Somewhat OT: MP3 vs. WMA Compression Ratio

Sorry that this is a little off-topic, but do any of you know where I could find information about typical compression ratios, at a given level of (admittedly subjective) audio quality, between MP3, AAC, and WMA?
I couldn't find much via Google.
I ask because I've recently been crunching down - by nearly a factor of 3! - my iTunes library from MP3 to AAC without too terribly much loss in audio quality. Unfortunately, my car's CD player takes only MP3 and WMA (well, and normal CDs of course). I was thinking that if WMA can also crunch it down from MP3, it could be really cool. However, the fact that I see a lot of WMA-to-MP3 converters, and not the reverse in a Google search, I gather, probably means that there isn't much advantage in WMA over MP3.

not a problem.
Maybe this might help as well? (It's listening quality at a given bitrate rather than bitrate/compression at a given listening quality, but it might be of some assistance.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codeclisteningtest

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How do I convert an mp3 or WMA file to a m4a file?

I read on another forum that iTunes can convert mp3 and wma files to m4a format.
How do I do this?

That is correct.
By default if you load a .wma file into iTunes, it will AUTOMATICALLY convert it to another format first, since it needs to in order to play it. However, you can also convert any other file format that iTunes supports, assuming it can get loaded into iTunes.
To set what format you want to convert to, go EDIT->PREFERENCES. Click the IMPORT SETTINGS button and select which encoder you want (AAC, MP3, Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV are supported) and then select the bit rate if you are choosing a lossy format (AAC/MP3).
From there, any .wma files you load into iTunes (you can do this by going into iTunes and selecting FILE-> ADD FILE TO LIBRARY, or simply right clicking a .wma file and OPEN WITH iTunes) will convert to that format. ALSO, if you have any other files already in iTunes you wish to convert, select the file(s), and go to ADVANCED -> CREATE ___ VERSION (the blank being whatever you selected before) and it will convert for you.
Remember, converting a lower quality song to a higher quality format/bit rate won't "up-covert" any quality, the lowest quality you start with is the highest you can possibly get, but if you still prefer to have a certain file format or bit rate to compress to, this is the feature you'd use!
Let me know if you have any other questions!

HT1550 Convert multiple mp3 and wma at once in aac

Hello All,
I'm new at using iTunes, used to listen to my music in flac format with a Sandisk Sansa Clip+ (with a Rockbox rom).
I've burned some of my CDs in mp3 and wma formats before burning them all again but in flac.
Now with my brand new iPhone 5 16Go, I guess I'm better of using compressed format for keeping requiring space as little as possible.
But in the online help http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1550 the steps, describing how to convert files in aac or whatsoever, make me lost.
Select one or more songs in your library, then from the Advanced menu, choose one of the following (The menu item changes to show what's selected in your Importing preferences):
Create MP3 version
Create AAC version
Create AIFF version
Create WAV version
Create Apple Lossless version
If you haven't imported some songs into iTunes yet, you can import and convert them at the same time. This will create a converted copy of the file in your iTunes Library based on your iTunes preferences. To convert all the songs in a folder or on a disk, hold down the Option key (Mac) or Shift key (Windows) and choose Advanced > Convert Import preference setting. The Import preference setting will match what you chose in step 3. iTunes will prompt you for the location of the folder or disk you want to import and convert. All the songs in the folder or on the disk will be converted.
I did the setup of Import setting. But those "Advanced" menu are not water clear for me.
It's step 4 in the document.
How may I select which songs I'd like to import and convert?
Using Add to Library import them, then in iTunes, I select them all, then I have to go to File>Create New Version>Create AAC version.
Only Create AC version remains dimmed if I don't have any songs in my Library.
Therefore where am I supposed to press down Option key to make appearing the Advanced>Convert Import preference setting ?
I'm lost.
The only I found is to Add to Library, then Create new version, create AAC version.
Thanks for your help.
Kind Regards.

After searching the forums I found a 3rd-party program called 'MP3 Trimmer' available at 'http://www.deepniner.net/mp3trimmer/'
Once you have the application, go to Tools > MP3 joiner and you will find a window to drag and drop the audio files you wish to join.
Select your target folder and wait for the conversion to complete. The end resulted in a single .mp3 file virtually the same size as all the previous files were collectively. I added the file to iTunes but decided not to convert it to AAC, though you can if you want to.
There are some restrictions that apply, such as 'CBR and VBR MP3's cannot be joined together'... You can find out more about these in the Help section.

Can't Import mp3s and wmas to itunes

hi,my problem is that there are some mp3 and wma songs i have on my mac but when i try to put them on my library or basically try to listen to them on itunes nothing happens.i drag and drop them into library or manually import them but itunes just doesn't respond i even tried to manually open the directory music>itunes>itunes music>automatically add to itunes and dragged these mp3s into it but it just keeps ignoring them and throws them into a directory called 'not added'.can anyone help me?

iTunes for Mac (unlike iTunes for Windows) cannot convert WMA files. You will need to use another Mac program, such as EasyWMA, to convert them into an iTunes compatible format.

How can I change MP4 in Itunes to MP3 or WMA format?

I am attempting to download songs from the itunes store to my MP3 player that only recognizes MP3 or WMA songs. The songs I have downloaded to my computer to be loaded onto my MP3 are MP4 songs apparently. Any way to make them MP3 or WMA which are recognized by my player?

DFW1943 wrote:
I am attempting to download songs from the itunes store to my MP3 player that only recognizes MP3
Why are you doing that? It would be easier to purchase songs from online stores that sell songs that are in MP3 in the first place, such as Amazon MP3 or Google Play.
MP3 will work in iTunes and virtually every other player, program and device.

Can I improve PDF OCR accuracy and compression ratio by running it through Acrobat X Std or Pro?

I scanned a book and stored the PDF file with minimal OCR and low compression using mp ex navigator v1. Can I use Acrobat X Standard or Acrobat X Pro to take that PDF file and improve both the OCR accuracy percentage AND the compression ratio, and then it in a new PDF file?
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Message was edited by: computer-girl

I purchased Acrobat Pro XI last month to try to digitize all my text books (Scanned as TIFF and imported to PDF). I've been pretty unimpressed in general. Specifically to your question, it seems that if a page has a photo on it or some complex image, Acrobat won't deskew it. My version updated just today to 11.0.06 and it still has this problem. I think it does deskew when "Apply Adaptive Compression" is selected because that option causes each page to be broken into parts (text/image).
Just incase you haven't tried, on the Optimize Scanned PDF dialoge box, make sure the slider is set to "High Quality" instead of "Small Size", that may help with the image quality. In my tests, I ended up leaving it turned up all the way.
I have finally put together a workflow to deal with the problem. I use Acrobat to extract each page as a TIFF to a separate directory. I use a third party program to deskew and crop the images. I use Acrobat to reassemble them into a PDF. I use Text Recognition/In this File (Searchable Image Exact) to do OCR.
I am pleased with the results though Acrobat tries to OCR a lot of images and I just get a bunch of jumbled invisible text on my images. I don't mind it though cuz it's invisible, but pretty pathetic given the cost of this product.
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Hope this helps others.

Playlist creator for mp3s and wma's

I wrote the following pretty quickly this morning to traverse a directory and it's child directories to look for any mp3/wma files in that directory and make a windows media m3u playlist (basically, the file names separated by newlines).
I thought I'd post it if anyone needs it or if anyone can find something I'm overlooking. It seems to work correctly, but it's hardly tested well.
-Chuck
// PlaylistCreator.java source file
// By Chuck Reed
// Usage: Creates a folder playlist for any folder or subfolder containing mp3 files
// This program will need the java file IO utilities
import java.io.*;
// The main class for the playlist creator
public class PlaylistCreator
private static String CurrentDirectory;          // A member to keep track of the current directory
private static File WorkingFilePointer;          // The location of the working file's pointer
private static String[] FileNames;               // Array of file names read in from directory
// The main class to drive the playlist creator
public static void main(String args[])
    try
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           WorkingFilePointer = new File(System.getProperty("user.dir"));
           ProcessAllDirs(WorkingFilePointer);
      } catch (Exception e)
      // If something fails, catch the exception
        System.err.println(e);
// This is the method that actually creates a playlist file in the current directory
private static void CreatePlaylist(File CurFilePointer)
    try
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        int Mp3Count = 0;
      FileNames = CurFilePointer.list();
      // If we don't have anything in the folder, return doing nothing
      if (FileNames == null)
        return;
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        for (int i = 0; i < FileNames.length; i++)
            if ( IsMp3File(FileNames) )
Mp3Count++;
// If we don't have any mp3s to make a list of, bail
if (Mp3Count < 1)
          return;
// Create the output stream and format it properly
          PrintStream OutputStream = new PrintStream(
          new BufferedOutputStream(
                                                            new FileOutputStream(CurFilePointer.getAbsolutePath() + "\\00 - FolderPlaylist.m3u")));
// Loop through all of the files we have in the directory
for (int i = 0; i < FileNames.length; i++)
     // See if mp3 is at the index of length - 4
          if ( IsMp3File(FileNames[i]) )
// Print out the mp3 file name to the next line of the playlist
          OutputStream.println(FileNames[i]);
// Close the playlist file
OutputStream.close();
} catch (Exception e)
// Catch and report any exceptions we get
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private static void ProcessAllDirs(File dir)
// If our current location is a directory, lets check it for subdirectories or mp3s
if (dir.isDirectory())
// Call create playlist on our current directory in case we have mp3 files here
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String[] children = dir.list();
// Loop through the child directories
for (int i=0; i < children.length; i++)
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private static boolean IsMp3File(String name)
// We can't have anything valid with a length of under 4
if (name.length() < 4)
     return false;
// If we have the correct file suffix
if ( (name.indexOf(".mp3") == (name.length() - 4)) || (name.indexOf(".MP3") == (name.length() - 4)) ||
     (name.indexOf(".wma") == (name.length() - 4)) || (name.indexOf(".WMA") == (name.length() - 4)))
// We return true
     return true;
// Otherwise, this isn't a valid mp3 file
     return false;

I have also Paid this morning, approximately 3-4 hours ago, and cannot play from my phone, or play ad free on my mac.
This quite frankly pisses me off and this is unacceptable. I paid money for your service which doesn't even work. Sooo give me a free month or fix your problems. I don't pay your company money for **bleep** that doesnt work.
I've recevied my Receipt of payment already, and it's processed through my bank account. This does not make me very happy at all.

MP3 to WMA Converter

Does anyone know of a relatively inexpensive MP3 to WMA converter?

I too am looking for this converter to add music to my Verizon phone. I have found that Quicktime Pro does have an export function and you can export an MP3 to a WMV file. You can then change the WMV to WMA and my phone does recognize the track and play it BUT the conversion only converts the 1st 4 seconds of the song. I figure Apple does not want us moving songs onto the Windows platform. If anyone knows a workaround for this I would be interested.

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I have a new phone and it only plays WMA audio files. I cannot seem to find a converter that will convert MP3 to WMA. It seems like all the converters I find for macs do every other conversion but that one.

Hi Makemusic,
The only app out there for Windows media conversion so far as I know are the products offered by Flip4Mac. Specifically, the product you would be most likely interested in is the WMV Studio. It should easily accomplish your exporting needs. However, it comes with a $50 price tag. Good Luck!
--Justin S.

Mp3 **to** wma (Yes, strange request)

Does anyone know of a free ware tool that would convert an mp3 file into wma format?
I'm about to get a new Verizion phone that plays music, but only wma's.
Believe me, I'm not happy about this, but it seems that Verizion is not going to play friendly with non-Windows anytime soon. I've been googling but nothing has turned up so far. Thought I'd ask the experts. Thanks.

Have not used it, but the following is free and claims to convert MP3 to WMA:
http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index_b.html
There is a free version and a "plus" version.

Playing thu car stereo that only supports MP3 or WMA files

How do I get my ipod to play thru my car stereo.. it appears my car will only recognize MP3 or WMA files. Cant seem to find a way to have ipod files be created in a format that will work with my car stereo.. Help???

You can convert songs by using the iTunes Advanced menu -> Create XXX Version. What type of version is controlled by the encoder selected in the iTunes Preferences -> General pane. Click on the "Import Settings" button to change.
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Help!- MP3 and WMA files no longer playing on my Micro Pl

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No unfortunately not. I don't know how to escalate this to Apple tech but I think that is the next step as I believe it is IOS based problem, not user related.

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I recently purchased a DMA 2100 - two weeks ago.
Plays my streamed DVDs (VOB files) along with streamed video off the internet wonderfully. I'm impressed that it actually seems to upscale my DVDs and the Audio quality is perfect.
But when I try to play a simple mp3 or wma file I experience pops, clicks and short dropouts during playback.
Obviously my network is more then sufficient to push DVDs across reliably it should be able to push mp3s/wma files. Network performance monitor shows me in the low end of HDTV capable and stable. MP3s and WMAs are stored on the same disk as my DVD VOB files hence I don't expect there is a problem with my media center PC serving them. (PIII 3.0GHz, 2.5GBs, 2TB RAID 5 SATA Array)/ I was experiencing some problems with playback on my PC but that was resolved by upgrading the drivers for my audio card SB Audigly 2
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Looking further into this I also notice that my Media Center PCs processor is running all out 70%-100% processor utilization when streaming the MP3s or WMA files.
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Anyone, any ideas why when Streaming DVDs my audio would be perfect and processor idle.... but when streaming WMAs my processor is pegged and the audio pops and crackels as it plays?

QT Pro converts mp3 to wma?

I have a new cell phone that (Verizon RAZR) that only plays WMA music files. I've read that you can convert mp3 files to wma using QT Pro. Is that true? If so, how do I do it?
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You might want to save up for Flip4mac. Or google for some shareware wma converter or exporter. Flip4mac cheapest paid version exports from Windows Media to QT. The more expensive two add exporting to Windows media. YOu need to export to WMA.

ConfigMgr 2012 - Expected compression ratio for upstream traffic - Secondary site to Primary

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We are concerned about SQL replication even working with a secondary site on some of the slower link sites (e.g. 512K)
Thank you.

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2 locations (which often is overkill depending on bandwidth and other factors). Just wanted to make sure I had all info first.
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http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg712701.aspx
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can dig them up.

Somewhat OT: MP3 vs. WMA Compression Ratio

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