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Windows Forum / Windows 98 / Multimedia / March 2005Can't play MP3s
Hello to all, and really, a lot of thanks to all ahead of time who take the time with resect to this problem. It is quite the serious one, and I have no idea how to go about solving it, or even what could be causing it. I'll try to be very descriptive...for more details just ask: The Problem: I can't play MP3s clearly on ANY player, including winamp 2, 2.09, 2,9, 3, Windows Media Player, or RealPlayer. As a matter of fact I get bad quality on avi's as well, divx inclusive. What I mean by clearly is that if I'm playing a song lets say, the music is loud and clear, but the singers lyrics can hardly be heard. Basically, the song sounds as if it were recorded in a church where the echo would drown out any words in the song, and actually, this echo is there. It sounds really weird, and I must admit it's very hard to describe. The System: Pentium 200 Mhz, yes its old, but all worked fine 1 month ago (I've posted with regards to this problem before, but then when I thought it wen't away, it's back now...fresh after an all complete system reinstall), 32 megs or RAM. Like I said, it played mp3's fine 1 month ago, and I have a Pentium 133Mhz with 16 megs or RAM playes MP3s just fine! Actions taken up to now: as I stated, this problem occured before, and then went away again. It was suggested by a few that this problem could be caused by add-ware shipped with kazaa. When the problem again came back (2 days ago), I finally decided to re-format the entire system (fdisk, format ...the whole nine yards), then installed win95 and win 98 (clean and from scratch). After getting win98 installed on the system, I installed the basic drivers for sound card, network adapter, video driver, and then tried winamp. And to my complete surprise, the same thing happens, the song/audio file, etc.. playes really strange, with a sort of echo in the background with the lyrics drown out by the instrmentals (almost as if the "lyric layer" was decreased in volume while the "song layer" was increased in volume - if that's making any sense). Then I tried Windows Media Player 6.4, and the exact same thing occurs, can't play avi's, mp3... (didn't try other compressed audio formats). It does play cd's, but that of course is no surprise as playing cd format cd's isn't all that difficult for a cd-rom. I should also mention that when I play these songs on any player, my processor activity does not rise above 5%, thus eliminating the possibility that the old pentium is having problems keeping up with the decompression. Also, I was suspecting the sound card, but as already mentioned, I can play cd's just fine... Well, that's all I can think of which seems relevent for the time being... . Doug > Hello to all, and really, a lot of thanks to all ahead of time who take the > time with resect to this problem. It is quite the serious one, and I have [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > song, and actually, this echo is there. It sounds really weird, and I must > admit it's very hard to describe. Sounds like you got a SoundBlaster Live! or something, and the environmental audio settings are playing up. Try installing the latest drivers.  SignaturePaul S ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Microsoft: The company that made E-mail dangerous. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This is what I get for getting a brand name computer. It's a hp 8140 pavilion, and there are no newer drivers for it. But also, how could possibly this be caused by sound card settings if EVERYTHING was re-installed? Doug > > Hello to all, and really, a lot of thanks to all ahead of time who take the > > time with resect to this problem. It is quite the serious one, and I have [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > - Microsoft: The company that made E-mail dangerous. - > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > This is what I get for getting a brand name computer. It's a hp 8140 > pavilion, > and there are no newer drivers for it. But also, how could possibly > this be caused by sound > card settings if EVERYTHING was re-installed? I assume that the re-install was done from the HP supplied CD, which should put it back to a factory supplied state. Looks like it could be faulty sound-hardware then. I think that computer has the sound built into the mainboard, your best option would be to disable it, usually done in the BIOS settings. And get a PCI soundcard, as that machine has spare PCI slots. If you don't want to open it up then an external USB based solution should work. Like a SB Extigy. SignaturePaul S ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - I.R.S.: We've got what it takes to take what you've got! - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Actually, the re-install was done using win95 and win98 cd's. I found all the drivers for all the hp hardware sometime ago on the net and used those. Except for one hardware piece I was never able to find, the sound card. It's an analog devices 1815/16 and if I recall correctly (and I haven't opened up the case in a long time), I think it's a PCI sound card for which hp never provided the driver explicitly. I did however at one point in time image the entire hd (after re-installing with the supplied cd). So yesterday I merely used that cd to locate the ad1816.inf file on that cd in the windows/options/cabs to install the sound card. I didn't want to install from the recovery cd as it re-install a bunch of stuff I don't need. But I guess what I'd really like to know is whether it's possible for the sound card to have become damaged in the sense that it still plays music, great if it's in cd format, but dog awful if in compressed format. I mean, is it really the sound card. How and where is the mp3 converted into a format the soundcard will recognize and convert into analog output? Doug > > This is what I get for getting a brand name computer. It's a hp 8140 > > pavilion, [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > - I.R.S.: We've got what it takes to take what you've got! - > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > But I guess what I'd really like to know is whether it's possible for the > sound card to have become damaged [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > soundcard will recognize > and convert into analog output? As you said, it is the sound card's job to turn digital data into analog sound. And vice versa. When you play a CD, the digital data (wave) is sent to the sound card and comes out as sound. When you play an MP3, the MP3 data is decoded to wave by the player and sent to the sound card. Only difference twixt it and an audio CD is the necessity of decoding the MP3's digital "shorthand" data to digital wave. Earlier, you said that one channel seemed much louder than another. Have you looked at a file with a wave editor to see what each channel looks like? -- dadiOH ____________________ ...dadiOH's dandies...a help file about recording from LP/cassette plus useful tips & tricks about this and that... http://www.gbronline.com/xico/ >>But I guess what I'd really like to know is whether it's possible for the >>sound card to have become damaged [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > about this and that... > http://www.gbronline.com/xico/ This sort of work I want to avoid at all costs, afterall, I'm know music/sound/mp3 expert. And as I said before, the files play just fine on two of my other machines. Also, aren't songs stored on cd in analog format already, and not wav format? I mean, when you rip a cd to make a backup, doesn't it actually have to convert from the format on the cd to the wab format? > > As you said, it is the sound card's job to turn digital data into analog > > sound. And vice versa. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > music/sound/mp3 expert. And as I said before, the files play just fine > on two of my other machines. It really isn't much work or difficult to interpret. A wave editor will show you both channels and it is easy to see if the amplitude on one is higher than the other. I mentioned it because vocals are often on one channel with the rest on the other. Which seems to sort of tie in with your problem of one being louder. ___________________ >> Also, aren't songs stored on cd in analog > format already, and not wav format? I mean, when you rip a cd to make a > backup, doesn't it actually have to convert from the format on the cd to > the wab format? What's on a CD (or a tape or a hard drive) is digital...a numeric representation of the analog sound. When you rip a CD the data thereon for each track is copied and the resultant file is given a header so that it is recognized as a wave file. dadiOH > Actually, the re-install was done using win95 and win98 cd's. I found all > the drivers for [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > soundcard will recognize > and convert into analog output? The reason why CDs play OK, is because there is an *analogue* signal cable going directly from the CD-ROM to the sound-card. Bypassing any digital hardware, e.g. mainboard, PCI-bus, sound-card's digital portion. Whereas MP3s etc, are been processed by the CPU, via the PCI-bus, and converted from digital to analogue by the sound-card itself. Yup it's perfectly possible for sound-cards to go duff, just like any other hardware. You've virtually elimenated any software problems with the re-install, and the fact that different media players give the same results. SignaturePaul S ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Failure is not an option: It's bundled with all Microsoft products.- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >>Actually, the re-install was done using win95 and win98 cd's. I found all >>the drivers for [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > re-install, and the fact that different media players give the same > results. It makes so much sense that the only thing I can say is....how could I forget about that cable. And with regards to my last question, I guess that music stored on a regular cd is already in analog format? Doug > It makes so much sense that the only thing I can say is....how could I > forget about that cable. And with regards to my last question, I guess > that music stored on a regular cd is already in analog format? The music is stored on a CD digitally but uncompressed, but is converted to analogue within the drive, rather than via the sound-card. SignaturePaul S ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - The moving cursor writes, and having written, blinks on. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- So are the signals from both compressed sound files and from cd's sent to the sound-card in analog format? That then wouldn't explain why my sound doesn't work right (cd's work fine, compressed sound format doesn't)? Also, with regards to dadiOH's comment further down below, you can actually play cd's directly from the cd-rom, so I wouldn't be surprised if cd's were stored in analog format....heck, if they would be digital, you'd think that regular cd-players would have been digital for ages? Doug > > It makes so much sense that the only thing I can say is....how could I > > forget about that cable. And with regards to my last question, I guess [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > - The moving cursor writes, and having written, blinks on. - > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > So are the signals from both compressed sound files and from cd's sent > to the sound-card in analog format? Think of an MP3 as sort of a shorthand code for the wave file from which it was made. Both it and the wave are digital...*everything* on a computer is digital. In order for you to hear that MP3, it has to be decoded back to wave. On a computer, that would normally be done by a program in RAM, then sent to the sound card for conversion to analog. On a portable, it would be done by a program on a ROM chip. ______________________ > Also, with regards to dadiOH's comment further down below, > you can actually play cd's directly from the cd-rom, so I wouldn't be > surprised if cd's were stored in analog format....heck, if they would be > digital, you'd > think that regular cd-players would have been digital for ages? Yes, one would think that, wouldn't one? In fact, they *have* been digital for ages...from day one. Try to grasp this rather basic concept, Doug: data - including audio data - on CDs is digital. Same for tape. Any tape. Same for *any* magnetic medium including floppies, hard drives. Same for RAM. All digital. dadiOH >> So are the signals from both compressed sound files and from cd's sent >> to the sound-card in analog format? [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > dadiOH Well, not exactly, dadiOH. The signals on cassette and open reel tapes (and 8 track) were analog in nature. Same thing was true for records. > Well, not exactly, dadiOH. The signals on cassette and open reel tapes (and 8 > track) were analog in nature. Same thing was true for records. Well, I blew it again. :( dadiOH > > The reason why CDs play OK, is because there is an *analogue* signal cable > > going directly from the CD-ROM to the sound-card. Bypassing any digital [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > forget about that cable. And with regards to my last question, I guess > that music stored on a regular cd is already in analog format? If a CD were an analog medium, you'd need no sound card to play it. All that would be necessary would be to amplify the sound vibrations. That is not the case. The cable pipes data directly to the sound card - bypassing RAM, CPU, etc. - but it is *digital* data and must be converted to analog by the sound card. These links may be of interest to you... http://computer.howstuffworks.com/sound-card.htm http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/analog-digital.htm http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/cd.htm dadiOH "dadiOH" <xico@gbronline.com> wrote in message > If a CD were an analog medium, you'd need no sound card to play it. All > that would be necessary would be to amplify the sound vibrations. That is > not the case. The cable pipes data directly to the sound card - bypassing > RAM, CPU, etc. - but it is *digital* data and must be converted to analog by > the sound card. Paul S may well be correct: the digital in the CD is converted via the DAC in a normal stereo type CD player, may well be in a computer as well. Main point is that a CD is digital data and has to be changed to analog by *something* be it DAC integrated within the CD drive or on the sound card. dadiOH Pardon about posting to the wrong threads....mozilla's idea DOug >>Actually, the re-install was done using win95 and win98 cd's. I found all >>the drivers for [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > re-install, and the fact that different media players give the same > results. > Pardon about posting to the wrong threads....mozilla's idea > > DOug Was it Mozilla's fault? Your initial post was done from Outlook Express. User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.2.1) Gecko/20030225 10 out of 10 for your choice of OS to use with Mozilla. I did use Mozilla for a while on newsgroups but then switched to Pan. BTW how do your MP3s sound when played on that OS? SignaturePaul S ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Life: That which happens while you search for the remote control. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I switch between the two os's, so there's posting from both. Also, I just tried playing a wav file, and that didn't work either, so I guess I'm going to have to invest in a new sound card. What's funny though is that I experienced this before and it went away for a while.... Doug > > Pardon about posting to the wrong threads....mozilla's idea > > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > - Life: That which happens while you search for the remote control. - > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > I switch between the two os's, so there's posting from both. > Also, I just tried playing a wav file, and that didn't work either, > so I guess I'm going to have to invest in a new sound card. What's funny > though > is that I experienced this before and it went away for a while.... Intermittant fault I guess. I duel boot Linux and XP. All my main stuff is done with Linux including KazaaLite and WinMX under WINE, and XP is used to run MS Flight Sim and MS Pinball Arcade. BTW what flavour of Linux you using? I'm using Mandrake 9.1 here. SignaturePaul S ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - The Theory of Rapitivity: E=MC Hammer - - -- Glenn Marcus (via TopFive.com) - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, I'm still fairly new to Linux, so as most, I've started of with RedHat. I got 9.0 installed, and I mainly use it for programming in Java. Although, I'd love to get familiar enough with it to completely switch from xp to rh9. (with the possibly difficulties existing with installing samba, this will take a while I'm guessing) Just a quick question about libraries in linux though. When installing these I usually compile them while logged in in my user account and then simply move the *.so files into the /usr/lib/ directory with root priviliges...is that all there is to it if you lack certain libraries? (it's late and I'm too lazy to read about it now...although I'll probably will have to give the library know-how a read sooner or later) Doug > > I switch between the two os's, so there's posting from both. > > Also, I just tried playing a wav file, and that didn't work either, [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > - -- Glenn Marcus (via TopFive.com) - > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Well, I'm still fairly new to Linux, so as most, I've started of with > RedHat. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > the possibly difficulties existing with installing samba, this will take a > while I'm guessing) I never used samba, so I cant tell you anything about it. > Just a quick question about libraries in linux though. When installing > these [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > now...although > I'll probably will have to give the library know-how a read sooner or later) I always installed libraries thru the package manager, so the system knows whats installed and not, rather than just moving .so files into /usr/lib/. Any libraries I've needed have already been in binary form, and have been easily available from the various Mandrake contrib FTP sites. When I come across an app that I got to compile, I install it with 'checkinstall' rather than just 'make install', the tells the package manager that another application has been installed, and makes later removal much easier. http://asic-linux.com.mx/~izto/checkinstall/ SignaturePaul S ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Nimda: An original Microsoft web crawler. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- So there is a utility in linux which keeps track of all the installed libraries? Heck, I asked this question once on one of the linux newsgroups, and what I got were suggestions that I look for installed libraries via ls lib/lib* command. So here's a question, is the package manager similar to the Add/Remove Programs in windows, where it lists all the installed packages and their locations? Perhaps this would explain why after installing java, my Mozilla still can't display java embedded in web pages? Doug > > Well, I'm still fairly new to Linux, so as most, I've started of with > > RedHat. [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > - Nimda: An original Microsoft web crawler. - > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > So there is a utility in linux which keeps track of all the installed > libraries? > Heck, I asked this question once on one of the linux newsgroups, and what > I got were suggestions that I look for installed libraries via ls lib/lib* Yup but the utility is distro specific. On Mandrake it's rpmDrake and urpmi, RedHat it's urpmi, Debian it's apt-get, Gentoo it's portage, Lindows it's Click'n'run, Slackware you sort it yourself. > So here's a question, is the package manager similar to the Add/Remove > Programs > in windows, where it lists all the installed packages and their > locations? If your using a rpm [1] based distro, RedHat, Mandrake or SuSE, there is a utility to do exactly that. On Mandrake it's rpmDrake which is GUI based similar to Windows 'Add/Remove programs, I know RedHat, and SuSE have something similar. > Perhaps this would explain why after installing java, my Mozilla still > can't display > java embedded in web pages? Get Mozplugger [2], it automatically configures Mozilla to use whatever plugins are available, Java, Shockwave, RealPlayer, XMMS, Mplayer, Timidity++. I don't believe in hardwork. :-) Mozplugger also works with Galeon, Konqueror and Opera. [1] RPM - RedHat Package Management [2] http://freshmeat.net/releases/124582/ As you can see my Mozilla is configured to deal with all types of online content: ---------------------------------- MozPlugger 1.1.1 File name: mozplugger.so MozPlugger version 1.1.1, written by Fredrik Hübinette <hubbe@hubbe.net> and Louis Bavoil <bavoil@enseirb.fr>. For documentation on how to configure mozplugger, check the man page. (type man mozplugger) MIME Type Description Suffixes Enabled video/mpeg MPEG animation mpeg, mpg, mpe Yes video/x-mpeg MPEG animation mpeg, mpg, mpe Yes video/x-mpeg2 MPEG2 animation mpv2, mp2ve Yes video/msvideo AVI animation avi Yes video/x-msvideo AVI animation avi Yes video/fli FLI animation fli, flc Yes video/x-fli FLI animation fli, flc Yes video/x-ms-asf-plugin Windows Media asf,asx,wma,wax,wmv,wvx Yes application/x-mplayer2 Windows Media wmv,asf,mov Yes video/quicktime Quicktime animation mov,qt Yes video/x-quicktime Quicktime animation mov,qt Yes video/dl DL animation dl Yes video/x-dl DL animation dl Yes video/sgi-movie SGI animation movie,movi,mv Yes video/x-sgi-movie SGI animation movie,movi,mv Yes video/anim IFF animation iff,anim5,anim3,anim7 Yes video/x-anim IFF animation iff,anim5,anim3,anim7 Yes audio/mid MIDI audio file midi,mid Yes audio/x-mid MIDI audio file midi,mid Yes audio/midi MIDI audio file midi,mid Yes audio/x-midi MIDI audio file midi,mid Yes audio/mod Soundracker audio Module mod Yes audio/x-mod Soundracker audio Module mod Yes audio/mp3 MPEG audio mp3 Yes audio/x-mp3 MPEG audio mp3 Yes audio/mpeg2 MPEG audio mp2 Yes audio/x-mpeg2 MPEG audio mp2 Yes audio/mpeg3 MPEG audio mp3 Yes audio/x-mpeg3 MPEG audio mp3 Yes audio/mpeg MPEG audio mpa,abs,mpega Yes audio/x-mpeg MPEG audio mpa,abs,mpega Yes audio/x-ogg OGG audio ogg Yes application/x-ogg OGG audio ogg Yes audio/x-sidtune Commodore 64 Audio sid,psid Yes audio/sidtune Commodore 64 Audio sid,psid Yes audio/psid Commodore 64 Audio psid,sid Yes audio/x-psid Commodore 64 Audio psid,sid Yes audio/basic Basic audio file au,snd Yes audio/x-basic Basic audio file au,snd Yes audio/wav Microsoft wave file wav Yes audio/x-wav Microsoft wave file wav Yes image/sun-raster SUN raster image rs Yes image/x-sun-raster SUN raster image rs Yes image/x-rgb RGB Image rgb Yes image/x-portable-pixmap PPM Image ppm Yes image/x-portable-graymap PGM Image pgm Yes image/x-portable-bitmap PBM Image pbm Yes image/x-portable-anymap PBM Image pnm Yes image/tiff TIFF image tiff,tif Yes image/x-tiff TIFF image tiff,tif Yes audio/mpeg-url MPEG music resource locator m3u Yes audio/x-mpeg-url MPEG music resource locator m3u Yes audio/mpegurl MPEG music resource locator m3u Yes audio/x-mpegurl MPEG music resource locator m3u Yes audio/x-pn-realaudio Realaudio-plugin resource locator ra,rm,ram Yes audio/x-realaudio RealAudio file ra,rm,ram Yes application/vnd.rn-realmedia RealMedia file rm Yes application/smil RealPlayer smi Yes audio/vnd.rn-realaudio RealAudio file ra,ram Yes audio/vnd.rn-realvideo RealVideo file rv Yes text/pdf PDF file pdf Yes text/x-pdf PDF file pdf Yes application/x-dvi DVI file dvi Yes application/x-postscript PostScript file ps Yes application/postscript PostScript file ps Yes application/rtf Rich Text Format rtf Yes application/x-msword Microsoft Word Document doc, dot Yes application/msword Microsoft Word Document doc, dot Yes application/vnd.ms-excel Microsoft Excel Document xls, xlb Yes application/vnd.stardivision.calc StarCalc Document sdc,sxc,sds,stc Yes application/vnd.stardivision.draw StarDraw Document sda,sxd,std Yes application/vnd.stardivision.impress StarImpress Document sdd,sxi,sti Yes application/vnd.stardivision.math StarMath Document sdf Yes application/vnd.stardivision.writer StarWriter Document sdw,sgl,sxw,sxg,stw Yes SignaturePaul S ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Jimmie crack corn and I don't care...what kind of lousy attitude - - is THAT to have, huh? -- Dennis Miller - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Get Mozplugger [2], it automatically configures Mozilla to use whatever > plugins are available, Java, Shockwave, RealPlayer, XMMS, Mplayer, > Timidity++. I don't believe in hardwork. :-) Mozplugger also works with > Galeon, Konqueror and Opera. These are all RPMs, Mandrake or SuSE. http://ftp.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/distributions/contrib/texstar/ They all made my life much easier. :-)) SignaturePaul S ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I think it is stuck in 3d mode.try to turn it off in volume controls. > Hello to all, and really, a lot of thanks to all ahead of time who take the > time with resect to this problem. It is quite the serious one, and I have [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > Doug > Hello to all, and really, a lot of thanks to all ahead of time who take the > time with resect to this problem. It is quite the serious one, and I have [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > > Doug Even though you may have revamped everything while you were doing so the DRIVER for your SOUND card may have gone through many incarnatiuon So , you need to know the king of sound card you have AND go to their Web Site and download any upgrades. Lastly, I know what you had worked before BUT sound files are huge only visual files (photos) are bigger. 512K is minimal RAM. THe king of CPU ypou have can affect sound (is it part of your motherboard-inregrated-thus no sound cars" Lastly, you did go to Conbtrol Panel and look at ALL your sound control choices-you can check the wroing box and hear weird sounds forever, Goods Luck This group is of Spanish language, he/she chooses group according to your language, a greeting. SignatureOsvaldo Luis Vila Burzaco - Buenos Aires Argentina To the South of the American Continent This electronic message this only directed to the person or entity mentioned in the address to which was correspondent. It can contain confidential and legally protected information. This forbidden one the revision, impression, copies or action in connection with this information, for people or entities different to the addressee. If you received this message by mistake we request him to forward it to the originator and to destroy the printed copies or recorded in their system. If this way not the hiciere, the same ones will be used in its against in the Final trial. LOVE. > > Hello to all, and really, a lot of thanks to all ahead of time who take the > > time with resect to this problem. It is quite the serious one, and I have [quoted text clipped - 51 lines] > go to Conbtrol Panel and look at ALL your sound control choices-you can > check the wroing box and hear weird sounds forever, Goods Luck |
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