>> 
>>
>> Downside : it takes ages to encode. About 20 mins for a 38.7 MB (3:49 mins
>> long) stereo AIFF file on my 233MHz G3 PowerMac.
>
> Time for a G4@500, Drew!
>
By the time I can afford one, there'll probably be a G4@750...

> P.S. Have a look to the sound encoders that come with Quicktime 4. That is
> compression! You dont need the Pro version, just use MoviePlayer 2.5 (you
> keep a copy, dont you?)
>
> Javier Ruiz (still married with a Supra 28.800)

Javier, you sly dog you... Thanks a bunch for letting us in on this.

Like a good little upgrader, I'd moved from QT 2.5 to QT 3 to QT 4,
all the while getting rid of earlier versions of all components.

I dug up QT 2.5 off a CD-ROM, & reinstalled only MoviePlayer 2.5

It encodes !!!

So, using a test file, I tried 4 diiferent encoders :
- mPecker (I still use it by turning the clock back on my Mac, he he he... )
- Apple Quicktime 4 with MoviePlayer 2.5 (.mov format)
- Yamaha Sound VQ (.vqf format)
- RealProducer 6.1.0.153 (.rm format)

Here's the result & my observations :
format        file size      quality
___________________________________________________________________________
mp3            2.7 MB        best. marginally better than QT.
128kbps stereo

mov            1.2 MB        pretty darn good, but mp3 is a little better
40kbps  stereo               but consider the file size !

vqf            1.6 MB        close to QT .mov, but larger file, and much
40kbps  stereo               smaller user base.

rm             480 kb        encoded for 28.8 kbps streaming, acceptable for
                             the purpose. I could have tried encoding at a
                             higher rate, but since this is essentially
                             a streaming format, it's moot.


Drew Skyfyre (still single & broke with a ProLink 33.600)