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General Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: launched on June 02, 2009, 01:34:25 PM

Title: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: launched on June 02, 2009, 01:34:25 PM
I can import and play .wav files fine, but if I import an .mp3 or a .wma, I only get a 1/4 second "Chirp". I can visually see that it has imported (with the track bars showing the typical audio graphic), but when I click on the play button the time marker whips through the tracks in the blink of an eye.

I have installed the latest version of lame, but that's probably not what it is.


Can anyone think of what this might be?

Thanks,

Mark


 
Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: Geir on June 02, 2009, 02:22:46 PM
I think you have to tell audacity where lame is !
Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: guitarron on June 02, 2009, 02:25:39 PM
maybe a sampl rate mismatch?
Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: OsCKilO on June 02, 2009, 07:53:56 PM
Download a "Lame" file for it......

Computer told me to do it so I did.......


Works fine now!

T(Osckilo)

Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: launched on June 02, 2009, 09:08:46 PM
Thanks, guys - I'll try what you have said.

I hate software - The shit should just work, right?? :P ?? Don't know why we have to jump through hoops all the time...


Thanks!!

Mark
Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: 64Guitars on June 02, 2009, 09:26:03 PM
I don't think the trouble is with LAME because it's only an encoder and should only affect MP3 exports.

Where did these MP3 files come from? You might want to try some other MP3s from different sources to see if it's just something about the MP3 that Audacity doesn't like (possibly the bit rate).

Open Audacity's Preferences dialog and select the "Audio I/O" page. Note the currently selected Playback Device, then try selecting a different one from the list of available devices (if any). Try playing the MP3 with each playback device and see if there's any difference. If there isn't, put it back to the original setting you found there.

Select the Quality page in Preferences and set the Default Sample Rate to 44100 Hz, and the Default Sample Format to 32-bit float.

Not sure if these ideas will help or not but it's all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure I've seen this behaviour before but I don't remember what caused it. Sorry.

Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: launched on June 02, 2009, 10:04:57 PM
Quote from: 64Guitars on June 02, 2009, 09:26:03 PMWhere did these MP3 files come from? You might want to try some other MP3s from different sources to see if it's just something about the MP3 that Audacity doesn't like (possibly the bit rate).

I will try this - now that I think of it, I think the biggest issue is .wma files. I'll dig up some .mp3's and make absolute sure those aren't a problem.

Quote from: 64Guitars on June 02, 2009, 09:26:03 PMOpen Audacity's Preferences dialog and select the "Audio I/O" page. Note the currently selected Playback Device, then try selecting a different one from the list of available devices (if any). Try playing the MP3 with each playback device and see if there's any difference. If there isn't, put it back to the original setting you found there.

Select the Quality page in Preferences and set the Default Sample Rate to 44100 Hz, and the Default Sample Format to 32-bit float.

Not sure if these ideas will help or not but it's all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure I've seen this behaviour before but I don't remember what caused it. Sorry.


Will try this, too - I think I have enough info to keep me busy.

Much appreciated!!

Later,

Mark
Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: launched on June 04, 2009, 01:19:19 PM
OK - I figured it out:

It was a coincidence that caused the .mp3 import problem - Just one file was causing this problem - subsequent imports of different files worked fine. There was never a problem with that - I was just lucky enough to try importing the one .mp3 I had that didn't work first. :-[


Audacity does not support the .wma format:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=files&i=wma-proprietary

That's how I rip my CD's, so kind of a bummer.


Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Mark
Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: 64Guitars on June 04, 2009, 01:31:56 PM
Quote from: launched on June 04, 2009, 01:19:19 PMAudacity does not support the .wma format:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=files&i=wma-proprietary

That's only true for the older versions of Audacity. Version 1.3.6 introduced FFmpeg support which includes WMA. See this page:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/features-1.3-a (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/features-1.3-a)

As with Audacity's MP3 support, you have to download and install the FFmpeg support separately due to copyright/patents:

http://www.audacityteam.org/manual/index.php?title=FAQ:Installation_and_Plug-Ins#installffmpeg (http://www.audacityteam.org/manual/index.php?title=FAQ:Installation_and_Plug-Ins#installffmpeg)

Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: 64Guitars on June 04, 2009, 01:39:30 PM
Quote from: launched on June 04, 2009, 01:19:19 PMAudacity does not support the .wma format:

That's how I rip my CD's, so kind of a bummer.

You'd be better off ripping straight to WAV format, or using a lossless format such as flac (http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html). Unless, of course, you need WMA format for a Zune player or something similar.

Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: launched on June 04, 2009, 07:40:56 PM
Quote from: 64Guitars on June 04, 2009, 01:31:56 PM
Quote from: launched on June 04, 2009, 01:19:19 PMAudacity does not support the .wma format:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=files&i=wma-proprietary

That's only true for the older versions of Audacity. Version 1.3.6 introduced FFmpeg support which includes WMA. See this page:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/features-1.3-a (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/features-1.3-a)

As with Audacity's MP3 support, you have to download and install the FFmpeg support separately due to copyright/patents:

http://www.audacityteam.org/manual/index.php?title=FAQ:Installation_and_Plug-Ins#installffmpeg (http://www.audacityteam.org/manual/index.php?title=FAQ:Installation_and_Plug-Ins#installffmpeg)



That's what it is, then! I'm using 1.2.6 - I only downloaded it a few months ago, too. 1.3.6 - kind of weird having this high of a version since it was at .9 or something like that forever ( I'll have to admit I haven't used it for a long time. And then when I bought my Micro, who needs anything else ;) )

The reason I've used .wma is because that's the default when you rip from Window's Media Player. All my friends use it for cd ripping, so for obviousr reasons aside from hard disk savings I am using it, too.

Anyway, It's time for an upgrade - Thanks so much 64G's. You kick a**!

Later,

Mark
Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: 64Guitars on June 04, 2009, 09:52:41 PM
Quote from: launched on June 04, 2009, 07:40:56 PMThat's what it is, then! I'm using 1.2.6 - I only downloaded it a few months ago, too.

Version 1.2.6 is the current stable version. The latest beta version is 1.3.7 but it seems pretty stable to me. It's okay to have both versions installed on the same computer if you want to. See the Audacity home page:

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)

Title: Re: Audacity Question: Trouble Importing Anything Other Than A Wave File
Post by: launched on June 05, 2009, 04:24:19 PM
Installed, tested, works fine - Thanks!