UKC

Hi, for Uni coursework I have had to make a podcast and it has to be delivered in MP3 format. Being hopeless with all computer technology it seems that my recording is in MPEG4 format. Does anybody know how I can change it to MP3 without having to download some dodgy software with excess toolbars etc that I don't want?

Thanks in advance.

PS - a reply as if speaking to a computer illiterate dimwit would be appreciated

In reply to Sonya Mc:


VLC can transcode.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5089401_convert-mp-mp-open-source.html

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/2719/how-to-convert-video-files-formats-to-m...

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

In reply to Sonya Mc:

I'd do it using this command

ffmepg -i yourfile.mp4 -ab 192K yourfile.mp3

but for people who find that too complicated, try downloading Super by following my link on here

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=440467&v=1#x6194799

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Use a program called VLC, it's a very good non-dodgy program. Once you've installed it open your podcast using it and then either go into the Media menu and select 'Convert/Save' or when the file is open, it Ctrl + R and that will open the Convert dialogue. It should be fairly straightforward from there to select 'mp3' and convert it.

If you get really stuck and it's not a massive file (i.e. under 10mb in size) then email me the file.

In reply to interdit: Thanks but none of that works. I follow all the instructions but all I get is a message saying VLC just crashed, send error report blah blah blah.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

What program did you use to create the mp4 with? It's a bit of an odd format to do a podcast with. It might be the file that's causing the problem. Does it crash if you try it again?

In reply to mattrm: Well, it stopped crashing, but it only recorded the first 27 seconds of the audio file which is 6mins long. I'll try Dominions link. Thanks for the offer of the conversion, not sure I should though as it's my examinable coursework. But I might as a last resort.

In reply to mattrm: I just recorded it on my daughters Ipod and then she emailed it to me.

In reply to mattrm: Have tried the process 4x, crashed the first 3x and then said it had crashed the 4th time, but then opened but only played the first bit.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Download Super, and it will just work.

And you have lots of control over the the format of the output.


I've only used VLC for converting formats when I've been using it to get live footage from a USB camera, and converting it on the fly as I record it.

In reply to Dominion: Sorry, but that thing took nearly half an hour to download and is FAR too complicated to understand and now I can't get rid of the damn thing off my pc! Didn't want anything dodgy

In reply to Dominion: That thing you linked to downloaded something called Super and something called Babylon. This babylon thing won't uninstall itself from my pc now! Grrrrr!

In reply to Sonya Mc:

It seems like Super was good but now has malware crap in it. Here's how to uninstall the babylon malware:

http://www.ghacks.net/2011/08/17/how-to-uninstall-the-babylon-toolbar-compl...

I've had a look and if I still used Windows, I'd use the following, the review are good and it's picked by the cnet staff:

http://download.cnet.com/Free-M4a-to-MP3-Converter/3000-2140_4-187723.html

It's always worth downloading something from a site like cnet where there are reviews of the software then you can check that it's not full of malware crap. As you did it on the ipod, it sounds like you used this m4a (mp4) format, which might be why VLC is failing.

In reply to Sonya Mc:


Hi, sorry about that.

I've just downloaded, and gone through the install process for Super.

On the install screen, there is a default option (Quick Installation) which installs everything including the Baylon Toolbar, and makes Babyon your default search engine, and makes Babylon Search your homepage.

If you don't want that to happen, then you should pick the Custom Install, where you can de-select all those options.

I have always recommended that people actually read installation screens, and always choose Custom installs, and pay attention.

So, sorry, you were asked if you wanted to install Babylon, and you said yes...





However, next time I reccommend Super, I'll remember to remind people to read what they are agreeing to, and to pick Custom Install, and not install Baylon.

In reply to Dominion:

By the way, sorry if that last post sounds in any way nasty or defensive, it's just that I'm always very careful about reading things when I install Windows software, and so I do see that sort of thing, partly because I know to look out for it.w

I tend to just assume other people also see them.

Super is a good piece of software for converting multi-media files between different formats, and different sizes, and quality. It does that very well.

Finding the link to the actual download on the erightsoft page is a nightmare, because there are lots of "Download Now" buttons for other, advertised software. And people who don't pay attention could be downloading lots of stuff other than Super.

I suppose the author of Super has to make some money somewhere, and having the Babylon search thing in the installer is probably another way.

But his software does actually work, and work well, if you use windows

If you use linux, then you just need to use ffmpeg, and the command line options. Super puts a gui frontend to ffmpeg, and transcode and other opensource software for windows users.



Anyway, sorry if that last post sounded as if I was having a go.

In reply to Dominion: I actually did use the custom install and I unticked ALL the 3 boxes that asked about Babylon, but it just decided to install them anyway. I always do custom when installing as most stuff seems to come with bumph that you don't actually want. Either way, that Super thing was all a bit too complicated for me, I couldn't understand what to do with it.

Have just emailed my lecturer anyway and she's happy to accept my podcast as it is as Windows Media Player will play it fine in the format that it's in, so it's all good.

In reply to mattrm: Thanks for that, I managed to get it uninstalled this morning.

In reply to Sonya Mc:

Glad to hear that you got it uninstalled.