--- /dev/null
+Informal standard M. Nilsson
+Document: id3v2.3.0.txt 3rd February 1999
+
+
+ ID3 tag version 2.3.0
+
+Status of this document
+
+ This document is an informal standard and replaces the ID3v2.2.0
+ standard [ID3v2]. The informal standard is released so that
+ implementors could have a set standard before a formal standard is
+ set. The formal standard will use another version or revision number
+ if not identical to what is described in this document. The contents
+ in this document may change for clarifications but never for added or
+ altered functionallity.
+
+ Distribution of this document is unlimited.
+
+
+Abstract
+
+ This document describes the ID3v2.3.0, which is a more developed
+ version of the ID3v2 informal standard [ID3v2] (version 2.2.0),
+ evolved from the ID3 tagging system. The ID3v2 offers a flexible way
+ of storing information about an audio file within itself to determine
+ its origin and contents. The information may be technical
+ information, such as equalisation curves, as well as related meta
+ information, such as title, performer, copyright etc.
+
+
+1. Table of contents
+
+ 2. Conventions in this document
+ 3. ID3v2 overview
+ 3.1. ID3v2 header
+ 3.2. ID3v2 extended header
+ 3.3. ID3v2 frames overview
+ 3.3.1. Frame header flags
+ 3.3.2. Default flags
+ 4. Declared ID3v2 frames
+ 4.1. Unique file identifier
+ 4.2. Text information frames
+ 4.2.1. Text information frames - details
+ 4.2.2. User defined text information frame
+ 4.3. URL link frames
+ 4.3.1. URL link frames - details
+ 4.3.2. User defined URL link frame
+ 4.4. Involved people list
+ 4.5. Music CD Identifier
+ 4.6. Event timing codes
+ 4.7. MPEG location lookup table
+ 4.8. Synced tempo codes
+ 4.9. Unsychronised lyrics/text transcription
+ 4.10. Synchronised lyrics/text
+ 4.11. Comments
+ 4.12. Relative volume adjustment
+ 4.13. Equalisation
+ 4.14. Reverb
+ 4.15. Attached picture
+ 4.16. General encapsulated object
+ 4.17. Play counter
+ 4.18. Popularimeter
+ 4.19. Recommended buffer size
+ 4.20. Audio encryption
+ 4.21. Linked information
+ 4.22. Position synchronisation frame
+ 4.23. Terms of use
+ 4.24. Ownership frame
+ 4.25. Commercial frame
+ 4.26. Encryption method registration
+ 4.27. Group identification registration
+ 4.28. Private frame
+ 5. The 'unsynchronisation scheme'
+ 6. Copyright
+ 7. References
+ 8. Appendix
+ A. Appendix A - Genre List from ID3v1
+ 9. Author's Address
+
+
+2. Conventions in this document
+
+ In the examples, text within "" is a text string exactly as it
+ appears in a file. Numbers preceded with $ are hexadecimal and
+ numbers preceded with % are binary. $xx is used to indicate a byte
+ with unknown content. %x is used to indicate a bit with unknown
+ content. The most significant bit (MSB) of a byte is called 'bit 7'
+ and the least significant bit (LSB) is called 'bit 0'.
+
+ A tag is the whole tag described in this document. A frame is a block
+ of information in the tag. The tag consists of a header, frames and
+ optional padding. A field is a piece of information; one value, a
+ string etc. A numeric string is a string that consists of the
+ characters 0-9 only.
+
+
+3. ID3v2 overview
+
+ The two biggest design goals were to be able to implement ID3v2
+ without disturbing old software too much and that ID3v2 should be
+ as flexible and expandable as possible.
+
+ The first criterion is met by the simple fact that the MPEG [MPEG]
+ decoding software uses a syncsignal, embedded in the audiostream, to
+ 'lock on to' the audio. Since the ID3v2 tag doesn't contain a valid
+ syncsignal, no software will attempt to play the tag. If, for any
+ reason, coincidence make a syncsignal appear within the tag it will
+ be taken care of by the 'unsynchronisation scheme' described in
+ section 5.
+
+ The second criterion has made a more noticeable impact on the design
+ of the ID3v2 tag. It is constructed as a container for several
+ information blocks, called frames, whose format need not be known to
+ the software that encounters them. At the start of every frame there
+ is an identifier that explains the frames' format and content, and a
+ size descriptor that allows software to skip unknown frames.
+
+ If a total revision of the ID3v2 tag should be needed, there is a
+ version number and a size descriptor in the ID3v2 header.
+
+ The ID3 tag described in this document is mainly targeted at files
+ encoded with MPEG-1/2 layer I, MPEG-1/2 layer II, MPEG-1/2 layer III
+ and MPEG-2.5, but may work with other types of encoded audio.
+
+ The bitorder in ID3v2 is most significant bit first (MSB). The
+ byteorder in multibyte numbers is most significant byte first (e.g.
+ $12345678 would be encoded $12 34 56 78).
+
+ It is permitted to include padding after all the final frame (at the
+ end of the ID3 tag), making the size of all the frames together
+ smaller than the size given in the head of the tag. A possible
+ purpose of this padding is to allow for adding a few additional
+ frames or enlarge existing frames within the tag without having to
+ rewrite the entire file. The value of the padding bytes must be $00.
+
+
+3.1. ID3v2 header
+
+ The ID3v2 tag header, which should be the first information in the
+ file, is 10 bytes as follows:
+
+ ID3v2/file identifier "ID3"
+ ID3v2 version $03 00
+ ID3v2 flags %abc00000
+ ID3v2 size 4 * %0xxxxxxx
+
+ The first three bytes of the tag are always "ID3" to indicate that
+ this is an ID3v2 tag, directly followed by the two version bytes. The
+ first byte of ID3v2 version is it's major version, while the second
+ byte is its revision number. In this case this is ID3v2.3.0. All
+ revisions are backwards compatible while major versions are not. If
+ software with ID3v2.2.0 and below support should encounter version
+ three or higher it should simply ignore the whole tag. Version and
+ revision will never be $FF.
+
+ The version is followed by one the ID3v2 flags field, of which
+ currently only three flags are used.
+
+
+ a - Unsynchronisation
+
+ Bit 7 in the 'ID3v2 flags' indicates whether or not
+ unsynchronisation is used (see section 5 for details); a set bit
+ indicates usage.
+
+
+ b - Extended header
+
+ The second bit (bit 6) indicates whether or not the header is
+ followed by an extended header. The extended header is described in
+ section 3.2.
+
+
+ c - Experimental indicator
+
+ The third bit (bit 5) should be used as an 'experimental
+ indicator'. This flag should always be set when the tag is in an
+ experimental stage.
+
+ All the other flags should be cleared. If one of these undefined
+ flags are set that might mean that the tag is not readable for a
+ parser that does not know the flags function.
+
+ The ID3v2 tag size is encoded with four bytes where the most
+ significant bit (bit 7) is set to zero in every byte, making a total
+ of 28 bits. The zeroed bits are ignored, so a 257 bytes long tag is
+ represented as $00 00 02 01.
+
+ The ID3v2 tag size is the size of the complete tag after
+ unsychronisation, including padding, excluding the header but not
+ excluding the extended header (total tag size - 10). Only 28 bits
+ (representing up to 256MB) are used in the size description to avoid
+ the introducuction of 'false syncsignals'.
+
+ An ID3v2 tag can be detected with the following pattern:
+ $49 44 33 yy yy xx zz zz zz zz
+ Where yy is less than $FF, xx is the 'flags' byte and zz is less than
+ $80.
+
+
+3.2. ID3v2 extended header
+
+ The extended header contains information that is not vital to the
+ correct parsing of the tag information, hence the extended header is
+ optional.
+
+ Extended header size $xx xx xx xx
+ Extended Flags $xx xx
+ Size of padding $xx xx xx xx
+
+ Where the 'Extended header size', currently 6 or 10 bytes, excludes
+ itself. The 'Size of padding' is simply the total tag size excluding
+ the frames and the headers, in other words the padding. The extended
+ header is considered separate from the header proper, and as such is
+ subject to unsynchronisation.
+
+ The extended flags are a secondary flag set which describes further
+ attributes of the tag. These attributes are currently defined as
+ follows
+
+ %x0000000 00000000
+
+
+ x - CRC data present
+
+ If this flag is set four bytes of CRC-32 data is appended to the
+ extended header. The CRC should be calculated before
+ unsynchronisation on the data between the extended header and the
+ padding, i.e. the frames and only the frames.
+
+ Total frame CRC $xx xx xx xx
+
+
+3.3. ID3v2 frame overview
+
+ As the tag consists of a tag header and a tag body with one or more
+ frames, all the frames consists of a frame header followed by one or
+ more fields containing the actual information. The layout of the
+ frame header:
+
+ Frame ID $xx xx xx xx (four characters)
+ Size $xx xx xx xx
+ Flags $xx xx
+
+ The frame ID made out of the characters capital A-Z and 0-9.
+ Identifiers beginning with "X", "Y" and "Z" are for experimental use
+ and free for everyone to use, without the need to set the
+ experimental bit in the tag header. Have in mind that someone else
+ might have used the same identifier as you. All other identifiers are
+ either used or reserved for future use.
+
+ The frame ID is followed by a size descriptor, making a total header
+ size of ten bytes in every frame. The size is calculated as frame
+ size excluding frame header (frame size - 10).
+
+ In the frame header the size descriptor is followed by two flags
+ bytes. These flags are described in section 3.3.1.
+
+ There is no fixed order of the frames' appearance in the tag,
+ although it is desired that the frames are arranged in order of
+ significance concerning the recognition of the file. An example of
+ such order: UFID, TIT2, MCDI, TRCK ...
+
+ A tag must contain at least one frame. A frame must be at least 1
+ byte big, excluding the header.
+
+ If nothing else is said a string is represented as ISO-8859-1
+ [ISO-8859-1] characters in the range $20 - $FF. Such strings are
+ represented as <text string>, or <full text string> if newlines are
+ allowed, in the frame descriptions. All Unicode strings [UNICODE] use
+ 16-bit unicode 2.0 (ISO/IEC 10646-1:1993, UCS-2). Unicode strings
+ must begin with the Unicode BOM ($FF FE or $FE FF) to identify the
+ byte order.
+
+ All numeric strings and URLs [URL] are always encoded as ISO-8859-1.
+ Terminated strings are terminated with $00 if encoded with ISO-8859-1
+ and $00 00 if encoded as unicode. If nothing else is said newline
+ character is forbidden. In ISO-8859-1 a new line is represented, when
+ allowed, with $0A only. Frames that allow different types of text
+ encoding have a text encoding description byte directly after the
+ frame size. If ISO-8859-1 is used this byte should be $00, if Unicode
+ is used it should be $01. Strings dependent on encoding is
+ represented as <text string according to encoding>, or <full text
+ string according to encoding> if newlines are allowed. Any empty
+ Unicode strings which are NULL-terminated may have the Unicode BOM
+ followed by a Unicode NULL ($FF FE 00 00 or $FE FF 00 00).
+
+ The three byte language field is used to describe the language of the
+ frame's content, according to ISO-639-2 [ISO-639-2].
+
+ All URLs [URL] may be relative, e.g. "picture.png", "../doc.txt".
+
+ If a frame is longer than it should be, e.g. having more fields than
+ specified in this document, that indicates that additions to the
+ frame have been made in a later version of the ID3v2 standard. This
+ is reflected by the revision number in the header of the tag.
+
+
+3.3.1. Frame header flags
+
+ In the frame header the size descriptor is followed by two flags
+ bytes. All unused flags must be cleared. The first byte is for
+ 'status messages' and the second byte is for encoding purposes. If an
+ unknown flag is set in the first byte the frame may not be changed
+ without the bit cleared. If an unknown flag is set in the second byte
+ it is likely to not be readable. The flags field is defined as
+ follows.
+
+ %abc00000 %ijk00000
+
+
+ a - Tag alter preservation
+
+ This flag tells the software what to do with this frame if it is
+ unknown and the tag is altered in any way. This applies to all
+ kinds of alterations, including adding more padding and reordering
+ the frames.
+
+ 0 Frame should be preserved.
+ 1 Frame should be discarded.
+
+
+ b - File alter preservation
+
+ This flag tells the software what to do with this frame if it is
+ unknown and the file, excluding the tag, is altered. This does not
+ apply when the audio is completely replaced with other audio data.
+
+ 0 Frame should be preserved.
+ 1 Frame should be discarded.
+
+
+ c - Read only
+
+ This flag, if set, tells the software that the contents of this
+ frame is intended to be read only. Changing the contents might
+ break something, e.g. a signature. If the contents are changed,
+ without knowledge in why the frame was flagged read only and
+ without taking the proper means to compensate, e.g. recalculating
+ the signature, the bit should be cleared.
+
+
+ i - Compression
+
+ This flag indicates whether or not the frame is compressed.
+
+ 0 Frame is not compressed.
+ 1 Frame is compressed using zlib [zlib] with 4 bytes for
+ 'decompressed size' appended to the frame header.
+
+
+ j - Encryption
+
+ This flag indicates wether or not the frame is enrypted. If set
+ one byte indicating with which method it was encrypted will be
+ appended to the frame header. See section 4.26. for more
+ information about encryption method registration.
+
+ 0 Frame is not encrypted.
+ 1 Frame is encrypted.
+
+
+ k - Grouping identity
+
+ This flag indicates whether or not this frame belongs in a group
+ with other frames. If set a group identifier byte is added to the
+ frame header. Every frame with the same group identifier belongs
+ to the same group.
+
+ 0 Frame does not contain group information
+ 1 Frame contains group information
+
+
+ Some flags indicates that the frame header is extended with
+ additional information. This information will be added to the frame
+ header in the same order as the flags indicating the additions. I.e.
+ the four bytes of decompressed size will preceed the encryption
+ method byte. These additions to the frame header, while not included
+ in the frame header size but are included in the 'frame size' field,
+ are not subject to encryption or compression.
+
+
+3.3.2. Default flags
+
+ The default settings for the frames described in this document can be
+ divided into the following classes. The flags may be set differently
+ if found more suitable by the software.
+
+ 1. Discarded if tag is altered, discarded if file is altered.
+
+ None.
+
+ 2. Discarded if tag is altered, preserved if file is altered.
+
+ None.
+
+ 3. Preserved if tag is altered, discarded if file is altered.
+
+ AENC, ETCO, EQUA, MLLT, POSS, SYLT, SYTC, RVAD, TENC, TLEN, TSIZ
+
+ 4. Preserved if tag is altered, preserved if file is altered.
+
+ The rest of the frames.
+
+
+4. Declared ID3v2 frames
+
+ The following frames are declared in this draft.
+
+ 4.21 AENC Audio encryption
+ 4.15 APIC Attached picture
+
+ 4.11 COMM Comments
+ 4.25 COMR Commercial frame
+
+ 4.26 ENCR Encryption method registration
+ 4.13 EQUA Equalization
+ 4.6 ETCO Event timing codes
+
+ 4.16 GEOB General encapsulated object
+ 4.27 GRID Group identification registration
+
+ 4.4 IPLS Involved people list
+
+ 4.21 LINK Linked information
+
+ 4.5 MCDI Music CD identifier
+ 4.7 MLLT MPEG location lookup table
+
+ 4.24 OWNE Ownership frame
+
+ 4.28. PRIV Private frame
+ 4.17 PCNT Play counter
+ 4.18 POPM Popularimeter
+ 4.22 POSS Position synchronisation frame
+
+ 4.19 RBUF Recommended buffer size
+ 4.12 RVAD Relative volume adjustment
+ 4.14 RVRB Reverb
+
+ 4.10 SYLT Synchronized lyric/text
+ 4.8 SYTC Synchronized tempo codes
+
+ 4.2.1 TALB Album/Movie/Show title
+ 4.2.1 TBPM BPM (beats per minute)
+ 4.2.1 TCOM Composer
+ 4.2.1 TCON Content type
+ 4.2.1 TCOP Copyright message
+ 4.2.1 TDAT Date
+ 4.2.1 TDLY Playlist delay
+ 4.2.1 TENC Encoded by
+ 4.2.1 TEXT Lyricist/Text writer
+ 4.2.1 TFLT File type
+ 4.2.1 TIME Time
+ 4.2.1 TIT1 Content group description
+ 4.2.1 TIT2 Title/songname/content description
+ 4.2.1 TIT3 Subtitle/Description refinement
+ 4.2.1 TKEY Initial key
+ 4.2.1 TLAN Language(s)
+ 4.2.1 TLEN Length
+ 4.2.1 TMED Media type
+ 4.2.1 TOAL Original album/movie/show title
+ 4.2.1 TOFN Original filename
+ 4.2.1 TOLY Original lyricist(s)/text writer(s)
+ 4.2.1 TOPE Original artist(s)/performer(s)
+ 4.2.1 TORY Original release year
+ 4.2.1 TOWN File owner/licensee
+ 4.2.1 TPE1 Lead performer(s)/Soloist(s)
+ 4.2.1 TPE2 Band/orchestra/accompaniment
+ 4.2.1 TPE3 Conductor/performer refinement
+ 4.2.1 TPE4 Interpreted, remixed, or otherwise modified by
+ 4.2.1 TPOS Part of a set
+ 4.2.1 TPUB Publisher
+ 4.2.1 TRCK Track number/Position in set
+ 4.2.1 TRDA Recording dates
+ 4.2.1 TRSN Internet radio station name
+ 4.2.1 TRSO Internet radio station owner
+ 4.2.1 TSIZ Size
+ 4.2.1 TSRC ISRC (international standard recording code)
+ 4.2.1 TSSE Software/Hardware and settings used for encoding
+ 4.2.1 TYER Year
+ 4.2.2 TXXX User defined text information frame
+
+ 4.1 UFID Unique file identifier
+ 4.23 USER Terms of use
+ 4.9 USLT Unsychronized lyric/text transcription
+
+ 4.3.1 WCOM Commercial information
+ 4.3.1 WCOP Copyright/Legal information
+ 4.3.1 WOAF Official audio file webpage
+ 4.3.1 WOAR Official artist/performer webpage
+ 4.3.1 WOAS Official audio source webpage
+ 4.3.1 WORS Official internet radio station homepage
+ 4.3.1 WPAY Payment
+ 4.3.1 WPUB Publishers official webpage
+ 4.3.2 WXXX User defined URL link frame
+
+
+4.1. Unique file identifier
+
+ This frame's purpose is to be able to identify the audio file in a
+ database that may contain more information relevant to the content.
+ Since standardisation of such a database is beyond this document, all
+ frames begin with 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
+ "<a href="http://www.id3.org/dummy/ufid.html">http://www.id3.org/dummy/ufid.html</a>" should be used for tests.
+ Software that isn't told otherwise may safely remove such frames. 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'.
+
+ <Header for 'Unique file identifier', ID: "UFID">
+ Owner identifier <text string> $00
+ Identifier <up to 64 bytes binary data>
+
+
+4.2. Text information frames
+
+ The text information frames are the most important frames, containing
+ information like artist, album and more. There may only be one text
+ information frame of its kind in an tag. If the textstring is
+ followed by a termination ($00 (00)) all the following information
+ should be ignored and not be displayed. All text frame identifiers
+ begin with "T". Only text frame identifiers begin with "T", with the
+ exception of the "TXXX" frame. All the text information frames have
+ the following format:
+
+ <Header for 'Text information frame', ID: "T000" - "TZZZ",
+ excluding "TXXX" described in 4.2.2.>
+ Text encoding $xx
+ Information <text string according to encoding>
+
+
+4.2.1. Text information frames - details
+
+ TALB
+ The 'Album/Movie/Show title' frame is intended for the title of the
+ recording(/source of sound) which the audio in the file is taken
+ from.
+
+ TBPM
+ The 'BPM' frame contains the number of beats per minute in the
+ mainpart of the audio. The BPM is an integer and represented as a
+ numerical string.
+
+ TCOM
+ The 'Composer(s)' frame is intended for the name of the composer(s).
+ They are seperated with the "/" character.
+
+ TCON
+ The 'Content type', which previously was stored as a one byte numeric
+ value only, is now a numeric string. You may use one or several of
+ the types as ID3v1.1 did or, since the category list would be
+ impossible to maintain with accurate and up to date categories,
+ define your own.
+
+ References to the ID3v1 genres can be made by, as first byte, enter
+ "(" followed by a number from the genres list (appendix A.) and
+ ended with a ")" character. This is optionally followed by a
+ refinement, e.g. "(21)" or "(4)Eurodisco". Several references can be
+ made in the same frame, e.g. "(51)(39)". If the refinement should
+ begin with a "(" character it should be replaced with "((", e.g. "((I
+ can figure out any genre)" or "(55)((I think...)". The following new
+ content types is defined in ID3v2 and is implemented in the same way
+ as the numerig content types, e.g. "(RX)".
+
+ RX Remix
+ CR Cover
+
+ TCOP
+ The 'Copyright message' frame, which 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 sound 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.
+
+ TDAT
+ The 'Date' frame is a numeric string in the DDMM format containing
+ the date for the recording. This field is always four characters
+ long.
+
+ TDLY
+ The 'Playlist delay' defines the numbers of milliseconds of silence
+ between every song in a playlist. The player should use the "ETC"
+ frame, if present, to skip initial silence and silence at the end of
+ the audio to match the 'Playlist delay' time. The time is represented
+ as a numeric string.
+
+ 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.
+
+ TEXT
+ The 'Lyricist(s)/Text writer(s)' frame is intended for the writer(s)
+ of the text or lyrics in the recording. They are seperated with the
+ "/" character.
+
+ TFLT
+ The 'File type' frame indicates which type of audio this tag defines.
+ The following type and refinements are defined:
+
+ 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 Quantization
+ PCM Pulse Code Modulated audio
+
+ but other types may be used, 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".
+
+ TIME
+ The 'Time' frame is a numeric string in the HHMM format containing
+ the time for the recording. This field is always four characters
+ long.
+
+ 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").
+
+ 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". Example "Cbm". Off key is represented with an "o"
+ only.
+
+ TLAN
+ The 'Language(s)' 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. If more than one language is
+ used in the text their language codes should follow according to
+ their usage.
+
+ TLEN
+ The 'Length' frame contains the length of the audiofile in
+ milliseconds, represented as a numeric string.
+
+ 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. References are made
+ within "(" and ")" and are optionally followed by a text refinement,
+ e.g. "(MC) with four channels". If a text refinement should begin
+ with a "(" character it should be replaced with "((" in the same way
+ as in the "TCO" frame. Predefined refinements is appended after the
+ media type, e.g. "(CD/A)" or "(VID/PAL/VHS)".
+
+ DIG Other digital media
+ /A Analog transfer from media
+
+ ANA Other analog media
+ /WAC Wax cylinder
+ /8CA 8-track tape cassette
+
+ CD CD
+ /A Analog transfer from media
+ /DD DDD
+ /AD ADD
+ /AA AAD
+
+ LD Laserdisc
+ /A Analog transfer from media
+
+ 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 Analog transfer from media
+
+ DAT DAT
+ /A Analog 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, nonlinear, 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 Analog transfer from media
+
+ DVD DVD
+ /A Analog 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)
+
+ 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.
+
+ 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.
+
+ TOLY
+ The 'Original lyricist(s)/text writer(s)' frame is intended for the
+ text writer(s) of the original recording, if for example the music in
+ the file should be a cover of a previously released song. The text
+ writers are seperated with the "/" character.
+
+ TOPE
+ The 'Original artist(s)/performer(s)' frame is intended for the
+ performer(s) of the original recording, if for example the music in
+ the file should be a cover of a previously released song. The
+ performers are seperated with the "/" character.
+
+ TORY
+ 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.
+
+ TOWN
+ The 'File owner/licensee' frame contains the name of the owner or
+ licensee of the file and it's contents.
+
+ TPE1
+ The 'Lead artist(s)/Lead performer(s)/Soloist(s)/Performing group' is
+ used for the main artist(s). They are seperated with the "/"
+ character.
+
+ 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.
+
+ 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".
+
+ TPUB
+ The 'Publisher' frame simply contains the name of the label or
+ publisher.
+
+ 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 numer of tracks/elements on the original
+ recording. E.g. "4/9".
+
+ TRDA
+ 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.
+
+ 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.
+
+ TSIZ
+ The 'Size' frame contains the size of the audiofile in bytes,
+ excluding the ID3v2 tag, represented as a numeric string.
+
+ TSRC
+ The 'ISRC' frame should contain the International Standard Recording
+ Code [ISRC] (12 characters).
+
+ 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.
+
+ TYER
+ The 'Year' frame is a numeric string with a year of the recording.
+ This frames is always four characters long (until the year 10000).
+
+
+4.2.2. User defined text information frame
+
+ This frame is intended for one-string text information concerning the
+ audiofile 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.
+
+ <Header for 'User defined text information frame', ID: "TXXX">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ Description <text string according to encoding> $00 (00)
+ Value <text string according to encoding>
+
+
+4.3. URL link frames
+
+ With these frames dynamic data such as webpages with touring
+ information, price information or plain ordinary news can be added to
+ the tag. There may only be one URL [URL] link frame of its kind in an
+ tag, except when stated otherwise in the frame description. If the
+ textstring is followed by a termination ($00 (00)) all the following
+ information should be ignored and not be displayed. All URL link
+ frame identifiers begins with "W". Only URL link frame identifiers
+ begins with "W". All URL link frames have the following format:
+
+ <Header for 'URL link frame', ID: "W000" - "WZZZ", excluding "WXXX"
+ described in 4.3.2.>
+ URL <text string>
+
+
+4.3.1. URL link frames - details
+
+ 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 wepage for the publisher.
+
+
+4.3.2. User defined URL link frame
+
+ This frame is intended for URL [URL] links concerning the audiofile
+ 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.
+
+ <Header for 'User defined URL link frame', ID: "WXXX">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ Description <text string according to encoding> $00 (00)
+ URL <text string>
+
+
+4.4. Involved people list
+
+ 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Involved people list', ID: "IPLS">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ People list strings <text strings according to encoding>
+
+
+4.5. 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. This frame requires a present and valid "TRCK" frame, even if
+ the CD's only got one track. There may only be one "MCDI" frame in
+ each tag.
+
+ <Header for 'Music CD identifier', ID: "MCDI">
+ CD TOC <binary data>
+
+
+4.6. Event timing codes
+
+ This frame allows synchronisation with key events in a song or sound.
+ 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
+
+ Abolute 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 should 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 mainpart 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 mainpart end
+ $12 verse end
+ $13 refrain end
+ $14 theme end
+
+ $15-$DF reserved for future use
+
+ $E0-$EF not predefined sync 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 $FF have the same function)
+
+ Terminating the start events such as "intro start" is not required.
+ The 'Not predefined sync's ($E0-EF) are for user events. You might
+ want to synchronise your music to something, like setting of an
+ explosion on-stage, turning on your screensaver etc.
+
+ There may only be one "ETCO" frame in each tag.
+
+
+4.7. MPEG location lookup table
+
+ To increase performance and accuracy of jumps within a MPEG [MPEG]
+ audio file, frames with timecodes in different locations in the file
+ might be useful. The ID3v2 frame includes references that the
+ software can use to calculate positions in the file. After the frame
+ header is a descriptor of how much the 'frame counter' should
+ increase 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Location lookup table', ID: "MLLT">
+ MPEG frames between reference $xx xx
+ Bytes between reference $xx xx xx
+ Milliseconds between reference $xx xx xx
+ Bits for bytes deviation $xx
+ Bits for milliseconds dev. $xx
+
+ Then for every reference the following data is included;
+
+ Deviation in bytes %xxx....
+ Deviation in milliseconds %xxx....
+
+
+4.8. 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 should 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
+
+ Abolute time means that every stamp contains the time from the
+ beginning of the file.
+
+
+4.9. Unsychronised 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Unsynchronised lyrics/text transcription', ID: "USLT">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ Language $xx xx xx
+ Content descriptor <text string according to encoding> $00 (00)
+ Lyrics/text <full text string according to encoding>
+
+
+4.10. 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 textstring. If no
+ descriptor is entered, 'Content descriptor' is $00 (00) only.
+
+ <Header for 'Synchronised lyrics/text', ID: "SYLT">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ Language $xx xx xx
+ Time stamp format $xx
+ Content type $xx
+ Content descriptor <text string according to encoding> $00 (00)
+
+
+ Encoding: $00 ISO-8859-1 [ISO-8859-1] character set is used => $00
+ is sync identifier.
+ $01 Unicode [UNICODE] character set is used => $00 00 is
+ sync identifier.
+
+ Content type: $00 is other
+ $01 is lyrics
+ $02 is text transcription
+ $03 is movement/part name (e.g. "Adagio")
+ $04 is events (e.g. "Don Quijote enters the stage")
+ $05 is chord (e.g. "Bb F Fsus")
+ $06 is trivia/'pop up' information
+
+ 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
+
+ Abolute time means that every stamp contains the time from the
+ beginning of the file.
+
+ 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 ($0A) characters are allowed in all "SYLT" frames and should
+ 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.
+
+
+4.11. Comments
+
+ This frame is indended 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Comment', ID: "COMM">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ Language $xx xx xx
+ Short content descrip. <text string according to encoding> $00 (00)
+ The actual text <full text string according to encoding>
+
+
+4.12. Relative volume adjustment
+
+ 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Relative volume adjustment', ID: "RVAD">
+ Increment/decrement %00xxxxxx
+ Bits used for volume descr. $xx
+ Relative volume change, right $xx xx (xx ...)
+ Relative volume change, left $xx xx (xx ...)
+ Peak volume right $xx xx (xx ...)
+ Peak volume left $xx xx (xx ...)
+
+ In the increment/decrement field bit 0 is used to indicate the right
+ channel and bit 1 is used to indicate the left channel. 1 is
+ increment and 0 is decrement.
+
+ The 'bits used for volume description' field is normally $10 (16
+ bits) for MPEG 2 layer I, II and III [MPEG] and MPEG 2.5. This value
+ may not be $00. The volume is always represented with whole bytes,
+ padded in the beginning (highest bits) when 'bits used for volume
+ description' is not a multiple of eight.
+
+ This datablock is then optionally followed by a volume definition for
+ the left and right back channels. If this information is appended to
+ the frame the first two channels will be treated as front channels.
+ In the increment/decrement field bit 2 is used to indicate the right
+ back channel and bit 3 for the left back channel.
+
+ Relative volume change, right back $xx xx (xx ...)
+ Relative volume change, left back $xx xx (xx ...)
+ Peak volume right back $xx xx (xx ...)
+ Peak volume left back $xx xx (xx ...)
+
+ If the center channel adjustment is present the following is appended
+ to the existing frame, after the left and right back channels. The
+ center channel is represented by bit 4 in the increase/decrease
+ field.
+
+ Relative volume change, center $xx xx (xx ...)
+ Peak volume center $xx xx (xx ...)
+
+ If the bass channel adjustment is present the following is appended
+ to the existing frame, after the center channel. The bass channel is
+ represented by bit 5 in the increase/decrease field.
+
+ Relative volume change, bass $xx xx (xx ...)
+ Peak volume bass $xx xx (xx ...)
+
+
+4.13. Equalisation
+
+ 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.
+
+ <Header of 'Equalisation', ID: "EQUA">
+ Adjustment bits $xx
+
+ The 'adjustment bits' field defines the number of bits used for
+ representation of the adjustment. This is normally $10 (16 bits) for
+ MPEG 2 layer I, II and III [MPEG] and MPEG 2.5. This value may not be
+ $00.
+
+ This is followed by 2 bytes + ('adjustment bits' rounded up to the
+ nearest byte) for every equalisation band in the following format,
+ giving a frequency range of 0 - 32767Hz:
+
+ Increment/decrement %x (MSB of the Frequency)
+ Frequency (lower 15 bits)
+ Adjustment $xx (xx ...)
+
+ The increment/decrement bit is 1 for increment and 0 for decrement.
+ The equalisation bands should be ordered increasingly with reference
+ to frequency. All frequencies don't have to be declared. The
+ equalisation curve in the reading software should be interpolated
+ between the values in this frame. Three equal adjustments for three
+ subsequent frequencies. A frequency should only be described once in
+ the frame.
+
+
+4.14. Reverb
+
+ Yet another subjective one. You may here 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Reverb', ID: "RVRB">
+ Reverb left (ms) $xx xx
+ Reverb right (ms) $xx xx
+ Reverb bounces, left $xx
+ Reverb bounces, right $xx
+ Reverb feedback, left to left $xx
+ Reverb feedback, left to right $xx
+ Reverb feedback, right to right $xx
+ Reverb feedback, right to left $xx
+ Premix left to right $xx
+ Premix right to left $xx
+
+
+4.15. 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
+ textstring. The description has a maximum length of 64 characters,
+ but may be empty. 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Attached picture', ID: "APIC">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ MIME type <text string> $00
+ Picture type $xx
+ Description <text string according to encoding> $00 (00)
+ Picture data <binary data>
+
+
+ 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
+
+
+4.16. 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.
+
+ <Header for 'General encapsulated object', ID: "GEOB">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ MIME type <text string> $00
+ Filename <text string according to encoding> $00 (00)
+ Content description <text string according to encóding> $00 (00)
+ Encapsulated object <binary data>
+
+
+4.17. 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Play counter', ID: "PCNT">
+ Counter $xx xx xx xx (xx ...)
+
+
+4.18. 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 audiofiles 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 is very simple. It 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Popularimeter', ID: "POPM">
+ Email to user <text string> $00
+ Rating $xx
+ Counter $xx xx xx xx (xx ...)
+
+
+4.19. Recommended buffer size
+
+ Sometimes the server from which a 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 audiostream.
+ 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.
+ Every tag that is picked up after the initial/first tag is to be
+ considered as an update of the previous one. E.g. if there is a
+ "TIT2" frame in the first received tag and one in the second tag,
+ then the first should be 'replaced' with the second.
+
+ The 'Buffer size' should be kept to a minimum. There may only be one
+ "RBUF" frame in each tag.
+
+ <Header for 'Recommended buffer size', ID: "RBUF">
+ Buffer size $xx xx xx
+ Embedded info flag %0000000x
+ Offset to next tag $xx xx xx xx
+
+
+4.20. Audio encryption
+
+ This frame indicates if the actual audio stream is encrypted, and by
+ whom. Since standardisation of such encrypion 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
+ audiofile 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
+ datablock 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'.
+
+ <Header for 'Audio encryption', ID: "AENC">
+ Owner identifier <text string> $00
+ Preview start $xx xx
+ Preview length $xx xx
+ Encryption info <binary data>
+
+
+4.21. Linked information
+
+ To keep space waste 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 seperation 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).
+
+ <Header for 'Linked information', ID: "LINK">
+ Frame identifier $xx xx xx
+ URL <text string> $00
+ ID and additional data <text string(s)>
+
+ Frames that may be linked and need no additional data are "IPLS",
+ "MCID", "ETCO", "MLLT", "SYTC", "RVAD", "EQUA", "RVRB", "RBUF", the
+ text information frames and the URL link frames.
+
+ The "TXXX", "APIC", "GEOB" and "AENC" frames may be linked with
+ the content descriptor 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.
+
+
+4.22. 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 of
+ the first frame in the stream. The frame layout is:
+
+ <Head for 'Position synchronisation', ID: "POSS">
+ Time stamp format $xx
+ Position $xx (xx ...)
+
+ Where time stamp format is:
+
+ $01 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using MPEG frames as unit
+ $02 Absolute time, 32 bit sized, using milliseconds as unit
+
+ and position is where in the audio the listener starts to receive,
+ i.e. the beginning of the next frame. If this frame is used in the
+ beginning of a file the value is always 0. There may only be one
+ "POSS" frame in each tag.
+
+
+4.23. 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 only be one "USER" frame in a tag.
+
+ <Header for 'Terms of use frame', ID: "USER">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ Language $xx xx xx
+ The actual text <text string according to encoding>
+
+
+4.24. 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 payed' 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 payed, 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.
+
+ <Header for 'Ownership frame', ID: "OWNE">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ Price payed <text string> $00
+ Date of purch. <text string>
+ Seller <text string according to encoding>
+
+
+4.25. 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 seperator. In the price
+ string several prices may be concatenated, seperated 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 to attach.
+
+ <Header for 'Commercial frame', ID: "COMR">
+ Text encoding $xx
+ Price string <text string> $00
+ Valid until <text string>
+ Contact URL <text string> $00
+ Received as $xx
+ Name of seller <text string according to encoding> $00 (00)
+ Description <text string according to encoding> $00 (00)
+ Picture MIME type <string> $00
+ Seller logo <binary data>
+
+
+4.26. 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. Values below $80 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 section 3.3.1, flag j
+ for more information.
+
+ <Header for 'Encryption method registration', ID: "ENCR">
+ Owner identifier <text string> $00
+ Method symbol $xx
+ Encryption data <binary data>
+
+
+4.27. 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. Values below $80 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 section 3.3.1, flag j for more information.
+
+ <Header for 'Group ID registration', ID: "GRID">
+ Owner identifier <text string> $00
+ Group symbol $xx
+ Group dependent data <binary data>
+
+
+4.28. 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. It is recommended to keep the
+ number of "PRIV" frames as low as possible.
+
+ <Header for 'Private frame', ID: "PRIV">
+ Owner identifier <text string> $00
+ The private data <binary data>
+
+
+5. The 'unsynchronisation scheme'
+
+ The only purpose of the 'unsynchronisation scheme' is to make the
+ ID3v2 tag as compatible as possible with existing software. There is
+ no use in 'unsynchronising' tags if the file is only to be processed
+ by new software. Unsynchronisation may only be made with MPEG 2 layer
+ I, II and III and MPEG 2.5 files.
+
+ Whenever a false synchronisation is found within the tag, one zeroed
+ byte is inserted after the first false synchronisation byte. The
+ format of a correct sync that should be altered by ID3 encoders is as
+ follows:
+
+ %11111111 111xxxxx
+
+ And should be replaced with:
+
+ %11111111 00000000 111xxxxx
+
+ This has the side effect that all $FF 00 combinations have to be
+ altered, so they won't be affected by the decoding process. Therefore
+ all the $FF 00 combinations have to be replaced with the $FF 00 00
+ combination during the unsynchronisation.
+
+ To indicate usage of the unsynchronisation, the first bit in 'ID3
+ flags' should be set. This bit should only be set if the tag
+ contains a, now corrected, false synchronisation. The bit should
+ only be clear if the tag does not contain any false synchronisations.
+
+ Do bear in mind, that if a compression scheme is used by the encoder,
+ the unsynchronisation scheme should be applied *afterwards*. When
+ decoding a compressed, 'unsynchronised' file, the 'unsynchronisation
+ scheme' should be parsed first, decompression afterwards.
+
+ If the last byte in the tag is $FF, and there is a need to eliminate
+ false synchronisations in the tag, at least one byte of padding
+ should be added.
+
+
+6. Copyright
+
+ Copyright (C) Martin Nilsson 1998. All Rights Reserved.
+
+ This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
+ others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
+ or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
+ and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
+ kind, provided that a reference to this document is included on all
+ such copies and derivative works. However, this document itself may
+ not be modified in any way and reissued as the original document.
+
+ The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
+ revoked.
+
+ This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
+ "AS IS" basis and THE AUTHORS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR
+ IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF
+ THE INFORMATION HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED
+ WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+
+
+7. References
+
+ [CDDB] Compact Disc Data Base
+
+ http://www.cddb.com
+
+ [ID3v2] Martin Nilsson, "ID3v2 informal standard".
+
+ http://www.id3lib.org/id3/id3v2-00.txt
+
+ [ISO-639-2] ISO/FDIS 639-2.
+ Codes for the representation of names of languages, Part 2: Alpha-3
+ code. Technical committee / subcommittee: TC 37 / SC 2
+
+ [ISO-4217] ISO 4217:1995.
+ Codes for the representation of currencies and funds.
+ Technical committee / subcommittee: TC 68
+
+ [ISO-8859-1] ISO/IEC DIS 8859-1.
+ 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets, Part 1: Latin
+ alphabet No. 1. Technical committee / subcommittee: JTC 1 / SC 2
+
+ [ISRC] ISO 3901:1986
+ International Standard Recording Code (ISRC).
+ Technical committee / subcommittee: TC 46 / SC 9
+
+ [JFIF] JPEG File Interchange Format, version 1.02
+
+ http://www.w3.org/Graphics/JPEG/jfif.txt">http://www.w3.org/Graphics/JPEG/jfif.txt
+
+ [MIME] Freed, N. and N. Borenstein, "Multipurpose Internet Mail
+ Extensions (MIME) Part One: Format of Internet Message Bodies",
+ RFC 2045, November 1996.
+
+ ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2045.txt">ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc2045.txt
+
+ [MPEG] ISO/IEC 11172-3:1993.
+ Coding of moving pictures and associated audio for digital storage
+ media at up to about 1,5 Mbit/s, Part 3: Audio.
+ Technical committee / subcommittee: JTC 1 / SC 29
+ and
+ ISO/IEC 13818-3:1995
+ Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information,
+ Part 3: Audio.
+ Technical committee / subcommittee: JTC 1 / SC 29
+ and
+ ISO/IEC DIS 13818-3
+ Generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information,
+ Part 3: Audio (Revision of ISO/IEC 13818-3:1995)
+
+
+ [PNG] Portable Network Graphics, version 1.0
+
+ http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-png-multi.html
+
+ [UNICODE] ISO/IEC 10646-1:1993.
+ Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS), Part 1:
+ Architecture and Basic Multilingual Plane.
+ Technical committee / subcommittee: JTC 1 / SC 2
+
+ http://www.unicode.org/
+
+ [URL] T. Berners-Lee, L. Masinter & M. McCahill, "Uniform Resource
+ Locators (URL).", RFC 1738, December 1994.
+
+ ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc1738.txt
+
+ [ZLIB] P. Deutsch, Aladdin Enterprises & J-L. Gailly, "ZLIB
+ Compressed
+ Data Format Specification version 3.3", RFC 1950, May 1996.
+
+ ftp://ftp.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc1950.txt
+
+
+8. Appendix
+
+
+A. Appendix A - Genre List from ID3v1
+
+ The following genres is defined in ID3v1
+
+ 0.Blues
+ 1.Classic Rock
+ 2.Country
+ 3.Dance
+ 4.Disco
+ 5.Funk
+ 6.Grunge
+ 7.Hip-Hop
+ 8.Jazz
+ 9.Metal
+ 10.New Age
+ 11.Oldies
+ 12.Other
+ 13.Pop
+ 14.R&B
+ 15.Rap
+ 16.Reggae
+ 17.Rock
+ 18.Techno
+ 19.Industrial
+ 20.Alternative
+ 21.Ska
+ 22.Death Metal
+ 23.Pranks
+ 24.Soundtrack
+ 25.Euro-Techno
+ 26.Ambient
+ 27.Trip-Hop
+ 28.Vocal
+ 29.Jazz+Funk
+ 30.Fusion
+ 31.Trance
+ 32.Classical
+ 33.Instrumental
+ 34.Acid
+ 35.House
+ 36.Game
+ 37.Sound Clip
+ 38.Gospel
+ 39.Noise
+ 40.AlternRock
+ 41.Bass
+ 42.Soul
+ 43.Punk
+ 44.Space
+ 45.Meditative
+ 46.Instrumental Pop
+ 47.Instrumental Rock
+ 48.Ethnic
+ 49.Gothic
+ 50.Darkwave
+ 51.Techno-Industrial
+ 52.Electronic
+ 53.Pop-Folk
+ 54.Eurodance
+ 55.Dream
+ 56.Southern Rock
+ 57.Comedy
+ 58.Cult
+ 59.Gangsta
+ 60.Top 40
+ 61.Christian Rap
+ 62.Pop/Funk
+ 63.Jungle
+ 64.Native American
+ 65.Cabaret
+ 66.New Wave
+ 67.Psychadelic
+ 68.Rave
+ 69.Showtunes
+ 70.Trailer
+ 71.Lo-Fi
+ 72.Tribal
+ 73.Acid Punk
+ 74.Acid Jazz
+ 75.Polka
+ 76.Retro
+ 77.Musical
+ 78.Rock & Roll
+ 79.Hard Rock
+
+ The following genres are Winamp extensions
+
+ 80.Folk
+ 81.Folk-Rock
+ 82.National Folk
+ 83.Swing
+ 84.Fast Fusion
+ 85.Bebob
+ 86.Latin
+ 87.Revival
+ 88.Celtic
+ 89.Bluegrass
+ 90.Avantgarde
+ 91.Gothic Rock
+ 92.Progressive Rock
+ 93.Psychedelic Rock
+ 94.Symphonic Rock
+ 95.Slow Rock
+ 96.Big Band
+ 97.Chorus
+ 98.Easy Listening
+ 99.Acoustic
+ 100.Humour
+ 101.Speech
+ 102.Chanson
+ 103.Opera
+ 104.Chamber Music
+ 105.Sonata
+ 106.Symphony
+ 107.Booty Bass
+ 108.Primus
+ 109.Porn Groove
+ 110.Satire
+ 111.Slow Jam
+ 112.Club
+ 113.Tango
+ 114.Samba
+ 115.Folklore
+ 116.Ballad
+ 117.Power Ballad
+ 118.Rhythmic Soul
+ 119.Freestyle
+ 120.Duet
+ 121.Punk Rock
+ 122.Drum Solo
+ 123.Acapella
+ 124.Euro-House
+ 125.Dance Hall
+
+
+9. Author's Address
+
+ Written by
+
+ Martin Nilsson
+ Rydsvägen 246 C. 30
+ S-584 34 Linköping
+ Sweden
+
+ Email: nilsson@id3.org
+
+
+ Edited by
+
+ Dirk Mahoney
+ 57 Pechey Street
+ Chermside Q
+ Australia 4032
+
+ Email: dirk@id3.org
+
+
+ Johan Sundström
+ Alsättersgatan 5 A. 34
+ S-584 35 Linköping
+ Sweden
+
+ Email: johan@id3.org
projects / someplayer / blobdiff