Joining mp3s

[greg]

Anyone ever try this? I'm trying it right now, but it's not working. I've even seen a picture and did the same exact format, and it still doesn't work.

example: copy /b *.mp3 new.mp3

[drogulus]

     I have a command line program to decode HDCD encoded files. It's too bad I can't make it work because the only way I can decode them is to put them on a disc and let WMPlayer do it while capturing the output. It would be nice if I could just batch decode them without the intermediate steps.

     Did you make these mp3s? If so what's the source? If you don't know the source then you won't know if a perfect join is possible until you try. Even if you put them on a disc and do a single file rip it isn't guaranteed that the join will be seamless. It depends on the encoder.

[greg]

I tried it again yesterday, and it works if you write it exactly like that, but with no space in "copy/b". The result is.... uhhh, not so good for the timing. It joins everything, but actually displays timing of only the first track.

Did you make these mp3s?

oh, no... these are just regular files. I like to join mult-imovement works into 1 track, and doing it with my sound editor would take way too long for the amount I'm trying to accomplish.

If you don't know the source then you won't know if a perfect join is possible until you try. Even if you put them on a disc and do a single file rip it isn't guaranteed that the join will be seamless. It depends on the encoder.

hmmm I'm going to download a program for joining mp3s maybe today, so I'll see what happens... (making mp3 discs)

[Gurn Blanston]

I tried it again yesterday, and it works if you write it exactly like that, but with no space in "copy/b". The result is.... uhhh, not so good for the timing. It joins everything, but actually displays timing of only the first track.
oh, no... these are just regular files. I like to join mult-imovement works into 1 track, and doing it with my sound editor would take way too long for the amount I'm trying to accomplish.

hmmm I'm going to download a program for joining mp3s maybe today, so I'll see what happens... (making mp3 discs)

Greg,
In a total oddity of naming, the program to do this is called MP3 scissors... If your files are Constant Bit Rate (CBR) is will work perfectly and easily to do exactly what you want. I used it for quite a while. Then, later on, I started ripping to Variable Bit Rate (VBR), and even though the program claims compatibility, and joined the files perfectly, the total time was really screwed up, and nothing I could do would make it correct, so I quit using it. Anyway, it's freeware and works great (if you're using CBR files...) 



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Listening to:
Venice Baroque Orchestra; Carmignola - RV 295 Concerto in F for Violin 2nd mvmt - Larghetto

[greg]

I honestly don't even know what CBR is... I try to stick with just mp3s, since I'm not very audio-informed, and can barely tell a difference between sound qualities.

I've gotten a program that, so far, looks like it'll do the job just fine. It's called "Music File Merger." I tested it with a movement that had been split up into different tracks. After joining, the sound quality sounded the same and I couldn't hear any seems between the tracks. I've only done a short test so far, so that's all I can say... if it ends up not working right, I might have to investigate your suggestion, Gurn. 

What is CBR, btw?

[karlhenning]

"Joining mp3s"? Is it a club?

M, P, 3 . . . K, E, Y . . . M, O, U, S, E . . . .

[Gurn Blanston]

I honestly don't even know what CBR is... I try to stick with just mp3s, since I'm not very audio-informed, and can barely tell a difference between sound qualities.

I've gotten a program that, so far, looks like it'll do the job just fine. It's called "Music File Merger." I tested it with a movement that had been split up into different tracks. After joining, the sound quality sounded the same and I couldn't hear any seems between the tracks. I've only done a short test so far, so that's all I can say... if it ends up not working right, I might have to investigate your suggestion, Gurn. 

What is CBR, btw?

These things are always a lot simpler than it seems, Greg. It's like magic, once you know the secret you're like "hell, that was easy!".

Imagine that your audio track is like a highway. The higher the sampling bit rate, the wider the highway, and more cars (data) can fit on it at the same time. OK, well, in a CBR (constant bit rate) file, the highway is the same width all the time. If there is a whole lot of data (you know, like a piece with a lot of dynamic range, and lots of instruments playing really high and low notes at the same time), then the highway is packed full, maybe so much that some of the data gets run off the road (clipped), so that's why you want to have your road as wide as possible. In MP3's, that's 320kbps (thousand bits per second). Now, record a Mahler symphony with a huge orchestra and chorus, and say you make a file that is 15 minutes long. Now, record a work  that only has a solo piano playing an adagio with not a lot of dynamics or range. How will the 2 files compare in size? Well, the first file, with its millions of bits of information, and the second one with a fraction of that will be exactly the same size, because the "road" never changed width no matter if it was packed full or nearly empty.

VBR (variable bit rate) on the other hand, you tell it when it is encoding how wide or narrow it can be as needed. So now, when you need it to be 320kbps, it will be 320kbps. But when you only need it to be 112kbps it will narrow down and be 112kbps. So the result will be a file that is only as big as it needs to be. And you end up saving space on your hard drive; the more files you have the more space you save. This is especially useful when you dump files onto a flash MP3 player like a Nano or a Sansa.

See, that was easy! 







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Listening to:
Collegium Aureum - K 248b_250 Serenade #7 in D "Haffner" 1st mvmt - Allegro maestoso - Allegro molto

[greg]

That was easy 

I think that was an easier explanation to understand than if I looked it up and researched it...good job! 

[drogulus]

     One thing iTunes is really good for:It lets you join some but not all files when ripping a CD, so you can easily turn the 21 tracks of a symphony into one track per movement, whereas my most sophisticated ripper/transcoder/burner/editor only gives you 2 choices, separate or single. A "join selected tracks" option should be included.