Encoding in Normal Stereo using Cool LAME... Options

[D-Shadow]

Hi, this is Karl here.

For a few days, I've been trying to figure out how to encode MP3's in normal stereo using Cool LAME. I'm using the latest version which is up at Rarewares.org.

There's an option in LAME to encode in normal stereo using the command line "-m s", but I guess I can't use command lines with Cool LAME as it's the GUI version of the encoder.

So, does anyone know how it can be done?

Thanks,
Karl.

[ShowsOn]

Normal Stereo is Joint Stereo. Everything else is abnormal stereo.

[D-Shadow]

Well, I know Joint Stereo is technically better than what we call just "Stereo". But I always prefer the latter over the former.

If someone could please help me out, I'll be very grateful.

Thanks.

[Filburt]

Huh? The Joint Stereo I'm familiar with, at least, is encoded as M/S rather than L/R.

This post has been edited by Filburt: Mar 28 2007, 07:22

[sld]

Use another encoder to encode then. Cool LAME is probably designed for optimal listening, so all quality-reducing options are removed from sight.

Foobar2000?

And why do you prefer Stereo over Joint Stereo? Not the names, I hope.

[john33]

As sld said, it encodes using joint stereo by design. It's been that way for about 5 years. Whatever you think you prefer, joint stereo will almost always give superior results as it allows for much better bit utilisation in the encoding process.

[D-Shadow]

@john33: I know you are the developer of Cool LAME. Just wanted to give you a bit of advice. It would be better if you add an option for selecting Stereo Mode [Stereo, Joint Stereo, Joint Stereo (Mid-Side), Intensity Stereo, Dual-Channel, Mono, and whatever else you want to add in]. Additional functionality is always good.

As far as joint stereo is concerned, it appears as if you guys are forcing me to use Joint Stereo. I admitted in my original post that it is superior than normal stereo. So there's absolutely no reason to tell me about the "bits" and stuff. I already know about that stuff well.

I know Joint Stereo is technically better than what we call just "Stereo".

This post has been edited by D-Shadow: Mar 28 2007, 12:48

[sld]

Not everybody is as well-informed as you with regards to JS and S (according to your claim).

It would be better to mask suboptimal options.

All you need is just a commandline interface to access lame.exe. Foobar2000's custom encoder works very well. So does EAC. I'm not sure about dbpoweramp.

[D-Shadow]

Yeah, I understand what you're saying. Don't get me wrong.

What I'm asking for is Stereo support for Cool LAME. It's just too much of hassle in saving the file as WAV and encoding it using a third-party encoder which supports LAME (which is what I currently use).

As I already said, additional options for the encoder would be good.

Thanks for any help.

[pdq]

As I already said, additional options for the encoder would be good.

No, additional options would be bad if some users get inferior encoding because of it. If you want inferior encoding that badly then you are going to have to put in the extra effort yourself, but don't request changes to a good tool which is already optimized correctly.

[john33]

Well, if you really must have 'normal stereo', here is a version that encodes with that parameter preset: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jfe1205/LAME/...lame_stereo.zip. I'm not planning on adding options for this, particularly since this is the only request in five years. But, if you want it, here it is.

[D-Shadow]

Thanks a lot, John. I'm a part of a community where Stereo works better than JS.

By the way, I saved an audio file as MP3 (using the version of Cool LAME you provided in the above post) using the Insane preset and 320 Kbps bitrate, and it was still in Joint Stereo M/S. I've tried "Standard" preset and "CBR" option too, but it's the same deal. Am I doing something wrong?

[john33]

Thanks a lot, John. I'm a part of a community where Stereo works better than JS.

By the way, I saved an audio file as MP3 (using the version of Cool LAME you provided in the above post) using the Insane preset and 320 Kbps bitrate, and it was still in Joint Stereo M/S. I've tried "Standard" preset and "CBR" option too, but it's the same deal. Am I doing something wrong?

Sorry, it's not you, it's me. You also need a slightly different version of the lame_enc.dll which allows simple stereo to be used. You can d/l it here: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jfe1205/LAME/lameDll3.97_S.zip

Please note that this will produce all encodes with simple stereo (or mono, if it's a mono source) and I take no responsibility for how this may affect the quality of the output.

This post has been edited by john33: Mar 29 2007, 09:09

[pepoluan]

It would be better if you add an option for selecting Stereo Mode [Stereo, Joint Stereo, Joint Stereo (Mid-Side), Intensity Stereo, Dual-Channel, Mono, and whatever else you want to add in]. Additional functionality is always good.

Not always:

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2006/11/21.html

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapt...0000000059.html

[2Bdecided]

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapt...0000000059.html

I like that!

Thanks a lot, John. I'm a part of a community where Stereo works better than JS.

Deaf people who monitor the difference channel on an analyser?

Cheers,
David.

This post has been edited by 2Bdecided: Mar 29 2007, 11:34