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FreeDB is no more

Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 3:41 pm
by JohnLance
FreeDB has been shuttered.

I'm currently looking for alternative sites for CD information, but I've come across the fact that formatting is likely different with queries to those databases.

Does GoldWave currently support using any other music database servers?

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 5:36 pm
by DougDbug
I don't use GoldWave for ripping so I haven't tried this, but try:

Tool -> CD Reader -> Options -> CD Database Options -> Server and enter freedb.dbpoweramp.com.

FreedB is open source so it's a matter of finding a copy of the database, and then hopefully there will be a new designated "official" or "master" copy. See the HydrognAudio Forum.

(For CD ripping I use Exact Audio Copy or CUE Ripper. They can access alternative databases and they both support AccurateRip.)

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 10:31 pm
by JohnLance
This url doesn't work either. :-(

Was hoping that GoldWave could encode support for one or more of the freebie or not databases, even if you must log in or sign up to that service.

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 10:40 pm
by JohnLance
I still use GoldWave quite often, even though I have many other audio programs for various purposes. I still find GoldWave has very good usefulness with some features that no other program has.

I hope this will be taken care of and updated for a more generic solution.

Is MusicBrainz any good? https://musicbrainz.org/

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2020 11:07 pm
by JohnLance
Also, the open source database cddb.dat is nowhere to be found. That database was supposed to be public and freely available.

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 3:55 am
by JohnLance
Or Discogs.

I'm sure there are positives and negatives about the gamut of things.

Wasn't the database for freedb open-source in the licensing AND UPKEEP? I smell a suit from someone eventually. Neither MAGIX or Gracenote should have proprietary rights to and OVER the database at least up to a certain date.

Just wanting something workable and proper here.

EAC software coding relies too much on freedb, even if an alternative is suggested. Their page (software setup tab) for freedb should go away along with interface (surface and error checking) code for that.

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 4:17 am
by JohnLance
After running around in a few circles, it appears the original CDDB database was aging itself (oh gee, that happens) and was in need of at least backwards compatible updates in the interfacing with new fields in the backend and a newly exposed interface for the new features. And the industry is in a tight-lipped cash-idolizing tizzy over things.... :-(

I've got a four lettered word for that.

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 12:32 pm
by Tristan
I've found that getting accurate album info online is often a matter of chance. More often than not I just label tracks myself after I rip them.

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2020 5:53 pm
by DougDbug
It looks like GoldWave will have to find a solution or alternative.
Wasn't the database for freedb open-source in the licensing AND UPKEEP? I smell a suit from someone eventually. Neither MAGIX or Gracenote should have proprietary rights to and OVER the database at least up to a certain date.
I believe MAGIX just owns the freedb.org domain name

Otherwise it's open source and anybody could have downloaded the code and database. I'm sure many people did. dBpoweramp has a copy but I'm not sure how to access it without using dBpoweramp. And, they are not going to maintain it.

From dBpoweramp:
That is correct we have the last known database for freedb, but it is not going to update any further...

.. I do not want to learn how to handle submissions, there is Musicbrainz which can take submissions.

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:19 am
by GoldWave Inc.
It seems strange that there are no mirror sites anywhere. So we are setting up a very basic server with the contents of freedb. In the CD Reader tool, go to the Options tab, then enter "freedb.goldwave.ca" for the server. This is a read-only server, so new CDs cannot be added and existing entries cannot be updated. It requires a lot of resources, so we are not sure how long we can keep it available. This server is for GoldWave users only.

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 6:37 pm
by CapinDFW
GoldWave Inc. wrote:
Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:19 am
... So we are setting up a very basic server with the contents of freedb. In the CD Reader tool, go to the Options tab, then enter "freedb.goldwave.ca" for the server...
Thank you for setting this up! :)

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 10:12 pm
by aibeira
I found an update to the dbpoweramp thread previously mentioned:
Re: freedb questions
Isnt this also freedb?

https ://www.gnudb.org/
It appears that a while back, an alternative to freedb.org was started up to "keep it free", https ://www.gnudb.org/ .

Per that website, they have matched the API used in freedb.org. Using the information found on this page - https ://www.gnudb.org/howto.php - I was able to make Goldwave's CD Reader use that for lookups, by putting this in the options for "CD database options", "Server" field:

http ://gnudb.gnudb.org/~cddb/cddb.cgi

No proxy needed.

Hope it helps.

(Sorry - had to put a space after https to get around anti-spam for first post. A good policy, I suppose, but makes it a little hard to post references. :) )

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 9:11 am
by BobStein
aibeira wrote:
Sat Aug 08, 2020 10:12 pm
http ://gnudb.gnudb.org/~cddb/cddb.cgi
I got this to "work" but it got the album wrong. This was worse than doing nothing; not only did I have to retype all 28 song titles but the metadata is also wrong, so the songs are misidentified when I play them.

Once the tracks had been "identified" by the CDDB server I could not get GoldWave to forget those settings, even after restarting and reloading the CD. The titles stuck. Is there a way to clear a list of wrong songs so they don't go into the metadata when ripping?

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Mon Oct 26, 2020 11:03 am
by GoldWave Inc.
Note that "freedb.goldwave.ca" can be used as the server in the CD Reader tool options.

BobStein: After entering the correct titles in the CD Reader, you'd choose the "Save Titles" button.

Re: FreeDB is no more

Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2020 2:11 pm
by BobStein
After entering the correct titles in the CD Reader, you'd choose the "Save Titles" button.
Thanks! I see that button now, very helpful.