1) Are APEv2 tags more appropriate to feature on an MP3 file, than other counterparts ID3v1-v2 ?
2) What is the main advantage of using ID3v2 over APEv2 ? Would it be hardware support only?
Full Version: MP3 tags
I am not sure about part one but I can give some insight to part 2:
There are more devices out there that support ID3v1.1, 2.2, and 2.3 than APEv2 tags in mp3 files. I believe that ID3v2.3 would be the "standard" for compatibility as every hardware device that I have reads those tags along with every software app. I don't know if APEv2 is more advanced than ID3v2.3 but ID3 would be more compatible.
There are more devices out there that support ID3v1.1, 2.2, and 2.3 than APEv2 tags in mp3 files. I believe that ID3v2.3 would be the "standard" for compatibility as every hardware device that I have reads those tags along with every software app. I don't know if APEv2 is more advanced than ID3v2.3 but ID3 would be more compatible.
Most people use MP3 because it is widely supported. APEv2 is not well supported at all, so i'd recomment ID3v2.3 (non-unicode) much as kornchild2002 said. You may also want to leave an ID3v1.1 tag on there (they're different. a few programs will only read the v1.1 tag. version 2.3 is more full-featured however). ID3v2.4 is technically newer, but (AFAIK) iTunes is one of the only implementations, and even then they screwed it up.
The windows shell for instance will read/write ID3v2.3 (non-unicode only at last check - not sure about vista) and 1.1 tags automatically.
The windows shell for instance will read/write ID3v2.3 (non-unicode only at last check - not sure about vista) and 1.1 tags automatically.
Vista can read and write to ID3v2.3 tags. I am running Vista business on my notebook and it has the same abilities as Windows XP.
QUOTE(Jebus @ Jun 13 2008, 18:42) 
The windows shell for instance will read/write ID3v2.3 (non-unicode only at last check - not sure about vista) and 1.1 tags automatically.
That's incorrect. Windows XP/Vista and all Microsoft media related software (which generally use the same SDK) support ID3v2.3 with Unicode (UTF-16). Microsoft has to worry about the world, ya know. 
However, it doesn't default to Unicode unless the characters stored requires it... for maximum cross-compatibility.
QUOTE(Jebus @ Jun 13 2008, 17:42)
ID3v2.4 is technically newer, but (AFAIK) iTunes is one of the only implementations, and even then they screwed it up.
You might want to check foobar2000. 
Alessandro
Hardware support for APEv2 tags is basically non-existent (Rockbox might support them, I don't know) and software support is very poor. I would not recommend using them on your MP3s.
ID3v2 is supported in nearly everything that deals with MP3s. Only a few times have I run into some poor software that only supports ID3v1. Personally, I have foobar2000 set up to tag my MP3s with ID3v2 exclusively (with "compatibility mode" enabled) and I have not had any issues with any software reading them. If you are paranoid about maximum compatibility, you could could opt for ID3v1 + ID3v2 (it is possible to have both on a file).
ID3v2 is supported in nearly everything that deals with MP3s. Only a few times have I run into some poor software that only supports ID3v1. Personally, I have foobar2000 set up to tag my MP3s with ID3v2 exclusively (with "compatibility mode" enabled) and I have not had any issues with any software reading them. If you are paranoid about maximum compatibility, you could could opt for ID3v1 + ID3v2 (it is possible to have both on a file).
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