Subject:Convert

Posted by: 4110

Date:12/29/2013 6:29:41 AM

A few years ago I ripped my CD collection. I used lossless format. Now I want to stream those files and I need a different audio format. So I need to convert all the files. There are enough files that I would like to do it in a batch job. The files reside in many folders and subfolders so the program would need to be able to handle that complication. Finally, it would need to capture and transfer metadata such as song title, artist, album and genre. Is there a way to do it in Sound Forge? Is so, how? If not, can you recommend another program? What is the best format for streaming audio?

Thanks,

David

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: Steve Grisetti

Date:12/29/2013 8:27:22 AM

You're not going to stream them to the public, are you? That's not really a fair use of licensed music. Unless you're compensating the artists for playing their music, the way radio stations do.

That said, MP3s are the go-to format for this kind of thing.

There is a Batch Conversion tool under the Tools menu in Sound Forge.

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: 4110

Date:12/29/2013 8:56:25 AM

Thanks Steve,

No, just me. Here's the back story. I finally broke down and got a smart phone. Unfortunately, the router on my network was so old that it wouldn't work with the new phone. So I had to buy a new router. Bad news, but there was an upside. The router supports some sort of air cloud and, in theory, I can use it to stream music from my home computer to the new phone. Not yet though. I still have a lot to figure out. The first problem is that my current file format won't work.

I tried the Batch Conversion tool. It works, but with issues, at least for me. One problem was that I could only get it to do one folder at a time. The other problem was that it lost the metadata. Are there some settings or scripts that could make it do what I need?

Thanks again,

David

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: musicvid10

Date:12/29/2013 9:17:19 AM

Let's back up. What format are the files in now? Post a Mediainfo readout.
What format are you wanting to convert to?

Converters will lose the metadata because they are converting the audio data. There are probably ways to dump the ID3 metadata to text and then remarry.

Likewise you would need a queuing script to make SF Pro work with separate programs. I'm sure there are other dedicated batch converters that would do the job better for you.

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: rraud

Date:12/29/2013 10:06:31 AM

I use WinLAME to batch convert to MP3, it does not do the metadata though. There are utilities available to facilitate writing the ID tags though none are totally automatic AFAIK.
The general consensus is SF's Fraunhofer encoder sounds slightly better than WinLAME at low bitrates, but WinLAME is much easier/faster to batch encode and with more encoding options, including scripting the 'presets' on the WinLAME rc3 version which would allow setting HP/LP filters and other audio-centric parameters. Mono MP3 files would also have superior sound at a given bit-rate. Example: A (smaller sized) 64kbps mono file would have roughly the same quality as a 128kbps stereo file... so a smaller sized mono would be recommended for spoken word and material that has no spacial content.
It's also recommended the CBR option be used for streaming purposes as well as a .m3u control file so playback starts without delay for download. However neither (including an MP3), is necessary if using 'SoundCloud' or other streaming host for instance.

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: 4110

Date:12/29/2013 10:24:32 AM

I bought CDs over the years and ripped them to my computer. At various times I did it differently and used different formats. But I always wanted to use a loss less format. Mostly they are wav and wma I think.

The router has an associated app for the phone called AiCloud. The router works with the app to stream music from my home computer to my phone. I have gotten it to work, but not with my lossless format files. One of my questions is what is the best format to convert to for this sort of application.

Since I already had Sound Forge I hoped it would work. It almost does. It would be an interesting project to flesh it out. For each file the program would have to read metadata and store it. Then convert the audio file. And then write the stored metadata to the new file. Also the program would need to drill down through all the folders and subfolders. Interesting, but beyond me.

Do you know of a dedicated batch converter that would work?

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: musicvid10

Date:12/29/2013 12:15:08 PM

You're looking for several custom actions that are probably not all available in one package. People who do this sort of thing commercially usually chain individual command line utilities using a script. But poke around and if you get lucky, let us know.

As far as free converters, I can't tell you if any will do the job, but names like DBPowerAmp, Any Video Converter, Jet Audio, Free Audio Converter, and Format Factory come to mind.

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: 4110

Date:12/29/2013 12:33:53 PM

Thanks for the leads. I'll do more research and let you know if I find joy.

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:12/29/2013 11:02:39 PM

When i've done projects similar to this i've usually run them off one of one of my Linux machines and used Perl to write a script to navigate over the directory structure and pass each file it's found to a command-line converter tool. Trying to do this under Windows gives me the hurtling geebies!

Sorry, i don't have a suggestion for a conversion tool off the top of my head, just pointing out that i wouldn't bother trying to find an all-in-one tool that handles both the directory searching and conversion.

Is your phone Android? If so, look for an App named 'ES File Explorer'. This lets your Android device connect to Windows/SMB shares on computers and navigate them as easily as local folders. You might be able to use this to retrieve the music files directly from your desktop PC without having to use the router's cloud function, and thus bypass it's limitations. I do this all the time with my Android tablet to listen to music and watch movies stored on my desktop's hard drives.

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: 4110

Date:12/30/2013 4:16:45 PM

I downloaded ES File Explorer and am working up the learning curve.

However, I also found that I can play my loss less files without it. AiCloud included a player app and I was trying to use that. If I skip the player and just navigate to a music file in AiCloud I can click a music file and it will play. I suspect I can do the same with ES File Explorer. So perhaps file conversion is not needed and problem solved.

Thanks for your help.

David

Subject:RE: Convert

Reply by: 4110

Date:1/6/2014 6:38:55 AM

I posted the original question and have some additional information to share. One big problem turned out to be file format. I mentioned that when I ripped my CDs I wanted a loss-less format and at various times over the years I used wav and wma. Bad move. The wma format is a problem It is a proprietary format and some of the players won't touch it. I won't use it again.

I did find a program (not free) to convert all of the wma files so I still have a high quality source collection. I also converted the entire collection to mp3 for use with the router air cloud to stream to my phone.

Thanks everyone for all of your help.

David