What do the MP3 settings exactly mean.
What bitrates are "insane" and "extreme". How can I set the highest possible quality with MP3.
MC uses the command line string
--preset extreme when
VBR, Extreme is selected. It is the best VBR setting. The setting is quality based. The actual bitrate can be anything between 128 and 320 kbps depending on the complexity of the source material. The encoder uses whatever bitrate is needed when it tries to keep the quality constant.
MC's setting
Bitrate, 320 kbps, Restrict to constant bitrate (CBR) is the highest possible MP3 quality setting. It uses the string
--preset cbr 320, which triggers the same encoding options as
--preset insane.
It appears to me that MC doesn't reflect these settings well. I get 160 when I set parameters to extreme and VBR.
Could you explain better? Where do you see 160? I get variable bitrates that usually average at 200-270 kbps. Sometimes it can be as low as about 130 kbps if the source material compresses extremely well.
When do you use ABR instead of VBR?
When you need to estimate the bitrate. ABR uses VBR, but with forced average bitrate. It has usually a bit lower quality than VBR because of that forced restriction. Sometimes it also makes needlessly big files because normal VBR could use lower bitrates if more is not needed.
Where can I find the parameters I can set with the command line?
For example here:
http://lame.sourceforge.net/USAGE and here:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=18091In my opinion MC's settings are good for the most usual purposes. They have been selected wisely. Extra tweaking may be needed for things like speech encoding.