[directmusic] Re: Compression: ADPCM?
- From: "justin" <jlove@xxxxxxx>
- To: <directmusic@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 09:48:46 -0800
I used Ogg Vorbis (similar compression and quality to MP3, except it is
open source and license-free) for a game last year. If you are
interested I can post a nice encapsulation we used.
Justin Love
University of Victoria
-----Original Message-----
From: directmusic-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:directmusic-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Bjorn Lynne
Sent: March 12, 2003 5:39 AM
To: directmusic@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [directmusic] Re: Compression: ADPCM?
Hi Paul,
> Anyone know if there is anything else that will compress my wavs into
ADPCM
> format other than DMP?
>
> I've heard that this compression can sound a bit grainy or slightly
harsh,
> but an external editor, like wavelab, might be able to render my files
a
> touch more elegantly.
You can save out ADPCM from SoundForge, but don't expect any miracles.
ADPCM
compression sounds great with *most* sounds, but a few sounds will sound
very gritty and harsh, no matter which program performed the
compression.
> I was tempted to go the mp3 route, but this 2.1 second thing sound
like a
> real pain - is it DMP that adds the glitch on play back? If you encode
in
an
> external editor and replace the runtime files, it must be in the play
back
> that the glitch occurs.
I'm not sure if you are talking about the little bit of silence added to
the
beginning and end of the mp3 file, making it unsuitable for sounds that
need
to start immediately, or looping sounds... but this is a weakness of the
mp3
file format. I investigated this a lot a couple of years ago (including
communicating directly with one of the guys at Frauhofer who made the
format), and there is apparently no way to create mp3 files that don't
have
this little bit of silence at the beginning and end... making mp3
unsuitable
for looping or low-latency playback.
Actually, there is ONE program that does seem to make it possible:
Flash. If
you import a WAV file into Flash and set the compression to "mp3
compression" inside Flash, then you can save out your Flash movie, which
will include an embedded mp3, which *will* loop smoothly in Flash
Player.
I'm guessing that this is because Flash has compressed to mp3 itself, it
knows exactly how much silence has been added to the beginning and end,
and
is able to skip these parts when it plays back.
> Is any of these compression formats more CPU friendly on decode?
I believe mp3 is a great deal more CPU intensive than ADPCM. Somebody
correct me if I'm wrong.
Cheers,
--
Bjorn Lynne - Composer, Producer, Sound Designer
Main music site: www.lynnemusic.com
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