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Topic: some MP3 files not playing (Read 780 times) previous topic - next topic
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some MP3 files not playing

I have many mp3 files, most of which foobar2000 v1.6.17 plays OK. However, there are quite a few where it tells me that it is: Unable to open item for playback (Unsupported format or corrupted file)
These files play just fine on other media players.

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #1 –
This is pure speculation since you don't provide a sample file, but sounds like your files are not actually MP3s. There are a lot of broken software that mislabel files without any shame.
You could test if foobar2000 v2.x plays them, it supports playing files with wrong extensions.
If that is the cause, easiest solution would be to upgrade to the current foobar2000 version or to the latest preview version. Best thing to do would be to fix the file extensions to match the content.

And in case the cause is something else: a sample file that causes problems is needed.

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #2 –
Hi,

Thanks for the reply. They are all mp3 files as they were downloaded together. Most are just fine, but some seem to have an issue that foobar doesn't like. I ran a quick check online of one (using MAZTR) and it says: "recoverable MAD error" and "MAD lost sync".
I have no idea what this means or how to fix it.
I have attached a sample of a working one and a dud. They all work in Media Player, VLC Media Player and Windows Media Player Legacy.

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #4 –
I converted it from mp4 to mp3 and now it works fine on foobar.
Strange how that happened, as I downloaded them all together. Anyhow, I guess it doesn't matter now! O:)
Thanks for your help.

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #5 –
You should have just renamed the .mp3 to .m4a. Converting an already lossy AAC to MP3 will unnecessarily reduce quality. And possibly you also increased the file size if you used high bitrate.

By the way, is there some reason why you are sticking with foobar2000 v1.6.x instead of updating to v2.1 or v2.2?

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #6 –
Hi Case,

I didn't know that was an option. I'll try that next time. The files I ended up with seem to be just fine.

I guess I can upgrade to the newer version of foobar2000. What improvements does it offer?

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #7 –
If the source file quality was good the damage you did isn't bad. But if there is an option to preserve higher quality I see no reason not to go that way.

Internally foobar2000 v2 was changed a lot, it now offers 64-bit version too and has support for much requested Dark Mode. You can read about the main changes from the version 2.0 release notes.
And if you want to really know all changes, you can read more from the changelog. And for the latest developments happening in v2.2 preview series: https://www.foobar2000.org/changelog-win-2.2-preview

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #8 –
Quote from: RickG2 on
What improvements does it offer?
For your case, the ability to play the .m4a file even though it was mislabelled .mp3!

This is something which only afflicts Windows, because other operating systems have no concept of file extension and rely on the content of the file to identify what to do with it.  In Linux, in particular, a dot is a legal character in a filename with no special meaning (unless it is at the start).
It's your privilege to disagree, but that doesn't make you right and me wrong.

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #9 –
How a program handles file names has nothing to do with operating system.

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #10 –
Quote from: fooball on
Quote from: RickG2 on
What improvements does it offer?
For your case, the ability to play the .m4a file even though it was mislabelled .mp3!
And with a warning that tells you what the error is.

I don't know if one still recommends to backup the old fb2k folder before trying to migrate, but it cannot hurt.
Choose the x86 version if you want your old component to work without reinstalling them.

Edit: How up-to-date is the information given in https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,122886.0.html ?

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Case on
How a program handles file names has nothing to do with operating system.
Perhaps not, but in an environment where double-clicking a file in a file manager launches an "appropriate" app according to the file type assumed from the filename extension, it is tempting for apps to assume file type by extension.  What I'm saying is there is no such temptation for software authors to take a short cut in Linux et al.
It's your privilege to disagree, but that doesn't make you right and me wrong.

Re: some MP3 files not playing

Reply #12 –
This is getting way off topic but it's convention of Linux file managers to use mime-types to pick associated program. Not OS thing, file manager programs are coded that way out of habit. And the mime-types are based on file extension, so there you are back to file names. And on Macos file extensions are used to handle associated programs.

But what file managers do with files is not related to how individual programs deal with the files either. No OS can force what to do with files, this is 100 % up to application.