I installed the plugin mp3info in order to get the length and size automatically of mp3 files that I upload via ftp. I’m using the files for a podcast that is published on iTunes and would like to be able to not have to enter in the data for the duration of the file and the size of the file when I publish the entry.

But, I can’t get it to work. I even created a completely blank template and then pasted in the usage data that is given in the explanation of the plugin. I uploaded an mp3 file to the root level of my website and used that as my file and path info. This is what I have inserted for that information:

{exp:mp3info file=“http://cmachurch.org/EverybodyLoves.mp3” path=”/home/cmachurc/public_html/”}
version id = {version_id}
version = {version}
layer id = {layer_id}
layer = {layer}
protection = {protection}
bitrate = {bitrate}
sampling rate = {sampling_rate}
padding = {padding}
private = {private}
channel mode = {channel_mode}
copyright = {copyright}
original = {original}
filesize = {filesize}
length = {length}
{/exp:mp3info}

I installed this in a template called “test” and you can see the results that you get when you run that page at
http://cmachurch.org/index.php?/site/test/

But, be advised that it must be looping because it never seems to end loading. So, if you open this page, just close it after you see what it’s doing, else it will eat your processes.

I would have expected some results but instead get error. If anyone can give me more information as to why this is happening, I would be grateful. Thanks

Greetings Arthur!

I just grabbed the plugin from silenz’s website.  I think the issue could be that there is white space below the end php tag.

if you delete that white space at the bottom of the file, it should work.

-greg

I found one line of white space and eliminated it. But, it didn’t make any difference at all. Sorry.

drat, I thought that might take care of it. 

Well, to be honest with you, since this is a 3rd party plugin, we can’t provide official support for it.  I’m going to move this thread into the plugins forums, and I recommend that you contact the PI author to ask him for some help.

Kindest Regards,

-greg

Well… since this is third party and I can’t get any help from the EE forum. And since I can’t seem to get any help from the author of the plugin… that leaves me back at square one. So, instead of asking for help with the mp3info plugin, let me ask if anyone is able to give me a way to extract the size of the mp3 file and the duration of the mp3 file so that I don’t have to look up that information and enter it manually for the podcast? Surely that’s what computers are for, so that this kind of information doesn’t have to be entered manually but can be automatically extracted as it’s needed.

Hey Arthur,
in cases like this, if the information in the mp3 is static, you should really consider spending the additional 20 seconds to add it manually in the weblog entry.

Imagine how much more processing your EE will have to do if you extract the static information from the mp3s with a plugin every time it is being shown, instead of just reading a pre-entered value from the weblog entry.

Sorry for not providing a solution to the question you asked.

Uhhhh…. ok…. 20 seconds here and 20 seconds there and 20 seconds elsewhere all add up to much more than 20 seconds. But that’s not the only thing. The mp3info plugin was suppose to cache the information so it wouldn’t require processing every time someone accessed it. Also, I still go back to my previous comment that this kind of thing is what computers were designed to do. EE has many other processes that determine values on the fly… this just seems like something that shouldn’t be that difficult to accomplish. But, perhaps I’m wrong in that. I’ll keep looking. I’m not convinced that this “little detail” is beyond the power of a modern age computer. Plus, one of the advantages of a forum is that while one person can’t see a solution, there is someone else who may.

Have a happy day!

one of the advantages of a forum is that while one person can’t see a solution, there is someone else who may.

You should really contact the plugin author, I’m sure that person will be happy to assist you.

Hi Arthur. I’ve looked into this and got at least a suspicion. Please go here, grab a fresh copy and give it another try.

The mp3info plugin was suppose to cache the information so it wouldn’t require processing every time someone accessed it.

That’s true. And even if it was not, it doesn’t have to read the whole mp3-file. It only needs to read one frame from the beginning of the file to get an info header. So it’s not that much work to do in the first place.

As a sidenote:

You left a comment regarding this issue at my site at 4:36 AM local time and only 10 (ten) minutes later you posted here:

Arthur Joyce - 09 October 2008 09:46 PM

And since I can’t seem to get any help from the author of the plugin…

Are you serious?

silenz - 10 October 2008 07:48 AM

Hi Arthur. I’ve looked into this and got at least a suspicion. Please go here, grab a fresh copy and give it another try.

The mp3info plugin was suppose to cache the information so it wouldn’t require processing every time someone accessed it.

That’s true. And even if it was not, it doesn’t have to read the whole mp3-file. It only needs to read one frame from the beginning of the file to get an info header. So it’s not that much work to do in the first place.

As a sidenote:

You left a comment regarding this issue at my site at 4:36 AM local time and only 10 (ten) minutes later you posted here:

Arthur Joyce - 09 October 2008 09:46 PM

And since I can’t seem to get any help from the author of the plugin…

Are you serious?

First, let me clarify. Yes, I was serious. I went to the author’s site and couldn’t find any link such as “contact us” so I decided to leave a comment in hopes that I would make contact that way. When I left a comment, it took me to a page in German, I think. Then, no matter how I refreshed, the comment never showed up at all. I tried the “preview” function and nothing happened there either. So, I was totally convinced that the comment function wasn’t working and that there wasn’t any way to even contact the author.

The next morning I found an email from the author so I guess my comment did go through. I replied to him via email but haven’t gotten a response back yet. So, had I seen my comment on the website or had I gotten something in English instead of German, I probably would not have replied in the forum until I had given time to hear from the author.

Secondly, I downloaded from the link you provided and the plugin works now. Obviously there was something from the author’s website copy that wasn’t right. So… Thank You.

Ah….  I see that the previous poster is the author. I was confusing you with the one right before you. I apologize for that confusion on my part. So, thank you for directing me to the corrected php file.

Arthur Joyce - 10 October 2008 08:09 AM

When I left a comment, it took me to a page in German, I think. Then, no matter how I refreshed, the comment never showed up at all.

That was the message telling you that the comment awaits moderation. I’ve been hit hard by spam comments lately.

Glad it’s working now.

silenz - 10 October 2008 11:33 AM

Arthur Joyce - 10 October 2008 08:09 AM

When I left a comment, it took me to a page in German, I think. Then, no matter how I refreshed, the comment never showed up at all.

That was the message telling you that the comment awaits moderation. I’ve been hit hard by spam comments lately.

Ahh! Since I don’t read German I had no way of knowing that it was awaiting moderation. It seemed a little strange to me that everything was in English until I submitted the comment and then it went into German. Perhaps you could have both languages there for those of us who are mono-linguistic. Believe me, however, I know how terrible spam can be. It’s a shame that we have to take the measures we do to protect ourselves from worthless mail.

I am glad to see the plugin work as it does. You can look for a donation from me. I believe that those who work on things for others should be encouraged in their work and while the donation may not be huge, it does reflect my gratitude for your willingness to put your work out for the general public.

Thanks.

Arthur Joyce - 11 October 2008 11:32 AM

It seemed a little strange to me that everything was in English until I submitted the comment and then it went into German.  Perhaps you could have both languages there for those of us who are mono-linguistic.

Yeah, I run multiple sites on that installation. But I’m currently moving my addons to a new home anyways. That’ll be English. At least the message had the word “Moderator” in it

Arthur Joyce - 11 October 2008 11:32 AM

I am glad to see the plugin work as it does. You can look for a donation from me. I believe that those who work on things for others should be encouraged in their work and while the donation may not be huge, it does reflect my gratitude for your willingness to put your work out for the general public.
Thanks.

Your welcome.