Odd MP3 encoding question

[DaveJ]

Hello all,

Got an odd question regarding encoding MP3 files. I have several WAV files that are essentially "loops", that play continuously, and I'd like to encode them to MP3 to make them smaller. Problem is, every single encoder I've tried (BladeEnc, LAME, Xing MP3, etc.) cuts off a FRACTION of a second at the end of the song, totally ruining the loop...

Is there any way to fix this? It looks like the cutoff length is random, so I can't just insert x amount of silence at the end of the file...

Thanks!

Dave

 

[Workin']

Loop all the little wavs together into a big wav file and then encode the big file?

Or now that I think about it a little more, is what you are trying to do is to get one little mp3 file to play in a loop? You might try a different player than the one you are using. I have a bunch of mp3's that are split tracks (i.e., they run continuosly with no silence between them) and if I set them up in Winamp to play in a loop, they don't blend smmothly with one another, but it's not a big issue for me so I just live with it.

 

[DaveJ]

I can't combine them into one big file as each one plays different music, and it would be too long anyway... The issue is not finding a PLAYER to loop the files, I can do that with no problem... the problem is every encoder I use cuts off a fraction of a second at the end of the file, and that's unacceptable for my purposes. Call me a perfectionist, but it just don't sound right...

Dave

 

[Workin']

Well the point I was trying to make is are you sure the ENCODER is cutting off the fraction of a second or is the PLAYER cutting off the fraction of a second?

Because if I use Winamp to play my files, it seems like a random fraction of a second is cut off when I loop with another mp3 file.

 

[DaveJ]

It's the encoder... one of my original files is 23.369 seconds long, but after saving the file, it shows up anywhere from 23.2x to 23.3 seconds. This happens with multiple different encoders...

I use Goldwave to edit my files... I can open the original, encode it to MP3 (or save it and encode it outside the program) and if I open the resulting MP3 in Goldwave a small fraction of the file is cut off...

Dave

 

[Workin']

Shoot.... that sucks. I'm out of ideas.

 

[DeeK]

Sorry dude, but to my knowledge all encoders have that characteristic.

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

add blank space in your wav!

 

[SteelyKen]

Doh!