Questions: how to make iTunes display Traditional Chinese characters?

[chengsun]

I have some songs that the tags are in traditional chinese. I computer (Win7) is able to display both simplified/traditional chinese at the same time. I can verify this by looking at some of my songs filename. However, in iTues, only those in simplified chinese are displayed correctly.

When I use some tag editor to display the tags, I can see them in traditional chinese. But it just doesn't show correctly in iTunes, and I have to use those editor to change them to simplified chinese so that I can read them in iTunes.

 

[leinad]

I have some songs that the tags are in traditional chinese. I computer (Win7) is able to display both simplified/traditional chinese at the same time. I can verify this by looking at some of my songs filename. However, in iTues, only those in simplified chinese are displayed correctly.

When I use some tag editor to display the tags, I can see them in traditional chinese. But it just doesn't show correctly in iTunes, and I have to use those editor to change them to simplified chinese so that I can read them in iTunes.

It's most likely the character encoding. Ensure that they are in Unicode and not some other non-standard encoding.

/Dan

 

[chengsun]

It's most likely the character encoding. Ensure that they are in Unicode and not some other non-standard encoding.

/Dan

How can I ensure that?

 

[chehjin]

I have some songs that the tags are in traditional chinese. I computer (Win7) is able to display both simplified/traditional chinese at the same time. I can verify this by looking at some of my songs filename. However, in iTues, only those in simplified chinese are displayed correctly.

When I use some tag editor to display the tags, I can see them in traditional chinese. But it just doesn't show correctly in iTunes, and I have to use those editor to change them to simplified chinese so that I can read them in iTunes.

very common problem for iTunes. There are many apps written to fix it for you.

if only a few songs, just retype it yourself.

this is a iTunes problem.

 

[chengsun]

very common problem for iTunes. There are many apps written to fix it for you.

if only a few songs, just retype it yourself.

this is a iTunes problem.

sorry I'm quite clueless. Can you suggest a few apps that I can use to fix it?

Retyping will be my last last resort......

 

[chehjin]

sorry I'm quite clueless. Can you suggest a few apps that I can use to fix it?

Retyping will be my last last resort......

I used to use ID3Mod but it seems it has not been updated for a long time plus you need to pay for it.

you can try Unicode Rewriter | SourceForge.net

 

[chengsun]

I used to use ID3Mod but it seems it has not been updated for a long time plus you need to pay for it.

you can try Unicode Rewriter | SourceForge.net

thank u, i will try it out tonight.

 

[leinad]

very common problem for iTunes. There are many apps written to fix it for you.

if only a few songs, just retype it yourself.

this is a iTunes problem.

Actually, it's not so much an iTunes problem as it is a software implementation problem.

There were no methods of representing non-latin characters previously. When it came to the Japanese, Chinese and Korean languages, what happened instead was a series of proprietary programs sprung up with their own versions of character sets. I remember installing NJStar and WordStar for a chinese-native friend of mine many years ago for him to type his documents in Mandarin. What was notable was you needed the right engine running in the background in order to read what you typed - it would turn out to be gibberish otherwise.

Unicode was the attempt to unify it all into a standard. However, because Windows has long added support for some nonstandard formats, then it became sort of transparent to the users. It's when they have to transfer to only-Unicode supporting OSes like Unix, OS2, and even proprietary OSes on devices like MP3 players and so on that you realise that the characters were not encoded using Unicode.

This is the brief gist of it.

What's pressing is, everyone should adopt character representation standards for interchangeability, not pander to proprietary representations. After all, then you have no guarantee that the recipients of your work can read what you have typed.

/Dan

 

[chehjin]

Actually, it's not so much an iTunes problem as it is a software implementation problem.

There were no methods of representing non-latin characters previously. When it came to the Japanese, Chinese and Korean languages, what happened instead was a series of proprietary programs sprung up with their own versions of character sets. I remember installing NJStar and WordStar for a chinese-native friend of mine many years ago for him to type his documents in Mandarin. What was notable was you needed the right engine running in the background in order to read what you typed - it would turn out to be gibberish otherwise.

Unicode was the attempt to unify it all into a standard. However, because Windows has long added support for some nonstandard formats, then it became sort of transparent to the users. It's when they have to transfer to only-Unicode supporting OSes like Unix, OS2, and even proprietary OSes on devices like MP3 players and so on that you realise that the characters were not encoded using Unicode.

This is the brief gist of it.

What's pressing is, everyone should adopt character representation standards for interchangeability, not pander to proprietary representations. After all, then you have no guarantee that the recipients of your work can read what you have typed.

/Dan

I understand what you are saying. But it isn't hard to do this. It doesn't make sense the same ID tag displays fine on finder but becomes garbled only in iTunes. It should be better abled to handle this issue especially after so many versions. Thats why I say its iTunes fault.

 

[leinad]

I understand what you are saying. But it isn't hard to do this. It doesn't make sense the same ID tag displays fine on finder but becomes garbled only in iTunes. It should be better abled to handle this issue especially after so many versions. Thats why I say its iTunes fault.

I did mention MP3 players. It wouldn't make sense to program multiple character sets and the recognition for devices. Especially in the older days when devices had limited processing capacity and maximising battery life was key.

Even a Creative and Sony MP3 players I had encountered previously had problems with non-Unicode characters.

If you recognise that iTunes is part of an ecosystem, then it's not so simple to pin it onto the software.

/Dan

 

[chengsun]

I used to use ID3Mod but it seems it has not been updated for a long time plus you need to pay for it.

you can try Unicode Rewriter | SourceForge.net

hi, i tested out ur suggestion, but removed it coz i had problem installing that, and i do not like JRE on my computer.

I am using 1 called foobar2000 with chacon addon on, which serve the purpose.

Thanks.

 

[chengsun]

I did mention MP3 players. It wouldn't make sense to program multiple character sets and the recognition for devices. Especially in the older days when devices had limited processing capacity and maximising battery life was key.

Even a Creative and Sony MP3 players I had encountered previously had problems with non-Unicode characters.

If you recognise that iTunes is part of an ecosystem, then it's not so simple to pin it onto the software.

/Dan

yeah, my old sandisk player also got this issue, sianz

 

[civicguy]

Use MP3tag to properly tag your files

Updating the ID tags of the MP3 files Album Art Covers Chinese Album Art Web Site