mp3 encoder Q's

[dpopiz]

how do mp3 encoders differ?
if something is encoded at 320Kbps with a good encoder and a crappy encoder, will they sound different?
can some encoders just not correctly encode certain types of sounds even at high bitrates?
are certain encoders better for a certain kinds of music?
is there a particular encoder that's best suited for dance music?

 

[Pepsi90919]

screw mp3. i hate it and talking about it.

 

[0roo0roo]

best mp3 encoder uses the lame codec. u can do a search on it. and do a search on atot forums for more info really. there loads of threads which is why i'm not going to say much. use EAC to rip and encode mp3s. or just razor lame to encode wav files. a mp3 is limited by the source, if the source is horrible, you will preserve the horribleness better at 320kbs, and nothing more.

theres variable bitrate now which isn't bad. course if you want 320kbs, u can have it no problems.

theres nothing special about dance music.

 

[Viper GTS]

If you want good MP3's stick with something simple like lame alt preset extreme.

Lately I've been encoding all my music in MP4/AAC using Nero's AAC plugin. Filesizes are a little smaller than the 320 VBR MP3's I was using previously, & they sound better.

Viper GTS

 

[konichiwa]

check out www.r3mix.net

 

[rh71]

Whenever I encode divx movies, I can ONLY use the Radium-provided MP3 codec because it allows you to select it in an encoder application like VirtualDub. The purpose is to make the audio (in your vid) extremely small in filesize and it works wonders. From the readme:

Basicly, this codec allows you to encode MP3s using external programs like SoundForge, CoolEdit, Acid, Audiograbber, Wavelab and many more.

LAME doesn't have an installer (only .dll's) where 3rd party video apps would recognize it as a selectable audio encoder. Why is that ?! (or someone show me the way).

 

[0roo0roo]

with eac or razorlame u just choose the location of the lame.dll file

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: rh71
Whenever I encode divx movies, I can ONLY use the Radium-provided MP3 codec because it allows you to select it in an encoder application like VirtualDub. The purpose is to make the audio (in your vid) extremely small in filesize and it works wonders. From the readme:

Basicly, this codec allows you to encode MP3s using external programs like SoundForge, CoolEdit, Acid, Audiograbber, Wavelab and many more.

LAME doesn't have an installer (only .dll's) where 3rd party video apps would recognize it as a selectable audio encoder. Why is that ?! (or someone show me the way).

you should really encode the audio in a seperate app and then use V-DUb to merge the video and audio.

i've made a few rips and used -aps lame for the audio.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: rh71
Whenever I encode divx movies, I can ONLY use the Radium-provided MP3 codec because it allows you to select it in an encoder application like VirtualDub. The purpose is to make the audio (in your vid) extremely small in filesize and it works wonders. From the readme:

Basicly, this codec allows you to encode MP3s using external programs like SoundForge, CoolEdit, Acid, Audiograbber, Wavelab and many more.

LAME doesn't have an installer (only .dll's) where 3rd party video apps would recognize it as a selectable audio encoder. Why is that ?! (or someone show me the way).

Any application that provides a CLI config for external encoders should be able to use LAME.

Viper GTS

 

[glen]

Half the stuff you hear about mp3 and other formats are myths, even stuff from r3mix.net, which used to be the standard and had great stuff.

Currently the place for good peer reviewed info, and where the developers hang out is:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and do searchs before asking your questions there as the folks replyign are often the developers of the LAME codec, OOG Vorbis, EAC, etc...

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: glen
Half the stuff you hear about mp3 and pther formats are myths, even stuff from r3mix.net, which used to be the standard and had great stuff.
Currently the place for good peer reviewed info, and where the developers hang out is:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and do searchs before asking your questions there as the folks replyign are often the developers of the LAME codec, OOG Vorbis, EAC, etc...

HydrogenAudio is a great place, though it's likely over the head of anyone asking such basic questions.

I spent quite a bit of time there while perfecting my MP4's (before I made the switch to them).

Viper GTS

 

[CTho9305]

Originally posted by: dpopiz
how do mp3 encoders differ?
if something is encoded at 320Kbps with a good encoder and a crappy encoder, will they sound different?

They can. Different encoders pick different parts of the sound to remove. Good encoders are better at removing stuff you can't hear.

can some encoders just not correctly encode certain types of sounds even at high bitrates?

I suppose if the encoder REALLY sucked

are certain encoders better for a certain kinds of music?
is there a particular encoder that's best suited for dance music?

I would think so, yes, but I don't know which.

That said, I use LAME, with the highest-quality VBR preset. In general though, I find that as long as an MP3 is normalized properly so it doesn't clip, anything over 160kbps (192 or higher), regardless of encoder sounds fine.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Sid59

Originally posted by: rh71
Whenever I encode divx movies, I can ONLY use the Radium-provided MP3 codec because it allows you to select it in an encoder application like VirtualDub. The purpose is to make the audio (in your vid) extremely small in filesize and it works wonders. From the readme:

Basicly, this codec allows you to encode MP3s using external programs like SoundForge, CoolEdit, Acid, Audiograbber, Wavelab and many more.

LAME doesn't have an installer (only .dll's) where 3rd party video apps would recognize it as a selectable audio encoder. Why is that ?! (or someone show me the way).

you should really encode the audio in a seperate app and then use V-DUb to merge the video and audio.

i've made a few rips and used -aps lame for the audio.

But the point is why would I want to do that if there's something that can do this all in 1 shot while keeping the audio portion of the file size extremely low ? I'm just wondering why there aren't more that allow me to do this. I haven't been able to get any others (especially LAME) to work like this. Sounds like it's an extra step if I wanted LAME.

 

[Sid59]

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: Sid59

Originally posted by: rh71
Whenever I encode divx movies, I can ONLY use the Radium-provided MP3 codec because it allows you to select it in an encoder application like VirtualDub. The purpose is to make the audio (in your vid) extremely small in filesize and it works wonders. From the readme:

Basicly, this codec allows you to encode MP3s using external programs like SoundForge, CoolEdit, Acid, Audiograbber, Wavelab and many more.

LAME doesn't have an installer (only .dll's) where 3rd party video apps would recognize it as a selectable audio encoder. Why is that ?! (or someone show me the way).

you should really encode the audio in a seperate app and then use V-DUb to merge the video and audio.

i've made a few rips and used -aps lame for the audio.

But the point is why would I want to do that if there's something that can do this all in 1 shot while keeping the audio portion of the file size extremely low ? I'm just wondering why there aren't more that allow me to do this. I haven't been able to get any others (especially LAME) to work like this. Sounds like it's an extra step if I wanted LAME.

to each their own. especially if it's a good movie with a good soundtrack.

sorry, taking the extra step to use lame involves opening a lame frontend and hitting encode.

 

[CTho9305]

Originally posted by: Sid59

Originally posted by: rh71

Originally posted by: Sid59

Originally posted by: rh71
Whenever I encode divx movies, I can ONLY use the Radium-provided MP3 codec because it allows you to select it in an encoder application like VirtualDub. The purpose is to make the audio (in your vid) extremely small in filesize and it works wonders. From the readme:

Basicly, this codec allows you to encode MP3s using external programs like SoundForge, CoolEdit, Acid, Audiograbber, Wavelab and many more.

LAME doesn't have an installer (only .dll's) where 3rd party video apps would recognize it as a selectable audio encoder. Why is that ?! (or someone show me the way).

you should really encode the audio in a seperate app and then use V-DUb to merge the video and audio.

i've made a few rips and used -aps lame for the audio.

But the point is why would I want to do that if there's something that can do this all in 1 shot while keeping the audio portion of the file size extremely low ? I'm just wondering why there aren't more that allow me to do this. I haven't been able to get any others (especially LAME) to work like this. Sounds like it's an extra step if I wanted LAME.

to each their own. especially if it's a good movie with a good soundtrack.

sorry, taking the extra step to use lame involves opening a lame frontend and hitting encode.

lame doesn't provide plugins? i could've sworn i used a lame plugin on some CD ripping app at some point in the past.

 

[dc]

r3mix is outdated. for mp3's, --alt-preset settings are the way to go.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: glen
Half the stuff you hear about mp3 and other formats are myths, even stuff from r3mix.net, which used to be the standard and had great stuff.

Currently the place for good peer reviewed info, and where the developers hang out is:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and do searchs before asking your questions there as the folks replyign are often the developers of the LAME codec, OOG Vorbis, EAC, etc...[/b]

They have no information in their FAQs about ogg vorbis.

 

[glen]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: glen
Half the stuff you hear about mp3 and other formats are myths, even stuff from r3mix.net, which used to be the standard and had great stuff.

Currently the place for good peer reviewed info, and where the developers hang out is:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and do searchs before asking your questions there as the folks replyign are often the developers of the LAME codec, OOG Vorbis, EAC, etc...[/b]

They have no information in their FAQs about ogg vorbis.

No FAQ persay, but 2 forum sections, and general info such as this
Recommended Ogg Vorbis Encoders (Hosted at RareWares)

For encoding at quality levels less than 5 (< 160 kbps average):

oggenc.exe (1.0.1) (ICL Compile)
oggenc.exe (1.0.1) Pentium 4 Optimised Version (ICL Compile)

Vorbis Tools 1.0.1 (official Vorbis.com)

oggenc (1.0.1) for Linux (ICC 7.1 Compile)

If you prefer a nice drag-and-drop interface, then you can try John33's OggDropXPd

OggDropXPd (1.0.1) (ICL Compile)
OggDropXPd (1.0.1) Pentium 4 Optimised Version (ICL Compile)

For encoding at quality levels 5 and above (>= 180 kbps average):

oggenc.exe (GT3b1) (ICL compile)
oggenc.exe (GT3b1) Pentium 4 Optimised Version (ICL Compile)

oggenc.exe (GT3b1) (Original compile by Garf on his site)

GT3b1 Encoder Component for foobar2000

If you prefer a nice drag-and-drop interface, then you can try John33's OggDropXPd

OggDropXPd (GT3b1) (ICL Compile)
OggDropXPd (GT3b1) Pentium 4 Optimised Version (ICL Compile)


Recommended Ogg Vorbis Encoder Settings

For best results, use the quality settings:

oggenc -q n input.wav (where n is a number from -1 to 10)

To get an idea of the average bitrate for each quality level:

1.0.1/GT3b1:

q -1 = 45 kbps
q 0 = 64 kbps
q 1 = 80 kbps
q 2 = 96 kbps
q 3 = 112 kbps
q 4 = 128 kbps
q 5 = 160 kbps/180 kbps
q 6 = 192 kbps/212 kbps
q 7 = 224 kbps/244 kbps


How do I know which encoder was used in this Ogg Vorbis file?

Using either the ogginfo program or file info in your player, you can tell from the vendor tag:

Xiph.Org libVorbis I 20020717 (1.0)
Xiph.Org libVorbis I 20030308 (Post 1.0CVS)
Xiph.Org libVorbis I 20030909 (1.0.1)
Xiph.Org/Sjeng.Org libVorbis I 20020717 (GTune 3, beta 1) (GT3b1)


Useful tools, plugins, and links

Ogg Vorbis Page on Rarewares -- Also contains Vorbis DLLs for CDex, CoolEdit, WinLame, etc.

Case's EAC Configuration Guide

VorbisGain -- This is the Ogg Vorbis version of ReplayGain:

There is a vendor tagging bug in the Vorbis plugin (1.3a) for Winamp 2.91. If you encounter this problem, download the following new version of the plugin:

in_vorbis 1.3.5
in_vorbis 1.3.5 (Uploads section of HA.org)

Or from the link given at the winamp forums:

http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?th...threadid=139143


A Bit of History

Ogg Vorbis reached version 1.0 in July of 2002. It is the official Xiph.org encoder (the one you get from vorbis.com)

Our member here, Garf, did his own tunings, based on version 1.0 to produce GT3b1 and GT3b2. Both show improved pre-echo handling for q values of 5 to 10. It was judged that GT3b1 was the better of the two and I use that now to rip my albums.

There was a minor bugfix update earlier this year in March which only appeared on the CVS at Xiph.org. They consisted of very minor bug fixes which do more to correct odd problems that may occur rather than improving quality. This was referred to as Post 1.0CVS.

Quality problems that mainly affected low bitrates were addressed and a new bugfix (1.0.1) will be released shortly. The binaries at rarewares are based on the final 1.0.1 code. Thus, version 1.0.1 is the recommended encoder for q less than 5.



EDIT: Since the Ogg Vorbis section is lacking a recommended encoder and settings, I decided to edit my post here. If I missed something or made a mistake, please let me know. Many thanks to dev0 for splitting this thread for me.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: glen

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: glen
Half the stuff you hear about mp3 and other formats are myths, even stuff from r3mix.net, which used to be the standard and had great stuff.

Currently the place for good peer reviewed info, and where the developers hang out is:

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and do searchs before asking your questions there as the folks replyign are often the developers of the LAME codec, OOG Vorbis, EAC, etc...[/b]

They have no information in their FAQs about ogg vorbis.

No FAQ persay, but 2 forum sections, and general info such as this ...

Doesn't compare to a FAQ. Searching through forums is a pain, unless you know what you want. Maybe someone needs to put up a reliable 3rd party site to seal with these audio things...