Converting Many Files...

[Tews]

I have a very large library of archived radio podcasts that I'd like to convert to one file for each day. Currently I have four 15-20MB files for each show. Is there a way to convert/join them so that I only have 1 file per show?

Thanks

[MaindotC]

Yep you can use many different audio tools but a lot of them are just front ends to ffmpeg. Use ffmpeg per this thread on joining files.

[Megrimn]

I would try using Audacity, if it can open the file type. Not sure if it is the most appropriate method, though.

[FakeOutdoorsman]

I have a very large library of archived radio podcasts that I'd like to convert to one file for each day. Currently I have four 15-20MB files for each show. Is there a way to convert/join them so that I only have 1 file per show?

Thanks

What format are these files in? Depending on the format, you may be able to join these files without re-encoding and therefore no generational loss if using lossy formats.

[Tews]

All the files are mp3 speech files, so quality is not of a concern. I have tried lame and CAT with no luck. I know that Im making this harder than need be, but im stumped!

[Chronon]

How about mp3wrap?

[niteshifter]

Hi,

I had this same problem a while back. From my notes:

This site put me onto these tools:

mp3split - Breaks apart an mp3 file.
mp3wrap - Combine multiple mp3 files into one. Just what you need

which are in the Ubuntu repositores. The page I linked to has lots of useful information but to save some wading and reading you use mp3wrap like this:

mp3wrap outputfile.mp3 infileA.mp3 infileB.mp3 infileC.mp3

where outputfile.mp3 is the file you to create, infileA,mp3 (and the rest) are the files you wish to add together. There can be N (any number) of input files. If by chance your files are sequentially numbered, it is easier to do this:

mp3wrap outfile.mp3 infile*.mp3

this will take infile01.mp3, infile02.mp3 etc, and stick them in order into outfile.mp3

[ActiveFrost]

Joining video ( not sure about audio files ) files can be done with Mencoder :

mencoder -oac copy -ovc copy -idx -o output.avi video1.avi video2.avi video3.avi

So .. I would try :

mencoder -oac copy -idx -o output.mp3 sound1.mp3 sound2.mp3

[andrew.46]

Hi Tews,

I have a very large library of archived radio podcasts that I'd like to convert to one file for each day. Currently I have four 15-20MB files for each show. Is there a way to convert/join them so that I only have 1 file per show?

The silent partner of the audio world in Linux: SoX can do this and it can be done multiple ways . Concatenation is the default and I tested this with 3 mp3 files:

andrew@skamandros~/Desktop$ sox --show-progress file_1.mp3 file_2.mp3 file_3.mp3 merged.mp3

Input File     : 'file_1.mp3'
Channels       : 2
Sample Rate    : 44100
Precision      : 16-bit
Duration       : 00:02:48.65 = 7437289 samples = 12648.5 CDDA sectors
Sample Encoding: MPEG audio (layer I, II or III)
Comments       : 
Title=Is This What Everybody Wants
Artist=Cliff Martinez
Album=Solaris
Tracknumber=1
Year=2002
Genre=12

In:99.2% 00:02:47.37 [00:00:01.28] Out:7.38M [      |      ] Hd:5.6 Clip:0    
Input File     : 'file_2.mp3'
Channels       : 2
Sample Rate    : 44100
Precision      : 16-bit
Duration       : 00:02:52.64 = 7613556 samples = 12948.2 CDDA sectors
Sample Encoding: MPEG audio (layer I, II or III)
Comments       : 
Title=First Sleep
Artist=Cliff Martinez
Album=Solaris
Tracknumber=2
Year=2002
Genre=12

In:99.6% 00:02:51.92 [00:00:00.72] Out:15.0M [      |      ] Hd:4.7 Clip:0    
Input File     : 'file_3.mp3'
Channels       : 2
Sample Rate    : 44100
Precision      : 16-bit
Duration       : 00:01:44.75 = 4619519 samples = 7856.32 CDDA sectors
Sample Encoding: MPEG audio (layer I, II or III)
Comments       : 
Title=Can I Sit Next To You
Artist=Cliff Martinez
Album=Solaris
Tracknumber=3
Year=2002
Genre=12

In:100%  00:01:44.77 [00:00:00.00] Out:19.7M [      |      ] Hd:0.5 Clip:0    
Done.

With perfect results. Mind you the meta tags were all lost but this would be expected. The magic of SoX comes when you investigate the different methods of joining files and then the different effects that can be applied to the join. Plenty of material there for a long, wet weekend .

All the best,

Andrew

[colau]

Nice tip.
How about winff?

sudo aptitude install winff