Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 23

Thread: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

  1. #1
    Basically lazy robd's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Nr Cambridge
    Posts
    3,696
    Rep Power
    12

    Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Can anyone recommend a piece of FREE software for Windows XP that will
    * convert straight from audio CD/CDR to .mp3
    or failing that
    * convert .wav files to .mp3

    I had been using Nero 5.5 but it seemed the convert to mp3 option was limited to a set number of songs and further encoding requires an add-on.

    I want to use it to convert songs to .mp3 to load on to my walkman phone. The sony ericsson software supplied with the phone seems to **** up recordings from CDR

    TIA

    Robert

  2. #2
    The Gobby one! WittyBird's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Geekville
    Posts
    6,889
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Try This Hope it helps

  3. #3
    Commercial Operator
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Northeastern Parts
    Posts
    5,221
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    iTunes?

  4. #4
    Papa Smurf
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Planet Scathe
    Posts
    12,528
    Blog Entries
    6
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by straycat264 View Post
    iTunes?
    gah. nonsense.

    heres your puppy

    best and simplest

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    SW London
    Posts
    397
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by robd View Post
    Can anyone recommend a piece of FREE software for Windows XP that will
    * convert straight from audio CD/CDR to .mp3
    or failing that
    * convert .wav files to .mp3
    Doesn't Windows Media Player 11 do all these things?

  6. #6
    Papa Smurf
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Planet Scathe
    Posts
    12,528
    Blog Entries
    6
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by Miguel View Post
    Doesn't Windows Media Player 11 do all these things?
    dunno - but that sucks even more than iTunes

  7. #7
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    East Kilbride, Sco
    Posts
    903
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by robd View Post
    Can anyone recommend a piece of FREE software for Windows XP that will
    * convert straight from audio CD/CDR to .mp3
    or failing that
    * convert .wav files to .mp3

    I had been using Nero 5.5 but it seemed the convert to mp3 option was limited to a set number of songs and further encoding requires an add-on.

    I want to use it to convert songs to .mp3 to load on to my walkman phone. The sony ericsson software supplied with the phone seems to **** up recordings from CDR

    Robert
    You'll get as much free software as you want from here

    If you encode in 80 bit/s mp3Pro, you'll nearly double the capacity of your Walkman compared to 128 or higher, use Nero's encoder for doing that, you'll get the mp3Pro encoder from the above link.

    Enjoy

  8. #8
    Commercial Operator onkar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Cambridge
    Posts
    178
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by robd View Post
    Can anyone recommend a piece of FREE software for Windows XP that will
    * convert straight from audio CD/CDR to .mp3
    or failing that
    * convert .wav files to .mp3

    I had been using Nero 5.5 but it seemed the convert to mp3 option was limited to a set number of songs and further encoding requires an add-on.

    I want to use it to convert songs to .mp3 to load on to my walkman phone. The sony ericsson software supplied with the phone seems to **** up recordings from CDR

    TIA

    Robert
    Hi Rob

    I use CDEx, which works a treat and will rip CD's, grab title/artist info from the web, and will encode to most formats including MP3, etc.


    Onkar

  9. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    bedford
    Posts
    4,899
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    BTW Parts of the MP3 specification are patent protected. In theory you should have to pay somebody something to get a fully featured MP3 convertor.

    Microsoft must pay $1.5bn in MP3 patent case - ZDNet UK

  10. #10
    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    10,015
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Doolan View Post
    If you encode in 80 bit/s mp3Pro, you'll nearly double the capacity of your Walkman compared to 128 or higher, use Nero's encoder for doing that, you'll get the mp3Pro encoder from the above link.
    Don't you need an mp3PRO decoder to get the best out of that format, otherwise it's just the same as MP3?

    Actually, just read up about it... Playing a mp3PRO file with a MP3 decoder will result in playback at half the sample rate. So a 80Kbps mp3PRO file will be played back as a 40Kbps file by a MP3 decoder.

    As there aren't any companies currently making mp3PRO hardware (according to Wikipedia) I'd say it's a dead format.

    High bitrate MP3 or AAC is the way to go, IMHO.

    (Oh, and of course, I'd recommend Apple's iTunes – it's free and it's good. )
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

  11. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    SW London
    Posts
    197
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP


  12. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Southampton
    Posts
    6,709
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    The difficulty isn't getting hold of free conversion/ripping/etc software, but that without the codec, they can't convert into mp3 files.

    The mp3 coding/encoding system was developed by the Frauenhofer Institute, which is entitled to the profits of its intellectual property. Its model is that the software to play mp3 files is available to all, but the software to create them must be licensed.

    Don't know about WMP11, but certainly earlier versions of WMP could create mp3 files if there was a Frauenhofer decoder installed in your Windows set-up. I got my Frauenhofer capability when I bought MusicMaster, which several years ago was streets ahead of WMP for organising large mp3 collections (and still offers some advantages, but I don't think its being supported anymore.)

    There is, however, the LAME codec, which is Open Source. (Don't know how they duplicated Frauenhofer's capabilities, but who cares?)

    So, get hold of the LAME codec (google 'LAME +download'), install it in the right place in the file structure (which will I expect be set out wherever you get the codec from) and whatever software you have can use the LAME codec. That would include WMP11, which is IMHO as good as any Windows music software (though I heartily hope that the next version will fix all the horrible bugs in the library system, sorry, not bugs 'features', which interfere with easy use) and at least has the advantage that you can do everything in one place, rather than have, say, separate ripper, conversion, tag editing, music playing and library management programs.

  13. #13
    Registered User Tessalicious's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Kentish Town
    Posts
    1,650
    Rep Power
    11

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    I'll go with the votes for iTunes on this one - I have my settings in iTunes specifically to make sure anything I import into the library from CD or file goes in in mp3 format, and that's how I keep them. It doesn't make the fuss about it that WMP seems to, except on music bought from iTunes itself (which can be dealt with in other ways, as long as you have a second computer).

  14. #14
    Registered User Beowulf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    The Beoverse
    Posts
    7,985
    Rep Power
    13

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe View Post
    gah. nonsense.

    heres your puppy

    best and simplest
    I've used that ever since it wasn't free..

    That is I downloaded it.. registered it.. then a month later they released it as freeware.. oh the irony

    it's great, and it can utilise the LAME codec too.

  15. #15
    Commercial Operator StokeBloke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Stoke-on-Trent
    Posts
    2,366
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by Beowulf1970 View Post
    I've used that ever since it wasn't free..

    That is I downloaded it.. registered it.. then a month later they released it as freeware.. oh the irony

    it's great, and it can utilise the LAME codec too.
    Although I do use WMP for some ripping as it grabs the artwork and track titles pretty accurately from the net too. Lazy? Moi?

  16. #16
    Lovely Moderator ducasi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Glasgow
    Posts
    10,015
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by StokeBloke View Post
    Although I do use WMP for some ripping as it grabs the artwork and track titles pretty accurately from the net too. Lazy? Moi?
    So does iTunes.

    (Oh, and it's also possible to use the LAME encoder with iTunes, I believe.)
    Let your mind go and your body will follow. – Steve Martin, LA Story

  17. #17
    Registered User boardrider's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Stafford
    Posts
    63
    Rep Power
    9

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    If you are feeling suitably techie you need:

    LAME
    EAC
    Mareo
    Flac

    EAC
    Exact Audio Copy rips the audio from your CD and verifies it is correct and has not picked up any jitter or glitches. Great for recovering songs from scratched CDs. It then uses Mareo.

    Mareo
    Utility that allows you to run multiple mp3 or other audio conversions i.e mp3gain on the same input audio stream
    So you tell it to convert the audio stream into MP3 via LAME and then flac format for archive purposes.

    LAME
    Public domain freeware MP3 encoder that is the best out there.

    FLAC
    Lossless audio compression. This compresses the audio without throwing any data away. Real CD quality not mp3 "CD quality".



    I use them to rip my CDs into 192VBR, 128 ABR, 128 CBR and into flac format so I have a lossless archive on my hard disk. All with one pass and one command or click of a GUI button. Even accesses freedb so you don't have to enter track info.


    Setup can be involved but not too tricky. Just pay attention to what they tell you on hydrogenaudio.

  18. #18
    Papa Smurf
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Location
    Planet Scathe
    Posts
    12,528
    Blog Entries
    6
    Rep Power
    18

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by StokeBloke View Post
    Although I do use WMP for some ripping as it grabs the artwork and track titles pretty accurately from the net too. Lazy? Moi?
    Audio grabber doesnt do artwork as far as i know, but its always handled track names. There'd be little point in CD ripping software if it didnt get the track names...type them in by hand? nah!

  19. #19
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    SW London
    Posts
    397
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Next time your'e in WHSmith's look out fot the latest Computer Act!ve Ultimate Guide to Easy CD & DVD Burning. It's very helpful and comes with lots of freeware.
    Hope this helps, Mike.

  20. #20
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Chesham
    Posts
    174
    Rep Power
    10

    Re: Anyone recommend FREE mp3 encoding software for Windows XP

    Quote Originally Posted by Barry Shnikov View Post
    There is, however, the LAME codec, which is Open Source. (Don't know how they duplicated Frauenhofer's capabilities, but who cares?)
    I think it's just the data format and decoding algorithm that are precisely defined/patented. Which is why different encoders can give different quality results, it's up to you how you make you encoder work.

    Quite agree that LAME is the way to go, I set up a 'blind' listening test between uncompressed and mp3 using the same audio output path and compared parts of some music encoded at different rates. At 192kbps VBR using LAME I stopped being able to tell the difference.

    EAC is a great ripping tool too, I've just set it up on my x64 Vista system at work, no problems

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Does anyone actually pay to go to a Ceroc London Class?
    By cerebus636 in forum Let's talk about dance
    Replies: 26
    Last Post: 2nd-April-2008, 10:50 PM
  2. Win XP icons "disappeared"
    By Clive Long in forum Geeks' Corner
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 24th-December-2006, 01:32 AM
  3. Free songs on iTunes
    By Chef in forum Chit Chat
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 20th-December-2006, 11:35 AM
  4. Free Useful Software
    By McJester in forum Geeks' Corner
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 26th-November-2006, 05:27 PM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •