Convert audio files - online

Rico · August 07, 2011, 06:04:40 AM

Found this handy little online tool today to convert audio files online. Very useful for converting things like .m4a files to .mp3 or .wav for use on your podcasts - or whatever. Works great!

http://media.io/

Dangelus · August 07, 2011, 07:28:00 AM

Nice to have an alternative although I find Audacity does a great job.

turtlesrock · August 07, 2011, 07:35:08 AM

good site :)

Rico · August 07, 2011, 08:04:15 AM

Quote from: Dangelus on August 07, 2011, 07:28:00 AM
Nice to have an alternative although I find Audacity does a great job.

Umm, I don't think so. Audacity can't pull in and use a .m4a file. Any of those I have to convert to a .wav or .mp3 first before I can use them. Audacity works great to record, etc. but it has file input limitations.

Dangelus · August 07, 2011, 08:52:45 AM

Quote from: Rico on August 07, 2011, 08:04:15 AM
Quote from: Dangelus on August 07, 2011, 07:28:00 AM
Nice to have an alternative although I find Audacity does a great job.

Umm, I don't think so. Audacity can't pull in and use a .m4a file. Any of those I have to convert to a .wav or .mp3 first before I can use them. Audacity works great to record, etc. but it has file input limitations.

It sure can!

Audacity on Mac OS X does in natively as it's a standard Mac format, I do it all the time. On Windows / Linux you just need to install the additional FFmpeg library:

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/How_to_import_files_from_iTunes#Importing_MP4.2FM4A_files

Rico · August 07, 2011, 09:28:45 AM

Quote from: Dangelus on August 07, 2011, 08:52:45 AM
Quote from: Rico on August 07, 2011, 08:04:15 AM
Quote from: Dangelus on August 07, 2011, 07:28:00 AM
Nice to have an alternative although I find Audacity does a great job.

Umm, I don't think so. Audacity can't pull in and use a .m4a file. Any of those I have to convert to a .wav or .mp3 first before I can use them. Audacity works great to record, etc. but it has file input limitations.

It sure can!

Audacity on Mac OS X does in natively as it's a standard Mac format, I do it all the time. On Windows / Linux you just need to install the additional FFmpeg library:

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/How_to_import_files_from_iTunes#Importing_MP4.2FM4A_files

Mac supports them easily, but of course I'm on Windows. You can import them, however they are still not always directly usable. Most are in mono and some are recording at a different bit rate, so I still need to convert them to work on the podcast which is in stereo and at 44khz. I should have said it more clearly about not being able to import and THEN use them too.

Dangelus · August 07, 2011, 09:45:04 AM

Quote from: Rico on August 07, 2011, 09:28:45 AM
Quote from: Dangelus on August 07, 2011, 08:52:45 AM
Quote from: Rico on August 07, 2011, 08:04:15 AM
Quote from: Dangelus on August 07, 2011, 07:28:00 AM
Nice to have an alternative although I find Audacity does a great job.

Umm, I don't think so. Audacity can't pull in and use a .m4a file. Any of those I have to convert to a .wav or .mp3 first before I can use them. Audacity works great to record, etc. but it has file input limitations.

It sure can!

Audacity on Mac OS X does in natively as it's a standard Mac format, I do it all the time. On Windows / Linux you just need to install the additional FFmpeg library:

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/How_to_import_files_from_iTunes#Importing_MP4.2FM4A_files

Mac supports them easily, but of course I'm on Windows. You can import them, however they are still not always directly usable. Most are in mono and some are recording at a different bit rate, so I still need to convert them to work on the podcast which is in stereo and at 44khz. I should have said it more clearly about not being able to import and THEN use them too.

Didn't realise it was that unreliable! Even VLC struggles to convert reliably. It's a breeze in OS X, I'm so glad I gave it installed.

Rico · August 07, 2011, 01:43:34 PM

You aren't really converting them on a Mac - as far as I know. An .m4a file is a native format there - just like a .wav file is in Windows. The real issue is dependent on how the file was originally recorded. Quite a few .m4a files I get for the show are in mono and also in a different frequency rate than the podcast. Therefore they need to be converted over. Sometimes I just play them on one computer and feed the audio to my mixer & main PC. But I'm trying to find an easier alternative.

Dangelus · August 07, 2011, 02:14:13 PM

Well Mac knows how to read the file correctly yes. Other OSes rely on 3rd splitters, usually open source to decode the file and these are not 100% accurate, hence the problems.