Topic: Question about SBE's in xACT...

[taper420]

so when you run the files through the SBE fix, does the output tell you if there is a SBE error? For instance, the last file is always off, which is to be expected. And it pads it, and it tells you. But if there was a SBE and it shifted bytes around, would it tell you in the output? Here is my output:

Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t01.flac] (2:04.21) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t01.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t02.flac] (2:53.53) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t02.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t03.flac] (5:15.22) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t03.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t04.flac] (4:18.16) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t04.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t05.flac] (6:00.71) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t05.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t06.flac] (4:38.00) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t06.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t07.flac] (4:23.43) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t07.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t08.flac] (6:03.54) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t08.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t09.flac] (4:00.65) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t09.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t10.flac] (2:11.72) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t10.flac] : OK
Fixing [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/cheaptrick2008-08-30t11.flac] (4:18.51) --> [/Volumes/Capture/cheaptrick2008-08-30/fix/cheaptrick2008-08-30t11.flac] : OK
Padded last file with 1488 zero-bytes.

As you can see it said OK for all of them, and padded the last file. So does the OK mean there is nothing to fix? Or does it mean that it was fixed and it is now OK?

Because I have this fileset that I cut with a CD tracking program. And I didn't SBE fix it because I didn't think it needed it. But someone who downloaded it is getting this output from Trader's Little Helper:

cheaptrick2008-08-30t01.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 1280 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t02.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 1144 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t03.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 824 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t04.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 796 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t05.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 1140 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t06.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 1748 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t07.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 2100 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t08.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 488 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t09.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 136 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t10.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 2128 bytes).
cheaptrick2008-08-30t11.flac: audio data is not cut on a sector boundary (sector misalignment = 840 bytes).

So I then ran them through xACT's SBE fix (cause that's the only way to check them) and the output is the first one I posted above. So what's the deal? Is it possible my original files had SBE's and xACT's output is not showing it? And how could CD Spin Doctor not cut on SB's? It's a clone of CD wave.

[taper420]

I pretty much just confirmed my fears. CD Spindoctor, while appearing as a CD Wave clone, DOES NOT cut on sector boundaries. And xACT does not tell you if they had SBE's, it fixes them in silence. Because the fingerprint of the original flacs, does not match ANY of the fixed files. Where as if only last file were padded, it should only not verify for that. But it fails to verify for any of the output flacs, meaning they were all changed. So the SBE fix option is not a SBE check at all. It is only a fix. You can't just run your files through them, check the output for OK's, and then still use the original files.

So now a certain number of my shows that have been seeded in the past probably contain SBE's. I actually usually do run them through the SBE fix, just for good measure. But lately I haven't because the output never shows anything wrong with them, so why bother. Well we can't trust the output (I suppose it was never actually meant to be a check at all, but I thought for sure it would tell you if it was shifting bytes around), and we can't trust CD Spin Doctor as a SBE free tracking program. So if you are using this mac program to track your shows, make sure to run a SBE fix on them.

Luckily SBE's are less of a problem then they used to be due to the proliferation of DMP's and media centers. But it is still prudent to make sure they are not present, as there still may be a select few who burn music to CD.

Hmmm... I just had an evil thought..... maybe we as tapers should start purposely tracking with SBE's to push a "greener" standard for listening to music. Less CD's are better for the environment. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

[dorrcoq]

I always use Trader's Little Helper to check for and fix SBE's.  A surprising number of shows I get have SBE's.  I used to always report them, but got tired of the "Who cares" and "I don't hear them" comments, so now I just fix them for myself and others can do what they want. 

It is especially sad to get something from the LMA that has SBE's, and have the taper/poster not care.  If you are going to archive something, presumably forever, would you not want it to be as perfect as possible?

[Jhurlbs81]

I use the "fix SBE" option in xACT to create my FLACS too.  Doing it that way I never forget to fix the SBEs.  I don't get caught up in whether or not there were errors; I know my new FLACS will not have any any. 

[fUNKYbret]

If you run the shntool in "len" mode first, it will tell you what tracks have SBE's.  Try running that before "fix SBE" if you want to know what tracks will be fixed.  Here's a link to a page that explains how to interpret the output of "len."

http://shnutils.freeshell.org/shntool/support/doc/shntool.txt

Scroll down on this page to "len mode output" and you'll see a description on how to interpret the "len" output and specifically see if you have SBE's.

[greenone]

You already have your answer, but to confirm...it's not a silent fix - the fact that it says "Fixing" means that it needed to be fixed, and "OK" means that it was fixed. If a file does NOT need to be fixed, it tells you that it's skipping it because nothing needed to be done.