Winamp having trouble reading VBR / ID3v2?

[MoeGreene]

I read this at http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/...dpost&p=256807

"Adding an ID3v2 tag to a VBR (or ABR) mp3 file makes it nearly impossible to get these files to play correctly [...] VBR and ABR mp3s contain a "VBR Header" in the first frame of the file. If you add any data (eg. ID3v2) in front of this even the best players, like winamp, don't find the VBR information. Hence, you get a wrong track length indication and no accurate lookup of a random position in the file. [...] Most of the time, not always, winamp behaves as such. If you get shown a bitrate converging to some average number (eg: 157-162-163-163-...) instead of the valid ...128/160/192... framesizes alternating then winamp did not read the VBR header."

I have not experienced any of the problems that are described here, but I would like to know if this is, in whole or in parts, correct. Anyone?

TIA.


[Edit --> DJ Egg]
Moved from Winamp Tech Support to Winamp Discussion

[Nunzio390]

It's never ever happened with me but it can and has happened at times with other Winamp users, but never to the degree that was stated in whatever article/post you quoted above from Hydrogenaudio, where it said, "Most of the time, not always, winamp behaves as such".

That's just not true, else there would be craploads of posters flooding these forums and there have been relatively few. Whoever posted that at Hydrogenaudio probably has this problem as an individual (or as part of a minority), and should not have stated what was stated.

In any event, ther's an easy fix if it ever does happen... use VBRfix in case you need to repair MP3s with messed up headers to get them to play properly in Winamp, and to also display the correct song length times.

More on VBRfix and ID3v2 tagging here.

[MoeGreene]

Thanks for clearing that up! I'll remember VBRFIX if I ever happen to run into these problems.

[Nunzio390]

Yer welcome

[gaekwad2]

That post is quoting the old r3mix site, maybe the information was correct when it was originally written but now it certainly isn't anymore.

[NickSchultz]

Originally posted by Nunzio390
In any event, ther's an easy fix if it ever does happen... use VBRfix in case you need to repair MP3s with messed up headers to get them to play properly in Winamp, and to also display the correct song length times.

More on VBRfix and ID3v2 tagging here. [/B]

I also read this thread about this issue.

I have a few songs downloaded from eMusic. They are VBR, and Helium thinks that were encoded with Xing. All of these songs will play and sync up with the lyrics text file I created (WinLyrics), but they lose sync after moving the slider around. Other songs from allofmp3 (LAME) work fine.

I used VBRFix and re-timestamped the Lyrics but they still get off sync after FF/RR/Slider changes.

The "file info" on the VBR Fixed files says: Header found at: 0 bytes

Winamp 5.08 standard install (Nullsoft in_mp3.dll ), SB Live Value (no gen_nomad.dll file)

Am I overlooking something?

[DJ Egg]

Did vbrfix (v5.3.15) find any FhG vbri headers?
If so, did you make sure "Remove any FhG vbri tags" was checkmarked in the Options menu?

Also make sure "delete it and make a new one" is checked under "on finding a xing vbr header".

btw, if the file info says "header found at 0 bytes", then this means that there can't be any id3v2 tags present. Correct?

[NickSchultz]

Yes, on all counts.
It is 5.3.15

I have 'Remove FhG VBRI Tags' Checked -- I don't remeber if it found any the first time I ran it.

'Delete and Make a New One' (On Finding...) is checked.

I had tried a few tag progs to examine and remove any unecesary tag info, including all id3v2 tags. Further, I had set VBRFix to remove them. Weirdly, Helium reported some info invisible to other progs (BPM). Of course, that should all have been gone by the time VBRFix was done.

[NickSchultz]

OK, so I was wrong about my allofMP3 songs, they are also suffering this same problem. I ran VBR Fix on one and it still gets off a little bit.

I tested a song which I ripped myself (LAME/EAC VBR) and it does not seem to suffer at all. it does, though, have an id3v2 tag. Fun, huh?

[NickSchultz]

My songs were not OK, I made a stupid mistake confusing files. I know that makes me look like a spaz and I felt guilty so I took some extra time and double checked everything this time.

Anyway, for my problem, I have determined that it has nothing to do VBR or tags.

in_mp3.dll seems to be at fault. I tried in_123.mpg.dll and it is absolutley precise on all files even eMusic without running VBRFix.

I tried the nullsoft dll from 2.5 and the one which I had from 5.08 and the new 5.08c (5.05). And, of course, WMA and CD-Audio worked fine.

Staro at the WinLyrics forum discoverd a similar problem.