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Frequently Asked Questions If the FAQ did not have the answer to your questions, Please contact us via email support@music-similarity.com to get an answer question.
Similarity is an extremely useful program that helps you to reorganize your music collection and bring some order to it. It contains a tag editor, a tag converter, a powerful mechanism of searching duplicates (based both on the simple tag comparison and on complex algorithms of “acoustic fingerprint”), a musical collection quality analysis system and an experimental function of tag auto-filling. In the future, the functionality will be extending, gaining more and more useful capabilities. What comparison methods does Similarity use? Similarity uses several comparison methods: by audio-file tags and also methods, based on the “acoustic fingerprint” technology. The “acoustic fingerprint” technology strongly differs from usual binary comparison or comparison of file hashes. Audio-files cannot be compared byte by byte, as most of them aren’t 100% byte copy of each other. They usually have different file size, different bit-rate and even different codec. That is why Similarity sticks to “acoustic fingerprint” technology. This method based on the strong math shows perfect results. What audio-formats does Similarity support?
Yes, the base functionality of the program is absolutely free and is not time limited. In the free version you can find duplicates, move or delete them, edit tags, perform mass operations, etc. The extended functionality is available in the Premium subscription. What is included into the Premium subscription? Here you can learn about Premium subscription.What is the Premium subscription period? There are two kinds of subscription: the annual subscription allows the program to work within one year after the activation, and the unlimited lifetime subscription that allows the program to work during its entire life cycle. The program automatically renews registration information (approximately once per month) upon startup, so it doesn’t influence its work. Where can I enter the purchased Premium subscription key? The activation of the key requires you to connect to Internet, so you need an established internet connection first. Then, in the main menu select the “Help” – “Registration” command and type or paste the received key to the corresponding text box and click “Activate”. After the activation completes, you should see a corresponding message. If you experience any problems with the activation, please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@music-similarity.com 
How can I delete/move/ignore files from the result window? Use a context menu. You can bring it up right-clicking the result list, or by pressing the special key on your keyboard. 
How can I perform mass operations over duplicates in the result window? All basic functions work just like in Windows Explorer: hold Shift/Ctrl and select the beginning and the end of your selection with the mouse or with the arrow keys on your keyboard. 
What is the purpose of marking files? If the amount of duplicates is significant, it may be difficult to select files with the mouse and the keyboard. That is why we have implemented marking. Marked files are displayed in dark red color, and you can mark any number of files. Then you can apply any mass operation to all marked files. 
What is a P2P tag exchange technology? This technology turns your copy of Similarity to a tag search server that allows other users of Similarity to search for tags across your music files. This technology is in the beta stage for now and is implemented as a technological demo only, but anyway it already works. Why do I need to register on the “Network” tab? You need this to be able to exchange and auto-fill tags. Also, all Premium subscription users get their licenses over the network. 
Why do I need to open ports on the “Network” tab? To be able to send data and work as tag search server. Is Similarity limited with folders only when it scans for duplicates? No, it can scan any devices, disks, network folders or Windows 7 libraries. You can select any of them in a folder tree. 
What is the maximum of files Similarity can scan? It is limited with the amount of free RAM on your computer. In a 32-bit version, with 2Gb RAM Similarity can scan up to about 200,000 files. How can increase the speed of scanning? Similarity is a true multitask application; it uses all processors and cores on your computer, so the more processors/cores your computer has, the faster the scan is performed. Also, to improve the scan speed a bit more, you can limit the scan area with folder groups. This function is only available in the Premium subscription. The precise algorithm is only available in the Premium subscription. This algorithm includes all our research and developments for the whole time of our work under Similarity. As the name states, this algorithm features much more accurate and fast comparison. Also, it is based on another math method than the old algorithm was which allows us to include even more complex and accurate comparison option in the future. Anyway, these two algorithms (the old and the new one) combined together give almost 100% accuracy in determining the duplicate music files. Why is a certain file not processed? (example, AAC, MP4 under Windows XP) Prior to comparing files, the program first decodes them to the base non-encoded audio format. There are many decoders doing that; some of free decoders are built into the program, others are imported from Windows components. The DirectShow technology gives an unlimited number of supported formats, for instance, you can install ffdshow, CoreAVC and many other DirectShow filters to support additional audio formats. Read below to learn how you can turn on the DirectShow decoder. Why is the DirectShow decoder disabled by default? Despite DirectShow features unlimited audio formats support, this option increases the risk of technical issues and crashes of the program at the same time. DirectShow decoders are written by third-party developers, and we cannot guarantee that all of them were tested accordingly and that they will work correctly with a true multi-thread application like Similarity. To reduce the risk of technical problems, we have disabled the DirectShow decoder by default. You can turn it on at any time: simply open the “Options” window, switch to the “Decoders” tab and turn on the DirectShow decoder, then click the OK button. This will turn the DirectShow decoder on. If you experience any problems with it, you can turn it off using the same steps. 
Why do I have too many duplicates in the result table? The default options are set for an average amount of files (less than 10,000). If you have more files, or if you get many false duplicates, you should do the following:
The file analysis helps you locating corrupted or problematic musical files in your collection. Many files in Internet contain some kind of a problem: low bitrate, encoding artifacts, or quality loss due to conversion. That’s why you should check your files’ quality to keep your collection in the best possible state. Please refer to the file quality analysis article for more info. What do numbers in the file analysis list mean? Please refer to the file quality analysis article for more info. Is there a Mac or Linux version of Similarity? No, there isn’t at this time, but we plan to develop versions for these platforms in the future. It doesn’t work / It won’t run We tried to make a stable and reliable product, but we can’t predict each and every possible environment of a system. Also, the software uses third-party Windows components that may also have bugs. In any case, if something went wrong, please don’t hesitate to write to us to support@music-similarity.com, we will answer. If you have a question or problem that cannot be solved by the tips found here, please fill out the Support request form or send us a note via e-mail support@music-similarity.com |
Latest news
2011-12-23 Version 1.6.3 released2011-09-07 Version 1.6.2 released2011-05-29 Version 1.6.0 released2011-04-24 Beta 1.6.0 available |
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