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This is a description of the ID3V2 frames used by Jampal. It is an extract of the official ID3V2 Documentation.
These descriptions are also accessible by clicking the "?" link in the tag editor in Jampal.
UFID Unique file identifier
This frame's purpose is to be able to identify the audio file in a
database, that may provide more information relevant to the content.
Since standardisation of such a database is beyond this document, all
UFID frames begin with an 'owner identifier' field. It is a null-
terminated string with a URL [URL] containing an email address, or a
link to a location where an email address can be found, that belongs
to the organisation responsible for this specific database
implementation. Questions regarding the database should be sent to
the indicated email address. The URL should not be used for the
actual database queries. The string
"http://www.id3.org/dummy/ufid.html" should be used for tests. The
'Owner identifier' must be non-empty (more than just a termination).
The 'Owner identifier' is then followed by the actual identifier,
which may be up to 64 bytes. There may be more than one "UFID" frame
in a tag, but only one with the same 'Owner identifier'.
TIT1
The 'Content group description' frame is used if the sound belongs to
a larger category of sounds/music. For example, classical music is
often sorted in different musical sections (e.g. "Piano Concerto",
"Weather - Hurricane").
TIT2
The 'Title/Songname/Content description' frame is the actual name of
the piece (e.g. "Adagio", "Hurricane Donna").
TIT3
The 'Subtitle/Description refinement' frame is used for information
directly related to the contents title (e.g. "Op. 16" or "Performed
live at Wembley").
TALB
The 'Album/Movie/Show title' frame is intended for the title of the
recording (or source of sound) from which the audio in the file is
taken.
TOAL
The 'Original album/movie/show title' frame is intended for the title
of the original recording (or source of sound), if for example the
music in the file should be a cover of a previously released song.
TRCK
The 'Track number/Position in set' frame is a numeric string
containing the order number of the audio-file on its original
recording. This MAY be extended with a "/" character and a numeric
string containing the total number of tracks/elements on the original
recording. E.g. "4/9".
TPOS
The 'Part of a set' frame is a numeric string that describes which
part of a set the audio came from. This frame is used if the source
described in the "TALB" frame is divided into several mediums, e.g. a
double CD. The value MAY be extended with a "/" character and a
numeric string containing the total number of parts in the set. E.g.
"1/2".
TSST
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Set subtitle' frame is intended for the subtitle of the part of
a set this track belongs to.
TSRC
The 'ISRC' frame should contain the International Standard Recording
Code [ISRC] (12 characters).
TPE1
The 'Lead artist/Lead performer/Soloist/Performing group' is
used for the main artist.
TPE2
The 'Band/Orchestra/Accompaniment' frame is used for additional
information about the performers in the recording.
TPE3
The 'Conductor' frame is used for the name of the conductor.
TPE4
The 'Interpreted, remixed, or otherwise modified by' frame contains
more information about the people behind a remix and similar
interpretations of another existing piece.
TOPE
The 'Original artist/performer' frame is intended for the performer
of the original recording, if for example the music in the file
should be a cover of a previously released song.
TEXT
The 'Lyricist/Text writer' frame is intended for the writer of the
text or lyrics in the recording.
TOLY
The 'Original lyricist/text writer' frame is intended for the
text writer of the original recording, if for example the music in
the file should be a cover of a previously released song.
TCOM
The 'Composer' frame is intended for the name of the composer.
TMCL
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Musician credits list' is intended as a mapping between
instruments and the musician that played it. Every odd field is an
instrument and every even is an artist or a comma delimited list of
artists.
TIPL
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Involved people list' is very similar to the musician credits
list, but maps between functions, like producer, and names.
TENC
The 'Encoded by' frame contains the name of the person or
organisation that encoded the audio file. This field may contain a
copyright message, if the audio file also is copyrighted by the
encoder.
TBPM
The 'BPM' frame contains the number of beats per minute in the
main part of the audio. The BPM is an integer and represented as a
numerical string.
TLEN
The 'Length' frame contains the length of the audio file in
milliseconds, represented as a numeric string.
TKEY
The 'Initial key' frame contains the musical key in which the sound
starts. It is represented as a string with a maximum length of three
characters. The ground keys are represented with "A","B","C","D","E",
"F" and "G" and halfkeys represented with "b" and "#". Minor is
represented as "m", e.g. "Dbm" $00. Off key is represented with an
"o" only.
TLAN
The 'Language' frame should contain the languages of the text or
lyrics spoken or sung in the audio. The language is represented with
three characters according to ISO-639-2 [ISO-639-2]. If more than one
language is used in the text their language codes should follow
according to the amount of their usage, e.g. "eng" $00 "sve" $00.
TCON
The 'Content type', which ID3v1 was stored as a one byte numeric
value only, is now a string. You may use one or several of the ID3v1
types as numerical strings, or, since the category list would be
impossible to maintain with accurate and up to date categories,
define your own. Example: "21" $00 "Eurodisco" $00
You may also use any of the following keywords:
RX Remix
CR Cover
TFLT
The 'File type' frame indicates which type of audio this tag defines.
The following types and refinements are defined:
MIME MIME type follows
MPG MPEG Audio
/1 MPEG 1/2 layer I
/2 MPEG 1/2 layer II
/3 MPEG 1/2 layer III
/2.5 MPEG 2.5
/AAC Advanced audio compression
VQF Transform-domain Weighted Interleave Vector Quantisation
PCM Pulse Code Modulated audio
but other types may be used, but not for these types though. This is
used in a similar way to the predefined types in the "TMED" frame,
but without parentheses. If this frame is not present audio type is
assumed to be "MPG".
TMED
The 'Media type' frame describes from which media the sound
originated. This may be a text string or a reference to the
predefined media types found in the list below. Example:
"VID/PAL/VHS" $00.
DIG Other digital media
/A Analogue transfer from media
ANA Other analogue media
/WAC Wax cylinder
/8CA 8-track tape cassette
CD CD
/A Analogue transfer from media
/DD DDD
/AD ADD
/AA AAD
LD Laserdisc
TT Turntable records
/33 33.33 rpm
/45 45 rpm
/71 71.29 rpm
/76 76.59 rpm
/78 78.26 rpm
/80 80 rpm
MD MiniDisc
/A Analogue transfer from media
DAT DAT
/A Analogue transfer from media
/1 standard, 48 kHz/16 bits, linear
/2 mode 2, 32 kHz/16 bits, linear
/3 mode 3, 32 kHz/12 bits, non-linear, low speed
/4 mode 4, 32 kHz/12 bits, 4 channels
/5 mode 5, 44.1 kHz/16 bits, linear
/6 mode 6, 44.1 kHz/16 bits, 'wide track' play
DCC DCC
/A Analogue transfer from media
DVD DVD
/A Analogue transfer from media
TV Television
/PAL PAL
/NTSC NTSC
/SECAM SECAM
VID Video
/PAL PAL
/NTSC NTSC
/SECAM SECAM
/VHS VHS
/SVHS S-VHS
/BETA BETAMAX
RAD Radio
/FM FM
/AM AM
/LW LW
/MW MW
TEL Telephone
/I ISDN
MC MC (normal cassette)
/4 4.75 cm/s (normal speed for a two sided cassette)
/9 9.5 cm/s
/I Type I cassette (ferric/normal)
/II Type II cassette (chrome)
/III Type III cassette (ferric chrome)
/IV Type IV cassette (metal)
REE Reel
/9 9.5 cm/s
/19 19 cm/s
/38 38 cm/s
/76 76 cm/s
/I Type I cassette (ferric/normal)
/II Type II cassette (chrome)
/III Type III cassette (ferric chrome)
/IV Type IV cassette (metal)
TMOO
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Mood' frame is intended to reflect the mood of the audio with a
few keywords, e.g. "Romantic" or "Sad".
TCOP
The 'Copyright message' frame, in which the string must begin with a
year and a space character (making five characters), is intended for
the copyright holder of the original sound, not the audio file
itself. The absence of this frame means only that the copyright
information is unavailable or has been removed, and must not be
interpreted to mean that the audio is public domain. Every time this
field is displayed the field must be preceded with "Copyright " (C) "
", where (C) is one character showing a C in a circle.
TPRO
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Produced notice' frame, in which the string must begin with a
year and a space character (making five characters), is intended for
the production copyright holder of the original sound, not the audio
file itself. The absence of this frame means only that the production
copyright information is unavailable or has been removed, and must
not be interpreted to mean that the audio is public domain. Every
time this field is displayed the field must be preceded with
"Produced " (P) " ", where (P) is one character showing a P in a
circle.
TPUB
The 'Publisher' frame simply contains the name of the label or
publisher.
TOWN
The 'File owner/licensee' frame contains the name of the owner or
licensee of the file and it's contents.
TRSN
The 'Internet radio station name' frame contains the name of the
internet radio station from which the audio is streamed.
TRSO
The 'Internet radio station owner' frame contains the name of the
owner of the internet radio station from which the audio is
streamed.
TOFN
The 'Original filename' frame contains the preferred filename for the
file, since some media doesn't allow the desired length of the
filename. The filename is case sensitive and includes its suffix.
TDLY
The 'Playlist delay' defines the numbers of milliseconds of silence
that should be inserted before this audio. The value zero indicates
that this is a part of a multifile audio track that should be played
continuously.
TDEN
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Encoding time' frame contains a timestamp describing when the
audio was encoded. Timestamp format is described in the ID3v2
structure document [ID3v2-strct].
The timestamp fields are based on a subset of ISO 8601. When being as
precise as possible the format of a time string is
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss (year, "-", month, "-", day, "T", hour (out of
24), ":", minutes, ":", seconds), but the precision may be reduced by
removing as many time indicators as wanted. Hence valid timestamps
are
yyyy, yyyy-MM, yyyy-MM-dd, yyyy-MM-ddTHH, yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm and
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss. All time stamps are UTC. For durations, use
the slash character as described in 8601, and for multiple non-
contiguous dates, use multiple strings, if allowed by the frame
definition.
TDOR
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Original release time' frame contains a timestamp describing
when the original recording of the audio was released. Timestamp
format is described in the ID3v2 structure document [ID3v2-strct].
The timestamp fields are based on a subset of ISO 8601. When being as
precise as possible the format of a time string is
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss (year, "-", month, "-", day, "T", hour (out of
24), ":", minutes, ":", seconds), but the precision may be reduced by
removing as many time indicators as wanted. Hence valid timestamps
are
yyyy, yyyy-MM, yyyy-MM-dd, yyyy-MM-ddTHH, yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm and
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss. All time stamps are UTC. For durations, use
the slash character as described in 8601, and for multiple non-
contiguous dates, use multiple strings, if allowed by the frame
definition.
TDRC
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Recording time' frame contains a timestamp describing when the
audio was recorded. Timestamp format is described in the ID3v2
structure document [ID3v2-strct].
The timestamp fields are based on a subset of ISO 8601. When being as
precise as possible the format of a time string is
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss (year, "-", month, "-", day, "T", hour (out of
24), ":", minutes, ":", seconds), but the precision may be reduced by
removing as many time indicators as wanted. Hence valid timestamps
are
yyyy, yyyy-MM, yyyy-MM-dd, yyyy-MM-ddTHH, yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm and
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss. All time stamps are UTC. For durations, use
the slash character as described in 8601, and for multiple non-
contiguous dates, use multiple strings, if allowed by the frame
definition.
TDRL
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Release time' frame contains a timestamp describing when the
audio was first released. Timestamp format is described in the ID3v2
structure document [ID3v2-strct].
The timestamp fields are based on a subset of ISO 8601. When being as
precise as possible the format of a time string is
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss (year, "-", month, "-", day, "T", hour (out of
24), ":", minutes, ":", seconds), but the precision may be reduced by
removing as many time indicators as wanted. Hence valid timestamps
are
yyyy, yyyy-MM, yyyy-MM-dd, yyyy-MM-ddTHH, yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm and
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss. All time stamps are UTC. For durations, use
the slash character as described in 8601, and for multiple non-
contiguous dates, use multiple strings, if allowed by the frame
definition.
TDTG
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Tagging time' frame contains a timestamp describing then the
audio was tagged. Timestamp format is described in the ID3v2
structure document [ID3v2-strct].
The timestamp fields are based on a subset of ISO 8601. When being as
precise as possible the format of a time string is
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss (year, "-", month, "-", day, "T", hour (out of
24), ":", minutes, ":", seconds), but the precision may be reduced by
removing as many time indicators as wanted. Hence valid timestamps
are
yyyy, yyyy-MM, yyyy-MM-dd, yyyy-MM-ddTHH, yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm and
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss. All time stamps are UTC. For durations, use
the slash character as described in 8601, and for multiple non-
contiguous dates, use multiple strings, if allowed by the frame
definition.
TSSE
The 'Software/Hardware and settings used for encoding' frame
includes the used audio encoder and its settings when the file was
encoded. Hardware refers to hardware encoders, not the computer on
which a program was run.
TSOA
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Album sort order' frame defines a string which should be used
instead of the album name (TALB) for sorting purposes. E.g. an album
named "A Soundtrack" might preferably be sorted as "Soundtrack".
TSOP
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Performer sort order' frame defines a string which should be
used instead of the performer (TPE2) for sorting purposes.
TSOT
New in ID3v2.4.0
The 'Title sort order' frame defines a string which should be used
instead of the title (TIT2) for sorting purposes.
TXXXJampal:Alternate Jampal Alternate Album Option
This is a Jampal specific extension.
It can comtain multiple entries, each on a separate line. Each entry
consists of An album name, a colon (:) and a track number.
TXXXjampal Jampal Follow Option
This is a Jampal specific extension.
Special actions can be specified, as follows:
F - Next track in the album should be played automatically after this
one, even if it is not in the playlist.
TXXX User defined text information frame
This frame is intended for one-string text information concerning the
audio file in a similar way to the other "T"-frames. The frame body
consists of a description of the string, represented as a terminated
string, followed by the actual string. There may be more than one
"TXXX" frame in each tag, but only one with the same description.
WCOM
The 'Commercial information' frame is a URL pointing at a webpage
with information such as where the album can be bought. There may be
more than one "WCOM" frame in a tag, but not with the same content.
WCOP
The 'Copyright/Legal information' frame is a URL pointing at a
webpage where the terms of use and ownership of the file is
described.
WOAF
The 'Official audio file webpage' frame is a URL pointing at a file
specific webpage.
WOAR
The 'Official artist/performer webpage' frame is a URL pointing at
the artists official webpage. There may be more than one "WOAR" frame
in a tag if the audio contains more than one performer, but not with
the same content.
WOAS
The 'Official audio source webpage' frame is a URL pointing at the
official webpage for the source of the audio file, e.g. a movie.
WORS
The 'Official Internet radio station homepage' contains a URL
pointing at the homepage of the internet radio station.
WPAY
The 'Payment' frame is a URL pointing at a webpage that will handle
the process of paying for this file.
WPUB
The 'Publishers official webpage' frame is a URL pointing at the
official webpage for the publisher.
WXXX User defined URL link frame
This frame is intended for URL [URL] links concerning the audio file
in a similar way to the other "W"-frames. The frame body consists
of a description of the string, represented as a terminated string,
followed by the actual URL. The URL is always encoded with ISO-8859-1
[ISO-8859-1]. There may be more than one "WXXX" frame in each tag,
but only one with the same description.
MCDI Music CD identifier
This frame is intended for music that comes from a CD, so that the CD
can be identified in databases such as the CDDB [CDDB]. The frame
consists of a binary dump of the Table Of Contents, TOC, from the CD,
which is a header of 4 bytes and then 8 bytes/track on the CD plus 8
bytes for the 'lead out', making a maximum of 804 bytes. The offset
to the beginning of every track on the CD should be described with a
four bytes absolute CD-frame address per track, and not with absolute
time. When this frame is used the presence of a valid "TRCK" frame is
REQUIRED, even if the CD's only got one track. It is recommended that
this frame is always added to tags originating from CDs. There may
only be one "MCDI" frame in each tag.
ETCO Event timing codes
This frame allows synchronisation with key events in the audio. The
header is:
<Header for 'Event timing codes', ID: "ETCO">
Time stamp format $xx
Where time stamp format is:
$01 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using MPEG [MPEG] frames as unit
$02 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using milliseconds as unit
Absolute time means that every stamp contains the time from the
beginning of the file.
Followed by a list of key events in the following format:
Type of event $xx
Time stamp $xx (xx ...)
The 'Time stamp' is set to zero if directly at the beginning of the
sound or after the previous event. All events MUST be sorted in
chronological order. The type of event is as follows:
$00 padding (has no meaning)
$01 end of initial silence
$02 intro start
$03 main part start
$04 outro start
$05 outro end
$06 verse start
$07 refrain start
$08 interlude start
$09 theme start
$0A variation start
$0B key change
$0C time change
$0D momentary unwanted noise (Snap, Crackle & Pop)
$0E sustained noise
$0F sustained noise end
$10 intro end
$11 main part end
$12 verse end
$13 refrain end
$14 theme end
$15 profanity
$16 profanity end
$17-$DF reserved for future use
$E0-$EF not predefined synch 0-F
$F0-$FC reserved for future use
$FD audio end (start of silence)
$FE audio file ends
$FF one more byte of events follows (all the following bytes with
the value $FF have the same function)
Terminating the start events such as "intro start" is OPTIONAL. The
'Not predefined synch's ($E0-EF) are for user events. You might want
to synchronise your music to something, like setting off an explosion
on-stage, activating a screensaver etc.
There may only be one "ETCO" frame in each tag.
MLLT MPEG location lookup table
To increase performance and accuracy of jumps within a MPEG [MPEG]
audio file, frames with time codes in different locations in the file
might be useful. This ID3v2 frame includes references that the
software can use to calculate positions in the file. After the frame
header follows a descriptor of how much the 'frame counter' should be
increased for every reference. If this value is two then the first
reference points out the second frame, the 2nd reference the 4th
frame, the 3rd reference the 6th frame etc. In a similar way the
'bytes between reference' and 'milliseconds between reference' points
out bytes and milliseconds respectively.
Each reference consists of two parts; a certain number of bits, as
defined in 'bits for bytes deviation', that describes the difference
between what is said in 'bytes between reference' and the reality and
a certain number of bits, as defined in 'bits for milliseconds
deviation', that describes the difference between what is said in
'milliseconds between reference' and the reality. The number of bits
in every reference, i.e. 'bits for bytes deviation'+'bits for
milliseconds deviation', must be a multiple of four. There may only
be one "MLLT" frame in each tag.
SYTC Synchronised tempo codes
For a more accurate description of the tempo of a musical piece, this
frame might be used. After the header follows one byte describing
which time stamp format should be used. Then follows one or more
tempo codes. Each tempo code consists of one tempo part and one time
part. The tempo is in BPM described with one or two bytes. If the
first byte has the value $FF, one more byte follows, which is added
to the first giving a range from 2 - 510 BPM, since $00 and $01 is
reserved. $00 is used to describe a beat-free time period, which is
not the same as a music-free time period. $01 is used to indicate one
single beat-stroke followed by a beat-free period.
The tempo descriptor is followed by a time stamp. Every time the
tempo in the music changes, a tempo descriptor may indicate this for
the player. All tempo descriptors MUST be sorted in chronological
order. The first beat-stroke in a time-period is at the same time as
the beat description occurs. There may only be one "SYTC" frame in
each tag.
<Header for 'Synchronised tempo codes', ID: "SYTC">
Time stamp format $xx
Tempo data <binary data>
Where time stamp format is:
$01 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using MPEG [MPEG] frames as unit
$02 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using milliseconds as unit
Absolute time means that every stamp contains the time from the
beginning of the file.
USLT Unsynchronised lyrics/text transcription
This frame contains the lyrics of the song or a text transcription of
other vocal activities. The head includes an encoding descriptor and
a content descriptor. The body consists of the actual text. The
'Content descriptor' is a terminated string. If no descriptor is
entered, 'Content descriptor' is $00 (00) only. Newline characters
are allowed in the text. There may be more than one 'Unsynchronised
lyrics/text transcription' frame in each tag, but only one with the
same language and content descriptor.
SYLT Synchronised lyrics/text
This is another way of incorporating the words, said or sung lyrics,
in the audio file as text, this time, however, in sync with the
audio. It might also be used to describing events e.g. occurring on a
stage or on the screen in sync with the audio. The header includes a
content descriptor, represented with as terminated text string. If no
descriptor is entered, 'Content descriptor' is $00 (00) only.
The text that follows the frame header differs from that of the
unsynchronised lyrics/text transcription in one major way. Each
syllable (or whatever size of text is considered to be convenient by
the encoder) is a null terminated string followed by a time stamp
denoting where in the sound file it belongs. Each sync thus has the
following structure:
Terminated text to be synced (typically a syllable)
Sync identifier (terminator to above string) $00 (00)
Time stamp $xx (xx ...)
The 'time stamp' is set to zero or the whole sync is omitted if
located directly at the beginning of the sound. All time stamps
should be sorted in chronological order. The sync can be considered
as a validator of the subsequent string.
Newline characters are allowed in all "SYLT" frames and MUST be used
after every entry (name, event etc.) in a frame with the content type
$03 - $04.
A few considerations regarding whitespace characters: Whitespace
separating words should mark the beginning of a new word, thus
occurring in front of the first syllable of a new word. This is also
valid for new line characters. A syllable followed by a comma should
not be broken apart with a sync (both the syllable and the comma
should be before the sync).
An example: The "USLT" passage
"Strangers in the night" $0A "Exchanging glances"
would be "SYLT" encoded as:
"Strang" $00 xx xx "ers" $00 xx xx " in" $00 xx xx " the" $00 xx xx
" night" $00 xx xx 0A "Ex" $00 xx xx "chang" $00 xx xx "ing" $00 xx
xx "glan" $00 xx xx "ces" $00 xx xx
There may be more than one "SYLT" frame in each tag, but only one
with the same language and content descriptor.
COMMengJampal:Alternate Alternate Album and Track
This is a Jampal specific extension.
You can enter here additional albums on which the song appears,
followed by a colon and the track number on that album. After
updating the tag extra entries will appear in the library showing
the song under different albums. The extra entries will be
identified in the library by a flag next to the album name. This way
you can remove duplicate songs from your hard drive to save space
and still have them visible in the library under each album.
COMM Comments
This frame is intended for any kind of full text information that
does not fit in any other frame. It consists of a frame header
followed by encoding, language and content descriptors and is ended
with the actual comment as a text string. Newline characters are
allowed in the comment text string. There may be more than one
comment frame in each tag, but only one with the same language and
content descriptor.
RVA2 Relative volume adjustment (2)
New in ID3v2.4.0
This is a more subjective frame than the previous ones. It allows the
user to say how much he wants to increase/decrease the volume on each
channel when the file is played. The purpose is to be able to align
all files to a reference volume, so that you don't have to change the
volume constantly. This frame may also be used to balance adjust the
audio. The volume adjustment is encoded as a fixed point decibel
value, 16 bit signed integer representing (adjustment*512), giving
+/- 64 dB with a precision of 0.001953125 dB. E.g. +2 dB is stored as
$04 00 and -2 dB is $FC 00. There may be more than one "RVA2" frame
in each tag, but only one with the same identification string.
The 'identification' string is used to identify the situation and/or
device where this adjustment should apply. The following is then
repeated for every channel
EQU2 Equalisation (2)
New in ID3v2.4.0
This is another subjective, alignment frame. It allows the user to
predefine an equalisation curve within the audio file. There may be
more than one "EQU2" frame in each tag, but only one with the same
identification string.
The 'interpolation method' describes which method is preferred when
an interpolation between the adjustment point that follows.
RVRB Reverb
Yet another subjective frame, with which you can adjust echoes of
different kinds. Reverb left/right is the delay between every bounce
in ms. Reverb bounces left/right is the number of bounces that should
be made. $FF equals an infinite number of bounces. Feedback is the
amount of volume that should be returned to the next echo bounce. $00
is 0%, $FF is 100%. If this value were $7F, there would be 50% volume
reduction on the first bounce, 50% of that on the second and so on.
Left to left means the sound from the left bounce to be played in the
left speaker, while left to right means sound from the left bounce to
be played in the right speaker.
'Premix left to right' is the amount of left sound to be mixed in the
right before any reverb is applied, where $00 id 0% and $FF is 100%.
'Premix right to left' does the same thing, but right to left.
Setting both premix to $FF would result in a mono output (if the
reverb is applied symmetric). There may only be one "RVRB" frame in
each tag.
APIC Attached picture
This frame contains a picture directly related to the audio file.
Image format is the MIME type and subtype [MIME] for the image. In
the event that the MIME media type name is omitted, "image/" will be
implied. The "image/png" [PNG] or "image/jpeg" [JFIF] picture format
should be used when interoperability is wanted. Description is a
short description of the picture, represented as a terminated
text string. There may be several pictures attached to one file, each
in their individual "APIC" frame, but only one with the same content
descriptor. There may only be one picture with the picture type
declared as picture type $01 and $02 respectively. There is the
possibility to put only a link to the image file by using the 'MIME
type' "-->" and having a complete URL [URL] instead of picture data.
The use of linked files should however be used sparingly since there
is the risk of separation of files.
Picture type:
$00 Other
$01 32x32 pixels 'file icon' (PNG only)
$02 Other file icon
$03 Cover (front)
$04 Cover (back)
$05 Leaflet page
$06 Media (e.g. lable side of CD)
$07 Lead artist/lead performer/soloist
$08 Artist/performer
$09 Conductor
$0A Band/Orchestra
$0B Composer
$0C Lyricist/text writer
$0D Recording Location
$0E During recording
$0F During performance
$10 Movie/video screen capture
$11 A bright coloured fish
$12 Illustration
$13 Band/artist logotype
$14 Publisher/Studio logotype
GEOB General encapsulated object
In this frame any type of file can be encapsulated. After the header,
'Frame size' and 'Encoding' follows 'MIME type' [MIME] represented as
as a terminated string encoded with ISO 8859-1 [ISO-8859-1]. The
filename is case sensitive and is encoded as 'Encoding'. Then follows
a content description as terminated string, encoded as 'Encoding'.
The last thing in the frame is the actual object. The first two
strings may be omitted, leaving only their terminations. MIME type is
always an ISO-8859-1 text string. There may be more than one "GEOB"
frame in each tag, but only one with the same content descriptor.
PCNT Play counter
This is simply a counter of the number of times a file has been
played. The value is increased by one every time the file begins to
play. There may only be one "PCNT" frame in each tag. When the
counter reaches all one's, one byte is inserted in front of the
counter thus making the counter eight bits bigger. The counter must
be at least 32-bits long to begin with.
POPM Popularimeter
The purpose of this frame is to specify how good an audio file is.
Many interesting applications could be found to this frame such as a
playlist that features better audio files more often than others or
it could be used to profile a person's taste and find other 'good'
files by comparing people's profiles. The frame contains the email
address to the user, one rating byte and a four byte play counter,
intended to be increased with one for every time the file is played.
The email is a terminated string. The rating is 1-255 where 1 is
worst and 255 is best. 0 is unknown. If no personal counter is wanted
it may be omitted. When the counter reaches all one's, one byte is
inserted in front of the counter thus making the counter eight bits
bigger in the same away as the play counter ("PCNT"). There may be
more than one "POPM" frame in each tag, but only one with the same
email address.
RBUF Recommended buffer size
Sometimes the server from which an audio file is streamed is aware of
transmission or coding problems resulting in interruptions in the
audio stream. In these cases, the size of the buffer can be
recommended by the server using this frame. If the 'embedded info
flag' is true (1) then this indicates that an ID3 tag with the
maximum size described in 'Buffer size' may occur in the audio
stream. In such case the tag should reside between two MPEG [MPEG]
frames, if the audio is MPEG encoded. If the position of the next tag
is known, 'offset to next tag' may be used. The offset is calculated
from the end of tag in which this frame resides to the first byte of
the header in the next. This field may be omitted. Embedded tags are
generally not recommended since this could render unpredictable
behaviour from present software/hardware.
For applications like streaming audio it might be an idea to embed
tags into the audio stream though. If the clients connects to
individual connections like HTTP and there is a possibility to begin
every transmission with a tag, then this tag should include a
'recommended buffer size' frame. If the client is connected to a
arbitrary point in the stream, such as radio or multicast, then the
'recommended buffer size' frame SHOULD be included in every tag.
The 'Buffer size' should be kept to a minimum. There may only be one
"RBUF" frame in each tag.
AENC Audio encryption
This frame indicates if the actual audio stream is encrypted, and by
whom. Since standardisation of such encryption scheme is beyond this
document, all "AENC" frames begin with a terminated string with a
URL containing an email address, or a link to a location where an
email address can be found, that belongs to the organisation
responsible for this specific encrypted audio file. Questions
regarding the encrypted audio should be sent to the email address
specified. If a $00 is found directly after the 'Frame size' and the
audio file indeed is encrypted, the whole file may be considered
useless.
After the 'Owner identifier', a pointer to an unencrypted part of the
audio can be specified. The 'Preview start' and 'Preview length' is
described in frames. If no part is unencrypted, these fields should
be left zeroed. After the 'preview length' field follows optionally a
data block required for decryption of the audio. There may be more
than one "AENC" frames in a tag, but only one with the same 'Owner
identifier'.
LINK Linked information
To keep information duplication as low as possible this frame may be
used to link information from another ID3v2 tag that might reside in
another audio file or alone in a binary file. It is RECOMMENDED that
this method is only used when the files are stored on a CD-ROM or
other circumstances when the risk of file separation is low. The
frame contains a frame identifier, which is the frame that should be
linked into this tag, a URL [URL] field, where a reference to the
file where the frame is given, and additional ID data, if needed.
Data should be retrieved from the first tag found in the file to
which this link points. There may be more than one "LINK" frame in a
tag, but only one with the same contents. A linked frame is to be
considered as part of the tag and has the same restrictions as if it
was a physical part of the tag (i.e. only one "RVRB" frame allowed,
whether it's linked or not).
Frames that may be linked and need no additional data are "ASPI",
"ETCO", "EQU2", "MCID", "MLLT", "OWNE", "RVA2", "RVRB", "SYTC", the
text information frames and the URL link frames.
The "AENC", "APIC", "GEOB" and "TXXX" frames may be linked with
the content descriptor as additional ID data.
The "USER" frame may be linked with the language field as additional
ID data.
The "PRIV" frame may be linked with the owner identifier as
additional ID data.
The "COMM", "SYLT" and "USLT" frames may be linked with three bytes
of language descriptor directly followed by a content descriptor as
additional ID data.
POSS Position synchronisation frame
This frame delivers information to the listener of how far into the
audio stream he picked up; in effect, it states the time offset from
the first frame in the stream.
USER Terms of use frame
This frame contains a brief description of the terms of use and
ownership of the file. More detailed information concerning the legal
terms might be available through the "WCOP" frame. Newlines are
allowed in the text. There may be more than one 'Terms of use' frame
in a tag, but only one with the same 'Language'.
OWNE Ownership frame
The ownership frame might be used as a reminder of a made transaction
or, if signed, as proof. Note that the "USER" and "TOWN" frames are
good to use in conjunction with this one. The frame begins, after the
frame ID, size and encoding fields, with a 'price paid' field. The
first three characters of this field contains the currency used for
the transaction, encoded according to ISO 4217 [ISO-4217] alphabetic
currency code. Concatenated to this is the actual price paid, as a
numerical string using "." as the decimal separator. Next is an 8
character date string (YYYYMMDD) followed by a string with the name
of the seller as the last field in the frame. There may only be one
"OWNE" frame in a tag.
COMR Commercial frame
This frame enables several competing offers in the same tag by
bundling all needed information. That makes this frame rather complex
but it's an easier solution than if one tries to achieve the same
result with several frames. The frame begins, after the frame ID,
size and encoding fields, with a price string field. A price is
constructed by one three character currency code, encoded according
to ISO 4217 [ISO-4217] alphabetic currency code, followed by a
numerical value where "." is used as decimal separator. In the price
string several prices may be concatenated, separated by a "/"
character, but there may only be one currency of each type.
The price string is followed by an 8 character date string in the
format YYYYMMDD, describing for how long the price is valid. After
that is a contact URL, with which the user can contact the seller,
followed by a one byte 'received as' field. It describes how the
audio is delivered when bought according to the following list:
$00 Other
$01 Standard CD album with other songs
$02 Compressed audio on CD
$03 File over the Internet
$04 Stream over the Internet
$05 As note sheets
$06 As note sheets in a book with other sheets
$07 Music on other media
$08 Non-musical merchandise
Next follows a terminated string with the name of the seller followed
by a terminated string with a short description of the product. The
last thing is the ability to include a company logotype. The first of
them is the 'Picture MIME type' field containing information about
which picture format is used. In the event that the MIME media type
name is omitted, "image/" will be implied. Currently only "image/png"
and "image/jpeg" are allowed. This format string is followed by the
binary picture data. This two last fields may be omitted if no
picture is attached. There may be more than one 'commercial frame' in
a tag, but no two may be identical.
ENCR Encryption method registration
To identify with which method a frame has been encrypted the
encryption method must be registered in the tag with this frame. The
'Owner identifier' is a null-terminated string with a URL [URL]
containing an email address, or a link to a location where an email
address can be found, that belongs to the organisation responsible
for this specific encryption method. Questions regarding the
encryption method should be sent to the indicated email address. The
'Method symbol' contains a value that is associated with this method
throughout the whole tag, in the range $80-F0. All other values are
reserved. The 'Method symbol' may optionally be followed by
encryption specific data. There may be several "ENCR" frames in a tag
but only one containing the same symbol and only one containing the
same owner identifier. The method must be used somewhere in the tag.
See the description of the frame encryption flag in the ID3v2
structure document [ID3v2-strct] for more information.
GRID Group identification registration
This frame enables grouping of otherwise unrelated frames. This can
be used when some frames are to be signed. To identify which frames
belongs to a set of frames a group identifier must be registered in
the tag with this frame. The 'Owner identifier' is a null-terminated
string with a URL [URL] containing an email address, or a link to a
location where an email address can be found, that belongs to the
organisation responsible for this grouping. Questions regarding the
grouping should be sent to the indicated email address. The 'Group
symbol' contains a value that associates the frame with this group
throughout the whole tag, in the range $80-F0. All other values are
reserved. The 'Group symbol' may optionally be followed by some group
specific data, e.g. a digital signature. There may be several "GRID"
frames in a tag but only one containing the same symbol and only one
containing the same owner identifier. The group symbol must be used
somewhere in the tag. See the description of the frame grouping flag
in the ID3v2 structure document [ID3v2-strct] for more information.
PRIV Private frame
This frame is used to contain information from a software producer
that its program uses and does not fit into the other frames. The
frame consists of an 'Owner identifier' string and the binary data.
The 'Owner identifier' is a null-terminated string with a URL [URL]
containing an email address, or a link to a location where an email
address can be found, that belongs to the organisation responsible
for the frame. Questions regarding the frame should be sent to the
indicated email address. The tag may contain more than one "PRIV"
frame but only with different contents.
SIGN Signature frame
New in ID3v2.4.0
This frame enables a group of frames, grouped with the 'Group
identification registration', to be signed. Although signatures can
reside inside the registration frame, it might be desired to store
the signature elsewhere, e.g. in watermarks. There may be more than
one 'signature frame' in a tag, but no two may be identical.
SEEK Seek frame
New in ID3v2.4.0
This frame indicates where other tags in a file/stream can be found.
The 'minimum offset to next tag' is calculated from the end of this
tag to the beginning of the next. There may only be one 'seek frame'
in a tag.
ASPI Audio seek point index
New in ID3v2.4.0
Audio files with variable bit rates are intrinsically difficult to
deal with in the case of seeking within the file. The ASPI frame
makes seeking easier by providing a list a seek points within the
audio file. The seek points are a fractional offset within the audio
data, providing a starting point from which to find an appropriate
point to start decoding. The presence of an ASPI frame requires the
existence of a TLEN frame, indicating the duration of the file in
milliseconds. There may only be one 'audio seek point index' frame in
a tag.
TYER Year
ID3V2.3.0 only. Replaced in ID3V2.4.0 by TDRC.
The 'Year' frame is a numeric string with a year of the recording.
This frames is always four characters long (until the year 10000).
EQUA Equalisation
ID3V2.3.0 only. Replaced in ID3V2.4.0 by EQU2.
This is another subjective, alignment frame. It allows the user to
predefine an equalisation curve within the audio file. There may only
be one "EQUA" frame in each tag.
IPLS Involved people list
ID3V2.3.0 only. Replaced in ID3V2.4.0 by TMCL and TIPL.
Since there might be a lot of people contributing to an audio file in
various ways, such as musicians and technicians, the 'Text
information frames' are often insufficient to list everyone involved
in a project. The 'Involved people list' is a frame containing the
names of those involved, and how they were involved. The body simply
contains a terminated string with the involvement directly followed
by a terminated string with the involvee followed by a new
involvement and so on. There may only be one "IPLS" frame in each
tag.
RVAD Relative volume adjustment
ID3V2.3.0 only. Replaced in ID3V2.4.0 by RVA2.
This is a more subjective function than the previous ones. It allows
the user to say how much he wants to increase/decrease the volume on
each channel while the file is played. The purpose is to be able to
align all files to a reference volume, so that you don't have to
change the volume constantly. This frame may also be used to balance
adjust the audio. If the volume peak levels are known then this could
be described with the 'Peak volume right' and 'Peak volume left'
field. If Peakvolume is not known these fields could be left zeroed
or, if no other data follows, be completely omitted. There may only
be one "RVAD" frame in each tag.
TDAT Date
ID3V2.3.0 only. Replaced in ID3V2.4.0 by TDRC.
The 'Date' frame is a numeric string in the DDMM format containing
the date for the recording. This field is always four characters
long.
TIME Time
ID3V2.3.0 only. Replaced in ID3V2.4.0 by TDRC.
The 'Time' frame is a numeric string in the HHMM format containing
the time for the recording. This field is always four characters
long.
TORY Original Release Year
ID3V2.3.0 only. Replaced in ID3V2.4.0 by TDOR.
The 'Original release year' frame is intended for the year when the
original recording, if for example the music in the file should be a
cover of a previously released song, was released. The field is
formatted as in the "TYER" frame.
TRDA Recording Dates
ID3V2.3.0 only. Replaced in ID3V2.4.0 by TDRC.
The 'Recording dates' frame is a intended to be used as complement to
the "TYER", "TDAT" and "TIME" frames. E.g. "4th-7th June, 12th June"
in combination with the "TYER" frame.
TSIZ Size
ID3V2.3.0 only. Deprecated.
The 'Size' frame contains the size of the audiofile in bytes,
excluding the ID3v2 tag, represented as a numeric string.