[Harp-L] archive.org audio formats

[Garry Hodgson <garry@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

someone asked me this privately.  i'm responding to the list in case
the information would be useful to others.

> How would I download and burn the show to a CD? I know how to rip/burn
> in general from another CD, but not from this format. I'm unfamiliar
> with some of the formats here - such as M3U, VBR, etc. I have a fast PC,
> large hard drive, fast connection, etc. Running XP and Windows
> Multimedia player. Thx

a good starting point is http://etree.org
on the upper right corner of this page are links to various software
you might need/want.  to convert shn (shorten) files to wav (the normal
windows format), use mkwACT, assuming you're on windows.  there's
information on that page for linux and mac , as well.

the following refers to the info on this page:
http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-details-db.php?id=22942

the upper section is listed as "whole show", which consists of either
streaming audio or bundled up packages of all the files.
the M3U formats are for streaming audio.  that is, these play directly
over the net on your machine, rather than downloading the files first.
you'll not that in the "size" column, it shows those as "stream".
the ZIP files in that section just bundle up all the files into one big
archive, rather than downloading them separately.  you'd then use
something like winzip to unpack them.

in the individual "audio files" section, you'll see 4 formats.  the
shn (shorten) format are compressed using a lossless method, so
that when you uncompress the files you get exactly the bits, and
quality, that they started from.  the prices you pay is bigger files.

the two flavors of mp3, 64K and VBR, both apply a lossy compression
that results in much smaller files, at some reduced level of sound
quality.  you'll note the 64K ones are much smaller.  the VBR ones
will sound better, the shn ones better still.  whether you can actually
hear the differences, i don't know.  you might try out some tests and
see.   ogg vorbis is a newer format, created to avoid the potential
patent problems with mp3.  i gather its sound quality is roughly comparable
to the VBR MP3 files, but with smaller file size.

so, which to use?  well, it depends.  it's a tradeoff between file size
(which equates to download time) and sound quality, with some
convenience factors thrown in.  if you have a fast connection, and
don't mind installing mkwACT, i'd go with the shorten files, for the best
quality.  if you're uncomfortable with installing mkwACT, your burning
software probably already knows how to deal with mp3's, of either
64K or VBR variety.  likewise, if you're gonna put 'em on an ipod or the like,
it'll be happy with mp3, but maybe not shn (i dunno).  of course, if you're
just gonna burn a cd and delete the files, file size only matters while
you're downloading.

one last wrinkle.  if you're into trading music with others, you're sort
of ethically bound to use the shorten format.  most traders frown upon
redistributing mp3's, due to their lossy nature.  it's really important that
the quality be preserved so that the 20th generation copy sounds as good
as the first.  that's why archive.org insists that the source copy of an uploaded
show be in shn (or flac, another lossless compression) format, and only
generated the derived formats (mp3, ogg, etc) if the artist allows it.

good luck, and feel free to ask if you get stuck.



----
Garry Hodgson, Technology Consultant, AT&T Labs

Be happy for this moment.
This moment is your life.