silent mp3 export

[nonsense.cat]

<< Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 Mac OS 10.5.6 >>

after I export a file as an mp3, it shows that the data is there, but when I play it in iTunes there is only silence. when I export the same file a 2nd time, it works fine.

what's the deal?

nonsense.cat

[kozikowski]

Fluffy idea.

You can get unstable MP3 exports if you use Audacity's default production value of 32-Floating instead of the more conventional 16-bit.

Audacity > Preferences > Quality > Default Sample Format.

Open up one of the MP3 files that fail in QuickTime instead of iTunes and press Apple-I for the INFO panel. What does it say for format?

Where did the music come from? Audacity is not a good converter. If you import or open damaged music, it will stay damaged through the whole process. By damaged, I mean a music format that Audacity doesn't handle. It doesn' fail right away, but it can become unstable.

Koz

[nonsense.cat]

You can get unstable MP3 exports if you use Audacity's default production value of 32-Floating instead of the more conventional 16-bit.

Audacity > Preferences > Quality > Default Sample Format.

This did not seem to effect the outcome.

Open up one of the MP3 files that fail in QuickTime instead of iTunes and press Apple-I for the INFO panel. What does it say for format?

MPEG Layer 3, Mono, 44.100 kHz

Where did the music come from? Audacity is not a good converter. If you import or open damaged music, it will stay damaged through the whole process. By damaged, I mean a music format that Audacity doesn't handle. It doesn' fail right away, but it can become unstable.

I have loads of old lectures on cassette tape that I am trying to archive on DVD. I'm recording in Audacity in real-time from the cassette player. All the lectures are about the same size: usually just under 60 MB for the mp3 file. Is Audacity not the best app for this task?

Again, it always takes exactly 2 exports. The first produces a 60 MB file of silence. The second produces a 60 MB file in proper condition.

It seems like this problem (and other minor bugs/weirdnesses in operating Audacity, i.e. when I attempt to save, the program will become non-responsive; and if I am saving and typing in a filename, the track will start playing in a several second loop [?]) became more consistent/pronounced after my co-worker tried to install "Virtual PC" on this machine (big mistake!). He has since uninstalled it.

nonsense.cat

[billw58]

Which version of Audacity are you using?

That problem of characters typed into the file save box activating keyboard shortcuts sounds familiar.

-- Bill

[kozikowski]

<<<file save box activating keyboard shortcuts sounds familiar.>>>

Yes. Which version of Audacity exactly are you using? Audacity > About Audacity.

We usually get this problem with using the wrong Audacity -- typically 1.2 on an Intel machine, but you're on a Power PC.

<<<usually just under 60 MB for the mp3 file. Is Audacity not the best app for this task?>>>

How long is the show in minutes? A 60MB MP3 file doesn't tell us anything at all about how hard Audacity is having to work in the middle.

Koz

[billw58]

Actually, this is:
"P3 Label tracks: typing "j" or"k" in a label may activate the "move cursor" shortcut instead."

It was around back in 1.3.5 or so, and appears to have been fixed in 1.3.9, but the Team is not sure. So If you're having this difficulty in 1.3.9 and in the file-save dialog, the Team definitely wants to know about it.

As for needing to export to MP3 twice for it to work, that is still a mystery.

-- Bill

[kozikowski]

<<<As for needing to export to MP3 twice for it to work, that is still a mystery.>>>

That is a head scratcher.

Load one of your shows that you know is going to fail the first time and Export As WAV. Do you get a silent WAV file?

Koz

[nonsense.cat]

Doh!

Sorry, the Mac I've been working on just got usurped by another office. I will try to set the recording up on that machine and get some answers to these questions when I can...

Thanks for the help so far...

[kozikowski]

If, in fact you are using the entirely appropriate Audacity for your machine and did everything right, we were sometimes able to cure this cross-key thing by trashing the preferences and restarting. Your custom settings will vanish, but the problem may vanish, too.

Koz