Foetusized's Page about the CDDB, freedb, and CDValet Web foetusized.org

	The Compact Disc Database (CDDB) project was once one of the niftiest things going on the internet. The database (in its current incarnations) still contains tens of thousands of CDs, with the information available to individuals using client CD player software. Using one of these CD players, I can insert a CD into my CD-ROM drive, automatically download the disc information (artist, title, song titles) from over the internet, and then store this data in my personal local database of the discs I own. If the disc is not yet listed in the database, I can submit the disc information; I've submitted hundreds.
	Escient bought the open-source CDDB project, and have come up with several ways to leverage the technology and the database itself into ways of making a profit. Of course, none of the folks (such as myself) who had submitted entires to their database will see any of this profit. They have created a new second generation version of the database, first called CDDB2 and now named Gracenote, which is not open-source as the old CDDB was, and includes some restrictions on client software that were not there before. In response to this, Escient/Gracenote now has some competition: MusicBrainz (which has focused on the tagging of sound files such as MP3s), and freedb, which is an open-source "fork" of the original CDDB and is doing well. The competition has been interesting to observe.
	There is a search interface for the new Gracenote database on their site. This interface will let one search for artists, CD titles and the names of tracks, and contains only this basic information (nothing about labels, availability, origin, etc), exactly the same as the web interface for the old CDDB. Freedb also offers an online search with similar results. Listings can be found for some very obscure releases -- such as rare singles, promotional discs, and bootlegs -- that one won't find mentioned elsewhere. Be aware that these are entered and submitted by many many people; typos, misspellings and errors can be found. However, it is usually easy to edit the listings once they have been downloaded to one's computer (depending on the CD player used).
	Of the available CDDB clients, I personally have used the shareware client program CDValet on two Windows boxes (home and work) for many years now, back to when the original CDDB was still open-source and non-profit. CDValet has all the features and dependability I need, with a small display area and a small memory footprint. See the update below for information about what has happened to CDValet, and how to install it. The Gracenote site has a database of available software clients for several operating systems. Freedb also has a list of available software clients with support for most operating systems. Try a out a few software clients and make your own choice.

2003 Update In January of this year, Gracenote stopped supporting the original CDDB standard. All CD player software that depended on their servers to ID compact discs using the original standard (including CDValet which I have continued to use) stopped working. They have started using the original name of CDDB to refer to their second generation version, now that they have killed off the older version. I found the solution on freedb's website; they have a page of patches for older CDDB software to fix them so they'll use the freedb database instead. The patch for CDValet was a registry update file that did the trick with no problem; I just downloaded and then executed the file. After a couple of weeks of being unable to ID compact discs I was back in business fast and painlessly. I have also upgraded both my computers, with the new machines using Windows XP, and have installed CDValet with the freedb patch on both. I had to tweak the settings a little; the autorun feature in XP didn't work until I changed the settings in CDValet to close the program when a CD was ejected, but with the extra speed of the new computers there's no slow down in playing CDs. Using CDValet instead of of the Windows Media Player that came with XP (which uses GraceNote CDDB but won't let one submit CD data) is a worthwhile option for me. Partly due to being cut off from CDDB access by Gracenote, GLH Software has removed all content about CDValet from their site; before this, they had continued to offer the last version for download, with a free registration key posted on their site (with permission to freely distribute this key). The program can still be downloaded from such sites as PCWorld and Softpile. Download and install CDValet, use the registration key below, and then apply the freedb patch. The installation for this abandonware program is complicated, but in my opinion, is worth the trouble. CDValet v3.31 Registration Key Username: Free CDValet Registration Code: RPbQe-TBGNd-BOCCG-DAbGZ It was quite annoying to be cut off by Gracenote, after having supplied them data for several years (data which is part of a database they use to make money), but in the long run I'm very, very happy to be back supporting an open-source database in freedb, both in making ID queries from their servers, and submitting information for CDs missing from their freely available database.

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