Traktor Track Collection: How does it store info?
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  1. #1
    Tech Mentor The Vly's Avatar
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    Default Traktor Track Collection: How does it store info?

    Hey guys,
    Sorry if this has already been answered, but I couldn't find any info on it.
    I'm in the loooooooooong process of cleaning up my iTunes files (analyzing them in Mixed in Key, converting MP4s to MP3s....).
    While I know the converted files will need to be re-gridded and all, what about my old MP3s, is the grid/cue pts/etc... info stored in the MP3 file itself?
    I just want to make sure I do this in the most efficient way possible. Gets annoying with different file types and all that stuff I'm sure you guys are aware of.
    Thanks!
    "Listening to Techno without bass is like trying to get yourself off without using your hands."
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  2. #2
    Tech Guru kiss-o-matic's Avatar
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    Look around your Documents/Native Instruments folder. The collection itself is in Collection.nml (or something like that). Playlists are elsewhere (likely Itunes but I've not looked). Not sure about the grid/cue, etc. From a design perspective storing anything related to a proprietary software in the file itself is bad. Hopefully they don't do that.

  3. #3
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    I had to get a new computer after a hard drive crash, and rather than start from scratch I ripped music off of my ipod, so at least I had SOMETHING to work with. When I put in some of said ripped ipod tunes into traktor, they were already pre-cued and beatgridded. It is a possibility that I simply cued them up after ripping them, then simply forgot about it. Sorry, this doesn't really answer any questions, but I was quite surprised when I found them there.

  4. #4
    Tech Guru MiL0's Avatar
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    you can choose to store the cues, beatgrids, etc within the mp3 file or inside a traktor nml file, if memory serves...

  5. #5
    Tech Guru kiss-o-matic's Avatar
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    I was wrong: Playlists as well are (or at least can be) stored in collection.nml, so that's good if you back that up. I use wav only anyway. That being said, depending on how Traktor cache's that stuff, you might see some performance hit when trying to read queues. A large nml file will still be tiny compared to an MP3.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by kiss-o-matic View Post
    Not sure about the grid/cue, etc. From a design perspective storing anything related to a proprietary software in the file itself is bad. Hopefully they don't do that.
    Why do you say it's bad?

    Grids/Cues are stored in the MP3 itself.

  7. #7
    Tech Guru kiss-o-matic's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by verbal View Post
    Why do you say it's bad?

    Grids/Cues are stored in the MP3 itself.
    1: A very common music fomat (WAV) doesn't support it. From a design perspective, you have handle the two formats in 2 separate ways. I guess its' a nice feature if you use it, but a nice chunk of your audience won't.

    2: If you're not actively syncing/backing up your music (which could be very painful as it gets larger) if you ever have to restore, your grids & cues will go down w/ the ship (the MP3) files. If they're external in a text file, you simply need to store that file... you could even redownload the music from a 3rd party if necessary, and everything's all fine and dandy. This is the real issue, for me anyway. I store my music on an RAID1 NFS share, and for the most part, just leave it there. I copy what I will play to my notebook. I don't want to have to copy or sync those files back whenever I make a tag change. I'd rather just be responsible for backing up my collection.nml file and not have to worry.

    It's not a terrible idea by any stretch, but it doesn't seem to be a good catch-all solution.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by kiss-o-matic View Post
    1: A very common music fomat (WAV) doesn't support it. From a design perspective, you have handle the two formats in 2 separate ways. I guess its' a nice feature if you use it, but a nice chunk of your audience won't.
    I think you'll find that Traktor Pro stores all its cue points/grids etc in WAV files as well as in the collection.nml. You don't get a choice of where Traktor stores this info.

  9. #9
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    Wav files do indeed store cover art, stripes, BPM, Cue Points, and Loops.

    This is also stored in the collection to speed up searching and to retain info if lost but mainly the info is stored in the file in case the collection is corrupted.

    As for having a choice of where it stores the info? What other choice is there?
    Just curious.

  10. #10
    Tech Guru kiss-o-matic's Avatar
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    Wav files do indeed store cover art, stripes, BPM, Cue Points, and Loops.
    I believe I just read somewhere that this breaks the wav container (or is not supported). Did I hallucinate that? Possible.

    This is also stored in the collection to speed up searching and to retain info if lost but mainly the info is stored in the file in case the collection is corrupted.
    This. I may be the only person in the world but I've had performance issues while DJing if I dick around w/ the tags. Maybe b/c it's writing to the rather large WAV files? I'd just rather it not mess with them at all... for that very reason.

    A side thought: I'm pretty sure I've had to reload WAV files in Traktor after I moved them, and had to retag. I should try that out. Might've been something else.

    As for having a choice of where it stores the info? What other choice is there?
    My guess is that's all you get. I'd just script something to back up collection.nml every few days.

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