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[stevenf]

hello

I've just converted several Mp3 Files to Mp3 files, due to my ipod not playing the originals and i've found that the converted files have up to 20 additional seconds added to them. Does anyone know the reason for this and also, is there any loss of quality with the converted files?

Thanks

PS i used the media center converted to do the conversions.

[Alex B]

I've just converted several Mp3 Files to Mp3 files, due to my ipod not playing the originals and i've found that the converted files have up to 20 additional seconds added to them. Does anyone know the reason for this and also, is there any loss of quality with the converted files?

Conversion form lossy to lossy is always "double lossy". First the MP3 file is decoded to wave and this wave file can have only the audio information that the MP3 file had. Then a new MP3 file is created and once again audio information is removed. It is like taking photocopies of photocopies. Each generation has a lower quality. If you use a high bitrate or a high vbr quality setting the second generation MP3 files may not sound too bad.

The best solution would be to rerip the files from the original CD, but I assume you would already have done that if the CD had been available.

There are a couple of other possible solutions but I need to know answers to the following questions first:

- Is the "up to 20 seconds" some extra audio (or silence) that should not be there or is it just a difference in the reported duration?
- Have you actually checked which one of the durations is correct? If not, play one of these files and check the real duration with a clock.
- Are the files VBR?

[stevenf]

The 20 or so seconds are reported incorrectly as the for second, i'm not sure. Would there be anything on the market that converts a file without the audio loss?

Steven F,

[Alex B]

Would there be anything on the market that converts a file without the audio loss?

Foobar 2000 has a "Fix VBR MP3 Header" tool. It might help if the problem is caused by corrupted or missing VBR headers. Other than that, I don't know.

Download and install foobar, drag the files to the playlist, select the files, right-click > Utils > Fix VBR MP3 Header...

[MadJewDisaster]

~~~~Download and install foobar bla bla ~~~~~

How many time do we have to wait before Alex B able able to update his post to:

In MC go to bla bla


This feature is not big work as a MC for mac or linux..

PS: To stevenf
It is ok to do as Alex said
Was just 'getting hot ' about small features who takes ages to be add in MC ...

[Alex B]

MC's LAME encoder does not create corrupted VBR headers. (Or VBR files without Xing VBR headers.) Fixing corrupted VBR headers is rarely needed and it is not something that player programs are normally supposed to be able to do (... and I have no idea if it helps in this case either).

In general I consider foobar as an excellent gadget for certain special tasks. I don't consider it as an alternative to MC. I don't think MC should include all possible special tools. MC has its strengths elsewhere. The developers' time is better spent with more important things, especially because many fine tools are already freely available.

[glynor]

In general I consider foobar as an excellent gadget for certain special tasks. I don't consider it as an alternative to MC. I don't think MC should include all possible special tools. MC has its strengths elsewhere. The developer's time is better spent with more important things, especially because many fine tools are already freely available.

+++

Fixing broken MP3 files is certainly not a core task of any audio player application.