rar. files....Question.

[daleyb]

Is it possible to convert a RAR file.? From what I can make out these are low Quality,Lossy Files-but cannot see them on Codec Central.Even if its possible to convert it into a flac file-can i take it DBPA won't "upscale" to a higher quality-cuz even if its in flac-the quality wasnt there to begin with..?

Iam right or Iam I right..?

[Dat Ei]

Re: rar. files....Question.

Hey daleyb,

AFAIK rar is just a container fileformat which contains compressed data, just like zip. This is not an audio format. Those container can contain all types of files.


Dat Ei

[garym]

Re: rar. files....Question.

http://www.howtogeek.com/73904/beginner-how-to-extract-.rar-files-on-windows-7-and-mac-os-x/

[daleyb]

Re: rar. files....Question.

Hey daleyb,

AFAIK rar is just a container fileformat which contains compressed data, just like zip. This is not an audio format. Those container can contain all types of files.


Dat Ei

ok think ive got that.I can still play audio from them though. when you say"Those container can contain all types of files."... are they safe ie no virus /malware etc...?
Whats ZIP...???

[garym]

Re: rar. files....Question.

ok think ive got that.I can still play audio from them though. when you say"Those container can contain all types of files."... are they safe ie no virus /malware etc...?
Whats ZIP...???

oh my. In the context of modern digital music circa 2015, asking what's a zip file is equivalent to asking "what's an automobile"or "what's cable TV". But no worries, we all have to start somewhere. You can probably play audio from a .rar or .zip file because the program you use to play the files is setup to automatically use the files contained within the zip or rar archives.

One *can* get a virus from a .rar or .zip file. That's why most anti-virus programs are (or can be) set to also check for virus when using files from a .rar or .zip archive. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zip_%28file_format%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAR_%28file_format%29

[schmidj]

Re: rar. files....Question.

One can also, I suspect, get a virus or similarly bad add-on software by downloading "free" software for "unzipping" (unraring??) .rar files. Some of this software is downloadable from sources known for issues. I've seen a lot of it that wants to change my default search engine to one I suspect directs you to sites somebody has paid the engine writer to take you to. Be Forewarned!

[daleyb]

Re: rar. files....Question.

One can also, I suspect, get a virus or similarly bad add-on software by downloading "free" software for "unzipping" (unraring??) .rar files. Some of this software is downloadable from sources known for issues. I've seen a lot of it that wants to change my default search engine to one I suspect directs you to sites somebody has paid the engine writer to take you to. Be Forewarned!

O.K. thanks all for help.Its just there are so many flies formats.Think I will just stick to flac and mp3 for now!

[BrodyBoy]

Re: rar. files....Question.

O.K. thanks all for help.Its just there are so many flies formats.Think I will just stick to flac and mp3 for now!

Just to be perfectly clear......rar is not an audio codec like mp3 or FLAC. It is simply one of the better-known universal file compression technologies. Like .zip, it can compress virtually any kind of file, or collection of files, into a smaller file. While .zip is much better known and supported, they are both typically used for archiving files or making them easier to transfer over the internet (email, download, etc.), because they are smaller than the original.

Bottom line: .rar is a general file compression format that has nothing to do with encoding your music or building your music library.

[daleyb]

Re: rar. files....Question.

Just to be perfectly clear......rar is not an audio codec like mp3 or FLAC. It is simply one of the better-known universal file compression technologies. Like .zip, it can compress virtually any kind of file, or collection of files, into a smaller file. While .zip is much better known and supported, they are both typically used for archiving files or making them easier to transfer over the internet (email, download, etc.), because they are smaller than the original.

Bottom line: .rar is a general file compression format that has nothing to do with encoding your music or building your music library.

Thanks for info.But surely if i can download to lets say my phone, google cloud drive with a file of any sort-it is infact building a music library(even if a poor quality file.) i would never use it to play through my hifi will use flac only..Garym may mock my knowledge of knowing ZIP files etc..But its important for me to know how compression affects sound.When I ask whats a Zip-I mean how diff is it going to affect sound.I have heard of Zip-but need to know how that affects sound quality.I just needed to know its a compression of file.

Bottom line:.rar-zips-mp3 etc...fine for casual listening-not high quality.Simples.

[garym]

Re: rar. files....Question.

Thanks for info.But surely if i can download to lets say my phone, google cloud drive with a file of any sort-it is infact building a music library(even if a poor quality file.) i would never use it to play through my hifi will use flac only..Garym may mock my knowledge of knowing ZIP files etc..But its important for me to know how compression affects sound.When I ask whats a Zip-I mean how diff is it going to affect sound.I have heard of Zip-but need to know how that affects sound quality.I just needed to know its a compression of file.

Bottom line:.rar-zips-mp3 etc...fine for casual listening-not high quality.Simples.

I'm sorry, but you're still not understanding this. .rar or .zip files HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH DIGITAL MUSIC or sound quality. They are not music file types. They are simply file types that hold copies of compressed files. These files could be WORD files, Spreadsheets, Pictures, etc. Musical file types would be mp3, m4a, aac, FLAC, WAV, etc.

p.s. I'm not mocking your knowledge. I was making a joke. Didn't you see the smiley face at end! But did you read the links I posted describing what an .rar or .zip file is?

[daleyb]

Re: rar. files....Question.

got it thanks.Read links.Got the Mp3tag too. It takes me a little time but it goes in at the end....Just need to find out now why on homemade cds Ive got the same cover art appearing in ripped files-it must be something really simple.On orig.Cds its not coming up...the proper artworks there.

Any ideas..

[garym]

Re: rar. files....Question.

got it thanks.Read links.Got the Mp3tag too. It takes me a little time but it goes in at the end....Just need to find out now why on homemade cds Ive got the same cover art appearing in ripped files-it must be something really simple.On orig.Cds its not coming up...the proper artworks there.

Any ideas..

What is the cover art that shows up with rips of your homemade CDs? Art you recognize? Art related to first song on the CD? Are you embedding the art into each file or creating a folder.jpg or cover.jpg for each album? (click on options and look at the metadata options to see what your doing). If creating cover.jpg or folder.jpg, that file will be within the ALBUM subdirectory and you can see it/click on it.

[daleyb]

Re: rar. files....Question.

What is the cover art that shows up with rips of your homemade CDs? Art you recognize? Art related to first song on the CD? Are you embedding the art into each file or creating a folder.jpg or cover.jpg for each album? (click on options and look at the metadata options to see what your doing). If creating cover.jpg or folder.jpg, that file will be within the ALBUM subdirectory and you can see it/click on it.

The Album is one i have downloaded and (Dare i say it-rar-file-) I put in the winzip software it and put it into Windows media player.When I rip a homemade cd nothing shows up in DBPA RIP Window-After ripp-i store it pc HD.tHE Metadatas fine but when i select the art work appears in all files.But when I check id tag nothing showing....I think the Covers A jpeg.I dont want ANY artwork for Home made cds.......So not trying to create any artwork-just want it blankety-blank!

[BrodyBoy]

Re: rar. files....Question.

As a side note, daleyb: If you are finding and downloading free music online (just a guess, based on the fact that you're getting it in .rar containers), be forewarned that you risk downloading all sorts of other crap inside those containers.

Legitimate music vendors usually transmit their files as .FLAC, .mp3, or another common music format. While your virus checker should still scan those files, music files can't easily contain "other" stuff. But .rar files can contain virtually anything, including all variety of malware, and you have no way to know what's in there until you open up that container, which means you've already invited it onto your computer, or phone, or whatever. Online music sharers and downloaders are already doing something illegal, so it should come as no surprise that that activity tends to attract some malicious types who try to use it as a means to distribute their malware.

[mville]

Re: rar. files....Question.

The Album is one i have downloaded and (Dare i say it-rar-file-) I put in the winzip software it and put it into Windows media player.

If you are using Windows Media Player to organise your library, be very careful, as, by default, WMP can mess with your tags and artwork.

Unless you are completely au fait with the implications of using WMP, I would advise against using it to compile your audio library.