MP3 Encoder Options

[carl.schutte]

Hi,

I'm a bit confused by the MP3 Encoder Options and I'm hoping somebody can help.

Now I've taken a look at the following page:
http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME

It is my understanding that '--preset fast extreme' and '-V 0' are equivalent.
So I'm a bit confused as to why the two drop downs ('Quality' and 'VBR Q') operate independantly. I would expect the drop downs to be linked, so selecting '--preset fast extreme' from 'Quality' would automatically set 'VBR Q' to '-V 0'

Am I missing something?

Also, is the 'Very High' option under 'Quality' equivalent to '-V 0'?

Now what I find interesting is that I've just done a quick test.
I encoded a WAV file using Winamp set to:
VBR Minimum Bitrate = 32 kbps
VBR Maximum Bitrate = 320 kbps
Quality = --alt-preset fast extreme
VBR Q = 0(High)

I then encoded that same WAV file using LAME 3.99.5 (x64).
I specified only two command line parameters:
-V0 -o

I then view the file info for both MP3 files in Winamp by right clicking on the file and selecting 'View file info...'

Interestingly there are minor variations.

Winamp:
Payload Size: 16928935 bytes
300 kbps (VBR)

LAME 3.99.5 (x64):
Payload Size: 17063211 bytes
302 kbps (VBR)

Any explanation as to these minor variations... I would expect identical outputs.

Thanks,
Carl

[Batter Pudding]

You may be just getting lost in the details. Is there there that big a difference between your two examples? File size is less that 1% different. So all you are seeing is subtle differences in the encoding compression choices. That can happen for many reasons.

You are talking about a Lossy format. So by definition something is lost in compression. If they sound okay to your ears, then I would not worry too much.

[carl.schutte]

I think you might be correct...
I was just fiddling around in an attempt to better understand the Winamp options.

As you say though... to my ears, they're identical and that's all that really matters.