SVR-HDT1000 HDD - MP3 file compatibility problems

[nm2001]

I have an MP3 album transferred from a laptop via memory stick which will not play on hard disc recorder. The error message displayed is 'File type not supported'.  I checked the file type on computer and they are MPEG I Layer 3 & according to instruction manual they should be played by machine.  Is there a fault with hardware or software of hard disc recorder?

[stnorth78]

I have an SVR-HDT500 with the latest firmware installed (4.21.R8585) and have found by experimentation that the unit can only play MP3 audio files that are constant bit rate (CBR) encoded. If I attempt to play variable bit rate (VBR) encoded MP3 audio files I get the same "File Type Not Supported" message. I have previously posted my observation on this forum and haven't received a single reply. I to would like to know if the latest firmware is responsible for this irritating limitation.

[nm2001]

I've checked MP3 files that will not play & they have bitrates of eg 263 but I can't tell whether they are fixed or variable. 

[nikkilim]

MPEG is a video file format not an audio. Right click on the file type and click on properties. Check again please.

[stnorth78]

nm2001,

The file properties reported by Windows will not tell you whether an MP3 audio file is CBR or VBR encoded. Windows only reports the average bit rate of  a MP3 file. If the individual MP3 files in your album have slightly different average bit rates then it is very likely that VBR encoding was used. To be absolutely sure about the encoding method used then download a freeware program called "MediaInfo" (http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en) and use this to inspect the MP3 files. This program will tell you whether the files are VBR or CBR encoded.

nikklim,

I haven't a clue what you are on about.

[nm2001]

Thanks for info which proved very useful. The bit rates of files in album which wouln't play varied between about 215 - 280 KB/s.  I searched Web & found software which converts files to constant bit rate at www.dB.poweramp.com

This works very well and files play fine after conversion on HDD recorder. You can convert entire album using the right-click menu to select all files & 'convert to' option.  It also converts files to other formats eg WAV/M4A/FLAC etc & retrieves lost data like Album art.

Message was edited by: nm2001

Message was edited by: nm2001

[stnorth78]

nm2001,

Glad to hear that you have confirmed that MP3 audio files need to be CBR encoded to be playable on a SVR-HDT500/1000. What I find strange is that the hardware is capable of decoding VBR MP3 audio files. This can be demonstrated by using the Background Music facility when running a Photo slide show. You can select a folder containing VBR encoded MP3 files and the unit will play one of the files in a continuous loop. Haven't worked out yet how the unit selects which MP3 file to play. The selection appears quite random. I would very much like one of the Sony employees that participate on this forum to take an interest in this topic. Is there a bug in the firmware that prevents the unit from playing VBR MP3 audio files in the "music player" mode.

Message was edited by: stnorth78

Message was edited by: stnorth78

[nm2001]

RE: Background music facility.  When first using the Sony HDD recorder I found it odd that you had to tell machine what type of file it was about to play by selecting Photo/Music/Video etc unlike on a computer.  I thought I had lost all the music files on machine when I selected one forgetting that last time it had been set to 'Photo' file option. Also this means it is not straightforward to display Album artwork on TV screen when playing music track. I found the only way to do this was to select Media Type to Photo - select a file from album which displays static image of album art then choose Background Music and reselect same music file! This plays the whole album but I can't find a simpler way of doing same thing.