MetaX 1.9.4 brings speed improvements and more! Here is the change log:

Generous use of threads - no more beach balls
Description clipped to 256 characters for file portability
Work flow modifications
UI improvements
Various Bug fixes

Here is your screen shot:



The commit tags button is gone. All writes go through the queue mechanism now. Multiple file drags react the same as before, disabling certain tags which shouldn't be identical across different files. The user can cancel processing at any time. The current queue item will finish writing before the cancel request is honored.

The program should be much more responsive, and beach balls should be a thing of the past thanks to the generous use of threads.

The description field is now limited to 256 characters. This will ensure that your file works across multiple platforms. The description text will turn blue and a warning will be displayed if your text exceeds this limit. You can manually edit the text to get your desired description. The text will turn black again when you are below the limit. If you do not clip the text manually, MetaX will clip it for you.

Please send comments and suggestions. I love to hear your feedback. Enjoy the speed!

Get it HERE.

MetaX 1.9.2 brings queue support to all of you taggers out there. Here is the change log:

1.9.2 - Added queue functionality
Added option to copy original to trash before writing (parachute)
Several bug fixes

And a screenshot:



To add items to the queue you can click the "Add To Queue" button on the main window, or use the "+" button beneath the queue. A snapshot of your currently selected tags is sent to the queue for processing at a future time. You can remove items from the queue by selecting the item that you do not want in the queue and clicking the "-" button. You can also clear the entire queue with the "Clear Queue" button. To process the queue, just click the "Write Queue" button on the queue drawer. If you would like to send each item to your iTunes library after tags are written, be sure to select the "Send to iTunes after write" check box.

Also new in this version is an option in the preferences to send a copy of your original to the trash before writing. This will give you a backup copy just in case something goes wrong with the write. If all is well, you can simply empty the trash when you are done. Keep in mind that this option does copy of your original, so processing time will be longer. I wrote it this way so that those who choose not to backup will still reap the speed benefits of MetaX.

Finally, several bugs were fixed in this version. These include an error that prevented some multiple drags to MetaX, the title tag field should now populate correctly for an untagged movie, and more. I want to feature-freeze MetaX for a short while so that I can concentrate on perfecting the current features. Please send me bug reports and suggestions. I tagged about 30 movies with this version with no ill effects, however be cautious with your own files until you are satisfied.

Get it HERE. Enjoy!

MetaX 1.9.1 Beta is available for testing. Please do not use this version on any files you are not prepared to lose. This is for those who are willing to perform testing and provide feedback. Here is a screenshot:



As you can see, this version adds queue support. An unlimited number of movies can be added to the queue, and processed as a batch. Please test this new feature and provide bug reports, feedback, and suggestions.

Known issues: German localization is not complete for new features, I have seen a thread race about 1 in 24 writes.

Enjoy!

MetaX 1.9.0 is hot off the press and ready for download. Here is the change log:

1.9.0 - Added "Advanced" tab supporting most every tag you could ever want
Added German localization
Added the ability to switch search domains between .com, .de, .co.uk
Minor bug fixes and UI improvements

And, of course, a screenshot:



The "Advanced" tab supports many tags that users have been requesting. By placing them in a separate tab, users who do not wish to use them can choose to ignore them. The check toggle button will not toggle checks for tags on this tab. This is a feature, not a bug. I did not want to taint the simplicity of MetaX by requiring every user to use this tab.

Change the search domain by clicking the arrows beside the flag icon. You can now search Amazon.com, .de, or .co.uk. Keep in mind that movie and TV ratings can only be written for US style ratings. MetaX will attempt a best guess based on Amazon's specific rating for that country. MetaX will remember the last search domain that you selected.

Thanks to Nicolas, German users now have a localization for their native language. (I was surprised how much time this takes, even for a small app like MetaX!)

Thanks to all of the users who wrote with suggestions and bugs. I really do appreciate it. My next feature addition for MetaX will be batch support (queue), which will allow setting up multiple files with independent tags. After the addition of the queue, I am going to feature freeze for a bit to polish up the existing capabilities. Keep the feedback coming. Enjoy!

Get it HERE!

I hacked together a quick little app today -- TraffiCam. It is a traffic camera aggregator for the Charleston, SC area. Here is a screenshot:



It will refresh every 5 minutes, or the user can initiate a refresh with the "Refresh" button. The last refresh time stamp is displayed on the bottom right corner of the window. To enlarge an image, just click on it. This is probably only useful to those who live in Charleston or intend to visit the Charleston area, but I thought that I'd put it up here anyway. You can get it HERE. Enjoy!

MetaX 1.8.8 fixes a particularly nasty bug. Here is the change log:

- Fixed nasty bug that would cause a runaway thread to max out CPUs
- Changed "Year" field to "Date" field supporting UTC release date
- Added support for the Album Artist tag
- MetaX will now only ask one time if you want to do automatic searches

Get it HERE.

The other added features in this version were all requested by users. I also fixed some unlisted bugs, including a bug in the screenwriter tag code. If anybody is still experiencing runaway CPU usage please let me know. Enjoy!

MetaX 1.8.6 sports a brand new progress bar. Here is the change log:

- Added support for the screenwriter tag
- Added locking mechanism for video kind tag
- Added a real progress indicator for file writes (with a bit of multi-threaded magic)
- Added the ability to add newly tagged files to iTunes library
- Various bug fixes and UI imrovements

Get it HERE.

Here is a fresh screenshot for you:



The video kind locking feature can be useful if you are tagging many files of the same type. Just click the video kind check mark until it displays mixed state, (-), to lock in your desired type. This was a user requested feature for tagging multiple files with the file name tagging mode. The add to iTunes button will put the video file in your iTunes Library. And of course, the progress bar is desired by many. You can now see real time progress on your tag writes. I have been getting a ton of great feedback. Please keep it coming, along with feature requests. Enjoy!

MetaX 1.8.4 adds two user requested features:

- Tag checks select themselves automatically when the tag is edited
- Support for setting/unsetting the podcast flag

Keep those great ideas coming!

Get it HERE.

MetaX 1.8.2 is a bug fix release. Thanks to all of the problem reports and feature requests. I really do appreciate all of them. Keep 'em coming! I have received some great feature ideas over the last few days. Expect to see some new stuff in future releases.

Download it HERE.

MetaX 1.8 is ready for download. Here is the change log:

-Added support for cast, director, and producer tags for Apple TV
-Added "file name tagging mode" that will set tags based on a file name template
-Added option to not automatically search Amazon.com for those without internet connections
-MetaX now supports iTunes purchased videos
-Minor UI improvements

Get it HERE!

The director, producer, and cast tags can now be set to display on your Apple TV. The director and cast tags will populate from Amazon.com. I implemented a new file name tagging mode which will set tags based upon the file name structure of your file. You control this via a template in the preferences. Just drag and drop the elements from the palette to the template. (Thanks for the idea Matt!) Here is a screenshot:



You now have an option to turn off automatic Amazon.com searching. This might be helpful if you don't have an internet connection, but it does disable a powerful feature in MetaX. And finally, I squashed a few more bugs (Thanks Tim), and made a few UI modifications. As always, I welcome your feedback and feature requests. Be sure to review MetaX on Macupdate.com and VersionTracker.com. Enjoy!

MetaX 1.6 is now available. Here is the change log:

1.4.3 - If the video file has no tags to perform a search with, MetaX will default to the file name for a search term

1.6 - Added US Film and TV rating tag support
Modified Atomic Parsley source to better fit MetaX's needs
Added error checking on all tag writes
Artist tag for TV shows is now set to the show name for proper display on Apple TV
Added the ability for the user to change the file name if desired
Minor UI improvements



Yeah, I slid a silent 1.4.3 in there a few days ago. You can now write MPAA/TV rating tags to your files, and change the file name prior to write if you desire. The error checking should prevent just about any error that could occur on write. Keep in mind that tag writing can take quite a while, especially the first time that you write tags to a file. Subsequent writes are usually much faster. As always, I welcome your feedback and opinion. (Let me know if you like the UI modifications.) You can get it HERE. Enjoy!

The June issue is up. Enjoy!

MetaX 1.4.2 is a bug-fix release. Here is the change log:

MetaX 1.4.2

• Fixed check toggle button bug that prevented changing album check
  
• Description field is now limited in length to prevent write problems
  
• Movie Posters are now in a drawer vice panel to tidy up the interface
  
• Improved retrieval of description text from Amazon.com
  
• The date is now clipped to just the four digit year
  
• Several other minor bugs have been fixed
  
  There is also some new error handling for unsupported tags. As always, please provide me with feedback and suggestions.
  
  Click HERE to get it!
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