Hang when importing aiff file

[Gale Andrews]

It might be interesting to split this up a bit. I don't trust Audacity exports for a second. That's how I created the sound file that reads in three different bit depths depending on where you look and the humidity outside. I posted that file and I still haven't heard back. Leland is probably lying bleeding by the side of the road somewhere.

Then please post it here, or give a link to the thread concerned, and confirm exactly what version of Audacity and flavour/architecture of OS X produced it.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/iTun ... ing_1.aiff
It's not really an iTunes file. That's WireTap's Auto Name scheme.

If everybody can open that, then we have an Audacity export problem, not an import problem. If the moons and stars line up, we could have two problems.

Actually, there always used to be a problem opening WireTap AIFF files in Audacity because WireTap created compressed AIFF by default (whether that was really size-compressed I don't know). I haven't seen a report of that for a while now, though.

Gale

[kozikowski]

More news. I have a file called piano2.aif on my web site. I will be shortly removing it. It turns out to be one of the messed up Audacity exports and it arrives in different bit depths depending on how you open it. In QuickTime 7.6.0 for Leopard, it arrives as a 16-bit file. In Audacity, the same file shows up as 32-bit floating...

I'll remove the reference to it on the page, not the actual file so y'all can see if you can figure out how the file is damaged. This could easily be the cause of all the aiff "Import" problems.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/piano2.aif

Koz

[kozikowski]

<<<WireTap created compressed AIFF by default>>>

So post a sound file that fails. Unless somebody can do that, I'm going on the assumption that one person has a bad machine or a damaged sound file.

I get about the right numbers of MB for a show that length. I was very careful to turn all the compression and tricks off for the purpose of opening the resulting WireTap show in Audacity for editing. It does work. What does not always work is the Audacity Export AIFF files.

And once again, I don't always assume that everything Apple does is an "AIFF File." WireTap defaults to 'Compressed IMF--something' and I wouldn't be shocked to earn that Audacity --particularly the earlier versions, would throw up.

This WireTap Pro has a very specific setting for Compressor [x] None.

Koz

[kozikowski]

The Default is QuickTime IMA 4:1.

Koz

[Gale Andrews]

The Default is QuickTime IMA 4:1.

I'm just going on dozens of reports in the past, and half a dozen at least that confirmed the answer - when exporting AIFF from WireTap you had to turn off "Compression" in its preferences. Audacity had the playback alternating from one channel to the other otherwise. But maybe WireTap changed things now.

As for "piano2.AIFF" - iTunes, QuickTime (Windows versions thereof) and Foobar all agree it's 16-bit (QT says it's Big-Endian byte order as you'd expect). Audacity won't say what sample format it is obviously, because the sample format displayed in the Track Panel is the resolution it's being read at according to "Default Sample Format" in the Quality Preferences.

The iTunes_recording_1.AIFF is only 125 MB (tried it twice) but it imports OK. The AIFF import problem that we fixed on 9 February was an End of File problem. Hopefully Nitta can let us know if the current build on SourceForge can import an hour long AIFF.


Gale

[Nitta]

Are you sure the 1.3.7 you have was downloaded on or after 9th February? We replaced the file on the server on that day with a build which should not have this problem. Here is the one (we think) is fixed:
http://downloads.sourceforge.net/audaci ... -1.3.7.dmg

I found my Audacity was version 1.3.7 before 9th February.
I had downloaded the new version "1.3.7.1" from above URL and installed it.
The result was good. Now I can read long aiff file.
Thank you very much.

[kozikowski]

<<<when exporting AIFF from WireTap you had to turn off "Compression" in its preferences>>>

And that's exactly what I did.

<<<As for "piano2.AIFF" - iTunes, QuickTime (Windows versions thereof) and Foobar all agree it's 16-bit (QT says it's Big-Endian byte order as you'd expect).>>>

Yes, but piano2_32 (or whatever I called it) was created from a 32-bit project and should be able to open up everywhere as 32-bit floating. Most players and analysis assume it's 16-bit.

I found a little OS-X hex editor and I'm using that with wiki entries to try and read the sound file headers. Nothing like knowing exactly what you have when you're trying to troubleshoot a system.

Code: Select all

RIFF.z..WAVEfmt..
.................
......data.......

Want to know what that is in hex?

Didn't think so.

Koz

[Gale Andrews]

Yes, but piano2_32 (or whatever I called it) was created from a 32-bit project and should be able to open up everywhere as 32-bit floating. Most players and analysis assume it's 16-bit.
Koz

If you exported without changing the export filter to "other uncompressed files", hitting "Options" to change encoding to 32-bit, then 16-bit is what you would get. Try it again and post the file here if you set it up as a 32-bit export but it seems to be 16-bit...

Gale

[kozikowski]

I may create something in Cool Edit and then see if everybody agrees on what it really is. CE2K will manage 32-bit floating.

It will not, however, manage 24-bit. I wonder if Audition will do that. I bought the Audition upgrade and never used it other than to see if it worked. It does.

Koz

[kozikowski]

I am reminded how darn much fun this is. I cleared the decks and hunkered down to deal with this file format problem. Turns out PC Cool Edit and Audition both know what an AIFF file is and will write one if I ask--sort of.

My two stabs at making a 32-bit AIFF file both resulted in "AppleAIFF 24-bit Packed AIFF."

My stab at a 32-bit WAV file resulted in a "32-bit Int PCM (type 1)."

The 32-bit test sound file on my web site was clearly wrong so I killed it.

But my other test clips appear to be correct whether they appear on the official HTML listing or not. I'll update that thing to reflect the clips that should be public. Hopefully, I'll figure out how to make a 32-bit floating AIFF file by then.

I am reminded of the posting of someone who tore a sound file apart and proved it didn't have the bits in it that the format claimed it did. I appear to be running into the same problem.

Does 1.3.x have a "Media Inspector?" It may be time for one.

Koz