mass music converter

imported_alp

Senior member
Aug 24, 2004
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is there any program that you can use to select all (unprotected) wma or mp3 files in a folder and convert them all to an mp3 of a certain bitrate, saving them in another folder?
 

BlueWeasel

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
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CDex (and probably EAC) can do MP3-to-MP3 conversion at a higher or lower bitrate, but I'm not sure about WMA.

You can also use an older version of Winamp with the WMA plugin to covert from MP3 to WMA. I use this to covert my high-bitrate MP3s to 128kpbs WMA because of the lower filesize for use on my flash player I take to the gym.

Of course, I'll mention the obligatory "Converting from one compressed format to another isn't recommended". :)
 

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
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dBpoweramp. Keep in mind going from one lossy format to another will result in a loss of sound quality.
 

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
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Originally posted by: alp
thanks. how big a loss of quality are we talking about?
Depends on the formats, bitrates & the music itself. Lossy codecs achieve their high compression by discarding the data they deem the least necessary for accurate sound reproduction, more for lower bitrates. Different codecs discard different data, so when going from one to another you lose the data that not one, but both deem unnecessary.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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This is one reason why I keep my CD collection in lossless FLAC format on my music server PC.

A lossless format like FLAC is like a Zip file except optimized for audio -- when you play it back, it decompresses to the exact WAV file you ripped from the CD, zero loss of quality.

When you convert from a lossless format to a lossy format like MP3, the quality is exactly the same as if you were ripping directly from CD to that lossy format.

Of course you have to actually pay for your music to get the CDs, but some of us still do :)
 

Gurck

Banned
Mar 16, 2004
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Originally posted by: alp
ummm... dbpoweramp can't open wmas...
Hrm, I have no wmas, so I can't speak definititvely on it - but dBpoweramp works by a plugin system, so you may simply need the plugin for them? Iirc it supports only wav and mp3 by default; I recall having to get the plugins (easy process) for flac & ogg-vorbis.