Sound Video

dabear · Post by **dabear** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:11 am

msp 8.0

This has never happened to me before.
I edited up a lil piece using mpegs and a mp3. When i play the video from the start the audion with the movie is in sync. But when I go to work on a part of the video the sound for that part is about 2-3 secs off. I think it might be a problem with K-lite codec pack I installed, But it hasn't given me any problems before. But while working this video in the taskbar the ffdshowencoder icon keeps popping up for every video clip the preview passes over.

I tried a different mp3, no luck. Any suggestions?

MrA · Post by **MrA** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:41 am

I'd convert the audio to .wav format and try that. MSP sometimes chokes on mp3 format audio.

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 8:09 am

The problem is not that MSP "chokes" but that mp3 is not a standard but a bastardised extraction from a video format. If you do a search on this forum, you will find detailed technical explanations. Some mp3s may work correctly, others may cause diverse problems, including synch, and others won't work at all, depending on the encoding method.

As said above, convert your mp3 to WAV before bringing it into the timeline.

dabear · Post by **dabear** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 10:56 am

convert your mp3 to WAV

What's good software for converting mp3s, I looked around but many you have to pay for.

Gorf · Post by **Gorf** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:15 am

dabear wrote:convert your mp3 to WAV

What's good software for converting mp3s, I looked around but many you have to pay for.

You've already bought one. MSP8 has an audio editor that will do the trick. "File" "Save as"

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:57 am

The MSP8 editor is hairy. Most of the knowledgeable guys here use Audacity. It's open source (therefore free), very powerful and effective.

Gorf · Post by **Gorf** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:40 pm

Considering the OP doesn't think he has a suitable tool for converting MP3 to WAV, I'm surprised you recommend Audacity.

Audacity is good for advanced features (especially considering the price), but I've always found its UI to be pretty unintuitive. For something simple like converting a single MP3 to WAV, I would use MSP AE, even though I'm used to Audacity now.

IronS · Post by **IronS** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 6:55 pm

I agree, Audacity is a great tool but I think it is to complex to confert MP3 to WAV. Therefore I recommand the use of CDex (http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/).

Regards,
Erik

Gorf · Post by **Gorf** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:44 am

Just out of interest, why do you recommend installing more software when we know for sure that the OP has the necessary tools installed already? Isn't that going to bloat out his system a bit more?

Devil is recommending a sledgehammer to crack a nut. You're recommending a new nutcracker. I'm asking what's wrong with the one he's got...?

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:02 am

Nothing complex at all about using Audacity to convert to WAV.

Step 1. Open your MP3 file.
Step 2. Export as WAV

Thats it. Couldn't be easier.
Need more information then simply view The Manual

Gra · Post by **Gra** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:01 am

Hi Guys

Isn't the easiest thing simply to make a WAV audio file from the files already on Dabear's MSP timeline ('simply open file', then 'create audio file'), then re-import that back? Dabear doesn't need to touch AE, Audacity or anything else then unless he wants to.

Like most of you I use Audacity as the audio programme of choice because it offers more than AE but is not as complex as something like Nero's SoundWaveEditor. But I do use AE to do simple things quickly or, for more complicated projects, the SoundWaveEditor (and SoundTrax if necessary). If I come a cross an audio file that has an extension none of these can handle, a good programme I found recently is AltoMP3 Gold, which can be downloaded for a limited number of free conversions (enough to get one out of a hole).

PS - Like the brillo new image Devil!

Gorf · Post by **Gorf** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:41 am

sjj1805 wrote:Nothing complex at all about using Audacity to convert to WAV.

Step 1. Open your MP3 file.
Step 2. Export as WAV

Thats it. Couldn't be easier.

Except perhaps "File" "Save as" in MSP's audio editor.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not questioning your opinions of Audacity, or its features. I'm just wondering why you're recommending the OP install a new, more complicated product, further adding the potential for confusion, when there's a simpler option already installed on his PC. Surely if the ability to convert MP3s to WAVs is outside his current range of knowledge, the best solution is not to get him to look at a cluttered and confusing (IMO - for a newbie) front end, it's to use the tools already available.

As soon as he starts asking questions about how to do things that MSP's audio editor can't do, that's when you start promoting the alternatives.

Devil · Post by **Devil** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 9:55 am

Yup! but one of the things MSP8 AE does do is to crash (unlike earlier versions)! That's why I recommended Audacity, which doesn't crash.

Gra · Post by **Gra** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:35 am

In between the discussion on Audacity (which I agree is very good and stable), I was just wondering if Dabear's simplest solution was my suggestion to make an Audio file from the MP3 files on the MSP timeline??? Then he doesn't need to leave Video Editor (or have I got something wrong?)

Gorf · Post by **Gorf** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:32 am

Devil wrote:Yup! but one of the things MSP8 AE does do is to crash (unlike earlier versions)! That's why I recommended Audacity, which doesn't crash.

MSP8 with the service pack crashes when you record new audio- it's a known bug. I've never had a crash for any other reason, either with or without the SP. In fact, in my case the recording bug crash was "forced", just to see if I can duplicate it, as I very rarely need to record audio at the PC.

Even though microphone recording is not what the OP wants, I concede that Audacity has crashed one time less than MSP AE in the entire time I've been using the two apps (7 years for MSP, 4 years for Audacity).

Gra wrote:In between the discussion on Audacity (which I agree is very good and stable), I was just wondering if Dabear's simplest solution was my suggestion to make an Audio file from the MP3 files on the MSP timeline??? Then he doesn't need to leave Video Editor (or have I got something wrong?)

Converting the MP3s to WAVs on the timeline reduces editing flexibility, as you have to silence all the original audio and then add the WAV to another audio track. As soon as you need to move any of the existing video you have to recompile the WAV unless there was no audio originally.

Better to convert the MP3s to WAVs (using whatever tool you prefer) and then use the "Replace with" function in VE to point the clip at the WAV instead of the MP3.