FFmpeg library not registering

Audacity 3 Help Forum macOS
1

Hi all,

Just downloaded Audacity and FFmpeg in order to separate a stem track but my FFmpeg library doesn’t seem to want to work. Here are a few things to note-

  1. I am not running off the DMG and have uninstalled the disk image.
  2. As you can see, Audacity locates the library, but
  3. When I import the track, I get an error message that I have not yet installed the FFmpeg library.

Please let me know if anyone can help, been trying to fix this for an hour or so and have checked forums but no one seems to be having my problem. Thanks! Believe I’ve uploaded all of the relevant screenshots, please let me know if more are needed.
Screen Shot 2020-04-06 at 11.20.16 PM.jpg
Screen Shot 2020-04-06 at 11.19.57 PM.jpg
Screen Shot 2020-04-06 at 11.19.18 PM.jpg

2

Which version of Audacity do you have? (Look in “Audacity menu > About Audacity”)

3

Running Audacity 2.3.3 :slight_smile:

4

I think you are seeing a misleading error message.
The installation of FFmpeg on your machine looks perfectly correct.

Please try this as a test:

  1. Launch Audacity and create an audio track (doesn’t matter what it is)
  2. “File menu > Export > Export Audio”
  3. Select “M4A (AAC) Files (FFmpeg)” as the format, and “test.aac” as the file name. Then export the files somewhere convenient.
  4. When the export is complete, import the file that you exported in step 3.

What happens?

5

Successfully imported the track. Strange.
Screen Shot 2020-04-07 at 1.02.31 AM.jpg

6

Upload the problem file here: https://mediaarea.net/MediaInfoOnline
Then copy and paste all the information about your file in your reply.

7

General
Complete name : Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime.stem.mp4
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media
Codec ID : isom (isom)
File size : 40.6 MiB
Duration : 4 min 31 s
Overall bit rate mode : Variable
Overall bit rate : 1 254 kb/s
Track name : Once in a Lifetime
Performer : Talking Heads
Encoded date : UTC 2017-04-22 14:36:03
Tagged date : UTC 2017-04-22 14:36:03
BPM : 115
Cover : Yes
AUDIOTYPE : STEM
initialkey : D

Audio #1
ID : 1
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 4 min 30 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 251 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 285 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 8.09 MiB (20%)
Encoded date : UTC 1983-10-19 22:23:17
Tagged date : UTC 2017-04-22 14:36:07

Audio #2
ID : 2
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 4 min 31 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 251 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 357 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 8.13 MiB (20%)
Default : No
Encoded date : UTC 1996-01-11 02:09:25
Tagged date : UTC 2017-04-22 14:36:07

Audio #3
ID : 3
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 4 min 30 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 239 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 248 kb/s
Channel(s) : 1 channel
Channel layout : C
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 7.69 MiB (19%)
Default : No
Encoded date : UTC 2000-10-23 17:11:49
Tagged date : UTC 2017-04-22 14:36:07

Audio #4
ID : 4
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 4 min 30 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 251 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 283 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 8.10 MiB (20%)
Default : No
Encoded date : UTC 2007-09-22 01:35:17
Tagged date : UTC 2017-04-22 14:36:07

Audio #5
ID : 5
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 4 min 30 s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 251 kb/s
Maximum bit rate : 357 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 8.10 MiB (20%)
Default : No
Encoded date : UTC 2015-03-02 14:19:01
Tagged date : UTC 2017-04-22 14:36:07

8

The first one appears to be a Native Instruments “stem” file. The only applications that I’m aware of that properly support this format are applications from NI: https://www.stems-music.com/

The other files are AAC format, but I can’t see if the files have the correct file extension (the part of the file name after the final dot in the name) because you have omitted the file name. The file extension for those files should be either .aac or .m4a

Both AAC and MP4 formats are very complex, and there are many different versions of them. Support for these file types depends on whether the exact format version is compiled into Audacity’s version of FFmpeg. Some versions are protected by patents / copyright and cannot (legally) be supported in free software. We try to support as wide a range of formats as possible, but it is not possible for us to support all formats.

The fact that you are able to export and import “M4A (AAC) Files (FFmpeg)” shows that FFmpeg is working correctly in Audacity, but assuming that the files have the correct file extensions, it appears that those particular formats are not supported.