AA3 file format + Sound Forge + SSv3.4

[rdwhitehill]

Greetings all,

Down to brass-tacks here: I am very versed in file-format pros and cons... I usually work with FLAC and very high bit-rate OggVorbis as well as WAV and PCA... I also swear by Sony (aka Maidison Media Software aka the old Sonic Foundry... what *WONDERFUL* computer code this stuff is!!!) Sound Forge full version.

Anyway... I am seeing a need in my role as a school district tech integrator to make use of HiMD/NetMD for a variety of reasons, including high-quality recording transcriptions (legal; not to worry! <g>) and uses for learning support students and those on medical or otherwise leaves-of-absence from school.

Sound Forge can, of course, save out to various bitrates/quality settings for the AA3 format, which SonicStage v3.4 handles as well. On top of that, I use an AA3 file-format plugin with WinMedia Player so as to be able to use AA3 files on all of our school computers.

My question is: what bitrate/quality settings does SS v3.4 use without re-converting at all or at least not much? The last thing that I want to do is save to an HQ AA3 file in Sound Forge (I save in FLAC and PCA anyway first so I do have an uncompressed file to which to revert if necessary), only to have SS goof around with it again in the process of transferring it to a NetMD/HiMD device.

I do understand the limitations of the LP2/LP4 formats; I have SS set to transfer in Standard Mode, as I prefer to maintain as much original sound file quality as I can.

What would be cool is if I can save one AA3 file, and then be able to DL it to multiple NetMD or HiMD units without SS goofing up the music too terribly much. Faster, and it would sound better I suppose...

So... what does SS v3.4 like best as far as AA3 files go?

I know, I know, some of you may say just import a WAV into SS and be done with it. But I, if I can, would like to start to use the AA3 format more universally; it is a good format for the most part! So if I can save to an HQ file format of AA3 in the first place, that would save me doo-dadding with FLACs and WAVs, only to have SS reconvert it to some other format before transferring things to a NetMD/HiMD unit for teachers or students to use with a portable MD device.

All discussions here are most welcome, as I see this (using HiMD/NetMD and SS) as a HUGE thing in the education arena! I see it as a very valid alternative to the <ugh> upbiquitous iPod thrust. Thanks so much for any and all helpful responses!

Doug Whitehill

Lead Technology Coordinator

Dallastown Area School District

Dallastown PA USA

[A440]

Sound Forge can, of course, save out to various bitrates/quality settings for the AA3 format, which SonicStage v3.4 handles as well.

My question is: what bitrate/quality settings does SS v3.4 use without re-converting at all or at least not much?

It's going to make a difference whether you use NetMD or Hi-MD units for playback. Both have limited options.

I assume you have ruled out PCM/.wav as too large.

Hi-SP is 256kbps, Hi-LP is 64 kbps. Both are Hi-MD only and can be uploaded from the unit with SonicStage.

SP is 292kbps, LP2 is 132kbps, LP4 is 66kbps (but only good for speech). They play on NetMD or Hi-MD, but can only be uploaded with the MZ-RH1.

If you transfer as-is in those bitrates I don't think SonicStage will recompress the files--someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Here's a time calculator for Hi-MD

http://ravn.net/md/hi-mdcal.htm

And for NetMD

http://ravn.net/md/mdcal.htm