What is the BEST ***free*** mpeg/mp2/mp3/mp4/ogg/wav encoder/decoder?

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neilthecellist

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May 24, 2004
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Question 1:

Ok, after several days of downloading, I got the Halo 2 E3 Announcment trailer, which was approximately 80 megabytes and I was downloading off dialup. :lol:

So the trailer was in .mp4 form, which can only be opened with QuickTime, which I DO have on my computer. I want to make a VCD out of the Halo 2 E3 Announcment Trailer, but Nero 5.5.6 won't let make it. Nero 5.5.6 is only capable of converting mpeg 1 to VCD format, and the Halo 2 E3 Announcement Trailer is NOT in mpeg 1 form.

Where can I get a good mp4 to mpeg 1 converter?

Question 2:

I have SOOOO many good classical music Audio CDs. I noticed if I used Windows Media Player 10 to rip them into mp3 form at 320 kbps a second, they sound like sh!t. What's the best encoder/ripper that would let me rip Audio CDs to GOOD QUALITY mp3s?

I have .ogg music files that I would like to convert to mp3 format. I downloaded a few converters, but they have trial periods that only let me convert 5 ogg files to mp3 files. I have WAY MORE than 5 ogg files. Is there a converter that's free, is good, and lets me convert as many files as i want?





Oh yeah, and for all my questions, I want FREE everything. i don't want to pay for anything, cuz i'm only 14 and I don't have money to buy encoders/converters/decoders.
 
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neilthecellist

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ok....anyone with an answer to my "video encoding/decoding" question?

and does anyone know if Windows Media Player 10 is good for ripping music CDs to mp3 format? I swear, whenever I rip a CD to mp3 form, it sounds like sh!t.

Also, has anyone ever heard of the LAME encoder? i hear about it a lot at school these days.
 
haarg

haarg

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Dark Pulse said:
For Video Encoding and Decoding, VirtualDub is pretty good.
Click to expand...
But it only works with AVI files. You could try WinMPG, it advertizes as being able to convert from a Quicktime MP4 to an MPG.


For CD Ripping, I use Exact Audio Copy, but you could also try CDex.

For audio transcoding, I use foobar2000. It can re-encode any file it can play into any format you can get an encoder for (ogg encoder, mp3 encoder).

Why do you want to transcode ogg files into mp3s anyway? Ogg files will give you superior sound quality in the same file size.
And if you do want to use mp3s, then joint stereo and vbr with a high quality setting instead of cbr.
 
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neilthecellist

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OMG OMG OMG I just realized.......dbPowerAMP takes so FOCKING LONG RIPPING AND CONVERTING MUSIC FILES! It rips at 3x maximum......and i have a 52X CD-RW drive......wtf?

is there a FASTER more RELIABLE cd-ripper and audio converter? please???
 
Zaccix

Zaccix

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Nov 10, 1999
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neilthecellist said:
haarg, I'm only 14 and I don't really understand the diference between CBR MP3 quality and VBR MP3 quality.

And what's Joint Stereo?
Click to expand...
CBR and VBR are Constant Bit Rate and Variable Bit Rate, respectively. CBR means the MP3 is encoded with the same bitrate (e.g. 192k) all the way through, while with VBR different parts are encoded at different bitrates depending on the data presented to the encoder. A good example is silence: with VBR the encoder would encode silence at the lowest bitrate in its range (silence doesn't have to sound good, because there's nothing there!) while with CBR it'd be encoded at the same rate as the rest of the MP3, wasting space.

With stereo sound, you have two basic mono channels, left and right, that come together to produce stereo sound. A lot of information in those two channels could be identical, so Joint Stereo stores one channel, then grabs whatever is different from the other channel, throws away the rest and puts it all together so that you still hear the track in stereo. Do an A-B comparison on a song encoded (from CD) with and without JS, and if it sounds better to you, use it.

As for which MP3 encoder to use, LAME without a doubt. Loads of development work has been done on it, and it has been refined to a ridiculous level. Alternatively, you could go with AAC (the iPod's native format and MP4 by any other name). Stay away from WMA as it's a proprietary format under Microsoft's control (and before anyone says anything, AAC is not "Apple's format", it's actually an open format maintained by Dolby). OGG sounds...OK I guess, but I found it always produces a bit too much treble. Then again, your ears are different to mine, and you might hear them differently.

Finally, I used to play cello, too. :)
 
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neilthecellist

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OMG OMG OMG THANK YOU VERY MUCH Zaccix.

Wait a minute. Why is your name in italics??

Oh and by the way everyone, READ MY SIGNATURE. I don't like to waste a whole thread asking a question, so i just make it my signature for people to respond by Private Message. When the question is answered, i'll change my signature again so that it asks a different question of my concern. THANKS!

I have a new question about mpeg/mp2/mp3/mp4/ogg/wav stuff.......


i have video files that are in WMV form (That is, the file is named *.wmv) and I can open it up using Windows Media Player, HOWEVER>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I CAN'T SCROLL/FAST FORWARD/SEEK through the ****ing video!!!!! It pisses me off because if I missed a part that I liked, well, I have to start from the WHOLE VIDEO ALL OVER AGAIN just to see that part. it REALLY frustrates me.

Also, I have video files in Real Media (That is, files are named *.rm) and the only way I can play them is using RealOne. Is there anything out there that will let me play .rm files without RealOne? I HATE that media player, it eats up 80% of one's CPU no matter who's computer I"m using. RealOne sucks.

Also, I have the Halo 2 Gameplay Video (One about new Mombasa I think the URL is http://files.mythica.org/halo/halo2_e3_realtimedemo_hires.wmv ) and I can play it on my computer with MAJOR DRAWBACKS.

1) The audio is always ahead of the video for some reason
2) The video runs at like ONE fps.....which is literally RETARDED
3) The video will just *die* after like 2 minutes.....the screen goes black but the audio keeps going.

is there anything out there that will let me play OR convert this video so I can watch it?


WHEW That was a long post. But please help me and reply to this message.
 
MeStinkBAD

MeStinkBAD

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Quicktime/iTunes ACC encoder is probably the best. I use "dBpowerAMP Music Converter" for converting from and too different formats. I'm beginning to move eerything over to ACC or Apple Lossless. AC mainly though. This will prolly become the next standard.
 
Symbolikal

Symbolikal

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Anyone know how to convert (insert crap song here) in MP3/WMA format to .ogg?
I may want to turn (insert crap song here) into UT2k4 music as it plays OGG's for it's music.
btw, (insert crap song here) is smells like teen spirit by Nirvana or Hero by chad kroeger. Free as well, I'm not paying.
 
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Nereid

Nereid

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The likely reason why your CD ripping is so slow is not because of the drive, but your processor instead. It can't encode the audio data as fast as the CD drive can rip it.

As for your 48KHz problem, the likely reason is in fact that you're encoding to 48KHz. CDs have a sample rate of 44.1KHz, and if you resample it, a lower quality is generally produced. It's usually best to keep the sample rate the same when converting audio.
 
Nereid

Nereid

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Also, if you have access to a Linux machine, you can use ffmpeg to convert from just about any format to any other format, video or audio.
 
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neilthecellist

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I have mandrake linux. How do i install it? it's on 2 CD's that my friend gave me. do i simply just put them into my computer? I thought Linux was more complicated than that....i'm kinda afraid to install linux in fear that it'll screw up my comp.
 
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