Huffmann data overrun

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

Hello,
since a few days I have the messages “huffmann data overrun” when I load a mp3 file.
Windows sytem: Win 10 home 2004
audacity: 2.4.2
huffmann_data_overrun.jpg

2

The message “huffman data overrun” is an error message from the MP3 importer “libmad”, which indicates there is an encoding error in that MP3 file. Previous versions of Audacity ignored MP3 errors, but some errors in importing files can cause unpredictable problems in the Audacity project, so Audacity no longer ignores errors reported by libmad.

Where did the file come from?

3

I have a similar issue. (using 2.4.2 on Win 10)

The last answer implies that Huffmann data overrun is the response when the MP3 in question is not ideal for Audacity, but that it still could be used. It implies that a decision has been made to give the error dialogue box rather than risk a future problem with the project.

So is there a way to say to Audacity: “I take that risk” Use this mp3 anyway.

Failing that, what’s the most up to date version of Audacity that doesn’t have that Huffman feature and will accept the mp3.

(It’s a while since I posted here and I can’t remember if you would have preferred a new post for a new person. I’ll obviously do that if wanted!)

Thanks.

4

I have a similar issue. (using 2.4.2 on Win 10)

The last answer implies that Huffmann data overrun is the response when the MP3 in question is not ideal for Audacity, but that it still could be used. It implies that a decision has been made to give the error dialogue box rather than risk a future problem with the project.

So is there a way to say to Audacity: “I take that risk” Use this mp3 anyway.

Failing that, what’s the most up to date version of Audacity that doesn’t have that Huffman feature and will accept the mp3.

(It’s a while since I posted here and I can’t remember if you would have preferred a new post for a new person. I’ll obviously do that if wanted!)

Thanks.

(Trying to get quotes right. Sorry if this comes out twice.)

5

You could try decoding it to WAV with another application (such as foobar2000) then if that works, import the WAV into Audacity (foobar2000 can also do batch conversions, and is an excellent audio player).

6

Thanks. I’ve downloaded Foobar and the mp3 plays fine in that. I can’t see a “save as WAV” or “decode to WAV” option.

7

See: Foobar2000:Converter - Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase

8

Thanks, Steve. Is there loss of quality doing that? Is it better just to play the file and let Audacity record it? Or should I try and find a previous version of Audacity? Thanks.

Edit: I’ve decided to have a go with version 2.0.6 It’s just imported the file perfectly. Of course I may have problems with my editing and exporting afterwards, but we’ll see. Thanks so much for the help.

9

Is there loss of quality doing that?

No. MP3 is lossy compression but information is thrown-away during compression and no further damage happens during decompression. (It’s going to be decompressed when you play it or open it in Audacity anyway.)

Is it better just to play the file and let Audacity record it?

If you use the WASAPI-loopback method you shouldn’t get a loss of quality that way either (assuming no glitches/dropouts).

There IS (theoretical) quality loss if you re-compress to MP3 again. The same would happen if were able to open the MP3 in Audacity (or any normal audio editor) and then export to MP3 again. The MP3 gets decompressed when you open it and you are going though another generation of lossy compression when you export it. And, damage does accumulate.

Depending on what kind of editing you’re doing, [u]mp3DirectCut[/u] can do some limited editing without decompressing the file (assuming it doesn’t have trouble opening your file).

10

Thanks for the help. I’ve always wondered if there’s loss in reediting an MP3.

11

Hi there,

I have had the same issue today, but only on certain mp3 files.

What I have done:

  • opened a 60-minute mp3 file in mp3DirectCut
  • split the audio into separate tracks
  • saved split tracks into individual files
  • drag & drop the tracks into Audacity

What has happened:

  • first track imported just fine
  • second and following tracks threw an error telling me that “Huffman blah blah blah …”

I used mp3DirectCut, because it allows lossless editing (without re-encoding the audio, unlike Audacity).

I assume that the saving procedure in mp3DirectCut messed up the mp3s. But what can I do?

Actually, opening the mp3s in Audacity wasn’t neccessary, because I didn’t plan to do any further editing.
I just wanted to check the audio and then this issue occured.

Does that mean that my mp3 files are damaged?

12

Yes, but not necessarily badly damaged, and there may be no audible damage when played in other apps.
Audacity 2.4.2 is very fussy and requires MP3 to exactly meet the MP3 specification. In particular it does not accept “ape” tags. The next Audacity version will be a bit more forgiving.

13

Does that mean that my mp3 files are damaged?

Yes. :frowning: But it may play fine in other applications and maybe you can live with it. Until now, I thought MP3directCut was pretty good…

I wonder… Maybe the original file was non-compliant and MP3directCut somehow compounded the problem???

[u]MP3 Diags[/u] can diagnose & repair lots of different MP3 problems.

Any changes made by MP3 Diags are permanent so make a backup before you start playing with it. It’s “highly technical” so I don’t always understand what it’s doing but applying some or all of the repair tools often does “repair” the file. You’ll probably have to read some of the documentation on the website but the “All Notes” tab tells you what’s potentially wrong with the file (often several different things) and the icons at the top that look like hammers are the repair tools (AKA “transformations”).

MP3 Diags seems to find lots of issues with my “perfectly good” MP3s. (I don’t check all of my files with it.)

14

I’m using Windows 10 and Audacity 2.4.2

Quoting and earlier message in this thread “The message “huffman data overrun” is an error message from the MP3 importer “libmad”, which indicates there is an encoding error in that MP3 file”.

Is the error returned from libmad in such a way that the error dialog indicating a Huffman data overrun could indicate the name of the damaged file? I frequently drag and drop 30+ mp3 files into Audacity, and it is almost impossible to detect which file is damaged if it is more than a couple into the group being imported. It would be very helpful if the error dialog included the name of the damaged file.

15

Ran into this “Huffmann data overrun” on an mp3 file today. I worked around the issue by renaming the file to .mp4 and am able to open in Audacity… Once opened, I am then able to save as .mp3 for further processing.

Hope this helps someone.

-Sri

16

I am then able to save as .mp3 for further processing.

Any “further processing” should be done before you export to MP3. If you want to save a temporary/intermediate file, save as WAV.

As you may know, MP3 is lossy compression. Audacity (and all “regular” audio editors) decompress the file so when you re-export as MP3 you are going through another generation of lossy compression, and “damage” accumulates with each generation of re-compression. MP3 is one of the worst formats for re-compression and MP4 immune to accumulated damage.

I worked around the issue by renaming the file to .mp4

Maybe it was actually an MP4, or maybe you just “fooled” Audacity into using FFmpeg (which is normally used for MP4) and then FFmpeg detected it as MP3 and was able to open it. (FFmpeg is more tolerant of “bad” MP3s.)

17

There is an open bug logged for this:
https://bugzilla.audacityteam.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2749
LIB-MAD: Huffman Data Overrun

Peter.