split or merge mp3 files based on playing time ?

wasker · Post by **wasker** » 2005 Oct 21, 17:37

lin wrote:i think you underestimate the capabilities of your program ! if i merge 2 mp3 files ,not a split second is lost where the 2 files are merged, even the tag is still there !
cheers,Lin

I think this could depend on player you use. No one can guarantee it will work with all others.

Besides, there's variable bitrate (VBR) files which are very tricky to manage.

lin · Post by **lin** » 2005 Oct 21, 18:02

nikos wrote:as i said (and demonstrated in this thread ) i know nothing about mp3 so i couldn't know anything about durations

Ok, i just thought i'd ask,thanks for your reply Nikos.

what you need calls for a specialized tool, perhaps command line only without gui. It doesn't have anything to do with a generic file manager like x2

ps if you check the duration of the full MP3 (e.g. in winamp) then it's easy to figure out how big each chunk should be to reach a target split time:

split_size = total_size * (piece_duration/total_duration)

some manual calculations are required

Good tip, i could measure mp3's with different bitrates ,make a list of :bitrate/filesize/playingtime and then calculate ; and then probably still use xplorer2 to split or merge.
i just timed it: merging 120mp3 files, each 1.5mb took 16 sec ; then splitting this big file in 30 mb parts took a few sec , awesome!
i just have to make sure the files are in the correct sequence before merging, and after splitting ,add an mp3 extension to it with "mass rename" 5 sec ,( i have the token ready)

Cheers, Lin

RmData · Post by **RmData** » 2005 Oct 21, 18:54

nikos wrote: ps if you check the duration of the full MP3 (e.g. in winamp) then it's easy to figure out how big each chunk should be to reach a target split time:

split_size = total_size * (piece_duration/total_duration)

Actually, that depends on the type of mp3 encoding. For example, if the mp3 is VBR encoded, then the bitrate changes as the recording becomes more complex. That is, it is quite possible for a 5 minute vbr mp3 to have a very complex minute which is 50% of the filesize.

Mark.