MP3 encoders

[felix]

I've just been dropped in at the deep end. I need to know how to turn WAV files into MP3 and I need to know yesterday! My son's new MP3 player came with drivers for the PC but nothing for creating MP3 files which was a bit of a surprize.

My search on the internet has so far turned up three free encoders: BladeEnc, Faac and LAME. All of these will talk to Exact Audio Copy which I already use to convert CD tracks to WAV. So far so good but now the questions begin.

The various comments I've read on the web suggest that not all encoders are created equal and that a fourth one, Ogg Vorbis, can significantly outperform the other three. Does anybody have any views on this or is it all just hype and an encoder is an encoder is an encoder?

 

[pipme]

Portable player ? As in slung about the neck ?

I think Windows Media Player 10 does the business .. not for 98SE tho.
My kids have MusicMatch Jukebox which even I can use .. it burns and converts files plus providing a library facility - which works - It came with their PHILLIPS Go-Gear players .. Not the 'Ferrari' of players but performing well under duress since xmas.. 'tiny' just a bit greater section than credit card.. with good charge life.

http://www.musicmatch.com/home.htm $19.99 £10.65 on Mastercard statement When I upgraded for them - download and transaction no problems .. Girls did not want screwdriver and manual messing about just usable kit -- does it .!!
I am sure there are loads of bitz 'n bobzon web if you want to faff around with it all ...

 

[felix]

That's the one pipme. It's an MPMAN MKP512 if that makes any difference (though I don't think it does). I installed the driver and plugged it into the USB and Hey Presto, this old cronk had an extra disk drive! That bit works fine. I've practised moving the few MP3 files that I could find on and off this new 'disk' and everything works as it should.

What he wants now is to transfer all his CDs onto the hard disk but in MP3 format ready for instant transfer to the MPMAN. My first clumsy attempts with BladeEnc took 7 minutes to encode a 3 minute track and LAME took 2.5 hours to do the whole CD. If these are typical speeds he'll have to schedule the encoding to run overnight.

Musicmatch Jukebox? Brilliant! I'm sure I got that when I bought the CD writer. Time to give it a spin.

 

[pipme]

The player I mentioned.

Musicmatch Jukebox .. the freeby tryout is crippled BTW .. That is why I paid £10 odds .. has been fine, integrating with players etc

P

 

[felix]

Thanks pipme for taking the trouble to reply. Since my Musicmatch came free with a CD writer it's probably the crippled version. Meanwhile, somebody at work put me onto a cracking website, posted here in case anybody else has been following this thread.

http://mp3.radified.com/

 

[pipme]

Look here for Chris Myden article ... His site is subject to a redirect to google ????

Myden Link scroll down

Link freeby progs
That'll keep you at it for a while !!

 

[Space_Cowby]

oldversion.com is hosting older versions on music match which are free, . I have been using a paid for version of MMJB for about 2 years now and it is brilliant.

The free version will rip but the the paid for version will automatically name and tag the files. IMHO tagging is far more important than file names especailly for portable players.

OG Vorbis is a different type of file rather than a CD ripper and therefore will not play on a MP3 player.

 

[pipme]

oldversion.com ........ but the the paid for version will automatically name and tag the files. IMHO tagging is far more important than file names especailly for portable players......

Absolutely !!
Limited burns with the freeby too ? I think there was.

Tis easy to suddenly have umpteen cds worth of un-named files converted to MP3 on hdd !! Then MMJB does the biz retro for you...
I had noticed some 'self styled experts' knocking the Phillips hardware and MMJB, but we read the manuals and everything works really well .. including the tagging function, playlists and hardware integration .. MMJB worked fine with my old stuff too .. Well worth a tenner- IMHO

 

[felix]

Thanks for all the help. I've got it sorted now. It's going to be EAC and LAME with 128kbits/sec average bit rate. (I would use 192 but he's expecting to get eight full CDs into his 512 Mbytes.)

 

[pipme]

CloneCD 4 by Elaborate Bytes is the ideal CD copy program to make backups of your Music and Data CDs. It writes in RAW mode, allowing full control of the written data. CloneCD 4 produces real 1:1 copies of your CDs. CloneCD 4 works with almost all CD Writers, is rock-solid and very fast. CloneCD 4 does not need an ASPI driver.
Supports .dvd 'split file' image format. This format works with FAT32 partitions and is compatible with VirtualCloneDrive
Supports .iso and .udf formats created with other applications (e.g., Nero, DVD2One, DVDShrink or CloneDVD)
Copies SafeDisc 3 protected CDs/DVDs
Emulates SafeDisc 3 weak sectors

A gem !!

 

[AdamW]

I had noticed some 'self styled experts' knocking the Phillips hardware and MMJB, but we read the manuals and everything works really well .. including the tagging function, playlists and hardware integration .. MMJB worked fine with my old stuff too .. Well worth a tenner- IMHO

Totally, there are a lot of people who will rave about what they have and slate what they haven't. I have a Vauxhall, a Ford owner told me it's rubbish. I have a Sony media player, an iPod owner told me it's rubbish... I dare not mention my willy to a f*nny-owner in case they say that's rubbish too.

If you get what you want from your Phillips, then ignore the to**ers who will say "Oh, that's no good" when you KNOW they have never even seen your model of mp3 player before. I think it is just fear that you might have something better than their's. I tell you, the iPod owner was rattled when I showed him my Sony's colour screen and demonstrated the superior sound quality

Tagging is definitely more important than filenames. I found that out when I got an mp3 player. For years I had ripped my CDs and not bothered with tags, then I found out that MP3 players generally ignore the filenames.

 

[felix]

Tagging is definitely more important than filenames. I found that out when I got an mp3 player. For years I had ripped my CDs and not bothered with tags, then I found out that MP3 players generally ignore the filenames.

Thanks AdamW. I hadn't thought of that.
Ditto Pipme. I'll have a look for CloneCD 4

The MPMAN does what it's supposed to do. For anybody who's following this thread and thinking of getting one, it's let down slightly on two counts:

1) The manual is minimal and some things need a bit of working out. You need to understand the meaning of words like "directory" because it's not explained. I'm sure you can use the thing as a standard USB data stick but this isn't clear either.

2) The software disk has no Autorun. You have to browse to the right directory and guess which file to run; Win98drivers.exe I think.

And that reminds me. There's some software on that mini CD for adding lyrics to the MP3's. MPMAN will then display them in time to the music. If anybody has managed to install this program please let me know how!!!

 

[pipme]

CloneCd has moved on beyond v.4 now .. apparently will copy games protected media too ...
MMJB interacts with the Phillips player, one can set up playlists etc 'offline' (with regard to the player) and download at leisure.
My kids each have an MMJB library on HDD of all their CD's, tagged, cover art, play lists which will synchronise easily with player... Sortable by Artist,Album, Genre, Track time ... etc. Crikey, even I have been using it...Very pleased for the time being.

 

[andy]

there is a program called DBpowerAMP. does CD rippin aswell as converting between dif formats

and its free!

 

[kevplumb]

I had noticed some 'self styled experts' knocking the Phillips hardware and MMJB, but we read the manuals and everything works really well .. including the tagging function, playlists and hardware integration .. MMJB worked fine with my old stuff too .. Well worth a tenner- IMHO

Totally, there are a lot of people who will rave about what they have and slate what they haven't. I have a Vauxhall, a Ford owner told me it's rubbish. I have a Sony media player, an iPod owner told me it's rubbish... I dare not mention my willy to a f*nny-owner in case they say that's rubbish too.

If you get what you want from your Phillips, then ignore the to**ers who will say "Oh, that's no good" when you KNOW they have never even seen your model of mp3 player before. I think it is just fear that you might have something better than their's. I tell you, the iPod owner was rattled when I showed him my Sony's colour screen and demonstrated the superior sound quality

Tagging is definitely more important than filenames. I found that out when I got an mp3 player. For years I had ripped my CDs and not bothered with tags, then I found out that MP3 players generally ignore the filenames.

sheer class adam