Ikonboard » Printable Version of Topic

Forum: The Classroom
Topic: MP3 Encoding Help
started by: PlaztikPTZ

Posted by PlaztikPTZ on Feb. 02 2001,15:43

Hey
I haven't been able to find a decent MP3 encoder/decoder that lets you rip music off of your CDs and turn it to Mp3s. Can someone provide me a link?
Thx
PS: Does anyone know how to turn the realplayer audio files to Mp3?

Posted by Observer on Feb. 02 2001,16:10

Finding a "decent" ripper all depends on where you set your standards.

People have plugged Audio Catalyst as a good CD ripper in various earlier threads around this board. It uses the Xing encoder which gets its best results with Variable BitRate encoding.

As for converting your RealAudio, short of finding a one-click tool to do it, you may as well decode them to wav with an audio program capable of recording large wav files. Many sound cards are bundled with such a program. Then you could use Audio Catalyst again to encode those wavs.

------------------
A good programmer is someone who looks both ways on a one-way street

Posted by CatKnight on Feb. 02 2001,19:09

i use audiocatalyst at 160. all my mp3's sounded fine until i got my new < speakers > now i realize that xing is crap. atleast it's fast though. i'm too lazy to wait more then 10 minutes to rip a cd

Posted by Observer on Feb. 03 2001,00:28

That's why I suggested using Xing's VBR encoder instead of using a constant bitrate. Set it to Normal/High. That and make sure you turn High Frequencies on.

------------------
A good programmer is someone who looks both ways on a one-way street

Posted by kuru on Feb. 03 2001,20:39

i encode with xing, and most of my stuff sounds pretty good. even with a static bit rate, set high enough with high frequencies on, you get everything.

principle being that you want your sample rate to be double the highest frequency you're going to record * 8.

192 usually takes care of that, sometimes 256. eventually you get a sample rate high enough that the only thing it doesn't sample is what's beyond the range of human hearing....

course you could also end up with 30 meg mp3s.

------------------
kuru
'dancing is the vertical expression of horizontal desire.'
-robert frost

Posted by MeatJam on Feb. 03 2001,21:45

I use MusicMatch Jukebox. It uses that CDDB thing so correctly names all your MP3s with ID2 and ID3 tags. It is also VERY custimisable as to what it names the MP3s files and where it puts them. I judge it as quick because it encodes the CDs faster than I can play them, which means you can start listening to an MP3 as soon as it starts encoding.

To sell this thing more it also burns CDs quite nicely whether they're mp3 or normal audio. I really do like this beast after playing with so much freeware/shareware junk. I got it with my MP3 player but i reckon you could find it on the net pretty easily.

It also does that VBR thing and as far as i can tell quality is excellent. Just thought I'd say, because I know what its like to find a decent encoding tool.

Posted by a.out on Feb. 03 2001,23:45

You should try using LAME ("Lame isn't An MP3 Encoder"). It is considered to have the highest quality of any free mp3 encoder by many people, and rivals the best commercial encoders. Plus, it's completely free (not as in shareware, but as in FREE, no registration, source code included). It also has great VBR (variable bit rate). It is natively written for linux, but you should be able to get windows binaries. Try starting at < http://www.mp3dev.org/mp3/ >

Posted by StanVanDam on Feb. 11 2001,05:04

That's right, LAME is the BEST. Use AudioCatalyst paired with the LAME 3.87 dll file, set it to Stereo (not Joint) and High Quality, use 192kbps, and rip away. I've ripped hundreds of cds, and they sound awesome. This method produces the most accurate digital reproduction of cd audio. 256kbps is recommended actually, but that takes up a bit too much space, so 192kbps is fine. But anything lower is audibly noticeable if u have decent speakers..

Posted by ASCIIMan on Feb. 12 2001,06:57

Easy:
LAME + EAC (Exact Audio Copy).

LAME is easily the best MP3 encoder out there (especially at 100\% VBR), and EAC is the best ripper (roughly equivalent to CD-Paranoia in Linux).

LAME is basically Blade (thich is essentially MP3 reference code, no enhancements included) with all sorts of extra perceptual audio enhancement techniques added on.

EAC is cool because it will get EXACT digital copies of the CD Audio, as opposed to some of the "faster" rippers or CD drives that tend to ignore the checksums on Audio CDs.

LAME: < http://www.mp3dev.org/mp3/ >
EAC: < http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ >

BTW - EAC can use Blade, LAME, and Faurenhoffer DLL's as plugins. It also uses CDDB to look up CD info.