User manual NAIM MUSIC SERVER DATABASE DATASHEET

[. . . ] Virtual music collections where the data representing the music is stored, but where there is no physical carrier create a new problem for cataloguing. Initially the industry responded with several commercial databases offering cataloguing at an ALBUM level: ARTIST (SINGLE ARTIST FOR THE ALBUM) ALBUM GENRE And within the selected album simply: SONG will identify any individual track. This is the situation, supported additionally with Cover Art that has been used by the various free or subscribed databases for a number of years. ALBUM LEVEL Searchable Artist Y Album Y Genre Y Cover Art TRACK LEVEL Searchable Song Y While this situation will work for simple Albums where the Album title is unambiguous and the Artist is the same for all tracks, the system immediately fails for compilations, where there are many possible artists individual to each track in the album. Virtually all Classical music is assembled onto an album as a compilation, and therefore it is implicit that the current situation fails with classical music. [. . . ] 3. 3 Correctly identifying and allowing free searching within Compilation CDs, including virtually all Classical and many Jazz CDs. 3. 4 There are several types of compilation disc to be found in a typical CD collection, including: Classical Classical Classical Sampler Sampler Sampler Same composer, various works, various artists Same orchestra or artists, various composers, various types of music Same type of music, various composers, various artists. Various unrelated tracks, various unrelated artists. Same artists, re-allocation of tracks from other releases Same record label but various artists and tracks section 4 ensure a comfortable user experience. The full amount of AMG metadata is actually downloaded: nothing is discarded. This gives scope for additional functionality in response to market sentiment. The basic engine for the Naim Hard Disc Player and Music Servers is provided by Digital Fidelity and is based around a powerful XML database application. Further specialised functions ensure that the sound quality achieved is well in advance of industry standards. The Naim Extended Music Database Correctly creating a database that will be effective for Compilation CDs requires that the search fields operate at both ALBUM level and at TRACK level. The search fields proposed in the Naim Music Server and Hard Disc Player are: ALBUM LEVEL Album Title Album Artist 1 Album Artist 2 Album Genre TRACK LEVEL Track Title Work Track Artist 1 Track Artist 2 Track Artist 3 Track Artist 4 The concept of Artist includes: Artist or Group or Soloist or Conductor Composer Orchestra or Group Naim introduces the concept of PEOPLE for all Artists, Composers etc, to avoid users having to manage failed searches due to incorrect recollection of the precise Artist attribute. There is therefore within The Naim servers and Naim Hard Disc Players the concept of PEOPLE SEARCH. 3. 5 Correctly identifying and allowing free searching within multiple disc sets. Providing that there is sufficient cross checking and binding of discs in a multi-disc set then the situation is as above. Multiple discs can be combined into a single playing experience using the server Create Playlist function. The Naim Solution The solution devised by Naim is creating a database internal to the server populated by data from AMG among other databases, with sophisticated internal processing of the downloaded database entries. AMG provide data at both Album and Track level. Importantly the database is manually edited: from both submissions from Record Companies and from User Submissions, manual database editing creates a master database, which initially promises to meet the specific requirements of Naim as below. Additionally the database is configured by Naim to be self-optimising and various user tools as detailed in www. naimaudio. com -2- ALBUM LEVEL TITLE ARTIST NAME PERFORMER ORCHESTRA GENRE COVER ART DISPLAY Y Y Y Y Y SEARCH Y Y PEOPLE SEARCH Y Y / TRACK LEVEL TRACK COUNT TRACK TITLE WORK / PIECE / MOVEMENT COMPOSER PERFORMER / SOLOIST CONDUCTOR DISPLAY Y Y Y Y Y SEARCH Y Y Y Y Y PEOPLE SEARCH 24th April 2008 6. Search The Search path for the user makes no distinction between search at Album or Track level other than when searching for an ALBUM title. The distinction is at the point of returning the results to the user. The rationale is that the end user will not be constrained by the physical CD boundaries of the original disc, which are purely an artifice introduced by the Record Company. The Naim user is therefore free of the constraints of the physical CD when searching. allow both BROWSing and 7. Browsing Browsing allows survey and selection from lists, in the manner of browsing a selection of CDs on a shelf, however they may be organised. [. . . ] Repeat occurrences, to a level of three similar incidents from different servers, prompts AMG to physically locate a copy of the errant disc for subsequent manual editing of the database to take account of the regional variations. The Naim Hard Disk Player or NaimNet Server, at 03. 00 hrs (default but can be changed) will automatically check with AMG for any subsequently amended AMG lookups, and in due course will correct all incomplete local database records. Returned search results are displayed as list; directly analogous to selecting a CD from a shelf. Alternatively the VIEW can be toggled at will to show Cover art to replicate the experience of rummaging for a disc among many others on a coffee table. 10. 2 Album not known If the album is recognised on other databases then the process as in 5. 1 ensures AMG optimisation and correction of the local server database. Should there be no match at all then there are a number of tools which allow the server user to create a manual database entry. This is fed into AMG for use when a similar situation arises elsewhere, and is subject to the same edit rules for 3 occurrences. [. . . ]