Feature request: adding metadata on the fly during broadcast

[Scott Stark]

Hi, I am new here. @JosepMa asked me to open a feature request; apologies if this is the wrong place, I don't see a "feature request" category

https://mixxx.discourse.group/t/is-there-a-way-to-create-metadata-during-a-broadcast/21176/2?u=slugger415.

My original question in the discourse group:

I am new to MIXXX (loving it so far!) and to this forum. I have a question about creating metadata on the fly.

I am doing a broadcast using vinyl LPs from a turntable with a USB output. I can successfully play a song from the turntable through one of the AUX inputs. However, because they’re LPs, there’s no metadata being transmitted. I would like to be able to add the song’s metadata during the broadcast. Is there any way to do this?

@JosepMa's response:

No, currently Mixxx does not support this use case. The custom metadata and the static metadata that you talk about is a fixed text to send instead of the metadata that would read from the files.

In order to implement this, maybe this would be a good idea:

Adding an option in the broadcast preferences that says: Ask for metadata during broadcasting.
Make a window popup when you start broadcasting, where you can enter the metadata text and send it. This popup should not block UI interaction, (so not modal and moveable) and not be closed until broadcasting is closed.
Send button would trigger a metadata change to be sent to the stream with the new info.
Another similar alternative would be a window where you can freely write multiple lines with metadata (so you could prepare it beforehand, but still be able to edit it), and then be able to send any of them.

[Jan Holthuis (holthuis-jan)]

I don't think this should be added to Mixxx. The broadcasting feature is supposed to be simple. Instead, we should make interfacing with OBS easier, which probably supports such a feature already.

[Daniel Schürmann (daschuer)]

Maye we find a way to keep it simple but also support this use case.

We have another use case:
If you play GEMA or whatever events. The history playlist, you normally use for GEMA billing will be partially empty if you play real vinyls.

[Scott Stark (slugger415)]

As a newbie I would also like to see this enabled in MIXXX, if it can be simple. I don't know anything about OBS but I'm guessing there'd be a learning curve to figure out how to learn it and integrate.
thanks, Scott

[Daniel Schürmann (daschuer)]

How would setting metadata integrate into the vinyl pass through use case?

I am thinking to a playlist where you can select dummy tracks from.

Could that be solution?

How would the best GUI integration look like?

[Terry Belton (tezzy)]

Scott,

I play lots of vinyl records in my DJ shows.
To get Mixxx to send metadata to Icecast or Shoutcast, I do this:

In file manager or explorer: Copy and paste a dummy 30 second long silent MP3 file.
Rename copied filename to "Artist name - Track Title.mp3". There must be space hyphen space to separate the artist and title.
Drag and drop "Artist name - Track Title.mp3" into Mixxx.
Mixxx gets the artist and title from the filename.
I load the dummy track to a deck and hit play at the same time as starting the turntable.

I hope that helps.

[ronso0 (ronso0)]

In Mixxx 2.3 we can open the track properties by double-clicking any of the track labels in the decks. Then we can update all required tags and hit Apply.
(with 'selected click' as future extension
  = click label to highight it, click again to edit in place without any
    extra dialog)

The trick will probaly be to
a) load a dummy track when switching to passthrough, with empty tags
b) when applying the new tags signal the playlist writer that the track has
   changed
c) have some kind of Split button to manually spli the playlist (in case of
  'unknow artist - unknown title' for example

@daschuer
The playlist idea could work well with the Split button. If I got it right by clicking that button the DJ would step through the playlist and mark tracks 'played'.
Thing is you'd have to have that playlist prepared in advance, at least know the next tracks -- and have time to note it down.

[Scott Stark (slugger415)]

@tezzy very clever idea! I love it, thanks, will try it out. (I think @ronso0 is suggesting something similar?)

- Scott

[ronso0 (ronso0)]

My first suggestion already works in Mixxx 2.3 beta:
* you only need ONE dummy track per passthrough deck (may be created
  in Mixxx itself by recording some seconds of silence)
* load those tracks to the decks you use for passthrough
* double-click artist or title in decks to quickly open the
  track metadata editor popup
* edit tags, Apply

didn't yet check how those tracks will appear in the history, probably not at all, but for broadcasting it should work (according to the crossfader position).

[Terry Belton (tezzy)]

ronso0 - That is a brilliant suggestion in Mixxx 2.3 Beta.

I made 4 dummy tracks and put "#SilentA" to "#SilentD" in the comment. The database can find them fast.

[Swiftb0y (swiftb0y)]

Mixxx now uses GitHub for bug tracking. This bug has been migrated to:
https://github.com/mixxxdj/mixxx/issues/10311