What is the difference between 16 bit & 24 bit recordings?

Started by japanesebaby, March 29, 2008, 10:55:01

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dsanchez

Quote from: krissik on April 02, 2008, 00:19:26
I found www.goldwave.com and downloaded a trial version.  v5.23.  This program converts 24bit 48 to 16bit 44.1 very easily as well as a myriad of other useful things. I decided to buy it.  Anyway I hope that it may help some of you out there who wish to downsample.

Good choice. Goldwave is an awesome program for editing and converting audio files (I use it instead Adobe Audition, which also a very good tool). If you bought the program (I always used the shareware version), there's good info in the Appendix about Digital audio. Below I want to remark what is written about the 24 bits thing:

"The number of bits to use depends on human perception and bit alignment within computers. Computer tend to bundle bits in groups of 8, called bytes, so using 8, 16, 24, or 32 bits would fit nicely in 1, 2, 3, or 4 bytes respectively. For images, 16 bits do not provide enough states to make the transition from one state to the next imperceptible, so 24 or more bits are used. For audio, 16 bits are adequate, which is what a CD contains, but audio systems using 24 bits will be common in the future."
2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

dsanchez

Quote from: scatcat on March 30, 2008, 15:48:08
i suppose i don't understand a lot about bitrates etc..

Take a look to this article. It explain very simple all this stuff:

16 Bit and 24 Bit Audio
http://www.tweakheadz.com/16_vs_24_bit_audio.htm
2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

japanesebaby

Quote from: krissik on April 02, 2008, 00:19:26
Hi Everybody.
Well I had the problem of being not able to hear nor convert 24bit recordings. I was bummed out because I was really looking forward to hearing the tapers recordings as well as burning to Cd. I like to burn to CD because if my computer crashed and the hard drive crapped out then there goes all my concerts. That would really piss me off. So that is why I try to burn concerts, a back up if you like. Anyway I digress. To solve my problem I downloaded the latest version of winamp which enables you to hear the 24bit recordings ( thanks for the info about the soundcard... possibly I'm not really hearing 24bit. I will investigate the quality of my soundcard ). The other problem of conversion....I searched for a program that would do this. I found www.goldwave.com and downloaded a trial version.  v5.23.  This program converts 24bit 48 to 16bit 44.1 very easily as well as a myriad of other useful things. I decided to buy it.  Anyway I hope that it may help some of you out there who wish to downsample.
                                                      Cheers, Chris ( New Zealand )


i'd just like to add (once more) that the reason why we are sharing both 16-bit and 24-bit is so that people wouldn't have to worry about sample rate conversion/dithering themselves. :!: that was the whole point why i bothered to upload 16-bit version separately. 

i've used Peak 4 (which offers very good quality platform for both sample rate conversion and dithering) to produce the 16-bit version available. this was done so that there would be easy access to an errorfree 16-bit/cd quality version for those people who want to burn their back-ups as audio cds. this is all done to save anyone from worrying about all this themselves and also to avoid any possibly badly dithered versions ending up in the circulation/on anyone's shelves.


next time i'll upload something in both 16-bit and 24-bit, i'll try to add a clear note saying "go for a 16-bit if you want audio cds".
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

Steve

@JB.
I didn't know that it was as bad as that & I haven't noticed any pops & crackles in anything I have put through it.
I usually use it as a last resort to convert stuff other things can't, but you're right about the error messages. There are occasions when it can be a bit frustrating for sure.
Any thoughts on DVDA authoring?
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

japanesebaby

Quote from: Steve on April 02, 2008, 13:14:24
@JB.
I didn't know that it was as bad as that & I haven't noticed any pops & crackles in anything I have put through it.

i'm not sure if some of the problems there are connected to certain versions of audacity, but there're certainly a lot there that isn't good. for instance, i've noticed it can create errors (loud scratchy noises :?) even when doing something really simple, like glueing two audio files together into one file. it can create errors although sometimes you might end up with a clean file - so it's a gamble and a completely unnecessary one for sure.
due to all this i don't trust anything there anymore that would involve any kind of audio processing/effects, like the things discussed here would.
also, from what i've seen and also from what i've read from other people's experiences, the normalizing feature on audacity is also pretty destructive. :x and yet people still seem to use it quite a lot, to boost the volume on their recordings.


i'm afraid i've nothing to say on DVDA authoring as i've never tried that myself.
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil'd Melancholy has her sovran shrine

Steve

Right. Here's what I found out.
You can use a couple of free programs to do this & the results are very good.
Lplex (http://audioplex.sourceforge.net/)
This will make a video dvd with just the sound on it at 24bit, 48khz resolution (standard DVD res).
Read the readme file first though, as it's a little bit weird.
Tips.
Lplex uses a default alpabetical, then numerical track ordering method, so you may need to rename all the tracks or they'll end up all over the place.
Set the ini file for ntsc or pal, depending on where you are & make sure you put the file path in properly (ensure you have at least 2x the space needed for the files).
select all your tracks & drag them to the lplex.exe icon, with the top of the track list going in first (important).
Lplex will then author a dvd with no picture & create the iso image file, which you can then write to a dvd with whatever writer/ software you use.
Burn at the slowest speed possible to avoid errors (try with small groups of files & a dvd rw before you make shiny coasters ;)& use the "write image" option on your burning software.
This will give you a gapless, high resolution disc.
Next post will be DVDA only
Good luck.

EDIT!! A FIX FOR THE TRACKSPLITTING PROBLEM!!!

http://audioplex.sourceforge.net/download/MplexDvdauthorUpdate.zip

DROP THESE TWO FILES INTO THE "BIN" FOLDER FOR LPLEX & YOU SHOULD END UP WITH A FULLY TRACKED DVD
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

Steve

For DVDA players (I tried in a normal dvd player & it didn't work).

There is a program (free) called DVD-Audiofile here http://24bit.turtleside.com/

This will effectively make DVDAs & is easy as falling off a log to use.
Open it up & you will get a very simple list.
Drop the tracks you want into the list.
Tip: Do them one by one, as whenever I tried to drop the whole list in, the last track ended up at the top & I can't figure out how to remove just the one track & re-insert it in the right place :oops:
Then just click the "create iso image" button & make a cup of tea or do the hoovering for 15-20mins or so.
You will ultimately end up with an ISO image file, which you can give a name if you wish.
Once again, using your dvd burning software, chooes the "copy image" option (this is important here, as the dvd software will not recognise the files in the normal Audio TS folder)
Burn at the slowest speed.
Only thing I have found with this is the tiny gaps it puts between tracks.
I am looking to see if I can sort that out currently, so if anyone finds out, can they let me know?
Once again, not all players will play DVDAs, so best to try with a rewritable disc to make sure you're not wating your time.
Oh & lastly, your player & amp should be able to handle the 24bit 48khz signal, otherwise you may as well just burn a CD.
Good luck. :D
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

scatcat

oh man.. again.. this info will take me months to work out..
I haven't yet popped the Paris 16-bit to audio, although, upon downloading, i had to go back to 2 tracks, because they were not complete.. maybe my fault here somehow.. I fell asleeep.. finally  :!: 
:?

Seventeen seconds
A measure of life

lostflower4

Quote from: Steve on April 05, 2008, 12:28:15This will make a video dvd with just the sound on it at 24bit, 48khz resolution (standard DVD res).

Not exactly related here, but I always wonder how 48/24 (or 96/24) became the supposed "DVD standard".

Yes, it's surely possible to use those data rates, but almost every commercial DVD I've ever seen uses 48/16 audio...  :?:

Steve

@scatcat
So, the lplex program is the one you should try.
Follow the readme instructions, they are pretty clear & not like a book.
I had to change the names of all the files (eg. acure#####, bcure#### etc. but when you get to "z" type "za" instead)
Select them all & drag them to the lplex.exe icon in the open folder dialogue box.
Helps if you drag holding the first one & lettig go of the mouse when the cursor is right on top of the exe icon.
All you do then is wait for it to do its thing.
When it finally finishes, it will make 3 folders & a file.
Audio TS, Video TS, Extra & a file called "whatever the name of the show is".iso
Using your DVD writing software, choose to burn the IMAGE to disc.
It should open up a search dialogue. Hunt for the iso file & select it.
Hit "burn" or "write" or whatever & you're away.
Choose the slowest speed though.
The beauty of this way is that it can be played on any dvd player.
I'm going out to test the DVDAs on other dvd players now....
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

Steve

Quote from: lostflower4 on April 05, 2008, 13:26:02
Quote from: Steve on April 05, 2008, 12:28:15This will make a video dvd with just the sound on it at 24bit, 48khz resolution (standard DVD res).

Not exactly related here, but I always wonder how 48/24 (or 96/24) became the supposed "DVD standard".

Yes, it's surely possible to use those data rates, but almost every commercial DVD I've ever seen uses 48/16 audio...  :?:
Just saw this.
Maybe I should have said DVDA standard.
DVDA can actually deal with up to 192khz.
I still prefer SACD though.
Makes me go all tingly..... :oops:
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php

scatcat

Quote from: Steve on April 05, 2008, 18:20:08
Maybe I should have said DVDA standard.
DVDA can actually deal with up to 192khz.
I still prefer SACD though.
Makes me go all tingly..... :oops:

i actually feel faint..   :smth088  I'm sure you guys just try and make me feel dumb!  :roll:

I'll try and catch up..  miracles can happen!!  ;)
Seventeen seconds
A measure of life

Steve

Quote from: scatcat on April 05, 2008, 18:41:10
Quote from: Steve on April 05, 2008, 18:20:08
Maybe I should have said DVDA standard.
DVDA can actually deal with up to 192khz.
I still prefer SACD though.
Makes me go all tingly..... :oops:

i actually feel faint..   :smth088  I'm sure you guys just try and make me feel dumb!  :roll:

I'll try and catch up..  miracles can happen!!  ;)
Sorry.  :cry:
It's all pretty standard really.
The thing to do is not be afraid of it.
Ignore sacd. It's a high resolution audio format (sounds incredible though).
The DVDA was the contender & I suppose it is more widely available.
Audio dvd is just simple dvd, just without a picture.
The thing is that dvd players can reproduce the higher resolution audio.
+ you don't need to burn 3 cds for a concert, so green too.
Cheers
Steve
I know tomorrow's going to taste like cake
http://www.balatonfured.hu/en_index.php