dBpoweramp Flac Codec

[anakine]

Hi,

I have used dBpoweramp music Converter (v14.1) to convert a wav file to flac using last dbpoweramp Flac codec: "FLAC Release 14 v1.2.1" withount problem. But to be sure of the result I have also converted directly the same wav file with the command line tool "flac.exe", taken from the official flac site with same version libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917 at xiph.org/flac. Both conversion where asked with the same compression level 8.

But the two files obtained are completely different when looking inside them with a byte comparaison file's tool, also the size is not very different. The tags of the two flac files says they have been compressed with the same codec "libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917" and I'm sure of the compression level because when trying with level 7, the size of the files are clearly different.

However when reconverting the 2 flac files back to wav, they both reproduce exactly the same original wave file, so apparently there is no loose of data. I have also tried to do the same with foobar and this time the output was exactly the same than the one produced with the official libFLAC.

Before making a big job of conversion for a lot of music, i would like to be sure i don't do a mistake. So could you please tell me if they could be any reason why the specific flac codec used by dbpoweramp in "FLAC Release 14 v1.2.1" gives a different result than the official libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917. Does the flac codec use in dbpoweramp really use the official codec or has it been adapted somehow for dbpoweramp for better efficiency or something like this ? And if so, does this specicific version is still completely universal, I mean can be recognized and read by any music player ?

Thank you

[Dat Ei]

Re: dBpoweramp Flac Codec

However when reconverting the 2 flac files back to wav, they both reproduce exactly the same original wave file, so apparently there is no loose of data.

Isn't this the answer to your question?

dBpa writes some special tags into the header, which is no problem at all. So the files from dBpa and the offical flac lib can and will differ in this point.


Dat Ei

[anakine]

Re: dBpoweramp Flac Codec

Thank you for your answer Dat Ei

As you say, I first thought that the difference comes from header and tag, but looking carefully to it, i can say that all the data in the file are different, not only the header. The tool i use (Winmerge) to make a byte comparison can find the part that are similar and graphicaly show it. I have already seen this in particular when ripping the same cd with different software: the header are clearly marked as different in yellow as each software build his own header, but then all the music data in between are exactly the same showed in white.

But this is not the case here, everything is marked as different. When looking manualy, i can find there and there some tiny part that are the same in both files, but then mixed with something else that has no counterpart on the other file. Also when searching a part of the data i select randomly in one file and search if its exist somehere in the second, show me all the time that it doesn't exist in the second. So for me the encoded data are highly different.

Also as you say the most important is that when reconverting back to wav with dBpoweramp give back the exact original, but I wish to be sure my flac files can be read or back converted without problem by any other software if dBpoweramp doesn't use the official flac codec or use it with some specific parameters i didn't knew, as what I found here :

https://xiph.org/flac/documentation_tools_flac.html*encoding_options

So if it is the case could it be possible to know what parameters has been choosen to make the flac.dll contained in "FLAC Release 14 v1.2.1" ?

Thank's again

[Spoon]

Re: dBpoweramp Flac Codec

Why would you be comparing compressed data? when it all uncompresses exactly the same.

You would need the exact same version of flac, compiled with the same compiler to create identical compressed data.

[zoan06]

Re: dBpoweramp Flac Codec

Will the codec be updated to 1.3.2 eventually?

https://xiph.org/flac/changelog.html

[Spoon]

Re: dBpoweramp Flac Codec

We will skip 1.3.2 as there is a serious bug which causes flac to crash on certain CPUs.