No sound from MPEG files

Question

when streaming mpeg files through the internet, or even dragging mpeg files onto iTunes, there seems to be no sound. However, when viewing wmv files, there is no problem. Does anyone know of any downloads or quick cures for this problem???

Answer 1

Hi Jak-E and Welcome to the Apple Discussion Forums
<<AAC-encoded files rival the quality of audio CDs, and sound as good as or better than MP3 files encoded at the same or even a higher bit rate. For example, a 128 Kbps AAC file should sound as good as or better than a 160 Kbps MP3 file. Because the bit rate is lower, the AAC file will also be smaller than the MP3 file. AAC files enable you to store the most music on your hard disk or iPod. You can fit the same number of songs on an audio CD using Apple Lossless, AIFF, or WAV; the song files are smallest with the Apple Lossless encoder.>>
MP3 files can be fairly large. Make certain you have at least 15% free internal hard drive space. Go to iTunes/Preferences/Advanced and make sure you have your sound preferences set appropriately.
Choosing MP3 custom import settings
If you use MP3 encoding, you can use custom settings for greater control over the quality and size of imported files.
To use custom settings with MP3 encoding:
Choose iTunes > Preferences, click Advanced, and then click Importing.
Choose MP3 Encoder from the Import Using pop-up menu.
Choose Custom from the Setting pop-up menu.
In the dialog that appears, choose settings:
Stereo Bit Rate: The higher the Mono or Stereo kilobits per second (Kbps), the higher the audio quality and the larger the file size. The most common bit rate for stereo MP3 files is between 128 Kbps and 192 Kbps. Lower bit rates are more appropriate for sound files containing voice recordings (as opposed to music).
Variable Bit Rate Encoding (VBR): This setting varies the number of bits used to store the music depending on the complexity of the music. This can help keep file size to a minimum.
Sample Rate: The number of times per second that the music waveforms are captured digitally. The higher the sample rate, the higher the quality and the larger the file size. Don't choose a sample rate higher than the rate used originally to store the music or you'll waste space. CD quality, for example, is 44.100 kHz, so choosing a higher rate when you're encoding from a CD is unnecessary. In general, the best choice is Auto, which uses the same rate as the original music.
Channels: If you don't have stereo speakers or if your audio files are monaural, choose.Mono (mono files are about half the size of stereo files). If you'll be listening to your MP3 files using your stereo system, choose Stereo or Auto. Auto converts tracks that are already monaural into mono MP3 files, and stereo tracks into stereo MP3 files.
Stereo Mode: In Normal mode, your MP3 files contain one track for the right stereo channel and one track for the left. In many cases, the two channels contain related information. In Joint Stereo mode, one channel carries the information that's identical on both channels, and the other channel carries the unique information. At bit rates of 160 Kbps and below, this can improve the sound quality of your converted audio.
Smart Encoding Adjustments: Select to have iTunes analyze your encoding settings and music source, and then adjust settings to maximize quality.
Filter Frequencies Below 10 Hz: Filtering inaudible frequencies results in smaller, more efficient files without perceptible loss of quality.
And... post your query in the iTunes forum here: http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/
Importing songs from the Internet
You can add audio files that you find on the Internet to your iTunes library.
Important: Don't steal music. Some websites require you to register before you can play or download files.
To download a song from a website into iTunes:
Open iTunes.
When you find an audio file you want on a website, click the file to download it to your computer.
Drag the file to the iTunes window.
Some websites permit you to download the actual audio file. On other websites, the download is a link (the URL) to the audio file; when you play it, iTunes finds the song on the Internet and "streams" it live to your computer. This kind of file displays a broadcast symbol (shown above) next to the song in iTunes.
When you buy songs from the iTunes Store, the files are downloaded to your hard disk and automatically added to your iTunes library.
Carolyn