How do I compress audio files?

[Joe Peter]

Hello, this is my first post here, but it won't be my last -I am right now preparing a product for joint venture and need some help.

I have an audio file that I want to make available for download. It is 70 minutes in length and is on a CD.

How do I compress this audio file to as small a size as possible, and this file must be able to be played by WMP (Windows Media Player).

Sometimes I see 70 minute audio files that are about 30MB in size and others are only 10MB. What software allows me to make small audio files?

Thank you for your help.

[Sam Heyer]

Hi Joe,

I've searched for a software that can do that, but have come up short ... a good friend of mine uses something to compress files (I will find out what it is and let you know) ... however, the more you compress the file the worse the sound gets.

I'm interested to see what others are using for this -- I shoot my bandwidth through the roof with my audio files.

I know this doesn't help, but I will check for you.

Regards,
Sam

P.S. I look forward to see more posts from you and getting to know you. Welcome to the community!

[Joe Peter]

Wow! Awesome!!!

I wasn't expecting such a quick reply. Thank you very much Sam!

Yes, I was looking thru the posts to see where I could post but I am a newbie -no website, product still not complete, ... but I was afraid that my posts would not be helpful to anybody. But yes, you will definitely hear from me again. Thanks again -I am now visiting your website :)

[John Marks]

Hey Joe,

I once had the same issue, and used WINAMP pro to rip the CD audio to MP3 format which can them be uploaded. You can choose what bit rate to use (commonly audio files on the net are 128kb, but you can go higher or lower depending on the size requirement.

Hope this helps

[Liz Beresford]

I have recently downloaded Wavepad for this purpose. It converts Wav to Mp3 and it does it well. It also converts from and to just about any other audio format you might need. There is a free version which is what I am using.

[Daniel Kelly]

A fantastic tool for all kinds of audio stuff is Cool Edit Pro... recently bought but Adobe and renamed to "Adobe Audition".

Here are some links:

http://www.adobe.com/products/audition/main.html

Demo: http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Cool-Edit-Pro-Download-2076.html

You can probably get an older copy Cool Edit Pro 2.0 at a great price on eBay or online somewhere.

If you buy it new, it's a bit pricey, but if it saves bandwidth and gets you more customers, then it's well worth it.

To YOUR Success,
Dan Kelly
dan@minisitesmadeeasy.com
http://www.MiniSitesMadeEasy.com

[Stephen Boutelle]

Hi, Joe!

I've been editing a series of audio files at my job, and
part of that includes making 'em small enough to fit on
a CD. They were recorded digitally in MP3 format and
are either at, slightly over or near 70 minutes in length.

I convert them to wave using the awesome
free dBpowerAMP Music Converter tool found here:
http://www.dbpoweramp.com/.

Next, I edit out the long pauses, etc. and save them
with new names.

Then to convert them back into MP3 I again use
dBpowerAMP. Even though I only edit out probably
no more than between 2 and five minutes in most
cases, the new ones end up being compressed more
than enough to fit on a CD.

Hope this helps.

Seeking YOUR Success,

Stephen Boutelle,

[Ricky]

I know this is a very old thread, but for anyone still looking for a free way to solve this problem check out Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/).

They have versions for PC, Mac & Linux operating systems and I can tell you form personal experience that it's an excellent program