nero mp3 encoder, calculating mp3 filesize

[beautifuljesus]

To eradicate my audio problems I now completely handle the audio seperately. I use the Nero Mp3 encoder and its really really fast and very good quality! Using the highest quality encoding method and a bit rate between 120-160 constant or variable bitrates, I can compress to mp3 at around 25 speed!!! I have an athlon 1400 and when mp3's have compressed that fast I worry about the quality being crap. To my ears and comparisons the quality is great but can anyone tell me if its better or worse then LAME or the Radium Fraunhauffer codec? The only really bad codec I had once was Blaze, the quality was very awful!

Anyway, my other question is calculating constant bitrate. What is the formula for calculating constant bitrate mp3s? I have been encoding the entire audio track to get the exact file size of the audio. Then I do my movie, split the movie over 2 cds and take note of the exact time frame. I import the wave file into a wave editor and split the wave at that exact timeframe and recompress to mp3 in nero. It's a few extra steps and the initial compression of the entire track to mp3 is obviously a wasted extra step, but i can't seem to find a way to calculate the precise bitrate for just the mp3. i know i can use the bitrate calcs for divx but thats not what i need, i need the exact file size.
The reason i do it this way now is that more times then not i get sync issues when splitting the multiplexed audio and video. when i split just the video and split the audio myself and add the audio back the sync is perfect.

[diji1]

Hi,

Processing audio seperately is a good idea i think. My first us of BeSweet was today - i have to say i think this method is very convenient and can yield very good results (uses LAME for encoding). Previously i was doing azid(with drc) -> normalize -> LAME - BeSweet combines these steps tho with no intermediate files - kewl.

Seeing as i believe LAME to be the best mp3 encoder i'd say that Nero's mp3 encoder is not as good as it. LAME also cranks along
speedwise :)

I was usually using razorlame gui, although DanniDins gui looks at least if not more functional - it doesnt affect the output at all obviously which gui u use.

All these apps are at doom9 except razorlame... and you can also find an mp3 bitrate calculator there :)

[smiller667]

The Nero MP3 Encoder is made by Fraunhofer.

[diji1]

The Nero MP3 Encoder is made by Fraunhofer

So nero would be almost as good then ( im a lame fan:) ) - quite possibly the sound quality difference would be unnoticeable too most users.

I read that LAME models the sound better when doing abr/vbr than Fraunhofer..... but seeing as Fraunhofer is the "reference" codec
its certainly not going to be low quality.

[LotionBoy]

Lame is the best MP3 codec, period. The FhG codec is getting older now, doesn't handle VBR that well, and doesn't have the extensive sonic 'fixings' that Lame has. For movie soundtracks, where the goal is to squeeze as much quality as possible into the smallest size, use Lame. My suggested settings are (using the BeSweet GUI)

Joint Sterio Mode
Experimental Psy Tuning on
ATH type 3 (I'm not sure about this one. I never remember if this is for low-bitrates or high-bitrates. Maybe ATH 1 is better.)
Low-Pass of 16.1 (Most people can't hear frequencies this high and they are the hardest to compress = take up the most space. If you really are worried about the quality, a 17.5 should preserve everything that contributes to the sound)
VBR = old and new
Quality = 7 or 8, depending on the size I want. I think VBR distributes bits better than ABR.
Min Bitrate = 80. Keeps you from having shitty sounding moments.
Quality (Noise Shaping) = 2. Anything higher is slow and has no real advantage. Anything less isn't as good.

It's slower than Nero, but it sounds better and takes up less space.

LotionBoy

[beautifuljesus]

cool, i'm gonna give those settings a shot.

thank for all the replies!

[LotionBoy]

actually, I've just been converted. The new -alt presets for Lame sound the best, much better than anything you can do with switches. Get the new version of Lame (3.9) and check the audio encoding board because there is a link to a faster compile over there and use --alt-preset <bitrate> to get the best possible sound.

so
--alt-preset 112
For ABR sound at 112 kbs

LotionBoy

[beautifuljesus]

where is this board? i checked the homepage but didn't see it.

[LotionBoy]

http://rilanparty.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11868

LotionBoy