h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm looking for a program that will automatically take an mp3 file, change it to a wav file, and rename it. It would be great if it were schedule-able, as this process has to occur during .

EJay used to do one years ago before they got lazy and started only doing sample based 'dance music creators'. The program was out so long ago that I've forgotten it's name (I keep thinking of Music Director but that was a lot later and not what you're after) and it probably wouldn't work on anything later than Windows 95 anyway.

I think there was a converter with an inbuilt scheduler made by DAK (or DAX?) which was designed as an internet radio recorder. No idea if it's still around or how much it costs but it was some time after the Ejay program was about so chances are if you can find a copy it will probably work on a modern compooter.

Are you ripping this mp3 from a stream, or is it a very big file? Because Audacity will import an mp3 and export it as a wav, you can name the output file anything you want, and it takes hardly any time at all.

Hell, if you've got enough space on your hard drive you can probably rip the stream straight to Audacity and then export it as a wav. I can't remember if Audacity has a scheduler or not... ooh look, yes it does

More information please!

At an un-Bob-ly hour of the morning, an mp3 file appears in a folder on a computer in one of the tiny rural radio stations the GOP is currently trying to kill.

We need to convert that file to a 44.1 16/24 mono wav file, renaming it per the station's convention, and save it to a different directory. It will be broadcast at 5 am, which is hours before we get here.

So it has to be automatic and 5 days per week.

Just an expensive thought, but if memory serves me right Logic Audio had pretty good automation routines. My sympathies HN

This all sounds a bit Art Bell/Alex Jones/shadow people to me

>>I can't remember if Audacity has a scheduler or not... ooh look, yes it does<<

Which version of Audacity are you using? 'Cos I've looked on mine and can't see anything remotely like a scheduler, which is why I didn't suggest it.

I'm using 1.3 Beta. The scheduler is under Transport -> Timer Record. Leastways, I guess that's a scheduler.

That explains it then. I'm using 1.2.6 having had a bad experience with an Audacity beta some time back (it was exporting mp3s at twice the correct playing speed) and it persuaded me to stick with the stable versions since. Sounds as though the next version has some new features then.

Yeah, although I can't say I use many of them... or even know they're there, as we saw above. I use it mostly for making folders of mp3s to upload to the iTunes player on the PC at work (gotta dilute all that death metal that the kitchen workers put on it ), and occasionally recording a stream.

This is the first beta version I've used and I haven't had any problems with it like the one you experienced, but every now and again I go to the documentation to find out how to do something and the necessary buttons or menus aren't there.

I use mine for importing vinyl LPs and singles and removing pops and scratches. Sometimes I'll use it in conjunction with another program to extract audio from a video file and edit it so I can have a favourite anime theme tune on my iPhone

I've done that too, by playing the video in a media player like VLC and then ripping the audio from the sound card with Audacity through the Stereo Mix selection. Is that what you're doing? That's how I rip the CDs too... and a few old John Peel tapes too

I've used it to remove a few artifacts from sound files and tried messing around with the equaliser but I can never get the effect I want. I've done a little bit of editing and simple remastering, but the most fun thing I did was make a sound file of the beginning few bars of Penguin Cafe Orchestra's 'Telephone and Rubber Band'. I found a website that has the frequencies and intervals for all the various phone tones, so I made one track with the ring tone and another with the congestion tone, and it sounded just like the recording that Simon Jeffes got from his phone and used on the song

Except I haven't worked out yet how to make it sound like it's coming out of the earpiece of a phone.

Probably using the phaser or invert. Most of my video software is paid for stuff from Aimersoft but I've also ripped from MPC player, which I prefer to VLC. That said, I've been very impressed with the latest VLC build when playing back video of old TV shows. It really brings out the colour on shows like Catweazle and Van Der Valk.

I'm confused. My MPC says it's version 6.4.9.1 but the current download is 1.5.0.2827

I've had it a long time without an update.

Sounds like you may have the old MPC which they aren't developing any more. The 'correct' name of the new one is 'Media Player Classic Home Cinema', which is the new open source version still being developed. It sounds like mine needs an upgrade too if that's the current download version. I'm still using 1.4.2677.0

Ah, yes, that was the name on the download.

When all the madness of South by South West is over I'm going to fit some new hardware to this PC and install a new OS. I'll grab the new MPC then too.

&#39;Except I haven&#39;t worked out yet how to make it sound like it&#39;s coming out of the earpiece of a phone.&#39;

If you want to get a sound nearer to the output of a telephone ear piece - chop the top and bottom frequencies out with a graphic equaliser. I can&#39;t remember the range of bands to cut but chopping out all the bass and treble will get you closer

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

Unfortunately the best guide I could find

http://www.britishtelephones.com/t700.htm

Pure Tone Characteristics Fig. 14

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