Help: mp3

Subject: mp3
From: Lonesome Dave
Date: 22 Feb 00 - 08:05 PM

I have been having a lot of problems playing mp3 files. If I try to play them while using the computer for any thing else the computer will inevitaby lock up or crash. Is this normal? I purchased a Roger McGuinn DAM CD which has mp3 files and that crashes the computer within seconds. I have the freeware version of Music Match and my computer has a Celeron 366 chip. Would an upgrade help?On a somewhat related note I recently found an mp3 of Rambling Jack Elliot and Dave Van Ronk doing St.James Infirmary. Is this one of the warning signs of the apocalypse?

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Alan of Australia
Date: 23 Feb 00 - 03:38 AM

G'day Dave,
I don't think you have a hardware problem, but it might be your operating system or mp3 player software.

What OS do you use, what player do you use, are you able to play .wav files?

Cheers,
Alan

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Lonesome Dave
Date: 23 Feb 00 - 05:50 AM

I have Windows 98. My player is Music Match which is the free download from mp3.com. Perhaps I should try a different player. I am not sure of what a .wav is. I've never played one but perhaps I could. I'm not real confident playing around with the technical side of the thing. Thanks for your reply.

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Willie-O
Date: 23 Feb 00 - 08:56 AM

Dave:

WAV files are the native Windows format for audio files. Most audio editing programs work on .wav files. More to the point, your built in Windows sounds that warn you of events happening in your system (you know, bling! when things are right and plunk! when they are wrong) are WAV files.

So what Alan is asking is, I think, is your computer making these normal noises?--that indicates that your sound card & speakers are functioning. A starting point for being able to play any kind of sound.

The trouble with WAVs is that they are huge files for sounds that last more than a couple of seconds. About 10 megabytes per minute of CD-quality recording. MP3's have taken off because they are about 10% the size of WAV files--so a full-length song is 3-4 megabytes in MP3, 30-40 as a WAV.

Assuming that you can hear the WAV noises-- Experiment with other MP3 players such as Winamp. I use Realjukebox right now but I'm not too happy with it--freezes regularly, plus corporate privacy invasion from Real makes me angry. I see no reason to throw money at a company that gives out freeware that doesn't function properly, since there is plenty that does.

They're telling us all the time now that 32 megs of RAM ain't enough--which is what I have (on a Pentium 200) and you probably do too--going to 64 probably would help in tossing around these multimedia files.

I figure Ramblin Jack and Dave Van Ronk doing St James is business as usual...but if Jerry Garcia is sitting in, its a sign. (I figured the four horsement were upon us when the Dead stopped touring.)

Hope this helps

Willie-O

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Willie-O
Date: 23 Feb 00 - 10:03 AM

Dave, rereading your original post--well, actually, it is normal that if you put too much stuff on your table that some of it will fall off, or block your access to other things, or both. A simple function of how much desktop memory you have, how much is being used for different tasks, and how much empty space there is for processing. So yeah, you can't expect to do too many things at once in the same place. Just the way it is. Try turning off things that you're not using, like your browser, and other items which install themselves on your taskbar at startup. This can include things like Norton Systemworks (Utilities etc) that are supposed to be protecting you from problems--they are using up resources on your desktop too and your system may run _better_ without them.

Luck

W-O

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: GUEST,ChrisE
Date: 23 Feb 00 - 02:45 PM

If you need a new mp3 player...I luv this one: www.sonique.com

Subject: mp3 player
From: Clinton Hammond2
Date: 23 Feb 00 - 03:00 PM

Ummm.. I think if ya update yer Windows Media Player, it'll install MP3 codex and run the fine.. at least it worked for me... it's just a player.. and it's not very chromey, but it works...

good luck eh!

{~`

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 23 Feb 00 - 03:12 PM

I have been using Winamp lately had have had no problems with it. I have just had a look at the system requirements in their FAQ. They say: "A fast 486 or (optimally) a Pentium or better, running Windows 95, 98, 2000, or NT 4. Or, perhaps, WINE under XWindows. :)"

Jon

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Lonesome Dave
Date: 23 Feb 00 - 09:09 PM

Thank you all for your input, I haven't had a chance to try any of your suggestions yet but I will soon. One of the reasons I broke down and bought a computer was because of all the hoopla over mp3 and frankly I have been underwhelmed(by mp3). All of the technical problems are a pain in the ass and I have found very little music that I am really interested in. Is it just me or does anyone else feel that way?

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Amos
Date: 24 Feb 00 - 01:02 AM

eeeeya! Ya want good sound, get you a new IMac -- you'll be amazed. And free of technochaotic infernalities.

A

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Escamillo
Date: 24 Feb 00 - 02:21 AM

I upgraded my Celeron 300 to 128 Mb RAM and got rid of many strange problems. I've also found that when you have 32Mb, Win98 eats up 31 Mb and give you 1 Mb for your programs to enter a swap-in / swap-out frency. When you have 64 Mb, Win98 groans and eats up 60 Mb, and when you have 128 Mb, it eats "only" 72 or 74 and looks satisfied.
Furthermore, there is a list of resources in RAM that do not improve with memory addition, these are called SYSTEM RESOURCES, USER RESOURCES and GDI (graphic) RESOURCES. You can monitor these, and discover some eventual resource-eating programs that you keep resident (like antiviruses in general). Go to Programs / Accesories / System Tools / Resource Meter. This little program shows you a graphical meter at your lower right corner (and can be expanded by right-clicking) that will tell you how your resources are been dramatically reduced as you enter programs.
This is not specifically related to MP3, but could be a good helping hand in diagnosis.
By the way, I've only heard some pop MP3 downloaded by my sons, and they sound merely acceptable, but haven't tried anything serious, if something serious exists.
Un abrazo - Andrés

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 24 Feb 00 - 10:49 AM

Escamillo, I thought I was wise in sticking to Win95 on my P133 with 32mb RAM :-)

Subject: RE: Help: mp3
From: Jon W.
Date: 24 Feb 00 - 11:27 AM

I've had great success playing MP3 on three computers: an old 48MB Ram machine running at 233MHz (Windows 95)--although at low volume because my sound card on that machine is shot--; a 64MB Ram running a Celeron at 400MHz (Windows 98); and a 256MB Ram running a Pentium III and Windows NT. I've used Sonique and Winamp successfully, other players not so successfully. Some put in extraneous noises--including (I think) Windows Media Player. I've also used BirdCage's MPAction Rip'n'Coder for producing good MP3 files from .WAV files and from audio CD's. I've had less that great results with the corresponding Tag'n'Player playing them, but it can be used to edit the tag information. These are freeware as is Winamp, now.

If you couldn't tell, I'm very positive about MP3 right now. I've also found some real nice folk/Irish type music at MP3.com. Check out Slainte, Whirlygig, Bardic, and Shake That Little Foot as artists. 'Nuff said.