The length of the file is incorrect

Hi. In the project, the duration of the output file is precisely 30.000 seconds when it is saved as a wave file. However, when it is saved as an mp3 file, the time exceeds 0.041 seconds. How is this possible?

MP3 files may add some samples to the file due to the chosen data compression method during encoding or may be interpreted differently when decoded in different software. See this: render as mp3 / wl 8.5.2 bug?

Thank you, but there is no solution to this problem.

I don’t believe it is a problem at all. It will never get rejected because of this very small discrepancy.

The solution is to use a format that doesn’t mess up data by definition.

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Is that a question or a statement?

As stated by @Dietz the solution is to use non-compressed formats. Also try reading the link provided above which will give you some understanding of how and why this happens. If you do a search elsewhere on this subject you will find plenty of users who have had similar issues.

Further references on this subject:
1 - Reddit - Dive into anything
2 - Why do mp3 files have a time delay when compared to wav files? - Sound Design Stack Exchange
3 - Cubase 10 mp3 audio import time-shifted?

For most users of Cubase and Nuendo the use of MP3 is quite simply a non-starter for serious audio work, unless of course you are having to provide a final file in MP3 format. If that is the case then, once again, read the links above to find out the various caveats and issues you might encounter.

@singerlelik by the way, the image you posted in your first post is not visible. Please post in a format which can be viewed in this forum.

I engage in television and radio advertising, and there are strict guidelines in place. If any discrepancies are detected, the material is returned for correction.
Since Nuendo is primarily a post-production tool, this problem must be addressed first.

I would not have been aware of this issue if the client had not contacted me about it. He was quite upset because the technical specifications were not met.

This is not a mere caprice on my part. The customer specified that the material must be submitted in MP3 format, and any deviation from the specified duration, even by 41 thousandths of a second, is not acceptable. There are strict regulations regarding TV and radio broadcasts. It’s quite peculiar, is there no way to resolve this issue? I have to manually compress the file slightly.

as are many of us here, however, i have never been asked to send MP3 as a delivery for TV or radio…

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Are you acquainted with many individuals in this forum and aware of their activities and schedules?
Let’s speak only for yourself, if you haven’t encountered this, it doesn’t mean that others don’t have it.
But as I understand it, there is no solution to this problem(

Please don’t take this wrongly but there has been no intention to diminish the importance of what you are doing. The references provided simply made it clear that you may run into difficulties using MP3… and up till the point of my last two posts you had given no specific indication that you had been asked to provide a delivery MP3 file of a specified precise duration to a client.

Please clarify.

Are you using Nuendo’s Export Audio Mixdown to save the MP3? If so, what are the precise steps you take to do so? What sample rate and bit rate are you using? Are you comparing the durations of the two files within Nuendo? Or are you (or your client) analysing the files in some other manner in other software?

FYI in a test creating an MP3 file here using Export Audio Mixdown, and re-importing into Nuendo, the result is exactly the same duration for all commonly used MP3 file formats when compared with the original wave file. I would suggest therefore that there is no issue in Nuendo and that there may be some variable in your methodology (or the methodology of your client) which is not optimal.

But you are right with regard to using MP3 files for timing-critical applications - there may be no solution - but this is for the variations or inaccuracies you may encounter due to the nature of the MP3 file format itself, and not due to Nuendo.

The apparent success of the Export Audio Mixdown test outlined above might be misleading since the MP3 audio gets converted to a wave file upon import. But regardless of any test, you and your client perhaps need to be aware that an MP3 file in its native format may still suffer issues / differences when played on other systems or in different software. This is one of the reasons why it’s not considered a reliable format for timing-critical file exchange or final delivery.

Maybe this is getting stuck in a QC department somewhere, someone running software with zero tolerance. I delivered for radio last year or the year before using mp3 format and it was fine.

However, as far as actually resolving the issue I think the other people are correct: This is a limitation of the format itself, not Nuendo, and it’s really hard to fix.

I think over a decade ago I had to output stems that summed to a music mix for advertising and it was background stuff that would be turned on and off by the user, and since it was online it had to be mp3 for bandwidth reasons. The files all started playback at exactly the same time once loaded but then would loop differently because of the problem you ran into, so the sync between drums, bass, guitars etc. drifted over time. Clients unhappy. We investigated and realized there was no solution at the time technically. Nothing. They insisted on mp3. This is what you get.

So I think you’re stuck.

^^^^^^^^^^ This.

You could make your audio 1/1000 slower (play with the parameters) to get your exact 30.000 timing. There is no perceivable difference in the human ear.

One other solution is to have your music end at 29.850 (play with the length until your audio is exactly 30.000 seconds

One other solution is to bounce it in wav format and then use another software to convert it to mp3 and if necessary use the 2 first options on the converted mp3

One other solution is to cut the excess ms and fade out your ending (I mean there is no note at 0.197 secs).

One other solution is to trim the beginning or find a part somewhere in the mix that could handle that little cutting

Sounds like an unsolvable problem indeed

I have delivered well over 10,000 radio and tv ads and have never had this problem. I am quite sure your client is over reacting.

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You could import thay file back in nuendo, trim to desired lenght, bounce in place.then just pull that clip from project audio pool.

The client could have outsourced to a company that does QC and the latter are sticklers. Wouldn’t surprise me.