Thunderbird 9 .wav file won't play even with test button

[cws]

[Hammerhead]

Hi, cws,

Damn pub's gonna wreck us all !!

Could you post a sound file here that DOES work with TB9 and W7?

Thanks

Dave

[Roderunner]

Hi, Roderunner,

Thanks for that.....did the method I used above not work?

Dave

Hi Dave,

compare your post #19 with mine post#25. Your's did work, my way is easier & better looking.

[cws]

...

Could you post a sound file here that DOES work with TB9 and W7?

Thanks

Dave

Sure. Here's one.

Car starting.zip

[cws]

Hi Dave,

compare your post #19 with mine post#25. Your's did work, my way is easier & better looking.

BBBBBBut, Mr. Roderunner...you're comparing a .zip file to a .jpg file. I just posted a zip file, too, and it can't look like post #25...can it?

[Hammerhead]

Hi,cws,

Made a few changes to the original Ohgod file : (OhgodEdit)

Changed unsigned to signed

Changed mono to stereo

Changed sample rate to 44100Hz from 11025Hz

Changed bit-rate to 16 bit from 8 bit

Changed data rate from 88kbps to 1411kbps

Trimmed off some silence at start and end

To all intents and purposes, it's exactly the same format as Car starting.wav

If this does'nt play, then I'm as stumped as you are !!

ATB,

Dave

OhgodEdit.zip

[cws]

Hi,cws,

Made a few changes to the original Ohgod file : (OhgodEdit)

Changed unsigned to signed

Changed mono to stereo

Changed sample rate to 44100Hz from 11025Hz

Changed bit-rate to 16 bit from 8 bit

Changed data rate from 88kbps to 1411kbps

Trimmed off some silence at start and end

To all intents and purposes, it's exactly the same format as Car starting.wav

If this does'nt play, then I'm as stumped as you are !!

ATB,

Dave

OhgodEdit.zip

Well, Sir Hammerhead, you are a gentleman and a scholar!!! Your file WORKS just fine.
Now, I used Audacity to change to 16-bit, 44100hz, and the data rate, and those didn't do the trick, so could you explain what you mean by "signed/unsigned"? Do you think that was the problem?
Thank you very much.

[cws]

Here's the "media info" screens from your file and mine. I don't know what that "Director" enty is on mine, unless it was created by Audacity. There's not a whole lot of difference. (I don't see anything about "signed", though.)

EDIT: OK, I see now that when it's saved, it's saved as a WAV Microsoft signed file. My newer file was like that, but not the older one, I guess, since I never saved it with Audacity...just copy/paste, etc.. I could not quickly figure out how to make mine a stereo file, or change the bit rate (without changing the pitch, etc.) so, I'll remain confused, I suppose. Oh, and the "Director/Unknown" thing was something I entered in the data part of the file, to no effect.

filemediainfo.jpg

[Hammerhead]

Hi, cws,

I'm not sure if the signed/unsigned status was the cause of your problem, but I'm glad you got sorted !!

Unsigned samples have a data range of 0 - 255, with a centrepoint of 128 (256 bits of info)

Signed samples have a data range of 128 - 127, with a centrepoint of 0 (256 bits of info)

Maybe W7/TB9 has dropped support for unsigned samples....I'm not sure, but I'm glad to help out....as I use
my PC for mainly audio, I absolutely hate audio mysteries !!

Cheers,

Dave

[cws]

I don't think that's it, because I created my new file from Audacity, which only does signed files. Do you use that program? I've been trying to figure out how to make my file 1411kps, but can't figure it out. In any case, I really appreciate your help getting it to work. (You certainly are a night-owl, eh?)

p.s. I have no clue what centrepoints, samples, etc., mean. ;-)

EDIT: I've been reading; now I see that my 705kbps is due to only having one channel in a 41.1kHz, 16-bit file. Now, I need to figure out how to make the file a stereo file. Then, I'll have done what you did to it...I think.

[Hammerhead]

Hi, cws,

I use Goldwave for audio editing.....I have to convert a file to mp3 and then back to WAV to get a 1411kbps data rate, as when I reload an mp3, it strips back the file to PCM Uncompressed....it's a bit long winded but it works for me. I daresay there's an easier way of doing this, and if I find it, I'll surely use it !!

The signed/unsigned status is how the sample data is interpreted :

Unsigned.JPG Signed.JPG
Unsigned.......................................... ...........................Signed

Now, I must away before the break of dawn.......that could be fatal to me !!!!

ATB, TC,

Dave

ps: have you tried using 'SaveAs' in Audacity? Maybe you can set new file attributes.....just a long shot !

[cws]

Hi, Dave.
Great example/explaination of signed/unsigned; now, I understand. I don't think I have used "save as", yet. There are only about 4k options/buttons in that program's UI, but I'll try that one today. In general, though, there aren't many 'options' when saving a .wav file, since it defaults to certain things. Maybe I can get it done via your method - mp3 to wav. Since my new wav was signed, I think we've narrowed it down to stereo vs mono, but then I've been wrong before. Thanks again for all the help.

[cws]

FINDINGS: Here's what I've found (with Dave's help). Thunderbird 9.0.1 (and some earlier versions) has trouble playing a .wav that is not 1411kbps (stereo at 44100khz). It will play some mono files like Windows Balloon.wav (the ones from Themes - like Afternoon), which I copied to my own directory and show below, but that is not really in wave format, apparently. That file will not open in Audacity; it can be imported as a raw file, but doesn't play properly in Audacity. The other file below is a mono (705kbps) wave file from Quicken, which will NOT play in TB, like my original problem file. (I copied these files to my own folder, since the details don't show well in the Media-type folders. Also, note that the WAV files in the Media folder are stereo files and work fine everywhere; just the Theme ones are mpeg format.)

I also converted my earlier Audacity-created ohgod.wav to a stereo file (1411kbps) and IT WORKS, just like Dave's file did. Apparently, programmers of Thunderbird have decided that all of our old .wav format mono files are antiques, and are no longer worthy of their support.
TBno-yesfiles.jpg

On to the next great quest for knowledge...

[Hammerhead]

Hi, cws,

Thanks for posting updated info, I'm with you on the 'Quest for Knowledge', especially with audio matters !!

Funny enough, you jogged my memory......on old versions of Goldwave, you had the option to load a raw data audio file as signed or unsigned. Unsigned raw audio always used to be distorted on playback, for me, but loading the same file as 'signed' raw data used to play back just fine.

Matters like this are the main reason I don't want to rush into upgrading to W7 just yet !!

TC, ATB,

Dave

[cws]

Interesting tidbit about Goldwave, Dave. I got tired of messing with all of this after getting my file to play in TB. I'm not sure if I could have converted the mpeg files (like the ones in Themes, which are marked as .wav files) to a stereo, signed .wav and gotten them to play in Audacity, or not, but they play in TB and elsewhere. Imported as raw, they are completely static, and not even recognizable.

I suppose I could convert the Quicken mono .wav files to stereo, just as I did the ohgod file, but don't really miss the sounds in Quicken, and just lost interest after solving the original problem. My Win7 is working just fine, so I haven't found any more "quests for knowlege", (aka problems) yet.