Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?

Subject: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 04:15 PM

I am wondering....do any of you know of a REALLY FREE program which will convert whole wav files to mp3?

I have been looking at and downloading what are advertised as "completely free" wav file converters in order to send a story to Ron Olesko for his radio Christmas program.

Anyway, every one of them says AFTER I've downloaded and installed, that the free version will only do 60 seconds or half of a file, that I must pay in order to do the whole file.

Fine, after looking around, passing by CoolEdit at almost $70 (does look like a neat program, though), I found one which was only around $25.00. Gave them my instant access credit card buy AND then they tell me, oops, it will take up to 48 hours to get it to you via email and it's coming from China!

So, I found one more supposedly free one at Tucows - gotta be good, right? Says, "best of all, it's completely free!" Download, install. Guess what? Only did half of the file!

Anyway, as I told Ron, I need to be able to do this on an ongoing basis, so I figured this was a good time for me to learn about them and how to convert. THAT seems easy enough and I don't mind paying a little bit, but would love to hear about what you all use and if there is such a free program. I've written to the one from China and told them to cancel my order as it was not as advertised, etc.

Thanks a bunch!

kat

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: Justa Picker
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 04:16 PM

Contact me Kat.

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 04:22 PM

Have done, JP. Thanks!

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 04:58 PM

I know a place where you can get a program called JetAudio.. and it's fantstic... a whole multi-media studio, and it's not as bloated as you'd expect... and it'll encode mp3's from wavs....

you know where to find me if ya want it eh!

;-)

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 05:10 PM

Thanks, Clinton!

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: Áine
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 05:12 PM

Hey Clinton, that Jet-Audio deal looks pretty good. Thanks for the heads up on that!

-- Áine

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 05:16 PM

Don't get it from there unless yer o.k. with putting up with the banner adds... contact me and I'll tell ya where to get it for free...

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: mousethief
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 06:03 PM

Go to www.tucows.com; click on "super search". Set the drop-down window to your operating system. Select "freeware" in the drop-down window for license type, and search for "encoder".

I have a freeware WAV-to-MP3 encoder, a freeware MP3-to-WAV decoder, and a freeware ripper (CD-DA; highly recommended), all downloaded from tucows. Can't recommend it highly enough!

Alex

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: SeanM
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 07:28 PM

I was going to say... I had one off of tucows a couple years back that did wonders (i.e., was simple and easy to use, and effective), and it was freeware.

Then again, haven't been on the site for a while.

M

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: IvanB
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 07:39 PM

I use 'Simple,' which is available here:

Simple

Absolutely free and no banners or other ads. It's slow, but encodes files without the 'blips' that some encoders produce in MP3 files. However, for the length of file you're talking about, kat, it'll probably amount to about 2 minutes or less encoding time (my own file to Ron, which is 1:48 in length took 75 seconds to encode at 160mbps rate).

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: GUEST,Henry
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 07:47 PM

Just curious. Why all the PM me and I'll tell you sort of comments? I always figured what one person asked for should be available to all who read the threads, not just a select few. Or are we dealing with less than legal copies?

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: katlaughing
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 08:38 PM

Thanks, everyone. I've got the mp3 done, but Ron's email will not allow that big of a file, so I am looking at storage sites where I can upload it, then share.

Really appreciate all of the help.

kat

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 08:56 PM

All the software I have/recommend is considerably less than legal...

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: Áine
Date: 28 Nov 01 - 09:36 PM

Henry, dude -- the lady said 'FREE' not 'legal', don't ya know! ;-)

And Clinton, I'll definitely be 'in touch' -- wink, wink, nudge, nudge . . .

-- Áine

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: Tweed
Date: 29 Nov 01 - 02:16 AM

I think you got your free download already kat, but in case others out there are still looking, here's one more. It's free, and it works well for me. Nothing fancy but it's really easy to use.
Analog X

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 29 Nov 01 - 04:14 AM

Maybe I'm missing the point here - and I'll admit that I don't know a lot about converting "audio" music files, but I have been looking at getting a CD burner, and I note that the majority of them include a program called "Music Match Jukebox" that looks like it does what you're looking for.

List price - off the shelf and laying there waiting for you - is $19.95 for this program, at least according to the info on the burner boxes.

Quality control? Documentation? Product Support? and somebody with an interest in making you happy so you won't go smear their reputation? And cheaper than the "activation/registration" charge for a lot of "Freeware." (Need we mention verified compatibility with other software?)

I haven't bought a burner yet, so I haven't tried this - or any other such software - yet. I'll read (most of) the instruction manual before I do, - but is it wrong to actually use a decent commercial product?

John

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: katlaughing
Date: 29 Nov 01 - 10:33 AM

Absolutely nothing wrong with that, John.

For reasons I don't feel I need to explain, I wanted to download from the internet, not go out to buy something. I got frustrated by the process. First time that's ever happened, I usually don't have too much of a problem with that. So, I came to Mudcat because I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people who would offer their suggestions and help, which they did. I am very appreciative of this; it makes my situation much easier.

Thanks, Tweed, and everyon else who has been helpful, too. I've got it taken care of.

kat

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: Willie-O
Date: 29 Nov 01 - 11:05 AM

Music Match has unlikeable habits. Real Networks privacy-invading product, always trying to dialup to the Net and--get this, it was in the news awhile ago--tells them at Real what music you listen to.

The other little problem I found with it--I did try to use it--was that it DIDN"T WORK. The default setting for coding mp3's coded them at a different sampling rate than mp3.com requires for their artist mp3s.

What I ended up very happy with is a nice little genuine FREEWARE program called Bladeenc: here's the homepage. Bladeenc

It's free, it's easy to use once you get the hang of the old fashioned command line interface (imagine that!) and it works great. And it's the opposite of bloatware.

And finally, the default settings it uses for encoding are just the ones needed for mp3.com.

W-O

Subject: RE: Help: Any really FREEware convert wav to mp3?
From: IvanB
Date: 29 Nov 01 - 02:12 PM

John in Kansas, I latched on to MusicMatch Jukebox early on and was an enthusiastic supporter of it for some time (I even bought the 'Plus' version which was $29.95 registration fee at the time). But, as successive editions came out, the program got to be a bigger and bigger download and a bigger hog of system resources when running. The final straw was when I recorded four hours of folk music one Sunday evening only to find that I got about 50 seconds out of every minute - I'd get a 'blip' about every two seconds or so.

I liked the program up to version 4 point something, but I think they're in the sixes now, and I've opted for what I find is a better solution - recording to wave files and encoding later.