covert: MPEG-4 audio (audio/mp4), aka MPEG-4 AAC audio to .mp3

[WaNaBePi]

i have some music files that are on a external hard drive but they are all in .aac and i cant play them on my ipod. they add fine even show up on the list but wont play. so i guess i need to convert them to .mp3 so i can listen to them

ive looked around the forums and i cant seem to post where i want to post or im not getting answered....so

how do i convert .aac to .mp3

i already have faad and lame installed...when i attempt to convert using this script:

faad -w inputfile.aac | lame - outputfile.mp3

i get:

projectmayhem@projectmayhem-lapbottom:~$ faad -w blue moon.aac | lame - blue moon.mp3
lame: excess arg moon.mp3
*********** Ahead Software MPEG-4 AAC Decoder V2.6 ******************

Build: Oct 8 2008
Copyright 2002-2004: Ahead Software AG
http://www.audiocoding.com
Floating point version

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

************************************************** ************************

Only raw PCM data (2) may be sent to the standard out.
projectmayhem@projectmayhem-lapbottom:~$ faad -w bluemoon.aac | lame - bluemoon.mp3
*********** Ahead Software MPEG-4 AAC Decoder V2.6 ******************

Build: Oct 8 2008
Copyright 2002-2004: Ahead Software AG
http://www.audiocoding.com
Floating point version

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

************************************************** ************************

Only raw PCM data (2) may be sent to the standard out.
Warning: unsupported audio format
projectmayhem@projectmayhem-lapbottom:~$


those were two attempts I just tried, special just for who ever answers this. what am I doing wrong?

[dLeon]

That's mean you must produce WAV output; not mp3.
PS:
Except Mplayer/Mencoder, I notice there are some AAC converters in main repo's.

[dzark]

easy answer is use vlc (apt/aptitude/synaptic install vlc)

If it's only one or two files just use the wizard from the Media -> Convert/Save.. option in the GUI

If it's a whole lot, or a few big ones, reply back and i'll help you build a command for it.. or use

man vlc

[WaNaBePi]

I think if its possible, there are 2 different codecs on these songs

the properties window reads:

type: MPEG-4 video (video/mp4)

codec: MPEG-4 AAC audio

so its seems to be both a video and audio file? a likely cause as to why I'm having so much trouble?

i tried converting them using vlc the "media>covert/save" method but in actuality the songs wont play in vlc...they only play in totem...no scratch that, they play fine, I renamed them .mp4....when I have the list showing, in list view, the type reads "MPEG-4 video" regardless whether i name the the individual song .aac or .mp4....so i guess they are more .mp4? so i need to convert .mp4 to .mp3....sorry guys, if i could give better information I would.

i have 250mb of data @ about 150 songs. so it may be worth the trouble to write a command, once we figure out a conversion process.

Thank You SO Much for replying to me. I've been in the dark about this for some time.

[dzark]

try the 'convert/save' in vlc.

1st dialog box, select the file you wish to open
2nd dialog box, output filename and select "Profile: MP3" and hit save


There wont be any music playing while it does its thing, but once the seek bar has gone all the way to the end you'll have an MP3

[WaNaBePi]

when i do the convert save there is no "seek bar". let me go through what i am doing. i tried to put up screen shots but i need to toy with the sizes. so describing what im doing with words will take just as much time....

so i:

open vlc media player

navigte to media> covnvert/save

i click on covert/save

a window called "open" comes up

using the "look in:" pull down menu i navigate to the file i want to covert.

i double click the file i want

a windo comes up titled "stream output"

in the "outputs" section of that window i check the box "file"

then with the browse button in the same area, i again navigate to the appropriate file

in the generated output string text line i have:

:sout=#duplicate{dst=std{access=file,dst=/home/projectmayhem/Desktop/Pandora music/Akron& Family/Crickets.mp3}}

i then hit save the stream output window disappears, and im left with just the vlc media plaer main window.

i search for, in this case "Crickets.mp3" using the "search for files" under "places" and there is no "Crickets.mp3" to be found in the entire "file system"...........

at this point it may be easier for me to just copy and paste a code or script... but I don't know what that entails, I certainly haven't the fist clue how to write a script to convert these blasted files.

thanks again.

[WaNaBePi]

still no solution to covert.....

"Type: MPEG-4 video (video/mp4)"

"audio
Codec: MPEG-4 AAC audio"


....to .mp3, anyone have a solution?

[dzark]

VLC will do it. RTFM.

http://wiki.videolan.org/Documentati...n:ocumentation

[mc4man]

Why don't you first find out if you have really have video or not.
if your on 8.10 then just install mediainfo - .deb available here
http://www.getdeb.net/search.php?keywords=mediainfo
Then open mediainfo and just drop one of your files on it. (the view > html will provide full info

Or install ffmpeg and go
ffmpeg -i path to file

If you have just audio there's a good possibility the reason the ipod won't play is they're encoded to the 'main' profile, an ipod wants 'LC' profile. (mediainfo will tell you that.

[WaNaBePi]

well i just read tfm. vlc still just stops playing the song as soon as i click save in the stream output window, and i search for .mp3 on my entire file system and it doesn't come up. it also doesn't even mention the stream out put window, which is the one that actually says convert/save not just convert...in addition I had to add the.mp4 part at the end of the file because originally they don't have a ".anything"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mc4man I appreciate the suggestion but I have no clue how to install that software its in 3 different parts...this is what ffmpeg got me...is there a script to chagne from main to lc???????

projectmayhem@projectmayhem-lapbottom:~$ ffmpeg -i /home/projectmayhem/Desktop/Pandora music/Akron& Family/crickets.mp4
[1] 9388
bash: Family/crickets.mp4: No such file or directory
projectmayhem@projectmayhem-lapbottom:~$ FFmpeg version r11872+debian_3:0.svn20080206-12ubuntu3, Copyright (c) 2000-2008 Fabrice Bellard, et al.
configuration: --enable-gpl --enable-pp --enable-swscaler --enable-x11grab --prefix=/usr --enable-libgsm --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-pthreads --disable-strip --enable-libfaad --enable-libfaadbin --enable-liba52 --enable-liba52bin --enable-libdc1394 --disable-armv5te --disable-armv6 --disable-altivec --disable-vis --enable-shared --disable-static
libavutil version: 49.6.0
libavcodec version: 51.50.0
libavformat version: 52.7.0
libavdevice version: 52.0.0
built on Oct 3 2008 22:40:31, gcc: 4.3.2
/home/projectmayhem/Desktop/Pandora: no such file or directory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
there seriously isn't a script out there that I can insert a given .mp4 and get a .mp3...it amazes me.

im ready to call it quits...almost