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ChristinaS
07-18-2004, 06:25 PM
When you can play an audio file in a player on your pc but you cannot convert it to another format, there are 2 possible explanations and solutions for that:

1) You do not have the proper codecs for the file
Using the file extension as a guide, go to Codec Central (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/codec-central.htm) and download the proper codecs. Don't forget that dMC by itself comes with a few codecs bundled in it for the most common file types, but the rest have to be installed separately. Some codecs are for the decoder function (so your input file can be properly interpreted) while other codecs are for the encoder function (for the new file type that you want to convert to). Make sure you have both types of codecs. Sometimes there are more than one set, you might as well download them all that apply.

2) You cannot find any codecs for the given file type or it is copy-protected or only available from a streaming server through a meta-file (http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showthread.php?t=4992).

The only solution is to use dMC Auxiliary Input, look for it in Start> Programs > dBpowerAMP Music Converter.

Here is how to use dMC Auxiliary Input in general and in my own words:



1) Make sure Volume Controls indicate your input that is enabled is either Stereo Mix or WAV (this refers to the sound coming from the sound card, not the type of file played)- it depends on your sound card - certainly not CD input. The settings here differ a lot from one sound card to another, you'll have to experiment a bit. The Volume slider may have to be only around 3/4 of the way up.
2) Start dMC Auxiliary Input and make your settings for the output file that will capture the audio of the input file - I prefer to capture to wav first and convert later. Explore all these settings and use your intuition, that's the best I can say.
3) Start playing the input file in the player that supports it and hit the Stop button (do not close this player)
4) Go back to dMC Auxiliary Input and hit the record button.
5) Go back to the player and hit the Play button - if you look at the UV Meter in the dMC Recording window you should see it active and moving. It should not get into the red zone - if it does, reduce the Volume in Recording Input controls (see step 1). You can test this too using the Test recording levels before actually recording.
6) When the song has finished playing, hit the Record button in dMC Auxiliary Input once again to stop recording. After a few seconds the wav file has been created, with the name and in the folder specified previously in the dMC settings.
7) Use dMC in the regular way to convert the wav file to mp3 or any other format you wish, unless you'd defined your output file other than wav (e.g. mp3) in the beginning.


Disable all other sources of potential audio input like Outlook Express with the audio notification of new mail coming in, or MSN Messenger with its audio alerts, since all these will end up being recorded at the same time as what you're trying to capture.

More on how and when to use dMC Auxiliary Input:
- How to convert midi to wav: http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showthread.php?t=2213
- How to convert copy protected Real Audio files (i.e. .rm, .ra) or streaming Real Audio .ram (http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showthread.php?t=4992)) to WMA v9: http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showpost.php?p=22218&postcount=12 .