Subject:Convert new files as they appear

Posted by: theinfobox

Date:3/8/2002 1:01:32 PM

We have a recording system that saves files in WAV format. What we would like to do is find a way to monitor the save directory and convert new files as they appear to MP3 format. Is there anyway to accomplish this with SoundForge or with SoundForge and a combination of other products?

Subject:RE: Convert new files as they appear

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:3/8/2002 1:23:59 PM

You could probably write a simple program in Visual Basic (or Visual C/Visual Studio) that would run in the background monitoring the directory contents. Whenever a new file appears, this program could launch Sound Forge and use the SendKeys function to operate the menus and controls to load the file and save it in the new format. I'm not aware of any commercial products that already exist to do this, but it strikes me as a rather easy task.

I can try whipping one up over the weekend, but i won't guarantee i'll have anything foolproof right away.

Subject:RE: Convert new files as they appear

Reply by: theinfobox

Date:3/8/2002 1:57:10 PM

That would be cool. I don't know much about Visual Basic so any help would be great. Maybe it is time for me to crack open the books again. :)

Subject:RE: Convert new files as they appear

Reply by: Iacobus

Date:3/8/2002 2:29:00 PM

If you have Sound Forge 5, Batch Converter 5.0 comes with it for free. It doesn't monitor a folder/location that I know of, but it can whip your WAV's into MP3's in a snap.

Get it here. (You can use either the Batch Converter 5 or Sound Forge 5 link from that page.)

Iacobus

Subject:RE: Convert new files as they appear

Reply by: theinfobox

Date:3/8/2002 2:47:32 PM

Unfortunately, we need it to monitor the folder. The conference call recording system saves the files right after they are done. As soon as a new call has been saved, we want it to be converted. A friend of mine said this was possible in SF 4.5(w/the batch coverter) but the feature has been left out of SF 5/Batch Converter 5. If I can solve this one little problem, I will be the hero of the day... if not, I will be the goat of the day for recommending SF in the first place! :|

Subject:RE: Convert new files as they appear

Reply by: vanblah

Date:3/8/2002 4:56:07 PM

What OS is the system on? If it is NT or W2K Server you can use the AT command to setup a schedule to convert all .wav files in the particular directory using something like bladeenc (or any command-line .wav to .mp3 encoder) to run every hour or something. If you needed it more often, you can set up multiple AT jobs and stagger them.

The best bet is to get Chienworks to write a VB app.

Doug

Subject:RE: Convert new files as they appear

Reply by: xgenei

Date:4/14/2002 1:56:07 AM

Yes you can do this sort of thing with a batch script. You might want to check out MacroExpress, which is what I use, (I don't have the stomach to learn VB). It's a great general solution as "ME" can do about 85% of anything you will ever want to do. Very inelegant but effective (crude but effective? fast but dirty?) -- anyway then you can "be the hero" regularly!

BY THE WAY REGISTERED USERS OF VEGAS VIDEO 3.0 ALSO QUALIFY FOR A FREE BATCHCONVERT! (Go to the download and there's a link.) Now I'm hunting down a free Sound Forge XP 5.0 that I didn't get.