got WMP 9 on a work pc running win2k (so can't upgrade to WMP 10)

only options for ripping are WMA format and I want to use MP3 so I can also take the files via memory stick to my home pc.

any ideas how to add that capability with a free download?

thanks

 

Use something other than media player?? I use iTunes myself and have no problems with it at all. When youve got 70gb of Mp3s you need it nice and well organised otherwise you cant find fuck all

 

Windows does already come with the Fraunhaufer Standard ACM MP3 Codec (L3CODECA.ACM) but it only supports very low bitrates, unacceptable for music... you should obtain another

Installation

All you need to do after obtaining the ACM Codec is to copy your Preferred Codec (L3CODECP.ACM, LAMEACM.ACM, etc.) to the windows system32 directory, “c:/windows/system32/”. Thats the simple part, but don't worry the rest is easy. Now we edit that registry.

You must have administrator rights on the computer to change any of the registry settings. But before we do that we need to know a few things.
A Few things about MP3

Every MP3 files has two settings, the Bit Rate and The Sample Rate.

The Bit Rate is measured in kilobytes per second (KBps). Everyone who has heard of MP3's knows about this. Higher quality music has higher bit rates. eg. most MP3's on the internet are encoded at 96 - 128 kBps, this is lower quality but has quite small file sizes and is good for sharing over the internet. Higher quality MP3's generally use 192 kBps, This is what I like because it gives a good balance between quality and size. And those audiophiles amongst us use 256 kBps or higher.

The second Thing is the Sample Rate. This is the frequency at which the music is recorded. I'm no audio engineer but the higher this value is, the more "analog-like" (better) your music will be. CD's are recorded at 44.1 Kilohertz (kHz) (1kHz = 1000 cycles/second). Music off of your DVD Movies is recorded at 48 kHz. And the new DVD Audio is encoded at 96 kHz, and in my opinion sounds just as good as a high quality vinyl record.

Now that we know this lets make a few decisions. If we set our Codec Settings for 96 kHz, it sounds cool, but is a wast since we are using lossy compression and CD's are at best recorded at 44.1 kHz. So our first decision is to use a sample rate of 48 kHz. You say, why not 44.1, well, why not 48. Not much difference there.

Our second decision is to choose FOUR bitrates. Windows Media Player only supports four different bitrates. I find that the good choice here is 96, 128, 192, and 256 kBps. You'll probably only use one, so just pick what you like best, then pick one higher and one lower. You'll have to play around here to find out what your codec supports. As I say though, I know the Fraunhaufer supports 128, 192, and 256 kBps @ 48 kHz, it gives a good range.

Also note the following:
1 kHz = 1000 Hz
1 kBps = 1000 Bps

Editing the Registry

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk. Blah, Blah, Blah, Lets Hack...

The following registry key should be created:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/MediaPlayer/Settings/MP3Encoding

The following values may be set:

DWORD value: LowRate (datarate)
DWORD value: LowRateSample (Sample)
DWORD value: MediumRate (datarate)
DWORD value: MediumRateSample (Sample)
DWORD value: MediumHighRate (datarate)
DWORD value: MediumHighRateSample (Sample)
DWORD value: HighRate (datarate)
DWORD value: HighRateSample (Sample)
String: PreferredCodecName (codec name)
String: PreferredCodecPath (codec path)

Don't worry I'll walk you through it. First we need to start the registry editor. Just go the the Start Menu, click Run, the type "regedit" and click enter. Now navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/MediaPlayer/Settings, just like exploring your folders, and create a new key in that folder called "MP3Encoding". To create a new key click on the settings folder then go, Edit -> new -> key, and name it "MP3Encoding".

Now open the folder "MP3Encoding" and create a "DWORD value" named "LowRate". Create it the same way as the "key" but go, Edit -> new -> DWORD value. Also create a "DWORD value" named LowRateSample the same way.

Now Double Click on the LowRate DWORD value, and set the value data to the lowest bit rate you selected earlier. ie. if you chose 96 kBps then enter 96000 in value data. Everything you enter is in terms of Bps. And enter it as a Decimal NOT Hexadecimal.

Now repeat the same process for the "LowRateSample" using 48000 as your value data. Everything you enter is in terms of Hz. And again as a Decimal NOT Hexadecimal.

Now repeat the same for MediumRate, MediumRateSample, MediumHighRate, MediumHighRateSample, HighRate and HighRateSample.

Now you have to create two strings "PreferredCodecName" and "PreferredCodecPath". You should know how to create a string now, same as DWORD but choose string. The PreferredCodecName is the name of the encoder that will show on Windows Media Player. You use what ever you want. The PreferredCodecPath must be set to "C:WINDOWSsystem32L3CODECP.ACM", or what ever the filename of your codec is.

Note that the value for PreferredCodec is limited to 255 characters. The PreferredCodecPath key must contain the fully-qualified path to the location of the codec as well as the file name of the codec.
Finally

Just go into the options were you are able to choose the encoder (ie. WMA Losless ... ) and you should see your new encoder there with the bitrate settings your setup earlier.


Here is a decent L3CODECP codec in a zip I have uploaded, scan it for viruses and use at your own risk

 

Can you install a programme on your works PC?

If so, install this;

http://www.nch.com.au/rip/index.html

It's free (legal downloadable .exe file from their own site ^^^ ), and SOOOO simple to use. You can allow it to connect to a metadata service via the internet to fill in track and album data, and it's pretty quick too

BTW, you do realise you can take the files home on a flash drive in WMA form and still play them on your PC at home right?

 

I have about 30gb of MP3's and I agree you need em nicely organised, and correctly tagged - which is why I use WMP (was on v10, on v11 now) as it's easy to find what I want when I want it

 

As Thursh say's, put them on your flash drive, take them come, then convert them from wma to mp3. I use Fairstars Audio Converter at home

 

UnseenMenace i have the LAME encoder downloaded but do not have administrator rights on the pc to be able to edit the registry thanks anyway

Thrush, BigMouthBillyBass guess that is my best option, to use something else

of course i could just have them in WMA format and take them home, but the rest of my collection is in mp3 format for compatiblity with my other devices at home. i have a Squeezebox and an Archos 604 wifi that both support WMA, but I also share files with mates with ipods and other mp3 players that don't.

i have WMP10 at home, and it does a good job of organising media i find. play most music via my squeezebox though, which has a very convenient user interface.

DanRSturbo converting WMA to mp3 would be a hassle and is lossy. i may as well just take the cd's home after ripping them to WMA here and rip them to mp3 at home

having said that, i may as well rip them to mp3 at home and bring the files in on memory stick. why didn't i think of that earlier? just that i had the cd's at work and had some spare time

 

go to www.download.com and download an mp3 converter or download a trial version of nero burning rom

 

He's not part of the administrator group on his work pc, so can't download nor install anything on his machine, otherwise he'd have windows media player 10 or 11 Or would fo downloaded winamp and used that to "backup" to mp3.

 

oh right.....my bad

 

KCP, DanRSturbo i think i can install some software to it, but wouldn't be able to change the registry settings. thanks for the suggestions

i looked at upgrading to WMP10, but i think it said it's only for XP, and not for 2000

 

If you open windows media player 9, then click on help, then upgrade windows media player I think and see what it does.