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Topic: How To Convert From WMA to MP3? (Read 7984 times) previous topic - next topic
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How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Hi

I've just purchased a MP3 capable head unit for my car and to my dismay a lot more of my music than I thought is encoded as WMA, which the head unit cannot play.

How should I go about converting the music? I'd preferably like a program which makes the process simple, even if it means the quality loss is slightly worse than possible through a highly complicated process. My WMAs are mostly WMA9.

Thanks in advance .

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #1 –
The easiest way is to use dbpoweramp Music Converter. You may have problems though if you have any DRM wma files.

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #2 –
Frontah should work well too.

Personally, I use Foobar2000's diskwriter for all my conversions, but it's a bit more complicated to use.
Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #3 –
Quote
Hi

I've just purchased a MP3 capable head unit for my car and to my dismay a lot more of my music than I thought is encoded as WMA, which the head unit cannot play.

How should I go about converting the music? I'd preferably like a program which makes the process simple, even if it means the quality loss is slightly worse than possible through a highly complicated process. My WMAs are mostly WMA9.

Thanks in advance .
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=231360"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


I have found this to be true.  I have some older files (I think obtained when Napster was new (and legal).) 

As this was an older thread, I will ask: 

Will latest version of WINAMP (5.05) convert WMA to MP3?

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #4 –
When transcoding from 192 kb/s WMA files, what bitrate would make the most sense to convert to to get the best quality to size ratio?  In theory a 192 kb/s WMA should be of higher quality than a 192 kb/s MP3.

If you use a variable bitrate mode, like -alt-preset extreme, would that automatically minimize this sort of quality loss?

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #5 –
Quote
In theory a 192 kb/s WMA should be of higher quality than a 192 kb/s MP3.
you fell for MS marketing BS, if you are talking about plain wma (i.e. not pro, and even this would need some proof).
this might be a start to inform you.

Quote
what bitrate would make the most sense to convert to to get the best quality to size ratio?
if quality=transparent then you would probably want to use preset satndard if using LAME. depends on your hearing and the purpose of the encoded files (portable? home listening?).
Nothing but a Heartache - Since I found my Baby ;)
 

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #6 –
Well, I don't like much about WMA as a codec (ogg seems like a much better option to me), but it does definitely outperform MP3 at low bitrates like 64kb/s, (as far as I can hear, anyways).  It doesn't seem particularily useful for high-bitrate stuff, but I lately I have been given a large number of WMAs that a friend wanted me to look at.

The purpose I have in mind is for use in a car stereo, or possibly a portable CD-Player.  For home listening on my computer, I can just use foobar or whatever.  I'd think that Lame could transcode it okay if you use a high-enough bitrate (like, something close to the 192 that it started at).  Just wondering if anyone here has done extensive listening tests to determine where the "transparency line" begins with this type of transcode.
(heh... of course, I'm willing to bet that there are people who will say that WMA already is not transparent at 192, without having been transcoded)

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #7 –
Quote
I have found this to be true.  I have some older files (I think obtained when Napster was new (and legal).) 
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=252978"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Napster (and P2P) is legal, what is not, and never was, was the sharing of copyrighted material

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #8 –
Hmm... I just did a quick transcode and ABX. 
First off, I noticed that even at 192kb/s, these WMA V7/V8 files just sound like crap!  Much worse than ogg vorbis at q0 even!  It's hard for me to be sure what they are *supposed* to sound like, however, because I don't have the original CD (but just because I hate WMA, I'm tempted to buy it now.)
I transcoded a couple WMA files into Lame --alt-preset medium...  I could not ABX the difference.  Sounds like crap either way, but certainly not perceptibly worse.  And not only that, but the bitrate goes down from 192 to ~150 kb/s.

Maybe somebody who is more experienced at ABXing and listening to encoder artifacts could notice some degredation, but I was surprised to notice none.  What really surprised me is how horrid a codec WMA is, and all this time I thought that it really could outperform MP3 in most cases....  as it turns out, WMA seems to be the most useless trash that can't outperform MP3 at anything over 96, and is easily beaten by ogg or AAC at lower bitrates than this. *note, I am making some assumptions here, there are probably listening tests to back this up though*

It's really sad that so many hardware manufacturers and software developers have bent over and let M$ shove this POS codec up everyone's rear end while completely ignoring far superior codecs like ogg vorbis, aac, and MusePack.

(okay, I'm done now)

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #9 –
WMA 7 or 8 has a bad hf artifact but I don't know about 192k sounding crap  -actually abxing it at such bitrates will be harder than you think if you had the original - just like your transcode test.

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #10 –
Quote
you fell for MS marketing BS, if you are talking about plain wma (i.e. not pro, and even this would need some proof).


wma pro failed to archieve transparency even at 200+kbps for this sample (Avril - Skater Boy), I can't distinguish it with apple aac at 160kbps or autov vorbis at 128kbps

the speed of wma encoding simply explain this
encoding speed with my p4 1.4 GHz

wma ~13X
wmapro ~8X
nero aac ~4X
QT aac ~7X
LAME 3.90 preset ~2X
LAME 3.96 preset ~4X
Musepack ~6X

weird QT perfomed well with such good encoding speed

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #11 –
Quote
First off, I noticed that even at 192kb/s, these WMA V7/V8 files just sound like crap!  Much worse than ogg vorbis at q0 even!  It's hard for me to be sure what they are *supposed* to sound like, however, because I don't have the original CD [a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=254496"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Why don't you try to encode some CD:s you have and see if WMA really is that bad. If I understand you correctly you haven't done such a test, and therefore you can't really rule out that the songs sounded that bad before they were encoded...

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #12 –
Good point.  In terms of doing that, is there any way that I could use foobar2000 as my encoding frontend for WMA?  I haven't yet found the facilities to do that, and I sure as heck don't want to have to use stupid windows media player or whatever.

Much easier to use the same system that I have been for all my other listening tests.  For all I know, these WMAs may have already been transcoded from aacs or something!  That's what you get when you download from P2P networks.  Mystery meat media!

Besides, isn't V7/8 kind of ancient now?

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #13 –
Use CDex to encode the wav with wma 7

How To Convert From WMA to MP3?

Reply #14 –
Not really answering your question, but dbpoweramp is another way to encode WMA.