A Bit Rate Question

[Adster]

Ok I haev 2 questions

if I down at 256 bit rate file and re encode it to a 192 bit file will it be the same quality as a wav file that has been ripped to 192 or will it loose quality becasue it has been encoded tiwce

2nd question

if it is a VBR and I re encode it to 192 bit will it be the quality of a 192 bit rile or worse better

[Gutter]

oh no not one of these MP3 technical debates again

[Adster]

this is a debate I just want a simple answer sso if its ok to re encode my 256 to 192 to save soem rookm on my HD i wont bothe rif it f*ck the quality alot ii just want it to soudn liek a normal 192 bit samem goes for VBR

[Gutter]

well some one knows I'm sure

if not we can always try it

[sparsely]

when decompressing an already-encoded file it's always a little unsure.

If you decompress a 256kbps bitrate mp3 to a wav, then reencode that wav @ 192kbps, it should be pretty true, but may not be exact
if you use a different encoder/compressor than was originally used.
The .wav will have the same audio data that the mp3 had when it was encoded @ 256. As long as you're going down (to a lower bitrate) it's okay, cuz the reencode will just toss away a bit more data from the waveform.

vbr is a bit more tricky. as it's not constant, some bits of the song were encoded at, say 128 ,320, 160, or even 64 kbps (depending on encoder,
presets, & version). Now, within that mix of bitrates there's an average.
Most audio encoded with LAME is encoded at a ~192 or ~128 vbr bitrate.
The result is that alot of audio data is lost for good (though it was unneeded) with the low bits, and some is at a very high rate.

If you decompress the VBR to a .WAV, then recompress it with a CBR encoder, it will be dumping data from the high-bitrate parts, and
using unnecessary space recording low data bits at a higher rate.
The result of that being, that I wouldn't know what the hell to call it. It's something that's fine for your personal stuff, but if you're gonna
share it with someone, I'd let them know what it is.

[Smurfette]

When a file is ripped to wav, it is uncompressed and as good as it gets.
Compression of any sort will lose information from the file - the more it is compressed, the more will be lost; it's a trade-off between quality and filesize.
What is lost in compression cannot be gotten back - what you hear when you play an mp3 is the compressed file decoded to wav again, only without the bits that were sacrificed during compression.
If you decode an mp3 and re-encode it (which is what you do even if you think you're just encoding the compressed file), the compression process will throw away some more bits from a wav file of lower quality than the original one.

A 192kbps file encoded from an original wav will be better quality than a 192kbps one done from a 256kbps mp3 encoded from the same original.
<I wonder if that makes sense>

If you&#39;re going to re-encode anything it&#39;s best to work on 320kbps files as these have had less information sacrificed.

It&#39;s like jpgs - save a bmp as a jpg, then open the jpg and save it as a jpg again under a different name and you&#39;ll see that the first jpg is better quality. Mp3 and jpg are both &#39;lossy&#39; formats.

[Billy_Dean]

Originally posted by Adster@31 October 2003 - 10:39
this is a debate I just want a simple answer sso if its ok to re encode my 256 to 192 to save soem rookm on my HD i wont bothe rif it f*ck the quality alot ii just want it to soudn liek a normal 192 bit samem goes for VBR

F*cking hell Adster&#33; How old are you? Surely you can read over your post before pressing the "Add Reply" button.

Your posts are often impossible to decipher, and this is one of your worst.

[Afronaut]

Well, do the convert and listen them both versions.
If its ok byt your ears, go fot it.

Cheers:
-GS-

[Adster]

let me hi jack my own thread for a second

WHY oh WHY does soulseek hav eto go offline when ive been waiting in que all day for an album the user finally come onlin ei get to the last track and the damm sever goes down grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[FuNkY CaPrIcOrN]

Originally posted by Billy_Dean+31 October 2003 - 03:05--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Billy_Dean @ 31 October 2003 - 03:05)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Adster@31 October 2003 - 10:39
this is a debate I just want a simple answer sso if its ok to re encode my 256 to 192 to save soem rookm on my HD i wont bothe rif it f*ck the quality alot ii just want it to soudn liek a normal 192 bit samem goes for VBR

F*cking hell Adster&#33; How old are you? Surely you can read over your post before pressing the "Add Reply" button.

Your posts are often impossible to decipher, and this is one of your worst.


[/b][/quote]