Track length showing incorrectly on mp3 rips - VBR issue?

[empee3p]

Hi

I have just ripped all CD's I have collected over the last 25 years.

I have just noticed a problem with the rips...

Track lengths are showing almost random figures in all players I have tried - Winamp, VLC, Windows own. They play for the correct length of time though.

After a bit of research I found a utility called "mp3val" to validate files. It comes back saying "VBR detected - no VBR header found", but the software cannot rectify that issue. I also read something about a TLEN value possibly being incorrect, but that means even less to me.

Is there something I can do with dBpoweramp that will fix the files?

[Spoon]

If you rip with Lame, it writes it's own VBR headers, as a test hold the mouse over a track and dBpoweramp will show the length, is it the correct value?

TLEN is from the ID Tags, no one uses that for track length.

[empee3p]

If I hovver the cursor over a file in explorer the length it shows is wrong, sometimes close, sometimes massively out.

[Spoon]

You used dBpoweramp to rip the CDs?

[empee3p]

You used dBpoweramp to rip the CDs?

I did indeed. v16.2. I changed a few settings from default, mainly to up quality and also had to set iso compatibility mode.

Here is a good example, the track is actually 7m2s...

mp3Capture.PNG

[Spoon]

>and also had to set iso compatibility mode.

and this mode forces no VBR header. That is the issue.

[empee3p]

>and also had to set iso compatibility mode.

and this mode forces no VBR header. That is the issue.

Is that all compatibility mode does?

Is there a way to fix the files so they have the correct header without re-ripping/encoding?

It is a fairly fundamental thing to "break" without warning when you select the combination of options. I presume selecting CBR with compatibility mode would work fine?

[Spoon]

Compatibility mode is a very simple form of mp3, it could be there are other changes, or constraints on the mp3 bit buffers, I have not looked into it. You would have to re-rip to add the header.

CBR does work fine, in compatibility mode, however you should never select this mode unless you had a 15 year old player which would not play modern mp3 files.

VBR headers are not part of the official mp3 specification, so nothing is broken by not having the header.

[empee3p]

Compatibility mode is a very simple form of mp3, it could be there are other changes, or constraints on the mp3 bit buffers, I have not looked into it. You would have to re-rip to add the header.

CBR does work fine, in compatibility mode, however you should never select this mode unless you had a 15 year old player which would not play modern mp3 files.

VBR headers are not part of the official mp3 specification, so nothing is broken by not having the header.

Thanks, I was worried you would say re-rip. I did a bit of digging and found an update to a tool called VBRfix (Moonbase update!), it seems to at least fix the issue of track length in Windows/Winamp etc, but I have not tested it in my car CD-MP3 player which was the reason I ticked compatibility in the first place... It plays VBR fine, but seemed to randomly glitch playing at high bitrate without the box ticked.

I found the utility here if anyone else needs it: https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,67076.0.html

I ran mp3val after and it seems happy with the output, so fingers crossed that just saved me re-ripping!

[empee3p]

Compatibility mode is a very simple form of mp3, it could be there are other changes, or constraints on the mp3 bit buffers, I have not looked into it. You would have to re-rip to add the header.

CBR does work fine, in compatibility mode, however you should never select this mode unless you had a 15 year old player which would not play modern mp3 files.

VBR headers are not part of the official mp3 specification, so nothing is broken by not having the header.

Thanks, I was worried you would say re-rip. I did a bit of digging and found an update to a tool called VBRfix (Moonbase update!), it seems to at least fix the issue of track length in Windows/Winamp etc, but I have not tested it in my car CD-MP3 player which was the reason I ticked compatibility in the first place... It plays VBR fine, but seemed to randomly glitch playing at high bitrate without the box ticked.

I found the utility here if anyone else needs it: https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,67076.0.html

I ran mp3val after and it seems happy with the output, so fingers crossed that just saved me re-ripping!

[empee3p]

but I have not tested it in my car CD-MP3 player

Just to update: Tested a few albums, VBRfix took about a second per track, and all seems okay in the car and PC players! Phew!

[businessmail72]

Thanks so much. I ripped my entire CD collection to AIFF (which showed the correct times in iTunes), then converted them to mp3 using the batch converter for my devices and network. I noticed that the track lengths in iTunes for the mp3s were way off, some showing a little longer, while others showing 32 minutes for a 4 minute song. Other players would show similar, but different song durations. I selected the iso compatibility mode as well thinking this would make my mp3s compatible with about any player, especially if burnt to CD. Oh well, the mp3s are not acceptable with the incorrect track lengths. This flaw or issue should be highlighted before somebody selects the iso compatibility mode.