Quote:
Originally Posted by theducks
Most of that stuff can exist in any MP3 file via ID3 tags.
How often do you select an MP3 BY its bit rate or # of channels  . |
very often - i would never buy an mp3 which has been compressed to 128 or lower. Rather than do that would opt for buying the CD & ripping it myself at a higher bit rate.
For music I want at least 192, voice can be much lower but a bit rate of say 32 or less could indicate that the original source was low quality cassette tape & you can expect fuzzyness / drop outs. recorded in mono is also often a sign of an old book reading which is being re-packed as a "new" CD version.
the ID3 tags are there so that a good media player, with customisable columns will show you exactly what you want -to see, no more, no less. it's part of may case for arguing NOT to add audio support to calibre as it already exists in so much other software
we get many audio books from local lending libraries for my ageing mother-in-law & there are big quality differences as you go from book to book. And quality matters when choosing for older folks whose hearing is not what it used to be!
as another example , a while ago I tracked down a MP3 copy of author William Gibson reading his book Neuromancer.
This was probably originally recorded on cassette tape in mid-80s, and the audio quality was so bad that it was better to pass on hearing the author read his own work & instead get a modern professionally read version