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Windows => JRiver Media Center 33 for Windows => Topic started by: Enger on December 22, 2024, 06:38:50 pm

Title: RF64 audio file not recognized for import
Post by: Enger on December 22, 2024, 06:38:50 pm
I am running MC 32.0.58.
I have a file (created by Audacity) that exceeds the regular WAV length limits.  Audacity outputs it as RF64.
JRiver does not seem to recognize it for import (even when I use single-folder targeted import).

Does JRiver support BWF, RF64, BW64 humongous pcm audio files?

For what it is worth, these are live recordings I made.  Perhaps foolishly, I used a Zoom MicTrak which imposes the dumb 2GB limit on WAV file sizes.
I used Audacity to concatenate the individual files.  Audacity's only (known) output format for gargantuan pcm audio is RF64.
It would be nice to use JRiver to play the RF64 file.  Foobar2000 opens and plays it flawlessly.  But I like to have JRiver as my main media player.
Title: Re: RF64 audio file not recognized for import
Post by: Enger on December 22, 2024, 07:04:39 pm
Now running 33.0.30.  No difference.
Title: Re: RF64 audio file not recognized for import
Post by: JimH on December 23, 2024, 07:48:32 am
Did you try renaming as WAV?  Might work.

Or convert to FLAC or another lossless format?
Title: Re: RF64 audio file not recognized for import
Post by: Matt on December 23, 2024, 09:11:23 am
Could you share the problem file with me? I'm matt at jriver.

I have a few RF64 files on my computer because Monkey's Audio has support and they play properly with MC.

Thanks.
Title: Re: RF64 audio file not recognized for import
Post by: Enger on December 25, 2024, 05:46:30 pm
Per JimH's suggstion, I renamed the file to .WAV extension.  It was found by MC immediately.  AND, it played flawlessly.  The time-duration numbers displayed correctly, etc.

On a lark, I changed the file extension back to .RF64.  As I watched, the file (and the folder it was alone in) disappeared from the list of audio files displayed by MC.
So, MC really doesn't like the RF64 extension.  (even once it has found the file, and containing folder via the .WAV trick, it will remove them once the audio file is renamed to .rf64.
Title: Re: RF64 audio file not recognized for import
Post by: Matt on December 25, 2024, 06:30:17 pm
This is the first I had heard of using RF64 as an extension. I don't have support in Monkey's Audio for that either.

Is that a common practice? I had only seen WAV extension with RF64 data.

Thanks.
Title: Re: RF64 audio file not recognized for import
Post by: JimH on December 25, 2024, 06:38:36 pm
Looks like it's a thing:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RF64
Title: Re: RF64 audio file not recognized for import
Post by: Matt on December 25, 2024, 06:43:43 pm
That says:
Quote
RF64 WAV files typically use the .wav file extension.

That's all I had seen until now as well.
Title: Re: RF64 audio file not recognized for import
Post by: Enger on December 25, 2024, 07:30:47 pm
I am far from an authority.
It seems that BWF is the EU-standardized way to get beyond 2GB pcm files in WAV.  THAT is probably what MC should investigate and see if it is worth the time to support.
RF64 and BW64 are file extensions that are related to BWF.

Pro audio field recorders support BWF:
https://zoomcorp.com/en/us/field-recorders/field-recorders/f8n-pro/
"Records in BWF-compliant WAV format up to 192kHz/32-bit float"
https://www.sounddevices.com/file-format-overview/
https://www.sounddevices.com/product/scorpio/#tab-content-specs
"Broadcast WAV monophonic (48048 and lower) and polyphonic file format
64-bit WAV (RF64) monophonic and polyphonic; support for files > 4 GB"

There is some documentation from the EU standards folks:
https://tech.ebu.ch/docs/tech/tech3306v1_0.pdf

This guidance suggests that BW64 is the latest-generation (successor to RF64)
https://adm.ebu.io/reference/excursions/bw64_and_adm.html
"BW64 is the successor of RF64 specified in EBU TECH 3306. So it already contains necessary extensions to support files which are bigger than 4 GB. Apart from that an BW64 file is able to contain the ADM metadata and link it with the audio tracks in the file. To do that a BW64 specifies two new RIFF chunks – the 'axml' chunk and the 'chna' chunk."

Various video editors (NLE) support import of BWF (large and metadata-augmented) audio files.  Lots of user discussion can be found when searching.
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=403516
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=104817 
"I checked it with files from a Sound Devices recorder, and it read the embedded timecode in the BWF file just fine. I suspect this is a problem with how Tascam implements it, not with Resolve per se."
https://support.apple.com/guide/final-cut-pro/supported-media-formats-ver2833f855/mac
BWF and RF64 are listed explicitly.

Hope everyone is having a great (and safe) holiday season.
Bob Enger