I’m new here, and have a big issue, because I use Audacity for radio programs.
Two weeks ago I see synchro of time from my playout system and Auda was different.
Almost 2 or 3 minutes I had to add extra to my players to get 20 minute blocks for the radio in Audacity.
Now the files are playing on the radio, pitched up way too fast. So there is a big problem.
Is there a way to reset Audacity, or edit speeds for recording?
I use the latest Audacity, 2 weeks ago I used Win7, last week I upgraded to Win10 (but I recorded the files under win7 to be clear. But I assume the problem still remains. Can anyone help me out?
If you are exporting as MP3, you need to be aware that some MP3 players do not report the time correctly if the MP3 is VBR (Variable Bit Rate) encoded.
When creating content for radio or podcasts, it is highly recommended to export a backup copy in (perfect) WAV format before exporting as (lower quality) MP3. Then, when you make your MP3 version, select “Constant Bit Rate” in the MP3 Export options.
The “true” length of the file can be found by selecting all then looking at “Length and End Of Selection” at the bottom of the Audacity file.
That’s determined mathematically (and very-simply by the computer) by multiplying the sample rate (i.e. 44,100 samples per second) X the total number of samples in the file.
Timing & pitch problems are generally related to the wrong sample rate.
Or it can be [u]dropouts[/u] or other glitches that interrupt smooth flow of the audio data during recording or playback. (i.e. Dropouts or other glitches can change the number of samples-per-second recorded or played-back)
Now the files are playing on the radio, pitched up way too fast.
The speed and pitch are both tied to the sample rate. If it plays too fast the pitch will go up. If you correct the speed (with Audacity’s Change Speed effect) the speed and pitch should be corrected together.
In the real world the clock (oscillator) in the recording & playback devices is not perfect and some consumer soundcards or cheap USB microphones can be far enough off to cause timing problems with longer programs or even pitch problems for musicians. Even with a bad-cheap consumer soundcard the clock will be stable-enough that the recording & playback time (and pitch) will match and you won’t know there’s a problem unless you play-back on a different computer or check the true time in Audacity.
Or sometimes the software or drivers can “get confused” and play-back a 44.1kHz file at 48kHz, or vice-versa. But that’s very rare.
The MP3 problem is just a display/calculation problem where the playback software shows the wrong duration or time-remaining. The actual playback time will be correct, but you’ll see the wrong information displayed and that’s a BIG problem in a broadcast environment.
Audacity decompresses the whole MP3 when you open it so you are seeing the true length when you open an MP3 in Audacity. (MP3 does add a few milliseconds of silence to the beginning & end and Audacity will include the added silence when you check the duration.)
Thanks all, I always record in CBR 320kbps, I upgraded the computer to Win10Pro, and reinstalled Audacity and the problem is gone.
Maybe after all, there were incorrect settings, very strange, I took all the mp3’s and changed them -6% in speed. So the rest of the week was quiet ok. But Monday we had Donald Duck on the radio
