hey. just wondering if anybody knows a utility that can convert flac files to mp3 files? i downloaded a concert but i can't listen to it, and it takes up too much room as flac files as well. thanks!

well apparently db music converter can do that with the proper codec
i have always used this converter with no problems at all


P.S. here's the db music converter codec-centralEdited by: supercille

Or you can use the FLAC front end to turen them into (even bigger) wave files and then use what you always use for the WAV->MP3 conversion.

or get a flac plugin for winamp and play the flac without making it lossy and pissing off the tapersEdited by: cnpubwear

Arrrgghh!!! [img]smileys/smiley7.gif[/img]Emmett- I'm having the same trouble!! I'm new to this BitTorrent, FTP, downloading stuff. Installed BitTorrent, then WinAmp with the .shn file estension but nothing is working! [img]smileys/smiley5.gif[/img]I've tried using the .shn files and the MD5 files but nothing seems to work! Now what's this about flac... b/c my files were reading as flac files until they were completely downloaded but now they're reading as .shn or MP5 files and nothing works no matter how I try to play the file. I'm so confused!!! [img]smileys/smiley5.gif[/img]Do I need the flac file plug in for WinAmp then as well, cnpubwear of should I ues the codec thingy you suggested Cille? Help!!!

arrgh, total confusion at melissas! -help her for cries sake [img]smileys/smiley2.gif[/img]. about the changing ofrmat (from FLAC -> shn) - that's one of them computer mysteries i just don't understand. hope somebody else here can explain. don't know if you can play the shn files directly either or if you need to convert.


about converting the shn files: you can also convert shn files with the md poweramp music converter + the right codec (that i mentioned above), but maybe you already have a music converter? cause then there might be a shn codec for that one as well, if you look for it.


if you are a catholic wanting to become a buddhist there might be a converting codec... for... that too...arh, c'mon! let the old silly cille have some fun, ok? may not be funny to the rest of yer, but [img]smileys/smiley36.gif[/img]goes cille.


ehem. sorry.[img]smileys/smiley9.gif[/img]

[img]smileys/smiley36.gif[/img][img]smileys/smiley36.gif[/img]

[img]smileys/smiley36.gif[/img][img]smileys/smiley36.gif[/img](Cille always cracks me up!)

Yep, just download the FLAC thingymagig from here:
http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html

That'll change them from FLAC to WAV. There's then a million things out there to change from WAV to MP3.

Okay Emmett- here's how I worked it out. I downloaded WinAmp here


http://www.winamp.combut tried to add in various flac plug ins and nothing worked.....


So..... I went and found Flac Frontend like Angela suggested and downloaded that here


http://members.home.nl/w.speek/flac.htm


It's a Zip exe. file that you have to extract and then launchand then a window opens up where it allows you to *add files* (multiple at a time by using control button to multiple select) Then go to the *decode* buttonand decompress the flac files. (As I understand it it works like Zip files only retains audio quality) As they decode they are saved to the same folder the original flac files are kept (unless you choose a different directory/file) and the file names are the same only the WinAmp icon is moved to the bottom half of the icon and when you hover over it it says FLAC file before being converted but WinAmp media file after conversion/decoding (these are the ones that are playable after conversion)


As you're decoding you'll get a DOS prompt window that shows theextraction process and you press any key when finished and DOS/exe window disappears. Then go back to your file containing the decoded files (once again, same file names but icon looks different with the WinAmp symbol moved down to theright bottomof the file icon) and double click and they should pop up ready to play in WinAmp. Quite the process and haven't tried any further conversion b/c they're playing on my computer right now, but may work on figuring out how to burn to CD to play in car or stereo or convert to another format (though isn't this considered a no-no?? [img]smileys/smiley5.gif[/img])


I was able to get BitTorrentdownloads (took forever though) of the Toronto (flac) and the Chicago (shn) show and both are playable now. Chicago sounds like a better recording (though the crowd was rude, but don't know if that's from the original recording conditions or the flac vs. shn file formats) I tried all of the other suggestions and this is the one that worked for me.


But basically what it comes down to is you have to extract/decode the compressed flac files to WinAmp media format and then they're playable. None of the other flac plug-ins worked for me, unless I did something wrong, but the SHN plug in for WinAmp made the files playable if in SHN format. (and I'm having some BitTorrent files come up as flac and some as shn) Whew!!! [img]smileys/smiley11.gif[/img]This one was a chore to figure out (esp. for a non-techie!) Try it and let me know if it works for you, too! [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]Good luck!!!


Edited by: SisterMidnight

Hmmm....now, if you look at the decoded FLAC files, now called "WinAmp Media Files," what file extension do they have? Aren't those *.wav files? Because if so, you can burn a CD of those directly without further conversion.


The audio formats have a hirarchy that you can group by audio quality:


Best:CDA (what's on CD) and WAV (=CDA, but lives on a PC)

second best:"lossless compression" (SHN and FLAC) - those basically remove only the portions of the WAV file that contains no sound. That's why they are almost as big as the original. They lose *none* of the available audio information, hence "lossless".

poorest: MP3, a "lossy" compression that sacrifices audio signals to achieve its small size. That's audible to the human ear over a good stereo or if you have really good hearing) and that's why tapers hate it.


But...what you can do - happy solution all around: burn a CD from the *.wav files (make sure to remove the 2 sec pauses between the tracks when burning a live recording!!!) and then you can turn them into high quality MP's for listening to them on your PC or MP3 player. The files will take up a lot less room that way.


If you then want to share the show, make a straight CD-> CD copy of the one you burned and the quality in the trading community will never be diluted. At least that's the way I do it. If you have enough hard drive space, keep the FLAC or SHN copies around for sharing.[img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]

Angela-- I love you!!! [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]Thanks soooo much for your help with this very confusing new (to me) technology!! You rock!! [img]smileys/smiley32.gif[/img]


Thanks to everyone else for their suggestions and help, too! [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]

Ach, all these good vibes around. I feel so loved today[img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]That's a good thing, because last night, right after watching Jack White rock out with Loretta Lynn on Letterman my TV died [img]smileys/smiley19.gif[/img]

just some 'side-questions':


how does .ogg vorbis files rank in all of this, anybody knows?isn't it like they're not ALL that lossy, yet again not ALL that lossless?


what is better: vaiable, constant or average bitrate? -does it even matter at all???


hope someone can help me a dummie like me with this...[img]smileys/smiley9.gif[/img]

[img]smileys/smiley5.gif[/img][img]smileys/smiley6.gif[/img][img]smileys/smiley29.gif[/img]I'm looking foward to any answer that complicates my life [img]smileys/smiley4.gif[/img]

I use oggs as the format of choice for my iRiver H140 and my girlfriend's PDA. Oggs are essentially an 'open-source' format (like FLAC is to SHN) that compresses files down to about the same size as an average mp3. Many people find they maintain a higher level of fidelity to the original music than an mp3 or a wma, and I have to say they sound pretty fab to me.

They are lossy, but they throw away different info to mp3s and don't have that hiss you sometimes get.

Not as well supported by as many programs as mp3s, but you'll find more and more doing so over the coming while, as hardware companies don't have to pay for a license to use the format in their equipment (as they do for mp3).

Trickier to find software that encodes them smoothly too, but with a bit of experimenting I found that Nero does it well (with the right codec) and Media Monkey is a good all-rounder library and encoder software. (EAC can do it too, but it's pretty fiddly).

As for bitrates, oggs encode better as VBRs - They have a sliding scale from 0-10. qO is about the same size as a 64kbps mp3, but sounds better (I use this for the PDA) and I think q10 is about 320kpbs, but I mostly use about q6 for the iRiver, which is about 192kbps and is pretty indistinguishable from the source cd.

They're gapless too, so none of those little skips between mp3s you annoyingly get for continuous music.

Check out Vorbis' FAQ

Hope that helps.

thanks for that thorough reply, framesaver. [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]i prefer ogg's to mp3's whenever i can, but wasn't sure if the thing about them being better was just a myth. i use dbPowerAmp music converter to make them, and it seems to work fine - any other experiences with that one?Edited by: supercille