Hi everyone,
When I try export a track at these settings, the end file will become 48000 Hz/16 bit and not 24 bit like I had set. I'm by no means an expert at these things but if I chose to export it at 24 shouldn't the file then be 24?
Also, 32 bit works just fine. Can anyone else confirm this issue?
Thanks in advance!
Just judging from the size, the result is correct. When I export e.g. the 'Blues Demo', which is 2:28 minutes long, I get the following file sizes:
48kHz, 16bit: 28,508,264 bytes
48kHz, 24bit: 42,762,344 bytes
48kHz, 32bit: 57,016,424 bytes
The files seem to contain 7,127,040 samples, corresponding to 148.48 seconds at 48,000Hz, with a file header overhead of 104 bytes. So we get:
7,127,040 * 2 channels * 2 bytes (16 bits) + 104 bytes = 28,508,264 bytes
7,127,040 * 2 channels * 3 bytes (24 bits) + 104 bytes = 42,762,344 bytes
7,127,040 * 2 channels * 4 bytes (32 bits) + 104 bytes = 57,016,424 bytes.
So on this end it seems to work like advertised. I did not go check for bit noise though (i.e. whether all bits are always used in the output files). Tested with Pianoteq 5.0.1.
Edit: a quick FFT analysis shows that at least the 16 and 24 bit files are 'real'. I see signs of shaped dither noise in the 16bit file at about -114 to -102 decibels, while the 24bit file has a noise floor of at least -144dB.
Thanks for the very detailed answer, kalessin! I did notice a larger file sizes when exporting at 24/32 bit depth too, so I guess it's all there then.
Another thing I noticed... When playing the files through my media player (gom player), I don't hear any noise regardless of the frequency or bit depth. However, when I open them with Adobe Soundbooth, the 44KHz files have very audible noise (note that I haven't done anything to the file, still wav. format). Whereas the 48KHz files are completely fine without any noise.
So I'm not sure why this is because they're all fine when I'm just listening through a simple media player.
Khoa: What operating system are you on? Windows 7 by any chance?
Greg.
Khoa: What operating system are you on? Windows 7 by any chance?
Or Windows 8... it depends, I would guess, on your audio settings. When the Sound Mapper is set to a certain fixed frequency (e.g. 48kHz) and Soundbooth just uses it without any proper resampling, this might lead to quite audible aliasing distortion in the higher frequencies, though aliasing will usually not sound like normal background noise.
The media player applications you tried might either just be using a different audio path(*) or properly resampling the audio data.
(*) Yes, Windows nowadays also offers several different ways of playing sound, all with different advantages and drawbacks. Iit's not just e.g. Linux that can be rather complicated...
The reason I asked is that there is a known problem in Windows 7, regarding resampling - it uses linear interpolation in some circumstances, which is completely inadequate, and causes quite noticable interpolation noise.
There's a hotfix for it:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2653312
This might be the cause of Khoa's problem.
Greg.
I am on Linux and frequently use Pianoteq on the commandline to convert MIDI files to WAV. There are a number of options that you can add on the commandline. I don't even have to open the GUI for that.
With the --rate and --bit-depth options you select sampling frequency and resolution.
I don't know about the Windows and Mac versions - I don't use them.
Can these versions be run from a commandline or are they GUI-only?
I am on Linux and frequently use Pianoteq on the commandline to convert MIDI files to WAV. There are a number of options that you can add on the commandline. I don't even have to open the GUI for that.
With the --rate and --bit-depth options you select sampling frequency and resolution.I don't know about the Windows and Mac versions - I don't use them.
Can these versions be run from a commandline or are they GUI-only?
The Mac version has the same command line options as Linux since OSX is Unix-based. I know, I use them...
Looks like it can be run from the command line on Windows too:
http://www.forum-pianoteq.com/viewtopic...941#p15941
but I've never tried it.
This has nothing to do with Khoa's problem though.
Greg.
Khoa: What operating system are you on? Windows 7 by any chance?
Greg.
I'm running Pianoteq on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. I downloaded the Hotfix in the link you provided but I've decided not to install it just yet because the problem only occurs in Soundbooth for now.
And I changed my system's audio settings to 44.1KHz to test if Soundbooth would still have problems with those files and sure enough the files that were recorded at 44.1KHz no longer have any problems. But now the ones at 48KHz have that similar noise. Again, only audible in Soundbooth.
I guess it's safe to say that this is my computer, or rather Windows 7 and Soundbooth's problem and not Pianoteq's. Thanks for the help everyone, I'll just go back to recording at 44.1KHz/16 bit now
Khoa: yes, it looks like it could be the problem addressed by that Hotfix. The problem is entirely with Windows. It affects Youtube as well. (but yes, setting your sound card to 44.1Khz is a good workaround for Youtube).
Greg.