Need some help with WMP 11/Audio file formats

First off I appoligise if this is in the wrong section of the forum but it seems to be the most suited to my problem. Anyway im here for a bit of help as google uncharacteristickly didn't provide ths solution to the problem im having. Second im not the greatest when it comes down to computer software/hardware.

Ill explain what happened. Well my computer was infected by a masty virus or set of trojans. To be honest im not sure what it was but in the end I reformated my computer. This is all very well ok I had to reinstall all my games, programes ect. The problem I had was my music as I had about 1k songs on my computer. Ok well stick the CD in and rip it again well not as simple as I when I left home I didnt see the need to cart a truck load of CDs along with th rest of my belongings and as they were already on my computer. However I did have the vast majority on my iPod so when I extracted them after the reformat so it was ok. I opened up WMP and added them to the libery. This is were things get frustrating.

After adding them to the libery I started the task of finding all the album info. Certain albums found the information straight away without me telling it to do so and these all played fine but the vast majority had the song name but no more info so I begun using the feature in WMP to retrieve the info but it refused to work then I checked the files them selves and there was no difrence from these to the working ones. WMP as well as iTunes, quick time and Creative media source didnt reconise the MP3. So I checked if they were MP3 format and yes they were (according to their properties tabs anyway.) So now im confused and a tad pissed at the whole situation. What doesnt make sense is that some songs are fine with all the album/artis ect info but others refuse to play and have this missing. It simply doesnt make sense to me as they were all taken from legit CDs riped onto my comp so why are some throwing hissy fits and others not.

 

Have you right clicked on any of the problem audio files to check the properties? Are you able to convert the problem audio files to .wav and then convert back to an .mp3? Or are you able to convert any problem audio file to any other kind of audio file with any success? What is the bit rate and is the bit rate compatible with the programs you are using to play the mp3's? I have SCMPX Version 1.5.1 (free) and it will convert most .wav or .mp3 files and you can choose the desired bitrate from 320,000 to 32,000 (128,00 is the default) and has several other settings to choose from (http://www.download.com/SCMPX/3000-2167_4-10021690.html) - HOWEVER, http://www.majorgeeks.com may have and/or probably does have something even better.

 

When using the programe you sugested it told "MPEG 2.5 (fraunhofer format) is not supported."

 

First of all, these are not mp3's. MPEG stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. What is the last computer program/software that successfully played your MPEG 2.5 files? So the file extension for each of these files is mpg NOT mp3? What is the average size of the files? MPEG 2 is a video file that more likely than not also has audio. Where/how did you either get/download these files - what was the source? You say the files took up 1k on your computer or do you mean 1 GB? The source - where you downloaded these files is very likely the key.

You say the mpg's were on your iPod? When you played these files on your iPod, was there video associated with them?

 

The following is technical, sorry, but it was the best I could find to explain an MPEG 2.5 - I don't know if this will help, but I hope it will give you a better idea of the type files you have. I tried without success to find a decoder for the MPEG 2.5 files. If the files play successfully on your iPod, that may be the only answer. The more info you can give me (refer to my last post), the more likely we are to come up with an answer.

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/audio-video/mpegaudioinfo.aspx

"MPEG audio files exist in different layers. The most common is the MPEG 1 Layer III (also known as MP3), as it has the most sophisticated compression technology. there are also three versions of MPEG audio, which differ in the sampling rate they can handle. MPEG 1 (ISO/IEC 13818-3) and MPEG 2 (ISO/IEC 11172-3) are ISO standards. MPEG 2.5 is an unofficial extension of MPEG 2 to support even lower sampling rates. MPEG 2/2.5 is also known under the abbreviation LSF, which stands for Lower Sampling Frequencies."

http://www.mp3handbook.com/13.htm

"MPEG 2.5:
A non-ISO extension called “MPEG 2.5” was created by the Fraunhofer Institute to improve performance at lower bit-rates. At lower bit-rates, this extension allows sampling rates of 8, 11.025 and 24 kHz. A high sampling rate at a very low bit-rate requires a trade-off in reduced resolution.
Lowering the sampling rate reduces the frequency response but allows the frequency resolution to be increased, so the result is a file with significantly better quality."

 

AIMP2 converter is able to convert them and after doing so they play fine. Also when I said 1k I meant I had 1000 songs (roughly) not the amount of data. So yeh that problem is solved so thank you it's much appreciated and will save me alot of hasle.

I do have one more prob, though I don't know if any one would have a solution to it as google searches dont provide any solutions or any one else having this problem but I'll explain anyway. When clicking "find album info" in WMP it brings up the small browser as usuall but the page is black. Refreshing does nothing. This isnt as much as an issue it just means I have to input all the info to the songs/albums my self but if you know of a solution or can think of one it would be great.

 

One thing I would like to suggest for future reference: When you rip a CD, use WMP and choose .mp3 as the format. This should save your having similar hassles in the future.

Addressing the WMP "find album into" function. What you might do, as a work around, is make sure that your music folder is included in your monitor folders. You may already know how to do this - just in case I will tell you - please don't be offended. In WMP, click on Tools, Options, Library, Monitor Folders, Advanced Options and check to see that the music folders you want WMP to monitor are listed there. If they are not, click on add and then find the folder that you are looking for and go from there. Best thing to do is have all of your music folders located in My Documents\My Music. Normally WMP will check there as a default.

What I usually do is take at least one .mp3 that I have ripped or downloaded and right click it, left click properties and click summary tab. You should be able to enter the artist's name, album title, year released, track number, genre, and track title, etc. and click apply. If the .mp3 is in a designated folder with other tracks from the same album, you should have it made. Because then all you have to do is open WMP, click on Tools and Apply Media Information Changes. The results are not always instaneous, but usually will go ahead and put the album title, artist, etc. into the companion .mp3's. Actually, I like this way better. Nothing worse than letting WMP list "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole as same song by Frank Sinatra.

You may also want to try reinstalling WMP or running a corrected install, if that is available. WMP used to 'like' URGE and I never used it. I hope I have been able to help you. Let me know.

 

Ok well WMP is adding the information automaticly. I think it might have been an issue with my conection. Well cheers for the help again