Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5 (Read 4906 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Hi everyone !

I start this tread to know, once for all, if is it possible to convert an MP3 audio file into an ogg one.

Why ? Well in fact mainly for ideological reasons . Im trying since a few years to eradicate the most of proprietary formats from my music library.
For now, I was downloading in flac, then encoding in ogg q8.
But sadly, for a lot of music I found on the great wibe web, it's only available in 320k mp3/vbr0.

So here is my question: Do you think I can reencode 320k mp3 into an ogg file, in quality level 5, without loosing quality ?

If you look at Theses frequencies, you'll see that there is almost no differencies between the 320kbs mp3 transcoded from flac and the OGG q5 made from the mp3 !

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #2 –
You can always transcode from one lossy to an other lossy format but some information will be lost.

And for lossy music, frequency plots have nearly no meaning.

Do some search on this web site and you will find a lot of posts and wiki articles that deal with your doubt.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #3 –
If you are using q8 for your other files, why would you choose q5 for your transcodes. If anything, they would need the extra quality more than non-transcodes to minimize transcoding artifacts.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #4 –
Quote from: vorbis on
Why ? Well in fact mainly for ideological reasons . Im trying since a few years to eradicate the most of proprietary formats from my music library.


This is a really bad idea (the transcoding, not the avoidance of proprietary formats).

From the point of view of software freedom the issue with mp3 has been that it is encumbered with patents, and then only in some countries not everywhere.  There is absolutely no point in converting mp3 to ogg for "ideological reasons".  If you'd like to hear it from an authoritative voice in the free software community then here it is from the GNU project http://audio-video.gnu.org/audio/

Quote
Guide to Formats
Audio Format
We distribute our audio files in Ogg Vorbis format. We avoid MP3, because it is impeded by software patents in some countries. The Ogg Vorbis format is technologically superior to MP3, and is not encumbered by patents. The sound quality of speech recordings on this page is not indicative of the quality you could expect from Ogg Vorbis when applied to HiFi audio. Please avoid transcoding HiFi audio from MP3 to Ogg Vorbis. By doing so, you will create Ogg Vorbis files of a lower sound quality than the original MP3. Instead, please encode to Ogg Vorbis directly from the uncompressed source.
 

In other words your exisiting mp3s are fine.  They can be decoded/played/otherwise_manipulated in any way you like using only free software as you prefer.

I don't know how this idea took hold that an ogg vorbis created from an mp3 source is somehow more free than the mp3, but I've heard and seen several people make the claim and there are even silly applications written solely for this purpose.  It's ridiculous and pointless and the only result is that you have exactly the same amount of freedom as before but less time and now your audio files sound worse.  As well as reading the above I've also heard RMS say exactly the same i.e. keep the mp3s and don't transcode, but if you have the original CD/recording then go back to the source and produce ogg vorbis from the originals.

I'd suggest not to waste any time transcoding lossy audio unless the target playback device cannot play your existing file, or unless the transcoding is part of a process of removing unwanted DRM.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #5 –
I suspect that mp3 will still be around (and patent free) long after people have stopped using ogg.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #6 –
My vote is with "bad idea" as well.

If OGG had a lossless format, I wouldn't personally see a problem with it (though your file sizes would likely unnecessarily increase.) You could transcode your OGG files to FLAC and not fear losing some significant sound-quality. This is all hypothetical; I'm not saying you or I would hear the difference in an ABX test or not.

No one has or should disparage your ideological reasons for wanting to use OGG. I think you could still be in line with those beliefs and preferences if you "switched to OGG" while maintaining your sources The MP3-thing...that part is beyond your control. An imperfect analogy: I hate the so-called loudness war. Many of the artists I've been listening to for years are coming out with CDs wherein the music is overly compressed. I don't enjoy the production but I'm not going to stop listening to them. If I did I'd be missing out on some music I want to hear...but I'm still going to decry the sorry-state of current music production. The loudness-race is beyond my control.

Your ideological reasons are sound, reasonable, and somewhat admirable IMO. 
The Loudness War is over. Now it's a hopeless occupation.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #7 –
Ogg does have a lossless format: FLAC.
Vorbis is the lossy format; ".ogg" is just a container.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #8 –
Quote from: vorbis on
For now, I was downloading in flac, then encoding in ogg q8.
But sadly, for a lot of music I found on the great wibe web, it's only available in 320k mp3/vbr0.

Are you buying your music legally online? If you are, then save your money and buy cds instead. Rip these to ogg or whatever format you prefer.

If you are downloading off p2p, then your idealism is being wasted on the wrong crusade. You are ok with piracy but not with a proprietary format?

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Zarggg on
Ogg does have a lossless format: FLAC.
Vorbis is the lossy format; ".ogg" is just a container.


Thanks for the correction. I'm not that familiar with OGG...just hear of it from time to time.

I'm a big fan of FLAC, one would think I would know better 
The Loudness War is over. Now it's a hopeless occupation.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #10 –
Quote from: twostar on
If you are downloading off p2p, then your idealism is being wasted on the wrong crusade. You are ok with piracy but not with a proprietary format?


I could argue that one of the goals of piracy is to liberate content from proprietary trappings, but this is an inappropriate venue for such a discussion.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #11 –
Quote from: Zarggg on
Quote from: twostar on
If you are downloading off p2p, then your idealism is being wasted on the wrong crusade. You are ok with piracy but not with a proprietary format?


I could argue that one of the goals of piracy is to liberate content from proprietary trappings, but this is an inappropriate venue for such a discussion.

But your argument, Zarggg, would support using MP3 because you don't have the legal right to.
Creature of habit.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #12 –
Mp3 to ogg is not bad. Mp3 to mp3 or wma is terrible. I did a bunch of testing back when I was considering switching to Rockbox.

You will lose quality on the transcode though.

Conversion from mp" 320 to ogg q5

Reply #13 –
Quote from: Engelsstaub on
I'm a big fan of FLAC, one would think I would know better 
Your being too hard on yourself.

ogg-FLAC is really unusual, especially so for audio.
elevatorladylevitateme