Re: Tracker/sequencer file formats in emms-player-mpv filename regex

[Mike Kazantsev]

On Thu, 11 Jan 2024 19:27:45 -0500
Yoni Rabkin <yoni@rabkins.net> wrote:

> Mike Kazantsev <mk.fraggod@gmail.com> writes:
> 
> > Hi,
> >
> > Mostly I've only been using emms to play very common mp3/ogg files, or
> > occasionally internet-radio streams, but recently downloaded a pack of
> > keygen music files in tracker/sequencer midi-ish formats, and of
> > course it (and its ffmpeg base) handles those just fine as well.
> >
> > I've added those to 'regex in emms-player-mpv in my config like this:
> >
> >   (emms-player-set emms-player-mpv 'regex (apply
> >     #'emms-player-simple-regexp (append emms-player-base-format-list
> >     '("xm" "mod" "it" "mid" "v2m" "ym" "s3m" "sid" "ahx" "fc13" "fc14"
> >     "sap" "rad" "hsc" "sc68" "d00" "amd" "bp" "spc" "nsf" "mtm"
> >     "mo3"))))
> >
> > Normally, I'd think expanding that parameter in upstream emms might be
> > a good idea too, as why not make it work for someone else
> > out-of-the-box as well...
> >
> > But given rather large degree of obscurity and variety of these old
> > file formats nowadays, I think there's high chance that simply no one
> > else uses them anymore, and adding so many weird extensions seems like
> > a good way to bump into them matching random other non-media files
> > too, unnecessarily.
> >
> > So wanted to ask if maybe anyone else added (some of) those to local
> > 'regex config as well, or maybe knows of other good reason to add them
> > there regardless?
> >
> > If not, I think it's probably best to leave such one-off obscure
> > use-case to individual tweaks, and stick with common formats in
> > defaults.  
> 
> I think that adding these shouldn't be an issue. If someone points Emms
> at a directory with a bunch of files then they should expect that Emms
> will try to read the files therein.

I agree that it's not a big deal to add too, but I've also asked this
question in a random technical discord for fun, and folks there had to
ask ChatGPT about what the hell those things are, as no one knew, and
even mighty OpenAI didn't know some of them.

Maybe it's different for folks who're really into music, but I really
think they're probably too obscure to bother, unless there's some
counterpoint to that (e.g. "still widely used for this and that").


For the record, this is what (some version of) ChatGPT replied there
(awith LLM bots, this is "tell me what would answer to this looks like"
type of output, not aiming for any kind of rigor or correctness):

> It seems you've listed a collection of terms and file formats, some of which 
> are
> related to music tracking and module files, and others are more general
> acronyms. Below I'll define each term to the best of my understanding:
>
> XM: Extended Module, a music module format originally created for Fasttracker 
> II.
> MOD: Module, a generic term for a family of music file formats originating 
> from the Amiga computer scene.
> IT: Impulse Tracker, a music module format created for the Impulse Tracker 
> software.
> V2M: A music module format associated with V2 synthesizer plugin.
> YM: A file extension associated with Atari ST sound chip music.
> S3M: Scream Tracker 3 Module, a music module format used by Scream Tracker.
> SID: Sound Interface Device, referring to the sound chip used in the 
> Commodore 64 computer. Also a music file format for Commodore 64 audio.
> AHX: Abyss' Highest eXperience, a module format designed to create a 
> Commodore 64 SID-like sound on the Amiga.
> FC13/FC14: These do not have a clear definition in the context of music 
> tracking; they might refer to specific versions or patches of software, or it 
> could be a typo or a specific naming convention used in a particular software 
> or dataset.
> SAP: SAP file format is used for storing Atari XL/XE music data.
> RAD: Reality Adlib Tracker, a music module format for Adlib/SoundBlaster FM 
> music.
> HSC: HSC is a module format associated with the HSC-Tracker, related to 
> Adlib/SoundBlaster FM music.
> SC68: A music file format designed for playing Atari ST and Amiga music.
> D00: Edlib Tracker format, used for OPL2/OPL3 FM chip music.
> AMD: Amusic Adlib Tracker format or a file format associated with the AMUSIC 
> tracker program.
> BP: This might refer to "BreakPoint," a type of event in a debugging process, 
> or it could be an acronym for other terms depending on the context.
> SPC: Super Nintendo Sound File Format, used to play music from SNES games.
> NSF: Nintendo Sound Format, a music file format for playing back music from 
> NES/Famicom games.
> MTM: MultiTracker Module, a music module format associated with MultiTracker.
> MO3: A compressed module format that encapsulates various tracker formats 
> (like IT, XM, MOD, S3M) with MP3 or OGG compressed samples.
>
> Please note that some acronyms might have multiple meanings, and without
> specific context, it's difficult to provide an exact definition.


-- 
Mike Kazantsev // fraggod.net