Consistency with WAV files

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 30 views

Introduction

The latest alpha version of RMIDI support has been a significant improvement, and it's great to see it working well. However, there's a small issue that needs attention - the album name chunk. In this article, we'll discuss the proposal to recognize IPRD as an album in RMIDI files, just like IALB.

Background

The album name chunk is a crucial part of the RMIDI file format. It's used to store the title of the album, which is essential for organizing and identifying music files. The current implementation of foo_midi only uses IALB for the album name, which is why most RMIDIs have an album set to ?. However, this is not the only way to store the album name.

The Proposal

The proposal is to recognize IPRD as an album in RMIDI files, just like IALB. This means that if IPRD is present in the file, it should be treated as the album name, and if IALB is not present, IPRD should be used as the default album name. This change will improve the experience for users who have RMIDIs written in spessasynth, one of the two software capable of writing an SF2 RMI file.

Why Support Both?

There are several reasons why supporting both IALB and IPRD as album names makes sense:

Consistency with WAV files: WAV files also use IPRD as the album name, and foobar recognizes it. Since RMIDI is a RIFF wrapper for an SMF, it's logical to follow the same convention.
No loss of information: If both IALB and IPRD are present in the file, it will still show as <PRODUCT>, so we don't lose any information.
Improved experience for spessasynth users: By recognizing IPRD as an album, we can improve the experience for users who have RMIDIs written in spessasynth.

Benefits

Allowing IPRD as an album in RMIDI files has several benefits:

Improved compatibility: By recognizing IPRD as an album, we can improve compatibility with files that use this convention.
Better user experience: Users who have RMIDIs written in spessasynth will benefit from this change, as they'll be able to see the correct album name.
Increased flexibility: By supporting both IALB and IPRD as album names, we can provide more flexibility for users who create RMIDIs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, recognizing IPRD as an album in RMIDI files is a logical step that improves compatibility, user experience, and flexibility. By following the same convention as WAV files and supporting both IALB and IPRD as album names, we can provide a better experience for users who work with RMIDIs.

Recommendations

Based on the proposal, we recommend the following:

Recognize IPRD as an album: If IPRD is present in the file, it should be treated as the album name.
Use IPRD as default album name: If IALB is not present, IPRD should be used as the default album name.
Maintain consistency with WAV files: We should follow the same convention as WAV files and recognize IPRD as an album.

Introduction

In our previous article, we discussed the proposal to recognize IPRD as an album in RMIDI files. In this article, we'll answer some frequently asked questions about this proposal and provide more information about the benefits and implications of this change.

Q: What is the current implementation of foo_midi?

A: The current implementation of foo_midi only uses IALB for the album name. This means that if a file has IALB present, it will be used as the album name. However, if IALB is not present, the album name will be set to ?.

Q: Why is `IPRD` not currently recognized as an album?

A: The reason IPRD is not currently recognized as an album is that it's not explicitly mentioned in the RMIDI specification as a valid album name. However, as we discussed in our previous article, WAV files also use IPRD as the album name, and foobar recognizes it. This suggests that IPRD can be used as an album name, and we should follow the same convention.

Q: What are the benefits of recognizing `IPRD` as an album?

A: Recognizing IPRD as an album has several benefits, including:

Improved compatibility: By recognizing IPRD as an album, we can improve compatibility with files that use this convention.
Better user experience: Users who have RMIDIs written in spessasynth will benefit from this change, as they'll be able to see the correct album name.
Increased flexibility: By supporting both IALB and IPRD as album names, we can provide more flexibility for users who create RMIDIs.

Q: How will this change affect existing files?

A: If a file has both IALB and IPRD present, it will still show as <PRODUCT>. This means that we won't lose any information, and the file will still be compatible with existing software.

Q: Will this change affect the RMIDI specification?

A: No, this change will not affect the RMIDI specification. The RMIDI specification only defines the structure of the file, and it doesn't specify how the album name should be stored. By recognizing IPRD as an album, we're simply following the same convention as WAV files and providing more flexibility for users.

Q: What are the implications of this change for software developers?

A: The implications of this change for software developers are:

Software should recognize IPRD as an album: Software developers should update their software to recognize IPRD as an album, just like IALB.
Software should support both IALB and IPRD as album names: Software developers should support both IALB and IPRD as album names, to provide more flexibility for users.

Q: What are the next steps for this proposal?

A: The next steps for this proposal are:

Implement the change in foo_midi: We'll implement the change in foo_midi to recognize IPRD as an album.
Test the change: We'll test the change to ensure that it works correctly and doesn't break any existing files.
Update the RMIDI specification: We'll update the RMIDI specification to reflect the change and provide more information about the album name.

By answering these frequently asked questions, we hope to provide more information about the proposal to recognize IPRD as an album in RMIDI files. If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us.