Converting to MP3

[Mike Mahoney]

The "What computer or CD player do you use" thread got me thinking about this one.

Is anyone else currently converting to MP3? What method do you use? What software do you like for this?

[djdonny]

I like MusicMatch.

[Musical Madness]

I've been using OtsDJ for the last 4 years, and use Ots Studio to rip/convert to the proper format.

[Professor Jam]

A common error within the industry is to call Encoders “Rippers” which only read the audio files Encoders use as source to create mp3/wma,ra,ogg etc. Ecoders, encode raw audio to another format lossy or lossless.

If you are looking for an encoder here are a few for you to consider:

http://lame.sourceforge.net/

http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/index.html

http://www.cdcopy.sk/

http://www.audiograbber.com-us.net/audiocatalyst.html


Many programs come with installed encoders to consider as well.

Good Luck....

IMO Audiograbber rules supreme. And not just because it's free..

[DJ Iron Mike]

I never liked PCDJ's encoder, but I liked the rest of that product. For encoding I use Cakewalk's Pyro. It has always done the job for me.

[Cap]

Musicmaniac: Perhaps you might consider how you wish to use the MP3 format in performance, the time you wish to spend in the conversion process, your level of computer expertise, and then seek a program or two that fits your game plan.

A prevalent misconception of the MP3 file is it is a compressed file much like an sponge. When there's no water, the sponge is very small. When water is added, the sponge is reconstituted into its original size and shape. This is not entirely true with an MP3. The MP3 conversion technique is also surgery. Portions of the original .wav file are deleted...removed...surgically gone forever. A common processing error is downloading a 128kbs MP3, using a program to convert it back to .wav file, then making a 192kbs MP3 from that, thinking that it's now a better sounding file or higher quality file. Wrong. What you have in this scenario is a 128kbs quality file taking the space of a 192kbs file on your hard drive.

The purpose of this example is to alert readers that time and effort in conversion to MP3 format should be approached as a one time project unless the conversion process is repeated from the very beginning.

Taking some extra time and effort in the very beginning will result in huge benefits for the digital DJ down the road, .wav file editing being the least utilized yet most creative aspect available to a Digital DJ.

Any software tool or hunk of physcial gear is a personal choice, a personal preference. "It sucks" or "It rocks" are descriptive phrases, worthless in a professional-like forum unless backed up with the experience and credentials of the user, real time use of the product, followed by the reasoning of why it sucks or it rocks. Nothing precepitates a gear or software flame war faster than unsubstantiated opinion.

Just use Windows media. It's as good as all the others and you already have it if you have windows.

[Professor Jam]

JAMS whats up dude......

Great to see another Denon face here...

Give me a personal phone call when you have a chance...

[SirWolfy]

Cap makes an excellent point! Do it right the first time, because converting your music library (whether it's just a few hundred here and there or 10,000+), encoding your music at the proper level of quality is of utmost importance.

Here's the skinny on MP3s; the whole idea of going digital to begin with is so that you eventually replace the need for carrying a boat load of CDs. In order to do this properly, the MP3 must be approximately as good as the CD would be. With that in mind, encoding or downloading any MP3 file at less than 160Kbps is a waste of time. On the other hand, encoding MP3s at anything over 192Kbps is a waste of hard drive space. In other words, CDs are roughly the equivalent of 160 - 192Kbps.

The other thing that Cap hinted at and I would like to reiterate, is the fact that MP3s are only ever as good as the source from which you make them from. Simply put, if you download files at 128Kbps or below, you will eventually find out the hard way that these files do not sound nearly as good as 160 or even 192. On the down side, MP3s are indeed compressed file formats. What this means is that during the encoding process, the sub-harmonics are discarded to save space. So keep those MP3s at CD quality... anything less and they sound like crap!

Oh, and do plan on the process taking you a good amount of time to accomplish. Depending on the computer you are using, the software and the quality level; you have several hundred hours of work ahead of you for 15,000+ songs. This is by far the most time consuming part of going digital. But once you have it done, you never have to do it again as long as you back up your entire music library. The rest is a piece of cake! :tup