Best Bet for portable

2002-04-21 16:35:04

Ok I just wanna know what would be the best bet for use with an MP3/CD player. I currently use Lame (with Db Power Amp) and encode in stereo at 160 kbps. I want to know what is an optimal configurations, including which codec, bitrate, stereo vs joint stereo and format is the best. Also, is it worth reencoding if you guys give me a better alternative to my current configuration. Your replies will be most appreciated.

Best Bet for portable

Reply #1 – 2002-04-21 21:27:51

A similar question was asked two days ago, and I answered it here.

Please read around the forums a bit before posting questions that have already been asked many times before. The short answer to your question is: Encode using Lame with the commandline --alt-preset standard for excellent quality, properly implemented joint-stereo, and a reasonable bitrate (around 200kbps average).

And as for re-encoding: if the difference between your MP3's and the original CD's bothers you, take a listen to --alt-preset standard and see if the improvement is worth the time and effort of re-encoding. Otherwise, just encode all your new content with an --alt-preset commandline.

Welcome to the board!

Best Bet for portable

Reply #2 – 2002-04-21 23:01:44

Older MP3/CD players don't handle VBR (properly), and some won't even work with bitrates over 192kbps.

Just noting... the answer to the question really depends on the player.  The latest ones should work with the --alt-presets without a problem.  The older ones might require 192k CBR (in that case, --alt-preset cbr 192, or one of the bug-free versions of Fraunhofer).

Best Bet for portable

Reply #3 – 2002-04-22 03:33:30

Thanks for your advice

So, which program should I use then. I use DbPowerAMP currently. Is it ok to use. I downloaded Lame 3.92 but am totally unsure what to do with the files. I heard some bad stories about Db but I don't seem to have any problems with it. It doesn't have that "alt-preset" thing you said though. Also, is there a huge difference between the 192 cbr that one of you said and the average of 200 vbr the other guy said. Also, what's this about ABR (is it average bitrate???). A few people in another thread sorta recommended it. I'd like there to be a good compromise between size and quality, around a maximum of 6 mb for 5 minutes of song.

As a noob I'm probobly just repeating somebody else's question, howevwer I searched a bit and didn't find much on recomendations for encoding/decoding programs. Thanks very much everyone for putting up with the annoying "noobiness".

Best Bet for portable

Reply #4 – 2002-04-22 09:15:27

You can access general presets on the Lame 'Advanced' page in dBpowerAMP.