Problem with Converting

[Unregistered]

I have some mp3 files that are approximately 160 MB in size, encoded at 190. I am converting to 128 using lame.

Usually this works fine, and I end up with a file of around 111 MB , but the playing time of the audio file is the same, its just encoded at a lower rate, so the file size is much smaller.

But I have a few files, that when I try to do this, the conversion seems to go fine for about half of the process and then just die. So I end up with a file of about 80 MB and only about three-fifths of the playing time of the original. The whole file of the original is never converted.

I used to think this happened when the original file was variable bit-rate, but not I think I have seen it handle variable bit rate files with no problem, and I have a non variable bit rate file that I cannot handle.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[Spoon]

Re: Problem with Converting

Is it repeatable, ie do it on the same file again and it gives the same size?

[Unregistered]

Re: Problem with Converting

Yes, I tried it twice and got exactly the same size output file. Does this mean something is wrong with the file I am trying to convert ? It plays OK, all the way to the end.

[Spoon]

Re: Problem with Converting

Try the latest beta version of dMC (beta section this forum), try converting to wave to see if it converts all.

[Unregistered]

Re: Problem with Converting

Yes, with that latest beta version of the converter, it converts to a wav file with no problems, the entire file.

I tried then to convert it from a wav to a mp3, but no joy.

Interestingly, it converted to a file of exactly the same size as the file that is created if I go straight from the high-bit rate original to the 128 bit rate file which is truncated.

[Spoon]

Re: Problem with Converting

It is probabbly crashing the Lame encoder, not much advice apart from to try a different mp3 encoder from Codec Central.

[Unregistered]

Re: Problem with Converting

Thanks, I will try that. I see there are several there.

I have another question, if you have a moment. On another file, I have an original of lets say 150 MB encoded at 190 or whatever, a high rate. Lets say the playing length of the sound is 120 minutes.

When I convert this one to 128 mb, it ends up as a file encoded at 128 but the length is like 108 minutes. And yet the end of the sound file is the end of the sound file of the original, it did not just truncate the end of the file. Somewhere in the middle, it seems like it just lost 12 minutes of playing time.

When I repeat the conversion, the same thing happens consistently. Ever heard of this happening ? I guess maybe I should try another encodeder with this one too ?

[Spoon]

Re: Problem with Converting

Probabbly, if you convert to a lossless format - wave, monkeys or flac, it should tell if the problem is decoding or encoding.