Problem with Auxillary Input

[rmbates]

I've been trying to convert an audiobooks file using Auxillary Input. It's a 13 hour recording so I set up the computer to do it overnight by doing the following:

set up AI to record and convert 1 track
set smart track length to record for 780 minutes (13 hrs.)
set start and stop to manual
closed all other programs and disabled all scheduled tasks on the computer

When I came in this morning the new mp3 file created by AI was there on my desktop, played fine, but it was only 6 hours 10 minutes long or roughly half the book. I checked my UPS event log for a power failure during the night, but there was none noted.

Any ideas about what could be going on here? Could it have something to do with a buffer or cache setting in windows? The 6 hr. recording created an mp3 file 452MB in size and I've got 10 GB free on the hard disc.

Also, how can I change AI to output a different format than mp3?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[ChristinaS]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

You select a different output codec from clicking right down arrow next to the Record button and seleting Record to - and then the format. Below Record To you have Compression Settings. You have to set these up before you start your conversion, and this will remain for subsequent conversions.

I don't know what may have happend during the night to your conversion. Possibly you ran out of ram during the capture and conversion.

[rmbates]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

Thanks for your reply. Does the converter wait until the entire file is captured in RAM before converting, or does it convert as it goes along? If it waits til the end of capture and stores all in RAM then that's probably the problem as I've got 512 MB of RAM...so 452MB capture + whatever Windows was using probably went over the limit.
If this is the case, what settings would you recommend to get the smallest captured file. This is, after all, just a person speaking and doesn't require all the quality of a music recording. My settings were CD quality 16 bit.

Thanks

[LtData]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

The file conversion takes place at the very end, IIRC. I think it stores the file on the HDD in chunks, keeping the rest in RAM. Edit: Never mind, read Spoon's post below. Also, remember that virtual memory, or your paging file, is used when RAM runs out.

If its just speaking, you can probably get away with a 96kbps or 64kbps mp3.

[Spoon]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

If using mp3 (Lame) and no DSP effects the mp3 file should be encoded as the data comes in.

[ChristinaS]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

The file conversion takes place at the very end, IIRC. I think it stores the file on the HDD in chunks, keeping the rest in RAM. Also, remember that virtual memory, or your paging file, is used when RAM runs out.

If its just speaking, you can probably get away with a 96kbps or 64kbps mp3.

For speech you can get by with a much lower bitrate, and quite possibly mono is good enough rather than stereo.

[rmbates]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

I've now tried to convert this audiobook 4 times to MP3(2),m4a, & wave. I've cut the compression rates way down to get smaller files, and have come up with a finished file that that has acceptable sound quality. However, in every case, the finished file is only half of the recording. I've also noticed that no conversion takes place until the full 13 hrs. has been recorded...then the conversion begins.
The only thing I can figure is that the db converter will only convert a file of up to a certain size or that I've got some setting that's restricting the size of the finished file??
Think I'll just go out and buy a cheapie mp3 player that will play .wma files instead of trying to use my Ipod.

[knackers]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

rmbates,

I have been wrestling with the same problem -- see

http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showthread.php?t=9692

Today I found the answer (independently of Spoon, who describes it briefly above). I'll elborate. I had two computers side by side, running Auxiliary Input. One of them happily recorded a 13 hour audiobook, encoding on the fly. The other and the other could not, owing to whopping temp files.

When you are actively capturing there are two little windows. One has the changing yellow level meter. The other shows elapsed time, and says on the good installation:
"Action: Converting '- Track01'"
but says on the bad installation:
"Action: Rendering for DSPs ..."
There are two ways that the latter (bad) case arose for me. One is when PowerPack was installed: go into the PowerPack configuration, which you get to from the window you get from "Record (with options)" and you see that "Volume Normalize" is selected by default. The other way is when PowerPack is not installed: on the "Record (with options)" window you see "Volume Normalize" selected. Clearly, Volume Normalize needs to examine the whole capture before compression. Turning it off worked for me.

Doubtless other twizzlers in PowerPack might trigger the problem, as Spoon no doubt knows. I described the defaults that caused me much suffering. Let me know if this helps!!

Knackers

[rmbates]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

Thanks Knackers and all others for your replys. I found and turned off volume normalize in the m4a conversion and will try again tonight....let you know how it goes.

[rmbates]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

Hey Knackers--

Couple questions--

Did you test your successfully converted file to see if it actually recorded all the way to the end of the book? I thought I had it, but when I ran my slider to the end in Winamp the voice just stopped in mid sentence and I could tell by content that it was in the middle of the plotline.
Also, you said you converted your successful file "on the fly". Usually when I'm converting a small file I see the convervsion progress bar moving during the conversion. I'm 2 hrs into this conversion and converter still sitting on 0% complete. Just can't seem to get this thing to convert as it goes. I read your prior posts, did you end up having to change your temp file, add external disc etc.? I've got 9GB free so I would think that's enough to get the job done.

Thanks

[knackers]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

> Did you test your successfully converted file to see if it actually recorded
> all the way to the end of the book? I thought I had it, but when I ran my

My 13 hr book converted fine. I just did a 7 hr book yesterday, after solving the "Volume Normalize" problem on my other dbpa installation, but I did not check the end as you describe. I'll do that tonight and report.

> the conversion. I'm 2 hrs into this conversion and converter still sitting on
> 0% complete. Just can't seem to get this thing to convert as it goes.

It never moves for me either. With a successful "on the fly" conversion it zaps from 0 to 100% in a second, right after it's finished. Clearly a bug. The way to tell whether you have "on the fly" conversion is to check that the output file "- Track01" is growing right after you start (click "refresh" in Windows Explorer). With post capture conversion, "- Track01" stays at 0 bytes till the end.

> did you end up having to change your temp file, add external disc etc.?
> I've got 9GB free so I would think that's enough to get the job done.

Nope, I didn't. Your 13 hr book should end up as a few hundred MB, so 9 GB is plenty for "on the fly".

I have a feeling that you did something funny. Are you looking at an old
failed (small) conversion file? Suggest you clean everything out and start again...

[ChristinaS]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

Make sure you're not using auto stop during the recording process. If using Smart Track Length make sure it's correct - it is stated in minutes and seconds. Lots of minutes in 13 hours.

[rmbates]

Re: Problem with Auxillary Input

Following all of your excellent guidance I was finally able to convert a complete 13 hour recording to m4a last night. Changed file extension to m4b and dropped into itunes for transfer to Ipod. Works great! Shows up as an audiobook on the Ipod and lets me stop and come back to where I left off even after playing music and powering off Ipod.

Thanks so much for your help!! :smile2: :smile2: