i agree, it would make more sense to time just one loop and fade length separately. then define how many loops you want in the configurations of various different plugins. though most of them don't have that functionality. two loops+fade IS the best compromise we can use universally across all formats though, it's what's most frequently used on official OST releases and it's also what most people seem happy with.
so i do agree with you really. the only alternative i see is providing oneloop and twoloop batch files with each set, and that's extra work that probably no-one will bother over.
^sure you can. ^^except that for nsfs (and similar formats) looping doesn't work the way it works for streams. nsfs are "never ending"
edited 1:46 PM EDT March 29, 2010
edited 1:50 PM EDT March 29, 2010
NSF timing. by Electric Keet at 7:17 PM EDT on April 1, 2010
Well, the NSFe format has support for timing and playlists and all that. I edit that stuff in foobar2000 using GEP. Is there some reason that NSFe seems to be out of favour with so many folks here, or am I somehow delusional in picking up on that?
I love NSFe, but Knurek, and many others, do not. The biggest arguments against it, that I can recall, are:
*|* Lack of support. This isn't very true, at least, not anymore. It's supported by GME, and thus the in_mgme plugin, as wall as NotsoFatso, which originated the NSFe format, and foobar2000 through the foo_gep thing. I think that's based on GME though
*|* The players that do support it aren't very good. NotsoFatso has some very noticeable problems, compared to more modern NSF players. But again, GME supports NSFe, so there's some pretty good players out there that support the format.
*|* The format is flawed. When an NSFe is created, it's no longer an NSF. Due to the alteration, the format is changed (I don't know all the details, but yes, it's changed). As such, with the M3U lists, if an NSF set is updated, the tags/labels/times are available to the newly updated NSF. However, the NSFe, due to the alteration, can't transfer its information so easily. A tool could be constructed that would take care of this problem (similar to BATCH files for psfpoint, and the xSF format files), but no such tool currently exists. Thus, many (I don't know how many (more than half? Maybe, I don't know)) of the NSFe sets are in fact very old/outdated/bad rips. Their tag data can't be easily transferred to the new/fixed NSF files. And, due to the NSFs being new rips, the tags can't just simply be copied and pasted over to a new NSFe. Most likely, the tag data will have to be reordered to match the NSF's reordering of ripped tracks.
*|* NSFe tags aren't easily edited. Basically, M3U files are TXT files, and thus are very easy to edit. NSFe tags use a binary format (IIRC) and thus can't be edited in a text editor. This argument is in fact similar to the one above. If the tags could be transferred to the files more easily, then this argument would have less baring (I think).
However, I am not the right person to provide these arguments, because as I said, I like NSFe files. For my uses, they work great. Knurek (and perhaps anewuser?) would be better at telling you the faults of the NSFe format than I am. But, the reasons I listed are the reasons I can remember. I don't know if I did them justice, or if I explained them properly, but those are the ones I can recall.
To the best of my memory, the "strongest" reason of dislike for NSFe is the "format flaws". If a tool were created so that tags from one NSFe could easily be passed to a new NSF (creating an NSFe in the process), those flaws might be partially addressed.
But again, I'm certain Knurek has more to say about this than I. Personally, NSFe is supported by Rockbox, so I find it far more useful than the M3U playlists, which I simply can't use in Rockbox at all. But that's only one usage scenario. I have no doubt that others can come up with more, some in favor of M3U, and some in favor of NSFe.
Hope that helped explain at least a little of the NSFe dislike. Mouser X over and out.
Ah! This is where my ignorance of the format comes to play. I've only just now really looked at it, and... well, it seems that all we really need are good tools for exporting and importing the various chunks of the NSFe. I mean, cripes, I'd put something together myself if it weren't for the fact that 1) I'm busy as snot with stuff that isn't coding, and 2) I'm not really all that much a coder anyhow.