuesheet to a file, if the input is 2 channels, 16 bps, and 44.1kHz it assumes that the cuesheet is applying to CD-DA and applies more strict checks to it.

4. flac sees a leadout track that is not on a sector boundary and complains that it is invalid in a vague way.

5. metaflac --import-cuesheet-from works because it is not as strict at checking against the CD-DA spec (it actually should be as strict, that's a bug), namely it does not check that the leadout is on a sector boundary.

maybe flac/metaflac need an option to tell it to not check the CD-DA subset on a cuesheet.

Josh

[smz]

Josh, thank-you for analyzing the problem.

Here are my considerations about it:

1. the wave file has a number of samples that is not evenly divisible by 588, i.e. not a full CD sector

Being evenly divisible by 588 is not required by the WAV standard, AFAIK.

2. when importing a cuesheet, flac creates a 'leadout' track for the cuesheet implicitly based on the size of the wave file, since cuesheets do not explicitly describe the leadout track.

I can't understand that. If the cuesheets "standard" doesn't calls for an explicitly defined leadout, why should FLAC do? I've always thought FLAC as a lossless codec, bit perfect, independently of the content and/or size of my input file. I've thought of the embedded cuesheet just as metatdata to be parsed by an external application, associated to specific seekpoints. And shouldn't be the businness of a CD burning (or emulation) application to eventually deal with a possibly incomplete last sector of the PCM stream?

3. when flac is told to apply a cuesheet to a file, if the input is 2 channels, 16 bps, and 44.1kHz it assumes that the cuesheet is applying to CD-DA and applies more strict checks to it.

It shouldn't IMHO and if I'm not missing some crucial point.

4. flac sees a leadout track that is not on a sector boundary and complains that it is invalid in a vague way.

I think the message should be made more clear... or just shuldn't be necessary at all, always IMO.

5. metaflac --import-cuesheet-from works because it is not as strict at checking against the CD-DA spec (it actually should be as strict, that's a bug), namely it does not check that the leadout is on a sector boundary.

Not a bug at all, from my point of view, at least if it doesn't have any weired side-effect in some situation I can't now foresee.

maybe flac/metaflac need an option to tell it to not check the CD-DA subset on a cuesheet.

... and this option should be made the default!


Please take my consideration for what they are: just the opinion of an otherwise very satisfied user of your wanderful work. But I've really the strong feeling that something is wrong with your assumptions that a FLAC file with an embedded cuesheet should obey to the rules of a CD-DA.

Cheers!

Sergio