Best Practices for Organizing Your Media with WD Live Info EditorThe WD Live Info Editor (WD Live™ Info Editor) is a lightweight but powerful tool for cleaning, organizing, and enriching your media library’s metadata. Good metadata makes your music and video libraries easier to browse on networked media devices, improves search results, and ensures album art, track numbers, and artist names display correctly on devices like the Western Digital (WD) TV Live and many DLNA/UPnP clients. This article covers best practices for organizing media using WD Live Info Editor, including preparation, workflow strategies, tagging standards, album art handling, batch edits, and troubleshooting.
Why metadata matters
Metadata (tags) is the backbone of any usable media library. Correct and consistent tags let media players:
- Display correct song/album/artist names.
- Sort tracks and albums properly.
- Show high-quality album art.
- Group compilations, soundtrack albums, multi-disc sets, and collaborations correctly.
For WD devices and most DLNA clients, properly formatted tags solve many common playback and browsing issues: missing album art, split albums, incorrect track order, and mismatched artist/album groupings.
Getting started: preparation and tools
Before editing tags extensively, prepare a clean workspace.
- Back up your library
- Always make a backup of your media files before running bulk edits. If you store tags in separate sidecar files (e.g., .wdinfo or .xml, depending on your setup), back those up too.
- Install and update tools
- Use the latest stable WD Live Info Editor version compatible with your OS. Keep a copy of a reliable tag editor (e.g., Mp3tag, MusicBrainz Picard) for tasks that WD Live Info Editor doesn’t handle as conveniently.
- Choose a tagging standard
- Decide whether you’ll use ID3v2.3 or ID3v2.4 for MP3s (v2.3 is safest for many devices). For FLAC/OPUS and other formats, use the native Vorbis/APE tags. Consistency matters—choose one standard and convert as needed.
- Organize files into a logical folder structure
- A common approach:
- Music/Artist/Album/Disc#/Track – Title.ext
- Videos/Show/Season X/Episode.ext
- WD and DLNA servers read both tags and folder structure; consistent folders reduce ambiguity.
Tagging best practices
Use consistent artist/album naming
- For compilation albums use the album artist field set to “Various Artists” (or similar) to keep compilations together. Put track-level artists in the track artist/performer field.
- For collaborations (e.g., “Artist A & Artist B”), choose a single canonical form and apply it across your library.
Track numbers and disc numbers
- Always fill in both “Track Number” and “Total Tracks” when possible (e.g., 03/12). For multi-disc sets, use “Disc Number” and “Total Discs” (e.g., ⁄2). This prevents misordering across discs and incomplete displays on devices.
Album titles and versions
- Include edition/version info in the album title only when necessary (e.g., “Album Name (Deluxe Edition)”), but keep it consistent. Avoid duplicating info across multiple fields (e.g., don’t repeat “Deluxe” in both album and title).
Use proper case and punctuation
- Use Title Case or Sentence case consistently. Avoid ALL CAPS unless it’s the official stylization.
Genres and styles
- Use one genre field and keep it high-level (e.g., Rock, Jazz, Classical). Use subgenres sparingly. Many devices have limited genre support.
Album art handling
Album art is one of the most noticeable elements when browsing a media library. Follow these tips:
- Preferred sizes and formats: Use square JPEGs (500–1400 px) for broad compatibility. PNGs work but are less widely supported.
- Embedding vs. external: Embed album art into files for mobile portability and device compatibility. For large libraries, external cover.jpg in the album folder is acceptable and reduces file size.
- Naming external artwork: Use “cover.jpg” or “folder.jpg”—WD devices often look for both.
- Image quality vs. size: Aim for 300–800 KB for good quality without excessive filesize. Resize and compress images intelligently.
- Single image per album: Avoid embedding multiple images in one file; many devices will show only the first.
Using WD Live Info Editor effectively
WD Live Info Editor focuses on extracting metadata from filenames and folder structures, matching to online databases, and creating WD-specific .wdinfo files that some WD devices read for enhanced browsing. Key workflows:
- Scan and preview
- Let the editor scan folders and preview proposed changes before applying them. Review matches, especially for similarly named albums.
- Use batch operations for consistency
- Normalize fields like album artist, genre, and album art in batches rather than one-by-one.
- Customize filename-to-tag rules
- Configure parsing rules to extract artist, album, track number, and title from your current naming scheme. Test on a handful of files first.
- Generate/refresh .wdinfo or local database files
- Use the editor to create WD-specific info files that store cleaned metadata and artwork for the device to read—this often yields faster browsing and fewer mismatches.
- Merge tag sources carefully
- When pulling metadata from online sources, prioritize reliable databases (MusicBrainz, Discogs) and verify ambiguous matches.
Batch editing strategies
- Work album-by-album rather than mixing genres or artists—this minimizes accidental mass changes.
- Use filters to select only files missing certain fields (e.g., no album art, missing track numbers).
- Keep a changelog or export a CSV of modified files for rollback or auditing.
Example batch tasks:
- Add embedded album art to all albums missing art by importing a folder of cover images matching album names.
- Convert all MP3 ID3 tags to v2.3 for device compatibility.
- Standardize “Album Artist” across all tracks in a compilation series.
Advanced tips
- Use MusicBrainz Picard for acoustic fingerprinting when filenames are unreliable; then import cleaned tags back into WD Live Info Editor.
- For classical music, use composers/conductors fields consistently and consider adding movement numbers to titles to preserve structure.
- For TV shows, use standard episode naming conventions (Show – S01E02 – Episode Title.ext) and fill out episode/season tags where supported.
- Automate with scripting: use command-line tag tools (eyeD3, exiftool, metaflac) to run repetitive conversions before or after using WD Live Info Editor.
Troubleshooting common issues
- Missing artwork: ensure artwork is embedded or present as cover.jpg/folder.jpg and that the device cache is refreshed.
- Split albums: verify consistent album artist and album title fields, and ensure disc numbers are correct if applicable.
- Incorrect track order: check track numbers and total tracks; if filenames contain track order, ensure parsing rules are correct.
- Duplicate albums: remove leading/trailing whitespace, unify spelling/case, and check for invisible characters (like BOM).
Maintenance and ongoing organization
- Regularly run a metadata audit—spot-check random albums for missing fields or inconsistencies.
- When adding new music, apply the same folder and tagging rules immediately to prevent drift.
- Keep a small reference guide or script for your chosen conventions (tag versions, album art rules, filename formats).
Summary
Good metadata is the difference between a chaotic library and a pleasurable browsing experience on WD devices. With consistent tagging standards, careful album art management, batch workflows, and periodic audits, WD Live Info Editor can help you maintain a tidy, well-organized media collection that displays correctly across devices.
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