Export MP3 From Quicktime Pro

[fazstp]

What options are available to export audio to mp3 from Quicktime Pro?

I tried to get the LAME encoder from Sourceforge but the link was dead.

I also tried exporting to AIFF and converting to MP3 in iTunes but it adds a blank section at the end of the track which causes a problem when I loop the sample.

[melon]

Tried this version? http://www.kjams.com/wiki/index.php/Lame I've not tried it myself, but seems to be ok from reviews. It's basically an update to the version I use, this LAME Quicktime component: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/22571 which seems the original developer has pulled. I can upload these files to somewhere like Rapidshare if you want, but the newer version is likely to be better anyway.

As for options, you can see here: http://www.kjams.com/wiki/Preferences#Import_.26_LAME

I also use iTunes-LAME Encoder: http://www.blacktree.com/apps/iTunes-LAME/index.php as I find it produces better and smaller mp3 files than the default mp3 encoder. Though from looking at the very first link, it appears to add LAME directly to the encoding options, where as iTunes-LAME is essentially a script.

All in all, I'd say the first link should be best, might have to try it myself

[fazstp]

Thanks melon, that's given me the export option in Quicktime. For some reason I still get a blank spot in the looped sample??

Anyone know an app for tweaking looped mp3? Well for tweaking audio and saving back to mp3.

[melon]

No idea about the "blank spot", shouldn't be there if it wasn't in the original. You can use audio editors like http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ (free) or http://www.freeverse.com/soundstudio/ (not free), though I'm not sure if you can easily create loops like that unless you know what you're doing (or the original file was a loop).

If all you want to do is cut the blank spot out, you could just do that in Quicktime Pro.

There's also the Apple Loops SDK 1.3.1 SDK "This SDK provides the tools and guidelines for creating audio loops in the Apple Loops format for use within Apple audio applications." But I'm not sure if you can use them or not.

[fazstp]

Hmmm. It's odd but Audacity does the same thing of adding a blank section at the start and end of the sample.

[ThreeDee]

The LAME site does not give binaries. Need to make it yourself in the Terminal. http://lame.sourceforge.net/

[fazstp]

If you look at the attached image you can see that about 0.025 silence has been added to the start of the sample and about 0.01 has been trimmed from the end of the sample. I got the same result exporting from Quicktime 7, exporting from Audacity and exporting from a Windows version of Switch.

[melon]

Could you upload the audio you're trying to convert? You can upload to places like Rapidshare and MegaUpload if you don't have any personal webspace.

Maybe someone else will have better luck, but seeing as how so many different programs (and cross platform too) seem to have the same problem, it might be the file itself.

[fazstp]

I uploaded the sample to;

http://home.iprimus.com.au/fazstp/untitled.aif.zip

I checked the iTunes export and it had the same amount of silence at the start but instead of trimming the end of the sample it added about 0.015 to the end as well.

[melon]

I've converted the file on Mac and Windows with Quicktime & Sound Studio on Mac and Goldwave on PC and it seems I get the same thing you do.

Very weird, it might be a problem with LAME or mp3's in general, seems to add silence at beginning and end on PC encoded version.

No way to stick with wav or aiff? As I don't get a problem is saving as them.

[fazstp]

Thanks for trying anyway. It seems it is a limitation of the mp3 format as explained here;

http://www.compuphase.com/mp3/mp3loops.htm

The reason I wanted mp3 was for a ring tone and it's the only format (other than midi) supported.

Thanks again,
Stephen

Edit: Sheesh, that was a waste of time. Nokia doesn't loop the sample anyway.