file won't go over 2GB

[dfmcwade]

I have Audacity 2.0.5. Since I started to use it, I have done the recording and then exported the file in .flac format (and played the recording in foobar). I've done a radio show off and on (now on) and occasionally I have done a file that would be over 2.0GB (these were marathon countdown shows), which wasn't a problem. (My drive is/was an NTFS drive, and one show was actually 9.5GB, with more than a dozen others above 2GB.) My last recording was in January 2013, BEFORE I bought my new computer with new OS -- last computer Vista, this computer Windows 7.

I have tried to record long shows over the past several weeks and when it gets above a certain length, exporting compresses the file more than usual. Audacity will compress the file exactly down to 2.0GB if it would be over that size. So what is typically compressed ~50% can be compressed as much as 75% or more. When I try to play it, the beginning will play, but the recording length is unknown and I can't move forward or backward, needless to say I need to have files that can record more than 2GB.

I have updated both Audacity and Foobar to I believe latest versions.

[Gale Andrews]

FLAC is limited to 2 GB on Windows - see http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/fi ... ml#compare .

WAV is limited to 4 GB, but many applications cannot play WAV files over 2 GB.

What format were you using that was 9 GB and played correctly?


Gale

[dfmcwade]

I was using FLAC. I have FLAC files that are as large as 9.5GB. They were recorded before I got a new computer and changed from Vista to Windows 7, as I've said in my first post.

[dfmcwade]

If it would help for proof, I'd be happy to actually post the contents of the folder that has all the large files ("Marathons") if that is even possible to do so. (I don't know how to copy contents of a folder to some other place as an image).

[Gale Andrews]

I don't know how to copy contents of a folder to some other place as an image.

Open the file manager window. Hold ALT on your keyboard and press PrtScr. Open Paint. Edit > Paste. Save as PNG. Please see here for how to attach files: http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 49&t=64936 .


Gale

[Gale Andrews]

If the requirement is to play lossless copies of shows of unlimited length in Foobar, try exporting as RF64. Please see: http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 57#p239257 .


Gale

[dfmcwade]

This should do it for you.

Marathon screen print.png (116.02 KiB) Viewed 1636 times

I wonder if the specs about the Flac maximum size came with Windows 7, since the problem wasn't there before. (Every file on that list was exported and saved before I switched). So in the end I'm probably going to have to use a lossless file type with no maximum size. I heard good things about Ogg Vorbis -- do you concur? Will I need a plug-in for that? Do you recommend something other than that?

[Gale Andrews]

I wonder if the specs about the Flac maximum size came with Windows 7, since the problem wasn't there before. (Every file on that list was exported and saved before I switched).

This was a long-standing issue in the FLAC encoder when built on Windows that I didn't think had anything to do with the NT version of Windows the encoder was being run on. See: http://sourceforge.net/p/flac/bugs/260/ .

Was your Vista 64-bit or 32-bit and is your Windows 7 a 64-bit or 32-bit system?

I don't understand whether the bug being marked "closed" means that Josh Coulson built flac in line with the recommendation given there to remove the limit, or he just won't fix it.

I thought the limit still existed, but I have a flac.exe that was supposedly built without the 2 GB limitation, so I'll try that and also the current flac.exe. Please give me some time because exporting huge files is not quick (I don't have Vista).

Also, what version of Audacity were you using on Vista that exported FLAC files larger than 2 GB? Was that also 2.0.5?

The usual workaround we recommended hitherto was to install Linux or run a Linux live CD and export from Audacity on that. However not everyone will want to do that.

So in the end I'm probably going to have to use a lossless file type with no maximum size. I heard good things about Ogg Vorbis -- do you concur? Will I need a plug-in for that? Do you recommend something other than that?

Do you mean a "lossy" file type? OGG is good, but I already suggested RF64 above if you want lossless.

OGG is fine, but for greatest interoperability with other players, you want MP3 or MP4 instead.


Gale

[dfmcwade]

Oh, I didn't realize that Ogg was lossy. I sent that message and then saw your message about RF64.

Please tell me how to determine what my new computer's OS bit amount is. As for the older computers, I don't really know how to find out whether 32 or 64. The oldest files from '07 were from an even older computer using XP, I didn't get my last computer until 2008 (& this one in 2013). Seems like the XP was fine too. I don't have time for the Linux platform.

I only recently installed 2.0.5 a few days ago. I was using older versions previously.

Take your time. Is MP4 lossy?

[kozikowski]

Is MP4 lossy?

AKA M4A. Yes.
MP3's full name is MPEG1, Layer 3. So this compression process has been going on for a while.

There's a really short list of "lossless" compressed audio formats, and some of them, as you found, have other problems.

Koz