Current Events > Do any of you still use an audio encoder program?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Can you recommend one? If you didn't know this is when like you have like an aac file or mp4 that is compatible with itunes or iphones or whatever and you want to change it to an mp3 file or whatever to put on your android phone etc.... Not sure if iphones only accept like mp4 files to put on the mp3 player that comes with iphones. Thye used to iirc

bumpo

uhh.....no

No real reason to since android usually has no problems with mp3 files.
FLAC sometimes didn't work, but newer phones have no problem with... Though FLAC files take up more memory.

dbpoweramp

There are a dozen online audio converter websites

Yes, rarely.

f you want mp3 then FFmpeg + libmp3lame or any other app with LAME encoder. FFmpeg and LAME are command line apps. If you want something with GUI you can use either:
https://github.com/jlw4049/FFMPEG-Audio-Encoder or
https://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP

If you want something that just works and couldn't care less about codec, foss or anything like that then:
https://www.xmedia-recode.de/en/

Btw android can play mp4 and aac. Transcoding from lossy to lossy, like aac to mp3, should be avoided. Try mpv if you have trouble playing media files on android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=is.xyz.mpv

thisworld posted...

Yes, rarely.

f you want mp3 then FFmpeg + libmp3lame or any other app with LAME encoder. FFmpeg and LAME are command line apps. If you want something with GUI you can use either:
https://github.com/jlw4049/FFMPEG-Audio-Encoder or
https://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP

If you want something that just works and couldn't care less about codec, foss or anything like that then:
https://www.xmedia-recode.de/en/

Btw android can play mp4 and aac. Transcoding from lossy to lossy, like aac to mp3, should be avoided. Try mpv if you have trouble playing media files on android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=is.xyz.mpv

oh do you know , do iphones still only accept files in mp4 and aac? the old ipods used to do this but that was years ago.

audacity (i mostly use it to glitch photos, but i think it does audio stuff too)

@XBoner posted...

oh do you know , do iphones still only accept files in mp4 and aac? the old ipods used to do this but that was years ago.

The patents for mp3 decoding, required for mp3 native support, expired in 2015. The patent for encoding mostly expired in 2017

Back then when mp3 was in full bloom Fraunhofer-Institut fr Integrierte Schaltungen (Fraunhofer IIS), the patent holder, actually sent letters demanding license payment to mp3 decoder/encoder dev. Due to this, early version of LAME was officially distributed in source code format to avoid patent infringement.

AAC also has patent holder but they don't require payment for distributing AAC files. I won't have to pay anything to them if I sell you AAC file. This was probably the reason behind Apple's decision to choose AAC.

Which iPhone do you have? I think iPhone 7 or iPhone SE 1st gen or anything newer should play mp3 natively. iPhone 6s might or might not. Anything older (iPhone 6 and older) is probably a no go. If you want to play it really really safe go with 2018 model ie IPhone X, XR, XS, XS Max or iPhone 11 and newer.

Audacity is great for encoding audio files to different formats

For CDs, fre:ac can rip to just about any format

Euripides posted...

There are a dozen online audio converter websites

Yep.

Here's the best one I found online.

https://convertio.co/audio-converter/

thisworld posted...

The patents for mp3 decoding, required for mp3 native support, expired in 2015. The patent for encoding mostly expired in 2017

Back then when mp3 was in full bloom Fraunhofer-Institut fr Integrierte Schaltungen (Fraunhofer IIS), the patent holder, actually sent letters demanding license payment to mp3 decoder/encoder dev. Due to this, early version of LAME was officially distributed in source code format to avoid patent infringement.

AAC also has patent holder but they don't require payment for distributing AAC files. I won't have to pay anything to them if I sell you AAC file. This was probably the reason behind Apple's decision to choose AAC.

Which iPhone do you have? I think iPhone 7 or iPhone SE 1st gen or anything newer should play mp3 natively. iPhone 6s might or might not. Anything older (iPhone 6 and older) is probably a no go. If you want to play it really really safe go with 2018 model ie IPhone X, XR, XS, XS Max or iPhone 11 and newer.

oh really? this is good info. did not know this

Ive always liked GoldWave.

Foppe posted...

Ive always liked GoldWave.

you use an audio encoder very frequently? what are you usually using it for?

I used it frequently in the past, had a friend that loved to record improvised lines.

No reason to use neanderthal formats over Opus for anything on an Android phone, even 6.0 supports it

flussence posted...

No reason to use neanderthal formats over Opus for anything on an Android phone, even 6.0 supports it

waht is opus? never heard of it

XBoner posted...

waht is opus? never heard of it

Opus is a lossy audio codec that is considered the best lossy audio codec because it reaches transparency at lower bitrates than its competitors

Contrast with something like MP3, which is so ancient that it's only an open format because the patent on it expired.