Render MP3 quality of FH bvr hq?

WaveLab
1

If I burn to a MP3, and want the best quality, I choose 44.100 hz, and encoding 320 kbps.

What is the last column where you can choose. MP3 of 128, 192 and then FH bvr hq? What does this column at the bottom represent? What level of quality is this? I don’t see a 320 ?

What is the difference between ITunes + and ITunes Standard in bit quality?

What is the difference with Encoder Fraunhofer and Lame?

Is the Izotope dithering of higher quality than the Dither and Noise shaping option?. There is dither noise and noise shaping type 1-3.

Thank you

2

To at least partially answer 2 of your questions, there isn’t a 320 preset. You could select the 192 hq factory preset and change it to 320 by navigating the little page menus on the right and selecting “edit single format”.

FH VBR hq is high quality Variable Bit Rate MP3, probably comparable to 320 CBR in quality. But I would make sure to select the VBR headers on the setup page if I used VBR.

iTunes+ is 256k CBR AAC. iTunes Standard is 128k CBR AAC.

I vote for a MP3 320 CBR HQ factory preset because I ran across a video where the person dismisses making MP3 at all in Wavelab because it doesn’t have a 320 preset, and it’s not obvious how to make one with all the desired parameters.

3

Thanks I found under the single format the Constant bit rate, you can go to the 320. Then just use Highest quality under method.

Anyone have any insight on Frandofer or Lame?

4

I am not sure that this is correct … from the MFiT sheet:

“… the iTunes catalog was upgraded to iTunes Plus: a variable bit rate (VBR) 256 kbps AAC encoding format”.

5

Hi Rat, yes you’re right. Apple uses 256 vbr for iTunes+ files and they use the Apple encoder. I was talking about the presets that are in Wavelab that use the Fraunhofer encoder and are CBR, yet they’re labeled iTunes+ and iTunes Standard. I guess because they should be about the same quality as the Apple files.

6

In the Playback Processing slot of the Master Section is the Encoder Checker where you can live audition each vs. each other and the source.

Amazon still uses LAME to encode afaik, but Fraunhofer might be newer tech. They should both be very good at 320 hq, or VBR hq.

7

For the avoidance of confusion, I note that iTunes uses AAC but everything else mentioned in this thread is about MP3.

Paul

8

I don’t think I’m quite right about this. It turns out the Wavelab FH VBR hq MP3 is the same as the Fraunhofer 220 kbps min VBR MP3 in Sonnox Codec Toolbox. Maybe no one can tell a difference, but if you want to be sure of the highest quality MP3 I think I’d stick with the 320k CBR.

9

Another reason to stick to CBR is that some players mess up the timing (indicated times) of VBR MP3s and some also can’t handle fast forwarding or rewinding these MP3s.