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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Software Issues and Discussion => Topic started by: wildstar1063 on October 18, 2003, 05:34:21 AM

Title: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: wildstar1063 on October 18, 2003, 05:34:21 AM
Is it possible to play MP3's on an Amiga 3000T with a
 stock 030 25mhz, without the sound constantly starting
 and stopping?

Thanks

Chuck
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: A3KOne on October 18, 2003, 05:59:04 AM
Short answer: no

Long answer...

Yes it is, with one of two MP3 playback programs.

(1) Songplayer
You must set the quality settings very low and play in mono.... paula 8 bit.

(2) Prayer2
As above with low quality settings.

With either, don't plan on doing ANYTHING with your Amiga while playing back MP3.... don't even move your mouse.

But it will work :)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Damion on October 18, 2003, 06:21:04 AM
It's possible, but playback quality through
Paula - even 14bit - is atrocious. I couldn't
handle more than a few minutes.

 
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: wildstar1063 on October 18, 2003, 07:23:17 AM
So what is the minimum processor/speed combination
 to get it to work with decent sound?

Chuck
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: amigamad on October 18, 2003, 09:11:18 AM
YOu could get a hardware decoder from  eyetech expensive though link here mp3 decoder (http://www.eyetech.co.uk/search.php?SearchStr=&SearchCat=AMAU)

And a lot of info and the software is here http://home.snafu.de/dcr/ (http://home.snafu.de/dcr/)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: JoNty on October 18, 2003, 09:22:22 AM
I've got a MAS Player for sale.

-
JoNty
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Thematic on October 18, 2003, 09:22:30 AM
A fast 68040 - preferably not the stock A4000 68040 - should be able to do stereo 44 kHz with careful planning, if Paula is used. For a soundcard, you really need a 68060, because there is more data to copy and it won't go all that fast. Unless you are lucky enough to have a Delfina: 68020 is enough then. :-)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: DoomMaster on October 18, 2003, 09:55:11 AM
MP3s are best played on PCs and home DVD players and on MP3 players.  The Amiga has its own forms of music that works really well.  Mod and smus are examples of Amiga music formats.  Do PC stuff on a PC.  Do Amiga stuff on an Amiga.  Do not try to mix the two.  Remember, the Amiga is a German computer.     :-D
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Oldsmobile_Mike on October 18, 2003, 10:10:20 AM
Quote
Remember, the Amiga is a German computer.


Dude!  WTF???   :-P
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: T_Bone on October 18, 2003, 10:11:03 AM
 :roll:
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: cockney_dave on October 18, 2003, 10:13:52 AM
DoomMaster: "MP3s are best played on PCs"

Edit by Kees - Personal insult

How does the Amiga being a German computer have anything to do with it, in fact how/since when was the Amiga a German computer exactly?

Macs? Portables? Amigas? My Amiga 1200 060 with Soundblaster (using Songplayer) plays MP3s very well thankyou (actually better quality than on my DVD player), and I can use the computer for my everyday stuff without the MP3s skipping or slowing up.
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: JoNty on October 18, 2003, 10:41:38 AM
@DoomMaster
The most sh1t filled sentence I've ever read.

If MP3's for "PCs", why has LAME been ported to WarpOS? Why are there truck loads of MP3 decoders for AmigaOS? Why does MakeCD support on the fly MP3 decoding?

That's like saying GL should only be used on Windows, or the ping command should only be used on Unix.

Edit by Kees - Personal insult

Sorry.

-
JoNty
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Thematic on October 18, 2003, 11:24:56 AM
Quote
That's like saying GL should only be used on SGI


:lol:
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Varthall on October 18, 2003, 11:27:11 AM
I've read somewhere that the first versions of Songplayer (the ones that don't use the mpega.library) decode mp3s faster than later versions, why I don't know.

Varthall
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Varthall on October 18, 2003, 11:29:35 AM
Quote

DoomMaster wrote:
MP3s are best played on PCs and home DVD players and on MP3 players.  The Amiga has its own forms of music that works really well.  Mod and smus are examples of Amiga music formats.  Do PC stuff on a PC.  Do Amiga stuff on an Amiga.  Do not try to mix the two.  Remember, the Amiga is a German computer.     :-D

So, if I only own an Amiga, I couldn't play mp3s even if I have a player for them, only because I have an Amiga. Hmm, is this a new form of racism? :-(

Varthall
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: JoNty on October 18, 2003, 11:39:47 AM
@DoomMaster

May I remind you, MOD and SMUS are both tracker based formats. MP3 is streamed. Two completely different things. How you can compare MOD and SMUS to a streamed format is beyond me.

Gonna reply? Heh. Probably not. They never do.

-
JoNty
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Borut on October 18, 2003, 11:47:08 AM
Use Prayer 2 - on 030 50 mhz and low quality its ok but it could be better.

If You have an DVD player with mp3 than use it or a PC if U have or buy the !MAS-Player! hardware ;-)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Framiga on October 18, 2003, 01:15:49 PM
Quote
by wildstar1063 on 2003/10/18 6:34:21

Is it possible to play MP3s on an Amiga 3000T with a
stock 030 25mhz, without the sound constantly starting
and stopping?


for MP3s at full quality, you need at least 040 at 40 Mhz.

With my 040 at 30 Mhz, i can play with SongPlayer 1.45 (the lightest one) at low quality Stereo with Paula and at MID QUALITY MONO with the RepulseGold card through AHI.

So i doubt that you can listen MP3s decently on your system.

Ciao


Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: mendark on October 18, 2003, 01:48:06 PM
Interesting post. I've read but I just see that you've got an 25Mhz version of an 030. Because I would mention that I played mp3s for years on my 030@50. Just play it on half rate (22050hz), mono (saves a lot of speed!) and then try the best quality setting. AFAIK was it option 1 (0,1,2).
Good luck, let us know :-D

Oh and, i use amplifier and/or prayer. Those are the fastest. Don't let you get distracted by the programmer of Prayer which claims she's a photomodel. It's just a "marketing" strategy ;-)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Karlos on October 18, 2003, 01:51:41 PM
Quote

wildstar1063 wrote:
Is it possible to play MP3's on an Amiga 3000T with a
 stock 030 25mhz, without the sound constantly starting
 and stopping?

Thanks

Chuck


If you dont want to get a beefier system I'd say one of those parallel port MHI decoder things would be good. Or perhaps a delfina DSP based soundcard (IIRC there were mpeg decoders written for its DSP).
For CPU based decoding through paula, forget it, unless you can live with 11kHz 8-bit mono.

Under 680x0 you really need at least a fast 040 to get any joy. My 25MHz 040, which is what, 4x faster than 030 @25MHz, can manage 22kHz 14-bit stereo, but it uses so much CPU (havent tried a libmad based decoder yet, might be better). For better quality an 060 is essential. Lukily for me, I use a BlizzPPC and can use ppc based decoders such as amiga amp which works a treat (apart from that time I mistakenly 'upgraded' to AHI v5)...
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Linchpin on October 18, 2003, 02:03:59 PM
So... What chance would my a500+ with 2mb chip ram have of playing 44khz stereo mp3?

heh Heh :-D
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Karlos on October 18, 2003, 02:11:18 PM
Quote

_LinchpiN_ wrote:
So... What chance would my a500+ with 2mb chip ram have of playing 44khz stereo mp3?

heh Heh :-D


Assuming your parallel port can move more than 20k/s and there is a 68000 based driver then probanly very high with a MHI based decoder... ;-)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: ptek on October 18, 2003, 02:34:14 PM
Quote
Is it possible to play MP3's on an Amiga 3000T with a
stock 030 25mhz, without the sound constantly starting
and stopping?


Of course it is ! Even with a plain 68020 14Mhz ...

Well ... It's possible, not by the most direct way ...

Try
14bit-and-mp3.lha (http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/~aminet/docs/misc/14bit-and-mp3.lha)

A guide I made on this matter. Maybe it suits you.

(BTW : my e-mail address on the guide is now obsolete)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: kd7ota on October 18, 2003, 02:56:20 PM
Quote

DoomMaster wrote:
MP3s are best played on PCs and home DVD players and on MP3 players.  The Amiga has its own forms of music that works really well.  Mod and smus are examples of Amiga music formats.  Do PC stuff on a PC.  Do Amiga stuff on an Amiga.  Do not try to mix the two.  Remember, the Amiga is a German computer.     :-D


Edit by Kees - Personal insult

Or maybe we can meet up with this guy on IRC and just laugh together?  :-D
Title: Re: Thanks for the info on MP3's
Post by: wildstar1063 on October 18, 2003, 03:25:03 PM
Thanks everyone for all the good info,
 I believe in the interum, I'll play around with the
 2 software players mentioned, but I'll probably
 be looking for a Delfina card on eBay or maybe
 building that MAS-Player thing.

I can already play MP3's on my B/W G3 MAC and my iBook
 but I would like the amiga to do it as well.

Is it possible to convert an MP3 to an audio format that
 the amiga can handle?

Thanks

Chuck
Title: Re: Thanks for the info on MP3's
Post by: Doobrey on October 18, 2003, 03:31:46 PM
Quote

wildstar1063 wrote:
Is it possible to convert an MP3 to an audio format that
 the amiga can handle?


Yup, you can decode MP3s to hard disk, but then you`d need around 10x the amount of disk space to store them all.
Title: Re: Thanks for the info on MP3's
Post by: leirbag28 on October 18, 2003, 03:59:54 PM
WildStar1063 :Is it possible to convert an MP3 to an audio format that
the amiga can handle?


 Yes!   convert it to 21khz 8 bit IFF...........you will hardly notice the difference
 I digitize my own music in an Amiga format using DSS8+ at about 19.9 khz   and they take about the same amount of space as MP3's  and even a plain Amiga can play them nicely...........everyone asks me what did I use to digitize this music and play it back at such good quality?

 I tell them DSS8+       To listen to great quality music on the Amiga.......it doesn't have to have the .mp3 extension. Your PC owning friends wont know the difference.

And as fo everyone here who thinks Amigas cant play MP3's

 Ever heard of a MAS Player?     some of you need to get out more.......really!  Doesnt a PC use hardware to decode MP3?  well so do Amigas............ I hear yo say, no! they do it with sofware...........yes but that software is hitting the PC hardware wich is powerfull to play MP3, so we Amigans have the MASPlayer hardware!  Get One!   and tell this dude to ask EYETECH or someone to manufacture them and advertize them more.

Title: Re: Thanks for the info on MP3's
Post by: redrumloa on October 18, 2003, 04:34:38 PM
Quote
Is it possible to convert an MP3 to an audio format that
the amiga can handle?


Sure as long as you have oodles of hard drive space. One program that comes to mind (IIRC) is Forrest on Aminet. It will convert the MP3 to a WAV file which even a stock A500 could play (with the proper libs)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Tomas on October 18, 2003, 04:45:32 PM
Quote
So... What chance would my a500+ with 2mb chip ram have of playing 44khz stereo mp3?

Should handle it fine, if you get a hardware decoder for it  :-)
Title: Re: Thanks for the info on MP3's
Post by: amigamad on October 18, 2003, 06:26:31 PM
Quote
Remember, the Amiga is a German computer.  


And that would make what difrence besides i thought commadore were american .

using a masplayer you only need a 7mhz machine .

Quote
convert the MP3 to a WAV file which even a stock A500 could play (with the proper libs)


but a 5 meg file becomes 50 meg your going to need a large hard drive on an a500 .
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: sprocket on October 18, 2003, 06:40:56 PM
Individual Computers shows their Atlantis external sound card/box for any Amiga.

http://www.jschoenfeld.com/products/atlantis_e.htm

Jens' stuff is great and usually doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I haven't seen this on any retailers site in the U.S. so I don't know if he's shipping these.

Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: lempkee on October 18, 2003, 07:02:55 PM
i have used mp3 on amiga since forever...even before mp3 :D ...mp2...eeerk :D

anyway i have been a 060 user since 1995.. and iirc it was in 96 when i first touched an mp3 on amiga, quality and playback has never had to be pressed down.

but then again its 060 ..

now with sb128...and ppc..well can't really say its better...

i want a dsp card.. :D

doommaster:can you please go to some pc board?, i am getting sick of you.

Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: NeRP on October 18, 2003, 08:06:38 PM
>It's possible, but playback quality through
>Paula - even 14bit - is atrocious. I couldn't
>handle more than a few minutes.

14 bit calibrated audio is just as good as 16 bit from a SoundBlaster Live sound card with the exception that you lose some upper end sound range.  Majority of people would not even notice the difference.

I suspect you did not set AHI up right, and you probably did not calibrate your audio using CyberSound.  Without calibration, your 14 bit audio will sound horrible as you describe.

I use Klipsch Promedia speakers on paula, and it sounds excellent, again, minus a bit of the upper range.  Most people would not know.
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: D00kie on October 18, 2003, 08:32:02 PM
I agree.
  The only thing my SB128 is really good for is convenient audio input and mixing with the CD audio. If you plan on using higher bitrate audio on SB, you'll need a 68060.

Streamer2 supports the parallel-port MAS and MAS Pro as well as the Delfina, so you could even listen to Internet Radio on a modest machine. (Well, one that supports OS 3.5)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: sprocket on October 18, 2003, 09:16:58 PM
As a follwup to my post about Individual Computer's Atlantis external sound solution for any Amiga....I also found this:

http://www.jschoenfeld.com/products/delfina_e.htm

It seems the delfina flipper is also capable of playing mp3s and taking the load off the processor.

I could be wrong but that's how I read it.
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Damion on October 18, 2003, 10:38:23 PM
Quote

14 bit calibrated audio is just as good as 16 bit from a SoundBlaster Live sound card with the exception that you lose some upper end sound range. Majority of people would not even notice the difference.


The difference is not that difficult to discern
IMO...high frequency sounds are clipped and
fuzzy.

Quote

I suspect you did not set AHI up right, and you probably did not calibrate your audio using CyberSound. Without calibration, your 14 bit audio will sound horrible as you describe.


Set up right, and at 44kHz, any sort of
delicate string music or piano sounds like
crap. It's OK for beat music or classic rock,
and admittedly it's acceptable for what
it is (an old ghetto 8 bit chip).
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Cass on October 19, 2003, 01:36:26 AM
I used to decode MP3s to aiff (Stephane TAVENARD`s mpega player cli-command), and then playback the aiff sample with 14bit calibrated Paula (Thomas Wenzel`s Play16) to a MiniDisk recorder. I had only a 030@25 with FPU, but I wanted to listen the songs at the maximum quality.

There are limits to S/N ratio and dynamic range, plus you may notice a noise (trashing bits?!) at the ending of a song (low volume). I used the CyberSound to calibrate the output.

Listening the recording is acceptable, but if you instantly listen the original, then the difference is great.
________
Glass bongs (http://glassbongs.org/)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Argo on October 19, 2003, 05:06:01 AM
You could try something like this:

AmiMPC (http://amimpc.world3.net/)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: jeffimix on October 19, 2003, 06:45:21 AM
Atlantis, well, don't hold your breath for it. But the Delfina is out and does roughly the exact same thing.
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Oldsmobile_Mike on October 19, 2003, 09:34:57 AM
Quote
Quote:  So... What chance would my a500+ with 2mb chip ram have of playing 44khz stereo mp3?    Should handle it fine, if you get a hardware decoder for it  


Only if that 2mb chip ram is mil-spec!   :-D
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: Jose on October 19, 2003, 11:24:15 AM
NeRP is right. I get amazed at how many people buy a sound card without knowing that. You'd much better get a faster processor that can handle realtime MP3 decoding, cause then you'd get both speed and the sound you want.

You have to use calibrated, it makes a big difference on some systems. The procedure is a bit tedious to learn on the docs and all that, and sometimes you won't get it right at first, but you won't regret it.

You'll be amazed at what Paula can do.
Paula rocks!


Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: CU_AMiGA on October 19, 2003, 12:26:02 PM
Remember, you need at least a 060@50 to get good quality sound, anything less would mean poor quality and speed. Even an 060 you can't do anything too  much. I have a PPC and 060 so i don't have this problem! :-) Use AmigaAmp!
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: that_punk_guy on October 19, 2003, 12:38:13 PM
Quote

Oldsmobile_Mike wrote:

Only if that 2mb chip ram is mil-spec!   :-D


ENOUGH!!

;-)
Title: Re: MP3 on Amiga?
Post by: CU_AMiGA on October 19, 2003, 12:42:54 PM
Quote

that_punk_guy wrote:
Quote

Oldsmobile_Mike wrote:

Only if that 2mb chip ram is mil-spec!   :-D


ENOUGH!!

;-)


PLEASE! :-)