unsuported format

[JTE]

Hi: I have just gotten a miro BR and want to try loading some mp3s to play along with and practice to.  I copied them from my PC (windows XP) iTunes folder (I have them all in *.mp3 format) to the MP3 folder of the MBR.  I renamed them, before copying, as needed to meet the 8 character limit/format.  When I try to play back on the MBR (in mp3 mode) I get the error message "unsupported format", same message if I try and import the mp3 to a track. I can see the song name, but cannot play or import?!!!?!??!?
I am using a 1gb lexar card with a slightly different part number than the one listed in the manual, but it was recognised and initialised fine (or seemed to).  Last night I had a similar sort of problem on the original Boss 128MB card, but only partially, some songs were playable, but some generated the same error message.
Any ideas as to what I am doing wrong, or otherwise will be gratefully appreciated,
Thanks in advance,
John

[64Guitars]

To determine why you're getting "unsupported format" errors, you have to know which formats the Micro BR supports, and which format your MP3 files are in.

According to page 91 of the Micro BR manual, 3rd edition, the Micro BR supports the following formats:

MP3 (file extension: .MP3)
  • Sample rate: 44.1 kHz
  • Bit Rate: 64 kbps – 320 kbps

WAV (file extension: .WAV)
  • 44.1 kHz
  • 8-bit or 16-bit
  • Mono or Stereo
  • linear

I'm not certain, but I don't think the Micro BR supports Variable Bit Rate (VBR) MP3 files.

Now you need to determine the format of each of your MP3 files. You can right-click on the file in Windows and select Properties to get some information. However, I've found that the information Windows provides is not always correct, especially in the case of VBR files (it shows a bitrate value as if it was a constant bit rate, when in fact it's not). So try looking at the properties of your files in several different audio player programs to be sure.

Any MP3 files that don't have a sample rate of 44.1kHz and a constant bit rate from 64 kbps to 320 kbps will have to be converted. There are many programs that can be used to convert the files. Here's one that was recently recommended by oldrottenhead:

http://www.nch.com.au/switch/

I haven't tried it myself but it looks pretty good. In fact, you could probably use this program to determine the current format of each file, then convert it if it's incompatible with the Micro BR.

[JTE]

To determine why you're getting "unsupported format" errors, you have to know which formats the Micro BR supports, and which format your MP3 files are in.

According to page 91 of the Micro BR manual, 3rd edition, the Micro BR supports the following formats:

MP3 (file extension: .MP3)
  • Sample rate: 44.1 kHz
  • Bit Rate: 64 kbps – 320 kbps

WAV (file extension: .WAV)
  • 44.1 kHz
  • 8-bit or 16-bit
  • Mono or Stereo
  • linear

I'm not certain, but I don't think the Micro BR supports Variable Bit Rate (VBR) MP3 files.

Hey: thanks for the speedy reply, i did not know about the variable bit rate requirement.  I have ripped everything as mp3 at 320kps

I don't know about the sample rate, but presume (i know that can be dangerous) the sample rate is 44.1kHz, but I'll check (as soon as I get home)
Thanks again for your help
John

[JTE]

Hey 64: thanks for your help.  The manual indicates that the mp3s can be VBR @44.1kHz, while the wavs need to be linear (? is that the wav equivalent of cbr?).  Anyway the 48 kHz to 44.1 kHz step seems to the stumbling block at present, the switch software will convert to wav @ 44.1 kHz but not mp3@48 to mp3@44.1.  however when i finished the conversion and transfered the files to the MBR and tried to play them  I got a "disk busy" error message.  Apparently there is another conversion program that is the cat's meow, called audialhub, unfortunately it only exists for the MAC user, there are also references to another program called r8brain, but the download link seems to be broken (from where ever I try it).  So for now I'm gonna just re-rip what I need in the correct format
John
PS it'd be so much easier if you could just select line-in at the same time as GTR as your two sources and bypass the convert to mp3 (or whatever format) step!!

[64Guitars]

Hey 64: thanks for your help.  The manual indicates that the mp3s can be VBR @44.1kHz, while the wavs need to be linear (? is that the wav equivalent of cbr?).

I didn't notice that before but you're right, it does say VBR is supported. The page where it's mentioned is referring to converting track data to MP3, but I assume it would also work with imported MP3s. I believe that wave files are always constant bit rate. Linear means that the wave file is uncompressed.

Anyway the 48 kHz to 44.1 kHz step seems to the stumbling block at present, the switch software will convert to wav @ 44.1 kHz but not mp3@48 to mp3@44.1.

You might want to try Cocoon Software Quick Media Converter. It looks like it might do the job, although I've never tried it myself.

Another one that looks like it would work is Blaze Media Pro. Although, the trial version is only good for 15 days, after which time you're supposed to buy it for $50. It's not clear if the trial version stops working after 15 days, starts nagging you to buy it, or continues working without nags.

You could try the open source LAME encoder. From a DOS prompt, you should be able to convert the sampling rate from 48kHz to 44.1kHz with the following command:

   lame --resample 48 oldfile.mp3 newfile.mp3

Finally, you can load an MP3 into Audacity and Export it in the desired format. The default sampling rate is 44.1 kHz.

[Olarte]

Duh, switching from 48khz to 44khz did it for me 

I was going nuts as it was not working with either wav or mp3 files...

[AlexTitoff]

Code Select Expand

lame --resample 44 -b 128 oldfile.mp3 newfile.mp
Worked for me!

(I am a Mac user)