On the subject of mp3s

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MMUK

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Can anyone recommend a good piece of software for restoring mp3 files?

When I say restoring I mean being able to remove background noise and cross-channel interference from radio recorded broadcasts. I have pretty much every Navy Lark episode ever made on mp3 (and it's taken years of searching to build up the collection! I even have episodes the BBC no longer have in their archives) but some are so bad that they can't be listened to. I'd really like to be able to go into them as a file, dissect and remove all the crap.
 
I know there's several products that claim to remove the particular glitches from digitised LP's, but (in general) what you're asking for is technically know as "very hard".

In your position, my first move would be to replace as many of your old recordings with new captures off Radio4Extra.

BugBear
 
It's a bad place to start from, probably.

Usually in restoration work, you need the very best copy available, preferably the original material. MP3s are all about removing information from the file, hopefully without you noticing. That's why MP3 files are small - bits have been removed, literally. "Good enough" MP3s tend to be big files, meaning there's no point in them being MP3s in the first place.

I'll PM you my email address. Send me a bad file and I'll have a look quickly to see if anything is salvageable.

E.
 
Eric The Viking":2q07jkp8 said:
I'll PM you my email address. Send me a bad file and I'll have a look quickly to see if anything is salvageable.

E.


OK cheers. I think I have them on the laptop. If not, I'll fire one over when I get back home on Sunday.
 
Eric definitely knows his stuff in that area, so that's a great offer.
But for anyone with a simpler requirement, I suggest the free open source audio package Audacity.

I've used it for relatively simple jobs such as removing clicks in recordings from vinyl. If you have the patience you can zoom right in on the waveform and manually edit selected sample points. There are also automatic filters which might work or might make things worse. And it's always going to be better if you start with a lossless format.

You can download it from Sourceforge at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
 
AndyT":17jqkwp8 said:
Eric definitely knows his stuff in that area, so that's a great offer.
But for anyone with a simpler requirement, I suggest the free open source audio package Audacity.

I've used it for relatively simple jobs such as removing clicks in recordings from vinyl. If you have the patience you can zoom right in on the waveform and manually edit selected sample points. There are also automatic filters which might work or might make things worse. And it's always going to be better if you start with a lossless format.

You can download it from Sourceforge at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

5 Stars for Audacity,,,,,,,,,,,,loads of tricks
,,,joe,,,
 
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