FROM ANCIENTSCREAM : RE TUNEUP 2.4.2 (GOOD NEWS)
Guys RE the New update to Tuneup 2.4.2 and upwards really is a massive improvement, they have and are listening to feedback and the software is definately getting much better.
WELL DONE TUNEUP coding team :)
I’ve experienced much less lockup and much more control in 2.4.2 and allot of the original complaints ive listed have to some extent been fixed, the software is working much better, and certainly Tuneup is still regardless of it’s issues the best software on the mac at what it does.
The improvements in 2.4.2 are such I now have confidence that Tuneup is now a must buy for those with large incorrectly tagged itunes librarys.
ADVICE re tuneup use for an easier time :
Once you begin to get somewhere with tuneup, correcting ‘albums’ it can clearly recognise first, then working on the remaining proportion with manual oversight and input enables you to get to the point of having things tagged correctly, Tuneup works really well with albums and doesn’t do so well with lone tracks with very little basic tag information ie no artist no album etc so its best to process whole albums first, then work on the harder stuff afterwards and this will get you a large amount of progress, It might take you a little while to get your whole collection done, Tuneup is not fire and forget and nor could you expect it to be really, BUT … doing the task without Tuneup in most cases would be a nightmare.
Tip when cleaning tracks :
Tuneup Sweep 1
In 2.4.2 work from the dirty tracks playlist that the tuneup analyse feature can generate(turn it on in preferences), and make another smart playlist from the dirty playlist with the conditions :
Playlist is (and then select the analyze generated dirty playlist from the menu)
compilation is false
genre does not contain audiobooks, podcasts, spoken word, audioblogs
and also if you can afford to genre does not contain classical if you library does not contain more than 10% classical , as theyre are allot of variations and versions of classical albums released etc, as these can bamboozle tuneup and bog things down. DO classical in a second sweep of the library, of course dont worry about this measure if your entire library is based around classical.
Then from this smart playlist drag in 250-500 at a time and see how it goes, if Tuneup is handling 500 then raise the bar a bit if not lower the quantity your dropping in at a time, you will get a feel for what it can handle tracks at a time wise on you machine, this is mainly dependant on what percentage of tracks in your collection have very little information at all. large numbers of loose single tracks wrongly named titled etc no artist no album tag and no other tags at all etc, Tuneup going to handle less tracks at a slower speed without supervision.
TIP RE: LIKELY MATCHES
Anything it tags that falls into the “likely match” section, clear away and dont let it tag the items for the moment, as likely match is often not accurate enough. Then let tuneup save information to all the other tags you want it to and cover art specify what it will tag and wont tag in Tuneup ‘preferences’, as that sets the default ticked tags to apply for the dropdown (…) tag selection menu for each item identified.
SWEEP TWO
Once Tuneup has tagged all of the easier to identify albums that it can clearly recognise, then I would work through with a sweep on the classical Albums. by setting the smart playlist to Genre is classical and process the definite album hits with that. avoid delving into likely matches for the moment.
FINAL SWEEP
now process all the leftover loose and individual non full album tracks likely matches etc, compilations etc everything else, this will require more manual effort and some hand tagging in some cases. If hand tagging stuff put in the Artist and album If tuneup doesnt get them at all, then put these hand tagged tracks back through tuneup again in say a fourth sweep for it to fill in the other blank fields as once it got a grip of what the tracks are, its pretty good at filling in the other blanks, and this will save a bit more time.
Maybe do a further manual sweep for podcasts and other digital media downloads and stuff that really isnt Tuneups forte.
This sweep based approach will get you closer to your target of having everything tagged correctly and the more complete your library gets the easier it is for Tuneup to finish off, this SWEEP approach will feel better because your making faster progress on the library overall in terms of quantity early on, meaning you will have the stamina to knobble the harder tracks to tag afterwards as the finish line will be in sight.