WMA Files

[lallis]

Cantabile plays only a small range of media files, .mid, .mp3, and .wav.. That's actually an adequate minimal list, and I do understand that it's not realistic to include all of the many media types available.

But would it be a prohibitive amount of work to add .WMA files to the list, and does anyone else like the idea?

The previously despised .WMA standard has recently advanced so far that it's become a very desirable one: high quality files significantly smaller than equivalent .MP3's. I have started to use WMA regularly nowadays, and I wonder if there is enough interest yet to make it worthwhile to request that feature.

[TiUser]

Maybe it would be a solution to add an external (free) file format converter Cantabile could start automatically in case of an inappropriate file format to temporarily or permanently convert the file to a format the media players can use.

[lallis]

Hello, TIUser.

Inventive idea! My immediate impression is that we should probably handle our own conversion processes manually, to discourage bloat in Cantabile. But maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing, as you suggest it. It could quickly provide a wide range of usable formats.

On the other hand, perhaps it's easy to add codecs to an existing player and get round the conversion process entirely.


One problem is that there are so many formats, and many people seem to have obscure and unpopular favorite. Brad might be plagued -- at least for a time -- to add more and more obscure ones, interesting to only a few users. Once the first request is honored, it won't seem fair to deny the next.

[TiUser]

Hi Larry.

Often embedding code is a licensing issue for the developer while just managing external program isn't with stand alone codecs for private free use, hence my suggestions.

If it's no issue, well then including the code might be more convenient to users, just probably blowing up the code size.

[lallis]

Ah, I understand your point better now.

Maybe when bradr gets a free minute, he will enlighten us. He may not want to complicate the program any further. After all, the three available formats do cover the absolute necessities anyway.

[TiUser]

Don't get me wrong, I'd appreciate the ability that Cantabile's media players could load more formats directly - I just tried to put that in a realistic context.

...hey, I'd like to open movies in Cantabile's media players too, fooling around with the audio tracks there...

[iaoranaemaeva]

Hi All,

IMHO, since Cantabile runs under Windows, it at least should play audio files coded in WMA, which is Microsoft's preferred audio format! My hard disk has not Terabyte capacity, so I cannot afford keeping WAV (much too big) + MP3 (bad quality) + WMA (good compromise) versions of each audio file.

Also, I often download concert videos from Youtube, which I can play in Cakewalk Sonar along with my VSTs, to learn the tune or analyze the arrangement. It would be nice to do the same from inside Cantabile - the format(s) should be chosen according to the same criteria as audio: widespread, good quality/compression ratio.

Alain

[lallis]

...IMHO, since Cantabile runs under Windows, it at least should play audio files coded in WMA, which is Microsoft's preferred audio format!

Allo, Alain!

Your thinking was also my thinking. WMA is -- shall we say -- quite well supported and widely used. It has been so much improved in its versions 9 and 10, that I expect it will slowly become a dominant audio compression format.

[dluther]

WMA is -- shall we say -- quite well supported and widely used. It has been so much improved in its versions 9 and 10, that I expect it will slowly become a dominant audio compression format.

The problem, at least as I see it, is WMA isn't an "open" format. You can go to Microsoft's Media Licensing page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/window ... nsing.aspx and see that Microsoft charges a $10,000 US fee paid up front for licensing Windows Media components. I'm not sure how many copies of Cantabile Brad has actually received payments for, but I can guarantee that any WMA support in products certainly wouldn't be included in the "lite" (free) version of Cantabile, and forcing others to pay extra for something they probably won't use just because someone thinks it's "a good idea" isn't exactly something I would want to contemplate.

WMA, like MP3 is a "lossy" compression algorithm. Cantabile is a "professional" product. In my mind, the words "lossy" and "professional" should never be used in the same sentence -- but that's me. I can see where MP3 support is desirable since it is so widespread. At the same time, the MP3 standard is open with many libraries readily available.

[lallis]

Microsoft's Media Licensing page ... Microsoft charges a $10,000 US fee paid up front for licensing Windows Media components.

OK, that ends all debate; I withdraw the request. such as it was. A little potential convenience in this case is not worth that much cost.

TIUser suggested that something like this might turn up, and there it is.

Thanks, dluther.

[iaoranaemaeva]

OK, that ends all debate; I withdraw the request. such as it was. A little potential convenience in this case is not worth that much cost.

+ 1.

[osiris]

Look here:
http://download.cnet.com/Free-Mp3-Wma-C ... 42362.html

Cnet downloads always have great freeware & shareware that is trustworthy & usually work very well
-O-

[TiUser]

Look here:
http://download.cnet.com/Free-Mp3-Wma-C ... 42362.html

Cnet downloads always have great freeware & shareware that is trustworthy & usually work very well
-O-

This is a good point.

I suggest to support such a converter as special external tool in Cantabile's mediaplayers - either for temporary conversion when opening a format not directly supported by Cantabile or to permanently convert to increase loading speed of these files in Cantabile. I think creating temporary or permanent copies of these files for the sake of convenience is acceptable.

If this tool can work as a command line program I guess it's not much work for Brad to add an option to make this support Cantabile's mediaplayer's file load process.

[osiris]

I was working in something - I can't remember what - that was using .ogg file format, & I didn't have anything that would convert files to that. Found it on CNet. They have been around forever here in the US. Used to have a really good tech show on TV.