VLC Player, Converting Real Audio files, etc.

[mib12890]

Hey guys, Thought I'd share some info for any techies out there.  The VLC player app for android will be available soon, and you could listen to MV's stream anywhere on your android phone. It's already out for the iphone in the app store.  I also just found the VLC remote app in android that let's you control the VLC player installed on your computer. So say your laying in bed listening to the stream on your computer and need to mute it or something.  Just pick your phone up and go to the app and turn the volume down.  Unrealistic I know but cool anyway.

[Silent]

Between last night and this morning I've spent at least 5 hours figuring this out.  With all the effort put in I figured I should post this here to hopefully save others some time.  This in no way is a complaint about people providing shows in .ra format.  I'm grateful to those who post shows in any format available and I'm simply converting them to something I find easier to use.  That aside, this whole ordeal was a giant pain in the ass and .ra is a creation of Satan himself.

First, do not install Real Player.  It's garbage software.  Second, there's many little stand alone programs around the net which claim to convert .ra to .mp3 and those also seem to all be garbage.  I tried a lot of them and none of them even worked at all.  The following is what I ended up doing.  It's a bit of work to get set up but once you're done it's just a few clicks and things are done.  A small price to pay to have these old CTC shows in a more user friendly format.  Plus this is all totally free and legal.  No hacked software required.  No strings attached.

1.  Install Winamp http://www.winamp.com/

2.  Install Real Alternative http://www.free-codecs.com/download/real_alternative.htm
This is a codec package that Real Player uses.  Installing this will allow you to avoid installing Real Player.

3.  Install Tara's Real Audio Winamp Plugin http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Real_Audio_Input_Plugin_for_Winamp.htm
This is a Winamp plugin that allows Winamp to access the Real Alternative files and play the .ra audio file.

At this point Winamp will now play your .ra files if that's all you need.  You can avoid Real Player with these 3 simple steps.  If you want to actually convert it to an .mp3 things start getting more complicated.

1.  Download and install this Winamp plugin http://www.winamp.com/plugin/mp3-output-plug-in/177
This will allow you to record anything playing through winamp as an .mp3 file.  There are various plugins that do this and this is the    only one I could get to work with consistancy on .ra input.

2.  That plugin requires the LAME encoding .dll files to be installed which are not included for legal reasons I think.  This needs to be downloaded from http://www.free-codecs.com/download/lame_encoder.htm  Extract the package and find the file called lame_enc.dll  WARNING:  The following is done at your own risk.  Installing .dll files like this is a good way to mess up your PC if they are written with malicious intent.  I took a chance and it worked fine and this appears to be clean.  When you find this file just right click it and select 'install' from the pop up menu.  Afterwards this downloaded package can be deleted, the needed files are now installed.

Okay, that's everything you need to install.  Now to set up Winamp.  You need to open the Prefrences window.  To get there click the orange square in the top left and select Options > Preferences.  Toward the bottom of this window you'll see various categories of plugins.  The only ones you're concerned with are the Output plugins.  By default the Nullsoft Directsound Output should be selected.  This is the output plugin for general use of playing all your audio files.  To convert your .ra to .mp3 you want to select the Nullsoft MP3 Output Plugin.  After selected click on Configure below it.  Select the folder you want your new .mp3 saved to.  You will want the following settings:

Format: LAME MP3
Attributes: 32 kBit/s, 8,000 Hz, Mono  3kb/sec

Click Okay then click Close to exit the Preferences menu.  At this point all you have to do is play your .ra file and Winamp will speed through it and convert it over to .mp3 to the directory you specified.  It took my PC a minute or two to convert a whole 4 hour show.  VERY IMPORTANT:  You will want to go back into the preferences menu afterwards and set that output plugin back to the Nullsoft Directsound.  If you don't then Winamp will keep converting any files you play.  You can't actually listen to files when you have that Output selected.

But that's not all!  If all of the previous worked for you then you're good to go with your new file.  I wasn't satisfied with the results completely.  For some reason the LAME encoder at those low bit rates doesn't create the file header correctly.  This results in a play time that shows something insane like 10 hours.  The file will actually play fine altough skipping around is problematic.  I found a little program here:  http://www.kaufen-ist-toll.de/download/radio/Vbrfix-1H+Moonbase-Setup.exe  that will fix the file header.  It then will show the correct length in Winamp and allow accurate seeking.  The program is easy to use, pretty much select your .mp3 and click Fix.

Also a few notes on the attributes selection for the MP3 Output plugin.  I did a lot of trial and error runs with this setting.  The one I settled on is listed above.  I found it to be highly important to keep the Hz at 8,000 or the resulting MP3 was much louder and with obvious distortion.  I dont know the technical reasons for this.  The bit rate I used had (to my ears) no audiable difference from the original .ra file and the finished .mp3 was 68mb.  That's a little higher than a lot of the shows i've seen from that era but not by much.  There are a ton of attributes to choose from some of which wouldnt work at all and froze up Winamp.  I tried some in the 60 kbit/s and higher range and they didnt create the seeking issues with the lower bit rates although the finished file size was in the 100+mb range.  Try the settings mentioned above and if they work for you I wouldnt mess with them.  I also was only testing all this with one .ra file so it's possible that different files may require a different a different setting to maintain quality.

It's a bit of a headache to get this all set up but once you do it's only several clicks and done for any future files you run across.

One final thing about all of this for those with .ra files.  I would suggest holding on to the original .ra file even if you convert them over.  Conversion always results in degradation of quality even if inaudiable to you.  It also provides the original source if you ever need to convert it to something else.  Using the original is always the best option.

I hope this will help some of you out and if someone has a simpler way to achieve the same results please post your method.

[awguy]

There is a program called "Boilsoft RM-MP3 Converter" (http://www.boilsoft.com/rmtomp3/) which claims to convert .ra to mp3. I have a full copy of it but have never really played around with it too much. You will have to download an additional codec for .ra files which is a very outdated format. I don't know a lot about codecs so I'm not sure where to find one.

I guess the other option is to download an audio editing/recording program (audacity is a good one http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) and manually dub the shows over in real time.

[HAL 9000]

I have a converter that is TINY - only 525KB,  that requires no installation, and no codecs or other programs installed.

I'm working on a package that will allow anyone to convert .ra files to mp3s - just a 2 step process taking only a few minutes per file.

Ideally, I'd like some Kaku programs in .ra format to test and debug my package before I release it. Just package them up, and upload somewhere.

I'll be traveling out of town very soon, so I won't have it ready until I'm settled in at my family's, perhaps end of the coming week.  

[Bosco]

I have a converter that is TINY - only 525KB,  that requires no installation, and no codecs or other programs installed.

I'm working on a package that will allow anyone to convert .ra files to mp3s - just a 2 step process taking only a few minutes per file.

Ideally, I'd like some Kaku programs in .ra format to test and debug my package before I release it. Just package them up, and upload somewhere.

I'll be traveling out of town very soon, so I won't have it ready until I'm settled in at my family's, perhaps end of the coming week.  

Thanks in advance for your work on this file converter package.

This site and its members are the greatest.

[Stevenqbosell]

Interesting post, I used to deal with RA files for many years back in the day.

Question, what is your source nowadays for RA files? I've tried with the C2C site, but all I get re a multitude of errors, aince they updated the site a few years ago. Would love to get my hands on some old RA shows

[HAL 9000]

Interesting post, I used to deal with RA files for many years back in the day. Question, what is your source nowadays for RA files? I've tried with the C2C site, but all I get re a multitude of errors, aince they updated the site a few years ago. Would love to get my hands on some old RA shows

Well, about a year ago or, it was time to be realistic, so I deleted about 40GB of c2c shows, mostly new stuff - I had every show for roughly 3 years which I made available on it's own website - I concatenated all four hours into one single show file, while reducing it's size by about 55%, which made downloading a showing as easy a one click.

All the .ra files just sounded like crap, in some cases you could hear the guy shifting his microphone in front of the radio.

So I deleted it all - except for the Ian vs. Quayle smackdown and his 2 days of apologies, and a few caller smackdowns of Snoory.

I have to rely on others for .ra files - I did find a few in a weird folder the other day...

Old shows are easily available on torrents - lots of file variation - I just found a ton of shows on my HD that are roughly 15 .wma files per show. Horrible methodology, but maybe I'll batch convert and properly batch rename too...

[Silent]

If you're looking for an .ra to test ArtBellFan has one posted in the Kaku thread.  It's the 1997-11-20 show via the yousendit link.  That's the one I used in setting up winamp.

I could be wrong here but I believe that when CTC first started making shows available online they were in .ra format.  Or maybe they used Real Audio streaming and people just saved the .ra files from that?  The one Kaku show posted is actually pretty decent quality and tagged like the show itself made it available.

Those shows which come in batches of .wma files are a pain too.  That's a result of how CTC now streams shows.  I've found streams to the entire history of the Coast to Coast Live that Ian did in 06-07 that I eventually would like to get but they will come in those .wma batches and I havn't built up the courage to start in on it.  Audio Anomolies had these available in .mp3 and I'm still kicking myself for not downloading them there.

[Stevenqbosell]

...Audio Anomolies had these available in .mp3 and I'm still kicking myself for not downloading them there.

Same here, there was a wealth of stuff in retrospect I didnt get either.

I go about recording the hard way, via real time to mp3, just because most of the time I like hearing the selected show.

Always looking for ra links to great shows, hint, hint

[RoadDog]

Dunno if you folks know it, but VLC media player, as of the 1.0 series releases, will play .ra files without conversion.

[ArtBellFan]

Dunno if you folks know it, but VLC media player, as of the 1.0 series releases, will play .ra files without conversion.

There is no problem listening to them if you have Real Player, the problem is converting them to MP3, just found one of my old CDs where I had played 90% of .ra shows and recorded them to mp3 on my Total Recorder.  It is fun listening to those old shows with the commericals breaks in them, loved Art's promo on C Crane.

[RoadDog]

I think vlc will convert real time as you listen to them even, but I'll have to triple check that one. I don't have realplayer installed, so I haven't tried listening to any .ra's in native form. VLC is a pretty fantastic piece of software, and has always come through for me. Gotta love freeware!

[coastfan]

  Whoa! I like vlc! Very easy to download in Ubuntu, very easy to start in Terminal, good way getting files and directories. without having to cycle back through the file manager every time you want to add a new file or folder. Nice! Thanks!

[Silent]

It is fun listening to those old shows with the commericals breaks in them, loved Art's promo on C Crane.

That show you posted for me in .ra format had the commercials in it and they were cracking me up.  The crazy tech things they'd try to sell.  There was one for a complete computer system with the perk of online assistance from the company in real time.  I guess you could just push a button on your keyboard and connect live with a tech rep. for help.  I wonder how long that lasted?

[MV/Liberace!]

  Whoa! I like vlc! Very easy to download in Ubuntu, very easy to start in Terminal, good way getting files and directories. without having to cycle back through the file manager every time you want to add a new file or folder. Nice! Thanks!

VLC is sweeeeeet.  i install it on all of my clients' machines right after i remove windows media player.  VLC will play almost any audio/video format you can throw at it, and VLC is very lightweight.  it makes far more sense to have one player that will handle it ALL than to have one player for this, one for that... bleh.  just go get VLC.

[awguy]

I love VLC too. And the quality of the video is second to none as well. I still have Real player on my system and use it only for burning CD's. It's the only burning application I have found that will keep your MP3 playlist in order when burning a Data disc.

[MV/Liberace!]

Hey guys, Thought I'd share some info for any techies out there.  The VLC player app for android will be available soon, and you could listen to MV's stream anywhere on your android phone. It's already out for the iphone in the app store.  I also just found the VLC remote app in android that let's you control the VLC player installed on your computer. So say your laying in bed listening to the stream on your computer and need to mute it or something.  Just pick your phone up and go to the app and turn the volume down.  Unrealistic I know but cool anyway.

i listen to audio streams on my droid x using xiiialive.  however, if vlc for android has the wealth of audio/video file format support seen on the desktop client, i'm in.

[MV/Liberace!]

I love VLC too. And the quality of the video is second to none as well. I still have Real player on my system and use it only for burning CD's. It's the only burning application I have found that will keep your MP3 playlist in order when burning a Data disc.

have you tried cdburnerxp?  it's free and works flawlessly.  i don't know if it will specifically do what you want it to, but for the chance to remove realplayer from your system, it's worth a try.   and if it DOESN'T do what you want it to, you might try contacting the developer and ask if the feature can be added.  he seems to update the software frequently.

[MV/Liberace!]

hey everybody.  been doing some maintenance and i sort of screwed up.  i merged the "vlc for android" thread and the "converting .ra files" thread because the conversation in the .ra thread started moving toward vlc... and i thought the merge would put things in the right place (based on date/time of post).  well, unfortunately, it DID put things in their right place... i just forgot to check the post dates, so the first post in this thread actually should have been toward the bottom.  oops.  sorry about that.

[anagrammy]

I have a mac laptop - any hope for me with your AB stream?

Anagrammy

[MV/Liberace!]

I have a mac laptop - any hope for me with your AB stream?

Anagrammy

any player capable of parsing a .pls file and playing the resulting stream will work.  i'm sure there are plenty of options on the mac.  i believe ituens will play a .pls file.  vlc might be available for the mac, although i'm not certain.  you could also go to radiotrainwreck.com and click play on the player inside the orange box.  right now it says, "network error" when i click play, and i'm working on figuring out why.

[MV/Liberace!]

I have a mac laptop - any hope for me with your AB stream?

Anagrammy

one more thing... if you go to shoutcast.com and search for coastgab, it will bring up the stream.  you should be able to listen right there through the shoutcast website without having to install anything.

[RoadDog]

I have a mac laptop - any hope for me with your AB stream?

Anagrammy

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

That page has links to a bunch of different mac versions of VLC

[anagrammy]

Thanks so much!!

A