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MP3s, Wavs, and Bears, OH MY!

M

madel

Guest
Ok, bears aren't really involved. So here's what's going on and what I know so far:

We play a reggae show. The guy emails us links to download the files via yousendit. The files are MP3s. We download and add to the shows folder...when it plays on-air, it has little tiny skips at regular intervals in it which cut off something like a minute and a half total from each section of the program. Open it up in itunes, audacity, anything and it plays just fine.

Couldn't figure out what the issue was and like any good troubleshooter I used the digital version of "hit it" and changed exported it as a wav instead. No problems since.

So that's all find and good except that I've noticed other MP3s, but not all and not even the majority, are behaving in a crazy manner and I just don't know enough about either MP3s or radio to effectively troubleshoot. All of the issues so far are fixed by changing its format...but I'd like to think there is a way I might be able to predict which files are going to give me trouble, rather than having to assume all mp3s are going to be issue-ridden (since I think I'd rather do that than have to fix something after it's played wrong on-air).

So...you gurus out there...what the heck is the issue with MP3s?! What can I do to predict which ones are apt to give me trouble?

Thanks in advance!
 
Are they CBR or VBR (constant or variable bit rate) mp3s?

Sometimes, VBR mp3s can wreak havoc with certain players.

If this is the case, have your guy encode the mp3s at a constant bit rate and see what happens. Selecting the highest bit rate possible (320kBps in most cases) is a good practice to follow, if disk space allows.

-M
 
What playout system are you using on the station?
 
Yes, it sounds like a mismatch between the mp3 encoding and the playout system.

Tell us what system, what software is trying to play the mp3 files that end up skipping.

Also, find out from the person who produces the program and tell us: what program is being used to record and/or encode the mp3 file, and all the details of the mp3 file: bit rate? stereo/mono? As asked earlier, Constant bit rate or Variable bit rate. Is there a site where we could download one of your bad-actor mp3 files and take a look at it? (You may want to share that address via the Personal Mail feature rather than post it for the whole world to see.)
 
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