2.8.8 new sequence problem - beat wizard

[tpooler]

On 2.8.8 when I create a new sequence I get the following error when I try to use the beat wizard. Windows 7, 32 bit, nvidia geforce 9500 gt, most recent video driver.

Can't init conversion.

Had the same issue on 2.8.6. should I roll back to 2.7.6 which is the last known working version I had?

[LightORamaDan]

That error indicates an issue with audio converter that we use. That converter has not been change in 2.8 vs 2.6 ... Does this happen with all new MP3 files?

My guess is that you will not be able to display te wave form for this same musical sequence. Is that correct?

Dan

[tpooler]

Well I found the problem. Looks like the beat wizard doesn't like 256kbps bit rate. I converted it to 128 with Audacity and it works fine. But this makes me wonder why the newer version of the software doesn't work with 256 but the older one did. Something for you folks to take a peak into. Thanks.

[LightORamaDan]

tpooler wrote:

Well I found the problem. Looks like the beat wizard doesn't like 256kbps bit rate. I converted it to 128 with Audacity and it works fine. But this makes me wonder why the newer version of the software doesn't work with 256 but the older one did. Something for you folks to take a peak into. Thanks.

It is not necessarly the bit rate that was the issue but something else in the audio file that was changed when you re-encoded it. It certianly could be the bit rate but it would be in combination with something else that is causing the problem. We test with 320kbps files.

If you re-encode via audacity to 256kbps do you still have the problem? If you still have the original file could you send it to support@lightorama.com so we can take a look at it.

Thanks
Dan

[tpooler]

File sent. It was the orginal file downloaded from the Trans Siberian Orchestra website. It is 6.7mb. Please let me know if you receive it. Thank you.

[LightORamaDan]

tpooler wrote:

File sent. It was the orginal file downloaded from the Trans Siberian Orchestra website. It is 6.7mb. Please let me know if you receive it. Thank you.

This does not appear to be a new issue. There is something in the audio file that the audio converter does not like but it is not the bit rate. You can save it in Audacity at the original bit rate of 256 and it will work okay.

We will forward the file to the company who wrote the audio converter that we use.

Dan

[nmonkman]

Can I interject a question here about bit rate?

I thought LOR worked best with 128 or is that a non issue anymore?

Seems to me I remember reading something that all MP3 files needed to be 128

[Guest wbottomley]

nmonkman wrote:

Can I interject a question here about bit rate?

I thought LOR worked best with 128 or is that a non issue anymore?

Seems to me I remember reading something that all MP3 files needed to be 128

Only if you're using the director cards.

On a pc, it can be anything.

[Joe Rayburn]

Not sure if this is the best place to post this but I am having a similar problem with one song . I get a ( cannot init conversion error )when I try to display wave file on this song the song is a mp3 file downloaded from Amazon.com. All other songs I downloaded from there in mp3 work okay. P.S the music plays whwn I play the sequence ,just will not show waveform

[LightORamaDan]

Joe Rayburn wrote:

Not sure if this is the best place to post this but I am having a similar problem with one song . I get a ( cannot init conversion error )when I try to display wave file on this song the song is a mp3 file downloaded from Amazon.com. All other songs I downloaded from there in mp3 work okay. P.S the music plays whwn I play the sequence ,just will not show waveform

Most likely if you can re-encode the MP3 file using Audacity and the LAME encoder it will work okay. Here is a link to additional information: http://lightorama.com/Documents/Audacity_Lame_128Kbps.pdf

Dan

[Guest guest]

Mountainwxman wrote:

nmonkman wrote:

Can I interject a question here about bit rate?

I thought LOR worked best with 128 or is that a non issue anymore?

Seems to me I remember reading something that all MP3 files needed to be 128

Only if you're using the director cards.

On a pc, it can be anything.

Actually that's not correct.

I use 192 bit rate (fixed) on my MP3 Showtime Director card with no problems whatsoever.

And there are some MP3's that will work at 256 and 320 bit rates as well, but those I have had issues with on the SD card when inserted into the director, but NOT all of them in 256 or 320 have issues, but 192 sounds better than 128 (my opinion) and the 192 bit rate works perfectly in my MP3 Showtime Director unit.

I haven't found a single 192 bit rate (fixed rate, not VBR, {Variable Bit Rate can cause issues}) that has not worked yet and I've played over 200+ songs in 192 bit rate on the director card and all have played perfectly without issue.

[LightORamaDan]

Orville wrote:

Mountainwxman wrote:

nmonkman wrote:

Can I interject a question here about bit rate?

I thought LOR worked best with 128 or is that a non issue anymore?

Seems to me I remember reading something that all MP3 files needed to be 128

Only if you're using the director cards.

On a pc, it can be anything.

Actually that's not correct.

I use 192 bit rate (fixed) on my MP3 Showtime Director card with no problems whatsoever.

And there are some MP3's that will work at 256 and 320 bit rates as well, but those I have had issues with on the SD card when inserted into the director, but NOT all of them in 256 or 320 have issues, but 192 sounds better than 128 (my opinion) and the 192 bit rate works perfectly in my MP3 Showtime Director unit.

I haven't found a single 192 bit rate (fixed rate, not VBR, {Variable Bit Rate can cause issues}) that has not worked yet and I've played over 200+ songs in 192 bit rate on the director card and all have played perfectly without issue.

In the DC-MP3 manual it recommends 128kbps. This is only a recommendaton and does not indicate that higher or lower bit rates will not work. If someone has an issue playing a MP3 file encoded at a bit rate higher than 128kbps then the first step we will recommend is that the file be converted to 128kbps. If a MP3 file encoded at 128kbps does not play correctly then we will look into the cause of the problem.

Because there is a single micro-processor in the DC-MP3 it has to support both the overhead of playing the MP3 file AND sending commands to the controllers. At 128kbps there is plenty of processor power to play the MP3 file and send out the maximum sequence at maximum speed.

Dan

[bdeditch]

I am having the same problem.

[LightORamaDan]

bdeditch wrote:

I am having the same problem.

If you are having the same problem then I recommend that you try what I suggested above:

Most likely if you can re-encode the MP3 file using Audacity and the LAME encoder it will work okay. Here is a link to additional information: http://lightorama.com/Documents/Audacity_Lame_128Kbps.pdf

Dan

[Joe Rayburn]

LightORamaDan wrote:

Joe Rayburn wrote:

Not sure if this is the best place to post this but I am having a similar problem with one song . I get a ( cannot init conversion error )when I try to display wave file on this song the song is a mp3 file downloaded from Amazon.com. All other songs I downloaded from there in mp3 work okay. P.S the music plays whwn I play the sequence ,just will not show waveform

Most likely if you can re-encode the MP3 file using Audacity and the LAME encoder it will work okay. Here is a link to additional information: http://lightorama.com/Documents/Audacity_Lame_128Kbps.pdf

Dan

Thanks for the quick reply. I downloaded Audacity and it now works.

[Guest guest]

One word of advice if you're going to convert to 128 bit rate from a higher bit rate, DO NOT CONVERT YOUR ORIGINAL MP3 FILE!

Make a directory and COPY, "NOT MOVE", all your MP3 files you want to convert to the lower bit rate. This way if an issue of a bad sounding MP3 at 128 does crop up, you can go back to the original file, copy it over again and reconvert it to a higher bit rate(192 for example).

Otherwise if you convert all your original MP3 files to a lower bit rate, they DO NOT CONVERT (REVERT) back to their original sound(format) if you try to go back to their original format of 320 or 256, especially if the newer lower rate does not sound good, some files I do use at 128, others are at no higher than 192 using my MP3 Showtime Director.

Just to help someone that may be new and starting out with doing MP3 conversions.

I know many of us did this very thing when converting files (I know I made this very blunder myself!), so just want to be sure the new folk don't mess up their original MP3 file!