Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[CarveGybe]

I ripped Schubert's Trout Quintet from a CD to a 71MB WAV, then encoded it from MC9 using first MC9's option of

"MP3 Encoder VBR" with the parameters "--alt-preset standard "

and second MC9's option of "External encoder" pointing to a copy of LAME.exe which I downloaded from the net (3-Dec-02 version) and I used the same parameters.

Both MP3s are 9104KB in size. However MC9 sees their properties differently:

using the "external encoder" MC9 sees a track duration of 6:51 (correct) with a bit rate of 177

using the internal encoder MC9 sees a track duration of 38:49 (yes, thirty eight minutes!) and a bit rate of 32.

I have seen this with many other tracks. Just for clarity, I'm not talking about simultaneous rip/encode - purely encoding from an existing WAV to an MP3.

Seems to me to be a bug.


My system: MC9.1.260 Windows XP Pro

[NB I posted this in iPodLounge yesterday, sorry if this is unnecessary dup.]

[phelt]

You might want to use the latest LAME version recommended by Hydrogen Audio, which is 3.90.3, here. Dunno if you have a specific reason for using an older version of LAME - if not, you should grab that newer version (compiled May 13, 2003).

Media Center actually uses LAME for its own MP3 encoding, but I find it easier and faster to use LAME externally. If there's an update to LAME I don't have to wait for J River's folks to update, I just replace the targeted EXE.

Regarding the VBR duration info, this has been a bug in some versions of LAME itself, not MC. In the past, I noticed similar issues ripping with EAC. I wish I could be more enlightening as to the specific versions of LAME for which this is a problem, but the bug seemed to appear, disappear, and later return with different versions of LAME. I have not noticed these issues with the newest version of LAME.

[CarveGybe]

My version is 3.93.1 - so it might be a newer version than the one you refer to, even though it's been built earlier  

Anyway this external LAME which I use is fine - it's the internal one within MC that is causing problems.

[phelt]

Yeah, version numbers for LAME are kind of screwy ATM - more info on that in Hydrogen Audio's MP3 > General section. Based on my own experience, I trust Hydrogen's recommendations and compiles more than any other source.

I understood your point about MC's internal encoder and the VBR duration issue - I don't know what version MC is using right now... if it's older, like the wretched and evil 3.93, hopefully J River will get that updated soon.

If you have any files that have the duration problem and don't feel like re-ripping them, you could give VBRFix a try. It's free and it's worked well for me in rebuilding VBR duration/seek info.

EDIT: the version listed on Media Center encoder plugins is based on 3.93.1 - have you grabbed this, or do you already have it?