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#1
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Audacity created .mp3 file bigger than original .wav file
I loaded a .wav file that was 3 megabytes into Audacity and exported
it back out as a .mp3 file. When I checked the results, I discovered that the .mp3 file was four and a half megabytes in size! As far as I know, .wav files are uncompressed whereas .mp3 files are compressed. Therefore, if you convert a .wav file into an .mp3 file, the result should be smaller (or at most, the same size) than the original .wav file. So why was this .mp3 file bigger? Was this just a fluke? |
#2
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Wylbur,
I loaded a .wav file that was 3 megabytes How many seconds long was it? A stereo Wave file occupies about 10 MB per running minute at 44.1 KHz and 16 bits, so a three minute song uses about 30 MB. A lot of people don't know that you can rename an MP3 file to have a .wav extension and, amazingly, it will still play in many programs such as Windows Media Player. So if your original Wave file was a full song in only 3 MB, that's why it was so small. As for why compressing again made it bigger, that would depend on the compression settings you used. --Ethan |
#3
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wylbur37 wrote:
I loaded a .wav file that was 3 megabytes into Audacity and exported it back out as a .mp3 file. When I checked the results, I discovered that the .mp3 file was four and a half megabytes in size! As far as I know, .wav files are uncompressed whereas .mp3 files are compressed. Therefore, if you convert a .wav file into an .mp3 file, the result should be smaller (or at most, the same size) than the original .wav file. So why was this .mp3 file bigger? Was this just a fluke? Compression or lack of doesn't enter into it here. The size of a wave file of a particular duration is determined by the sampling rate. If originally sampled at the normal rate of 44,100Hz, it is about 10.3 megs per minute. If - as is probable - your original wave file was sampled at a lower rate and you then saved/exported it without changing Audacity's default sample rate of 44,100 Hz (lower left corner) then it was resampled and that resulted in an MP3 (and underlying wave) that was bigger than the original. IOW, it wasn't a fluke, you just need to learn more about what is happening. -- dadiOH _____________________________ dadiOH's dandies v3.0... ....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico ____________________________ |
#4
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#6
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"Ethan Winer" ethanw at ethanwiner dot com wrote in message ...
I loaded a .wav file that was 3 megabytes How many seconds long was it? A stereo Wave file occupies about 10 MB per running minute at 44.1 KHz and 16 bits, so a three minute song uses about 30 MB. A lot of people don't know that you can rename an MP3 file to have a .wav extension and, amazingly, it will still play in many programs such as Windows Media Player. So if your original Wave file was a full song in only 3 MB, that's why it was so small. The original WAV file was almost five minutes long, so maybe you're right (that it might have actually been an MP3 file that was named as a WAV). Is there some kind of test to determine for sure? |