I have converted a few video files [*.webm, *mp4, *.mkv] using command line with a batch process.
These files are converted to mp3’s. When I try to load them into Audacity for trimming, I get an error msg.
“Audacity did not recognize the type of the file…
For uncompressed also try File> Import> RAW Data…”
MediaInfoOnline - MediaInfo in your browser <<I have checked each mp3 by dropping them into this site and it does say they are mp3’s.
I have read some posts on here but they are all related to Windows not Linux.
I have seen references to “imperfect” MP3s”, but how would I know that what I have are imperfect?
Is there some other test that will tell me?
If there is any additional information I have forgotten, please tell me.
Any suggestions to correct this problem would be helpful.
Audacity is great software and I depend on it for my music editing.
Thanks
This may not help with your problem but you shouldn’t do that if you want to edit.
It’s better import it directly into Audacity (you’ll only get the audio) and Audacity will decompress it, or you can convert to WAV or FLAC. Then open the WAV or FLAC for editing. You can export to MP3 when you’re done editing if you what MP3.
MP3 is lossy compression and so is MP4 (AKA AAC or M4A). webm and MKV can contain various formats but you probably have something lossy. There is “damage” done with every lossy-to-lossy conversion (sort of like making a Xerox of a Xerox). You may not hear any quality loss but it’s “good practice” to minimize the generations of lossy compression and avoid unnecessary conversions.
If you want MP3, you should compress (or re-compress) ONCE as the last step.
When you open an MP3 in Audacity (or any normal audio editor) it gets decompressed. If you then re-export as MP3, you are going through another generation of lossy-to-lossy compression and SOME “damage” accumulates. Again, you may not hear any quality loss and sometimes you don’t have a choice.