I know Opus is supported in Android 6.0 (and perhaps 5.something inside matroska according to another post) but i'm curious what else exists on the LOW end of the spectrum, ie codecs below 10kbps.
At the bottom end I seem to recall seeing that AMR-NB has a slightly higher quality than Opus.
I consider Codec2 perfectly intelligible but dont see any Android players and sounds like none in the making.
So curious if there are other options... or how one encodes/plays AMR-NB... or if Opus is just the best way to go for other reasons. (but also wonder how to play Opus in older android versions like 4.4 or even before - I have older phones sitting around I wouldnt mind just using as cheap audiobook players, they dont have much memory either, and I dont mind low bitrate listening esp for material i'm already familiar with, just wanting to hear again)
Upgrade the Android OS on those older phones and it should work fine.
Music below 10 kbs isn't really a good idea... Increasing the kbs to 45 or so would make a huge difference in the music quality, while still keeping the files small. You can find a 20 GB micro SD card to drop into those older phones with little problem.
JXL
Not if its too old to update. :) I hate the idea of throwing away an old phone even of the android 2.3 era that can still work as a media player for mere audio which is not real demanding. Think of them more as beaters and loaners, or I can just leave one in each car... (i like having a backup 911 phone anyways, figured I might as well load them with audio, and no i dont currently carry a newer cellphone on me at all times anymore)
I dont plan to use music below 10kbps, just speech.
Honestly if Codec2 were supportable it sounds better at 3kbps than what I heard of opus at the bottom of it's range. But since we dont have a player for that i'm wondering if there's MELPe or anything else supportable.
Not if its too old to update. :) I hate the idea of throwing away an old phone even of the android 2.3 era that can still work as a media player for mere audio which is not real demanding. Think of them more as beaters and loaners, or I can just leave one in each car... (i like having a backup 911 phone anyways, figured I might as well load them with audio, and no i dont currently carry a newer cellphone on me at all times anymore)
I dont plan to use music below 10kbps, just speech.
Honestly if Codec2 were supportable it sounds better at 3kbps than what I heard of opus at the bottom of it's range. But since we dont have a player for that i'm wondering if there's MELPe or anything else supportable.
You can use foobar2000, AIMP, PowerAMP (paid) or GoneMAD (paid).
I wouldn't trust an Android device that old with my data or my personal information, as that no longer sees security updates. But sure, go ahead and put your music on it and nothing else.
And foobar2000 requires Android just past 4.0, so that choice is straight out.
VLC still supports Android 2.2: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-android.html
VLC still supports Android 2.2: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-android.html
GoneMAD too (2.2.3)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gonemad.gmmp
Supports opus (among others).
I wouldn't trust an Android device that old with my data or my personal information, as that no longer sees security updates. But sure, go ahead and put your music on it and nothing else.
And foobar2000 requires Android just past 4.0, so that choice is straight out.
It's not for phone use anymore. :) Outside 911 - I leave a "deactivated" phone in every car usable as a wifi tablet in range or emergency 911 phone use. Thus in case someones "normal" phone gets stolen, misplaced, broken, out of battery - there's still an emergency contact capable phone. Plus some audio, the way people leave old tapes or CD's in the get to work car just to have something to listen to.
I had things stolen before so i dont even want to spend for an SD card, just making use of otherwise disposible electronics.
The only thing on it are some old audiobooks and the player at this point, i'm just limited by memory, even at 16k mp3's there's not alot of memory left on old Tracfones and such preinstalled with crap. So if I can drop the bitrate to 1/3 or something (since quality is about the same with better codecs, heck like i said codec2 sounds as good at 3k to me) I can stuff some extra things on.
VLC still supports Android 2.2: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-android.html
Thanks for the tip.. i'm assuming that is better for codec support than any of the other players? (i dont normally use vlc and honestly dont know) Are there any codecs better than Opus below the 8kbps range worth using like AMR-NB? I cant find an easy codec support page or dont know if everything in windows works in android.
Can I ask what phone model is it?
I imagine it's unlikely, but there's a slim chance Android supports MP4 HVXC, which would probably be superior to Codec2 at just under 2kbps. I have never seen a hvxc file or encoder.
I can't imagine tolerating listening to such stuff for very long. Opus mediumband 12kbps is about the minimum I'd be willing to hear an audiobook on; that's vastly better than 16kbps mp3.
There may be better ways to clear out space on the device.
https://lineageos.org/
Lightweight Android 7.1.2, compatible with a lot of old devices.
https://lineageos.org/
Lightweight Android 7.1.2, compatible with a lot of old devices.
This was exactly tre reason I asked the OP what model(s) are we talking about.