diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst index b7bc7ea6b..03c773fe2 100644 --- a/docs/changelog.rst +++ b/docs/changelog.rst @@ -4,8 +4,8 @@ Changelog 1.0b16 (in development) ----------------------- -* New plugin: :doc:`/plugins/convert` lets you convert parts of your collection - to an external directory using flac and lame. +* New plugin: :doc:`/plugins/convert` transcodes music and embeds album art + while copying to a separate directory. Thanks to Jakob Schnitzer. * New plugin: :doc:`/plugins/fuzzy_search` lets you find albums and tracks using fuzzy string matching so you don't have to type (or even remember) their exact names. Thanks to Philippe Mongeau. @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Changelog rather than just one. For example, if your FLAC file has both ordinary FLAC tags and ID3 tags, the ID3 tags are now also removed. * :ref:`stats-cmd` command: New ``--exact`` switch to make the file size - calculation more accurate (thanks to yagebu). + calculation more accurate (thanks to Jakob Schnitzer). * :ref:`list-cmd` command: Templates given with ``-f`` can now show items' paths (using ``$path``). * Fix album queries for ``artpath`` and other non-item fields. @@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ Changelog * :doc:`/plugins/lastgenre`: Use the albums' existing genre tags if they pass the whitelist (thanks to Fabrice Laporte). * :doc:`/plugins/lastgenre`: Add a ``lastgenre`` command for fetching genres - post facto (thanks to yagebu). + post facto (thanks to Jakob Schnitzer). * :doc:`/plugins/fetchart`: Fix a bug where cover art filenames could lack a ``.jpg`` extension. * :doc:`/plugins/lyrics`: Fix an exception with non-ASCII lyrics. diff --git a/docs/plugins/convert.rst b/docs/plugins/convert.rst index f9d2b120c..0e5bb51ac 100644 --- a/docs/plugins/convert.rst +++ b/docs/plugins/convert.rst @@ -3,25 +3,26 @@ Convert Plugin The ``convert`` plugin lets you convert parts of your collection to a directory of your choice. Currently only converting from MP3 or FLAC to MP3 is supported. -It will skip files that are already present in the target directory. It uses -the same directory structure as your library. +It will skip files that are already present in the target directory. Converted +files follow the same path formats as your library. Installation ------------ -This plugin requires ``flac`` and ``lame``. If thoses executables are in your -path, they will be found automatically by the plugin, otherwise you have to set -their respective config options. Of course you will have to enable the plugin -as well (see :doc:`/plugins/index`):: +First, enable the ``convert`` plugin (see :doc:`/plugins/index`). + +To transcode music, this plugin requires the ``flac`` and ``lame`` command-line +tools. If those executables are in your path, they will be found automatically +by the plugin. Otherwise, configure the plugin to locate the executables:: [convert] - flac:/usr/bin/flac - lame:/usr/bin/lame + flac: /usr/bin/flac + lame: /usr/bin/lame Usage ----- -To convert a part of your collection simply run ``beet convert QUERY``. This +To convert a part of your collection, run ``beet convert QUERY``. This will display all items matching ``QUERY`` and ask you for confirmation before starting the conversion. The ``-a`` (or ``--album``) option causes the command to match albums instead of tracks. @@ -32,24 +33,29 @@ or overwrite the respective configuration options. Configuration ------------- -This plugin offers a couple of configuration options: If you want to disable -that album art is embedded in your converted items (enabled by default), you -will have to set the ``embed`` option to false. If you set ``max_bitrate``, all -MP3 files with a higher bitrate will be converted and thoses with a lower -bitrate will simply be copied. Be aware that this doesn't mean that your -converted files will have a lower bitrate since that depends on the specified -encoding options. By default only FLAC files will be converted (and all MP3s -will be copied). ``opts`` are the encoding options that are passed to ``lame`` -(defaults to "-V2"). Please refer to the ``lame`` docs for possible options. +The plugin offers several configuration options, all of which live under the +``[convert]`` section: -The ``dest`` sets the directory the files will be converted (or copied) to. -This is a required setting and has to be set either in ``.beetsconfig`` or on -the commandline. Finally ``threads`` lets you determine the number of threads -to use for encoding (default: 2). An example configuration:: +* ``dest`` sets the directory the files will be converted (or copied) to. + A destination is required---you either have to provide it in the config file + or on the command line using the ``-d`` flag. +* ``embed`` indicates whether or not to embed album art in converted items. + Default: true. +* If you set ``max_bitrate``, all MP3 files with a higher bitrate will be + transcoded and those with a lower bitrate will simply be copied. Note that + this does not guarantee that all converted files will have a lower + bitrate---that depends on the encoder and its configuration. By default, FLAC + files will be converted and all MP3s will be copied without transcoding. +* ``opts`` are the encoding options that are passed to ``lame``. Default: + "-V2". Please refer to the LAME documentation for possible options. +* Finally, ``threads`` determines the number of threads to use for parallel + encoding. Default: 2. + +Here's an example configuration:: [convert] - embed:false - max_bitrate:200 - opts:-V4 - dest:/home/user/MusicForPhone - threads:4 + embed: false + max_bitrate: 200 + opts: -V4 + dest: /home/user/MusicForPhone + threads: 4