cdotson wrote:
Several weeks ago I recorded some music streams that have the .ASF file endings. I was able to use the Wave Pad program (WavePad Master's Edition) to split the streams into individual song files. It worked beautifully. Today, I downloaded another .ASF file from the same source with the same recording program and WavePad would not open it. I retrieved some of the previously recorded .ASF files that WavePad had opened and could not open them either. The error message said that the .ASF file could not be opened either due to file format or that a required codec or plugin is not installed. I went to your technical support site and found that I should make sure that DirectX was installed. I downloaded the latest version of that program from Microsoft. Still no results. Any suggestions? Your help is appreciated.
Clay Dotson
Do you have the licensed (i.e., paid-for) copy of WavePad? It sounds to me like something in your copy of WavePad has now expired and no longer permits the loading of .asf files. I suspect that nchto will show up soon to answer your question :-).
I have the bought-and-paid-for version 3.03 WavePad Masters Edition and have been processing .asf files for some time now. I obtain these files daily on a scheduled basis and process them the next day. Each file is about 55 MB in length, corresponding with a one-hour time segment. I open the file with WavePad (getting the message "decoding with DirectX while it does this), followed by a message in a new window which states that the file is now being loaded. After it grinds away for a few minutes (even with my high-powered processing), the sound file appears in WavePad, with its .asf extension. So far so good.
After I edit this file, I _cannot_ save the file (as a .asf file) using CTR-S; i.e., I cannot save it in the format that is used before the editing. Nor can I save it as a .wma file, which is what I would really like to do.
However, I _can_ save it as an MP3 file, either using variable bit rate (available with WithPad) or a constant bit rate. I find that saving the edited file with a Variable Bit Rate leaves something to be desired. After some research on this subject, along with considerable trial and error, I have concluded that the best sound quality is obtained by saving the edited file at a 256k bit rate, although the amount of compression obtained with a 256k bit rate is less than that of a .asf file. For example, my 55 MB .asf file expands out to about 75 MB when the file (without cutting anything out) is save as 256k MP3. Even so, I am willing to settle for this reduced compression to obtain the superlative result of saving it at 256k. I have found that attempting to save the file at 320k (the largest available bit rate) does not do anything other than make the file even larger.
If I could save the edited file as a .wma file instead of a 256k bit rate file, I could get the same type of sound quality with a smaller file. This is the considerable advantage provided by the .wma process. But the problem here lies with the fact that the file, _after editing_, cannot be saved in .wma format.
I understand that your problem is that of loading the .asf file into the WavePad editor, which is not the same problem that I am talking about above. Incidentally, you mention that you have been advised to make sure that you have DirectX installed. I believe that this advice means: "Have DirectX installed from Swift Sound through its WavePad software installation, which (I believe) is not the same thing as downloading DirectX from Microsoft and having it available on your hard drive. I believe that there is some type of Swift Sound plugin containing the required link to DirectX, and that this message refers to having this plugin available. I could be mistaken, but we will have to await the answer from the source.....
Meanwhile, I _do_ know that I can load a .asf file into _my_ WavePad editor, without first downloading DirectX from Microsoft. I am virtually certain that DirectX was not on my computer before I bought WavePad and started editing it, which was many months before I had ever heard of a .asf (advanced streaming format) file.
This is my two cents at the moment. I find the .asf technology to be very impressive, and I am indeed fortunate that our local Public Broadcasting Station, KPBS, here in the San Diego, California area, is now streaming 24 hours around the clock using .asf technology. I would highly recommend that anyone here who wishes to experiment with high-quality internet audio streaming (at any time of the day or night) plug the following URL into their streaming software:
http://www.kpbs.org/kpbs64k.asx
This will get you a recordable stream resulting in a .asf file.
This is a news and information station during the day (Pacific Standard Time) and has classical music (in two different formats) from 7PM to 4AM seven days a week. If nothing else, you should learn something from this experience! The internet stream from this station is exceptional, at least locally. I don't know how it comes out when propagating through the internet, however. Try it from afar to find out.
Incidentally, you can _listen_ to this station (i.e., without recording it) from the web page at the following site:
http://www.kpbs.org/radio/listen
There are four streaming servers at this web page, one of which may work for you.
Musikone