As the topic suggest I need an encoder for WMA9, preferably a commandline or a standalone encoder. I already downloaded the codec for that, but a standalone program is hard to come by. I looked for some but all come bundled with other encoders and rippers, so I don't like them much (something against bloat I guess ). If you can recommend me one I would be very much thankful.

Reason: WMA9 VBR suits my needs very well... for encoding for portable devices.

BTW: No posts about WMA quality please...

Regards

AgentMil

try dbPoweramp

Thanks... I shall try that one. Never knew it can convert between formats.

Cheers

AgentMil

microsoft has a standalone wma9 encoder

Do you have a link? I tried looking there the other day and could not find it for the life of me... all I found was a the encoder package that encodes audio and video .

Thanks

AgentMil

sorry misunderstood dbPoweramp isn't CLI is that what you want?

http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/1...7/WMEncoder.exe

Thanks... man that is a big download for a standalone encoder. Now I know why Microsoft is well known for bloat!!

@Nick Jr III
Not sure if it's a good link for a guy
Just downloaded file and it seems to be a bunch of crap: a load of demo movies and other stuff :\ Damn Microsoft... People only needed WMA encoder/decoder.
Actully DB poweramp seems to be the best "light" solution.
@AgentMil
Please, name your WMA9 portable player. I'd really liked to know if there's one.
Though if it doesn't support PRO codec, there's no need to download WMA9. Backward compatible part of it is the same as in WMA8. I did some tests some months ago and there was no difference.

SacRat: Using an iRiver IFP-190tc (from memory thats what I recall it as) 256Mb and it supports WMA9 VBR modes flawlessly... so that makes it the perfect format for the player as I can get 5 CDs (4.5 CDs if they are filled to the brim) to fit on it no dramas. All I can say its a perfect portable player MP3 (if you want to use it) support is there... with WMA support.

Regards

AgentMil

AgentMil, www.dBPowerAmp is your program. it can convert between formats (including WMA 9, all formats) with ease. It is simply AWESOME.

If not for Foobar, it would get more use around here.

Some improvements were made over v8, you are correct in that an WMA decoder can devcode WMAv9,v8,v4,v2 (as long as not pro or lossless), v9 added 2 pass vbr and quality tweaks.

Well there is a Windows Media 8 Encoder Utility ...

Me too i would like to have such a tool (it's only an .exe file) for version 9.

Thanks, 384kbps

Well, Spoon, as far as I remember my first tests of WMA9, only pro mode was really good in terms of quality.
I tried VBR and it was a real crap. On samples checked it was worse (sic!), than CBR.
AgentMi, I think your choice could be WMA9 2 pass at 80 or 96K. It's morel-less clear from WMAs ordinary artifacts. At least, not annoying.
By the way, have you already fixed a bug in dBpowerAMP with big fonts?
If so, I might even consider continue using its encoder again
maybe, it's possible to rip MS installer somehow, but DB poweramp seems to be a nice solution anyway (I used to use it for encoding WMA9)

it's big because it also does video, and wma 9 pro (which afaik no portable supports). becauseit's more than just audio encoder the interface is kinda busy to look at at first, but when you realise that you only need to use the audio part of it, it's quite good.

Heh... thats what I use SacRat 2-pass VBR at 96kbps. It is clear of any annoying WMA artifacting, but on occasion it does trip up though but you really need to be "in the zone" to hear it while on your portable (like sitting in you room listening to music ).

I managed to find a WMA converter that uses WMA9 its available at LiteXMedia but be forewarned the installer for Advanced WMA Workshop overwrites your ASPI files with older versions that will render EAC unusable, that is due to the program having its own ripping engine. Just make a note of your ASPI drivers and just copy them and then copy them back when installation is done. They also have a program that attaches to the right click menu so all you need to do is right click the source and it will encode with the options of your choice.

lexor: Can't install that I don't run Windows XP

About 6 months ago, you need dMC Release 10 which is currently in Beta section of the forum.

Is there any particular reason why you recommend 2-pass VBR over 1-pass VBR? I thought it only helped for filesize prediction, but not for quality. Is this correct? I was planning on going for quality 50 VBR (a little low, i know, but I only have 128MB on the player). Would I be better off going for something like 2-pass VBR at 80 ish?

Also, I'm gonna try Pro just on the off chance that it does actually play in the player. Is there any reason why all the pro options seem to be 24 bit rather than 16? Do I just ignore that and convert to the 24 bit setting? Also, how do I play wma pro files in win2000?

I use it mainly as firstly VBR provides better quality and then it always provides me with 96kbps files which means I can fit more files on my portable player which is 256MB big.

You should really go VBR as that will increase the quality of the file in theory due to how VBR works. I don't know about the 2-pass thing so I guess thats why I was recommended by my friend to go 2-pass.

Regards

AgentMil

Has anyone had success encoding to WMA with foobar2000?
I try to encode a wav but the diskwriter just gives me a copy
of the wav, instead of a wma file... I have the WM9 runtimes
and the WMEncoder 9 SDK installed, but nothing happens.

BTW, AgentMil, who's the beauty in your avatar?

Using WMP9 or some other player that does WM9, like foobar2000 for instance (you need the special installer from ca5e, it has the plugin).

But you can't get 24bit/5.1ch decoding. (Downmix to 16bit/2ch)
It's available only for winXP

Hrmm... good question All I know is that she was a lingerie model in an issue of Ralph magazine. She adorned my desktop for almost a year before I took it down and replaced it with another picture of the same stature .

Regards

AgentMil