Need help on converting wav to mp3

[SoulTrain]

hey guys when i try to convert a wav file into an mp3 i get this messege.

The CODEC required to compress 'C:\Program Files\Downloads\11.mp3' could not be opened.

any idea why and how to fix it so i can convert it thanx.

[Razgo]

is it a 24bit wav or 16bit? you have the latest dmc installed? http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm

[SoulTrain]

i have the new version installed and the wav is a 16-bit wav.

[Razgo]

try: start-->programs->dbpoweramp music converter-->configuration-->dmc configuration

and look to see if you can see lame mp3 codec in the list as intalled.

and does the powerpack show registered?

[SoulTrain]

no its not installed.

[Razgo]

ok i should have just asked then how long have you had dmc installed for? the latest version should have got you 30 days trial for the mp3 codec. refer here: http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showthread.php?p=29099#post29099

did it say in that window that powerpack unregistered or trial version? did you purchase a copy of dmc at some stage?

[SoulTrain]

i just downloaded the prog earleir.

[Spoon]

If the encoder trial is up, then that is the error message given.

Try different bitrates or frequencies on the mp3 compression page.

[Razgo]

ok, we still need to know what it says in : start-->programs->dbpoweramp music converter-->configuration-->dmc configuration

as in does it say powerpack unregistered? or trial version?

[SoulTrain]

it says registered no 30 trial days remaining

[Razgo]

Spoon, i am wondering if it is possible to program dmc so it doesn't show the mp3 convert to option anymore after the trial has expired? as it looks like this error messsage is going to appear on the forums a lot. at least then when someone says their mp3 codec convert to option dissapeared we know what happened. just a thought.

[Razgo]

it says registered no 30 trial days remaining

hmmmm... well that's not what it should be saying if thats a direct quote from what you see.

you may need to uninstall and re install to see if that clears up things.

[SoulTrain]

So do i need to download and instal the lame mp3 encoder thing or what.

[LtData]

Actually Razgo, that's exactly what mine says too. And you should be able to encode to mp3 just fine. Have you tried other bitrate and frequencies?

[SoulTrain]

here i screen caped it for you lol.

http://img129.exs.cx/img129/1205/627.gif

is that what you meant.

[Razgo]

ok, well Spoon will have to clarify whats going on here then as mine displays this:

[SoulTrain]

ive tried a few others but not all of them. i guess my prob is the lame thing not being installed like he said earleir that i needed. where can i get that at.

[Razgo]

oh i misread your post and the message. i though the message meant "no 30 days trial remaining" which didn't make sense.

yes you should be able to convert to mp3 then.

[LtData]

Lame SHOULD be installed by default. Does it show Lame later in the encoder section?

[Razgo]

the thing is the lame codec comes with the dmc download/install. and for some reason it isn't showing as installed. can you do a quick uninstall and reinstall to see if it puts things right.

[SoulTrain]

it says its installed. but still gives me that message. what bitrates and stuff should i have it on.

[LtData]

First, what bitrate, frequency, and stereo/mono. Also, can you convert your source file to a different format?

[Razgo]

well i just tried a wav to mp3 no presets and VBR min 32kbps and max 128kbps and it owrked fine.

[SoulTrain]

its a pcm 16-bit stereo wav if you mean my wav file im wanting to convert.

[dragonhand]

I'm having the same problem converting wav to mp3, getting the message that the required Codec could not be opened.

I have downloaded, registered and installed the new version of dBpoweramp. The dmc configuration says that the lame compression codec 3.96.1 is installed. Nevertheless I cannot run a conversion.

Can anyone help me with this?

[LtData]

Can you convert the wav to other formats?

[SoulTrain]

i dont have any of the other codecs installed the only ones i have is mp3 lame, wave, and a test one.

[LtData]

Try a test convert to make sure that works ok. Mabye it's a problem with the source file?

[SoulTrain]

k i did a test i dont see anything saying a error or anything i made a pic of it for you to see in case im missing something on it.

http://img98.exs.cx/img98/1789/1347.gif

[LtData]

That eliminates any chance of it being the source file. Try making it a 128kbps 44100 Hz Stereo mp3.

The test conversion was just to make sure dMC was reading the source file okay.

[dragonhand]

I was able to convert just fine to from Wav to WMA, and get the green bar showing it's finished, but when I try to convert the same Wav file to Mp3 I get the error message in a window saying that the required codec cannot be opened. I did uninstall, delete the entire folder afterwards, and then did a reinstall. The same thing happened. Was some kind of registry entry or hidden info file perhaps left behind from the trial version?

[Razgo]

anything is possible i guess. whenever you want to clean out the registry to make sure , do the following:

from Spoon:

A. If uninstalling does not help, then follow these instructions to make a totally clean start:

*** if you are using dBpowerAMP Audio Player, backup your music collection first ***

1) Reboot PC, Select 'Start' >> 'Run' and type:

regedit.exe

Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Illustrate
delete the Key (folder) 'dBpowerAMP'.

2) Using Windows Explorer, open C:\Program Files\Illustrate and Delete the folder 'dBpowerAMP'

3) Reinstall, one by one dMC and Codecs.

[LtData]

Was some kind of registry entry or hidden info file perhaps left behind from the trial version?

There are registry entries that were probably left behind, but not just for the trial version. Follow Razgo's directions above.
Remember, always be careful editing your registry. Also, make sure you install all codecs and dMC before you delete the registry entries. And make sure you have administrator access before you uninstall or edit the registry

[SoulTrain]

that was the way i was trying to convert it by useing 128 stereo ect... doesnt work.

[LtData]

what frequency is your original file? 44.1KHz? Is it stereo or mono?

[SoulTrain]

all i see is pcm signed 16 bit stereo. that what you mean.

[ChristinaS]

all i see is pcm signed 16 bit stereo. that what you mean.
I'm wondering if it's a compressed type of PCM wav. Try converting it simply to another wav, not compressed, 16-bit, 2-channel stereo, frequency=44.1KHz and save the resulting file under a different name or in a different folder. If that works, then use that file to convert to mp3 or whatever you need to convert to.

Look at the properties of that new wav file and see how they differ from the properties of the original one. Therein may be the problem.

[xoas]

Dragonhand-
What frequency and what number of of bits and channels does your wav file have?
What settings did you use when you were trying your mp3 conversion (bits, frequency, bitrate, channels)?
What settings did you use for your wma conversion (for the wma file)?
Check your dMC Configuration (Start > All Programs > dBpowerAMP Music Converter > Configuration > dMC Configuration). Check the list of encoder (write) codecs installed. You should see Lame listed.
Let us know what you find.

Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

Oh yes, can you convert your wma file to mp3?

[xoas]

SoulTrain-
Do you have Professional Frequency Conversion enabled (can be found in your dMC Configuration here: Start > All Programs > dBpowerAMP Music Converter > Configuration > dMC Configuration). If this is off (which is the default setting) try turning it on. This may help if your wav file is of a different frequency from the mp3 file you are trying to create.

Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[dragonhand]

Bill,

In answer to your query:

1. The Wav file in question is in PCM Format, 24 bits, 44.1 Khz, 2 channels, 1.1 Gb size.

2. I was able to convert from Wav to WMA. I did that at 128 kbps, 44 KHz, 128 bitrate, 1 pass CBR.

3. I was able to convert that WMA file to MP3 -- at 192 kbps, 44.1 KHz, 2 channel joint stereo, encoded by Lame 3.96.

4. I was also able to convert from Wav to Wav, which created a Format "Wave Form Extensible". However, that new Wav file also could not be converted to an MP3 file.

5. On the other hand I successfully converted another wav file which is 16 bits, 22 Khz, PCM format.

Am I up against a limit in the Lame encoder? If so, is there an alternative encoder is can use?

[LtData]

Xoas or Christina can correct me, but I think it's the 24-bit part of your wave that's breaking the mp3 conversion. Can you convert this wave to a 16-bit 44100Hz wave?

[ChristinaS]

Bill,

In answer to your query:

1. The Wav file in question is in PCM Format, 24 bits, 44.1 Khz, 2 channels, 1.1 Gb size.

2. I was able to convert from Wav to WMA. I did that at 128 kbps, 44 KHz, 128 bitrate, 1 pass CBR.

3. I was able to convert that WMA file to MP3 -- at 192 kbps, 44.1 KHz, 2 channel joint stereo, encoded by Lame 3.96.

4. I was also able to convert from Wav to Wav, which created a Format "Wave Form Extensible". However, that new Wav file also could not be converted to an MP3 file.

5. On the other hand I successfully converted another wav file which is 16 bits, 22 Khz, PCM format.

Am I up against a limit in the Lame encoder? If so, is there an alternative encoder is can use?
Oh, oh, the Wave format extensible indicates a compressed wav. This is not what I meant by "standard" PCM wav. That should be uncompressed, 16-bit 44.1KHz 2-channel stereo.

But I think LtData is right. Going from 24-bit wav to mp3 (which is 16-bit) in one step doesn't generally work. You have to go through the intermediate standard wav. The joint stereo part also may be an additional problem at this point.

Basically changing too many of the parameters at the same time while converting to different formats may fail, even if Professonal frequency is enabled in dMC Configurations. Those parameters are bits, frequency, channels, bitrate.

Try to do your conversion progressively. First go from the 24-bit wav to 16-bit wav 44.1KHz 2-channel stereo (or mono if originally mono). Then use this wav to further convert.

[xoas]

I also think it likely that the problem in Dragonhand's case is the 24 bit nature of his original wav file. However, with the new r11 of dMC there is a new DSP in the Power Pack that might be appropriate and save having to do the conversion in 2 steps rather than one.

Go to convert the original 24 bit wav to mp3. In the dMC window where you set the format and settings for your output file, click on the DSP effects button. In the DSP window, activate the 16 Bit dither DSP. Then try the conversion. If this works like I think it should, it should convert the 24 bit wav to a simulated 16 bit prior to converting to mp3.

Let us know if you try this and how it works out.
Best wishes,
Bill mikkelsen

[Razgo]

originally you said it was a 16 bit wav. so this is a new ball game now. unfortuantly you need a 24bit sound card to even take advantage of it. i used to record 24bit into a professional card and then use Qbase software to dither it down to 16bits. but once you got it down to 16bit there shouldn't be a problem. xoas solution should work in theory as that's what Spoon made the DSP effect to do. i don't have any 24bit files for testing.

[ChristinaS]

originally you said it was a 16 bit wav.
The 16-bit file was SoulTrain's not Dragonhand's :D

[Spoon]

The mp3 compressor will not accept 24 bit files.

[Razgo]

doh! i didn't realize another member had slipped in there also. getting old :cool:

[ChristinaS]

doh! i didn't realize another member had slipped in there also. getting old :cool:
Shhh! :eek: Don't mention that word!

[dragonhand]

Well, "da man" said it all in a short sentence - the MP3 encoder that comes with dmc can't handle 24 bit files. That was the conclusion I was coming to with some experiments earlier today. I tried using the MP3 codec which comes with dmc to create an mp3 from the same 24 bit file in another audio application. An mp3 file was actually created but all I got was white noise. I tried the same thing with another mp3 codec in the other audio application and the mp3 came out fine.

I also tried the suggestion of first making a 16 bit wav file from the 24 bit wav file and converting to mp3. That worked. But the suggestion to try converting the 24 bit file directly to mp3, with DSP set to 16 bit dithering, didn't. Both results fit with what "da man" said.

I also tried the blade encoder on the 24 bit wav file without success.

So, is there any chance that an mp3 encoder will become available for dbpoweramp that can handle 24 bit files directly?

[xoas]

But the suggestion to try converting the 24 bit file directly to mp3, with DSP set to 16 bit dithering, didn't.
I am not sure why. This worked for me. Do you have any other DSP's activated?
When you say it didn't work, what happened?

[Spoon]

>with DSP set to 16 bit dithering,

That should have worked, after that DSP effect the file is 16 bit, so no problems. It is on my todo list to fix in the future.

[dragonhand]

Well, after seeing the new postings, I tried 16-bit dithering on the 24-bit file again. This time it worked just fine. I believe that I didn't double click on the option the first time. Now I can hide my head in shame. :(

Thanks for the help, everyone.

[griffzan]

Thank a lot guys I figured out the problem in case no one else has, I've been using db to convert files for ringtones, from mp3 to wave I use as source for everything, cut out what I want then (because it's for a nextel) 32kbps, mono, and 8000hz seems to have cleared everything up. If you haven't yet, try it and get back and let us know how it worked for you.