Sonar Workflow 3 - Exporting Procedures - Revision history

Admin at 06:28, 30 June 2007

Admin — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 06:28:37 GMT

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	Here are step-by-step instructions for setting up the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME LAME] MP3 encoder (from the [http://forum.cakewalk.com/fb.asp?m=628456 Cakewalk Forum Thread] by [http://forum.cakewalk.com/showProfile.asp?memid=7837 Jesse G]):		Here are step-by-step instructions for setting up the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME LAME] MP3 encoder (from the [http://forum.cakewalk.com/fb.asp?m=628456 Cakewalk Forum Thread] by [http://forum.cakewalk.com/showProfile.asp?memid=7837 Jesse G]):

-	# [http://lame.sourceforge.net/~~index~~.php Download] and install the LAME encoder.	+	# [http://lame.sourceforge.net/links.php#Binaries Download] and install the LAME encoder.
	# Open SONAR 3/4/5 and go to ''Tools'' → ''Cakewalk Ext. Encoder Config''.		# Open SONAR 3/4/5 and go to ''Tools'' → ''Cakewalk Ext. Encoder Config''.
	# In the ''Friendly Name'' field write ''LAME MP3 Encoder''.		# In the ''Friendly Name'' field write ''LAME MP3 Encoder''.

Admin at 06:27, 30 June 2007

Admin — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 06:27:22 GMT

←Older revision		Revision as of 06:27, 30 June 2007
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	Here are step-by-step instructions for setting up the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME LAME] MP3 encoder (from the [http://forum.cakewalk.com/fb.asp?m=628456 Cakewalk Forum Thread] by [http://forum.cakewalk.com/showProfile.asp?memid=7837 Jesse G]):		Here are step-by-step instructions for setting up the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME LAME] MP3 encoder (from the [http://forum.cakewalk.com/fb.asp?m=628456 Cakewalk Forum Thread] by [http://forum.cakewalk.com/showProfile.asp?memid=7837 Jesse G]):

-	# [~~[Sonar_Workflow#Getting_LAME\|~~Download]] and install the LAME encoder.	+	# [http://lame.sourceforge.net/index.php Download] and install the LAME encoder.
	# Open SONAR 3/4/5 and go to ''Tools'' → ''Cakewalk Ext. Encoder Config''.		# Open SONAR 3/4/5 and go to ''Tools'' → ''Cakewalk Ext. Encoder Config''.
	# In the ''Friendly Name'' field write ''LAME MP3 Encoder''.		# In the ''Friendly Name'' field write ''LAME MP3 Encoder''.

Sms at 09:04, 1 October 2006

Sms — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 09:04:25 GMT

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Sms at 16:40, 25 September 2006

Sms — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:40:09 GMT

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Admin at 16:20, 25 September 2006

Admin — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:20:15 GMT

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	==Exporting From Sonar==		==Exporting From Sonar==

Admin at 16:07, 25 September 2006

Admin — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:07:39 GMT

Admin at 16:02, 25 September 2006

Admin — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 16:02:08 GMT

New page

(''[[Main_Page|Back to Home Page]]'')

==Exporting Procedures==

===Exporting From Sonar===

Once you've finished composing, tracking, mixing and exporting your music, you'll end up with one of four file types with SONAR's ''File'' | ''Export'' | ''Audio'' function: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wav RIFF WAV], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BWF Broadcast WAV], [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=WMA Windows Media Advanced Streaming] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mp3 MP3] (''if'' you have paid separately to use the MP3 codec that comes with SONAR).

'''RIFF WAV''' and '''Broadcast WAV''' files are the file types of choice for mastering, as they are [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless lossless] formats.

'''MP3''', on the other hand, is a [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossy lossy] format, meaning that you not only lose information (read: quality) by encoding a file as MP3, but you also lose additional quality every time you modify the file's content (though not, of course, its metadata). This makes MP3s suitable for casual listening, but not for mastering or even demanding listening.

If you choose not to buy the shareware codec that comes with Sonar, you can still produce MP3s with an external codec. By far the most highly recommended of these is [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME LAME], which is open source. It is also widely considered to be the best MP3 encoder around, making it preferable to the codec bundled with SONAR even without condidering monetary factors.

[[User:Sms|SMS]] 14:02, 15 September 2006 (EDT)

====Exporting MP3s from SONAR using LAME====

=====Step-By-Step Instructions For Encoding With LAME in SONAR=====

If you don't want to unlock (buy) the Cakewalk MP3 encoder, you can use the LAME MP3 encoder directly in SONAR. This way you don't need to first export to .wav and then encode to .MP3. The LAME MP3 encoder is high quality, open source and free.

Here are step-by-step instructions for setting up the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME LAME] MP3 encoder (from the [http://forum.cakewalk.com/fb.asp?m=628456 Cakewalk Forum Thread] by [http://forum.cakewalk.com/showProfile.asp?memid=7837 Jesse G]):

# [[Sonar_Workflow#Getting_LAME|Download]] and install the LAME encoder.
# Open SONAR 3/4/5 and go to ''Tools'' → ''Cakewalk Ext. Encoder Config''.
# In the ''Friendly Name'' field write ''LAME MP3 Encoder''.
# In the ''Extension'' field write ''.MP3''.
# In the ''Description'' field write whatever you want.
# In the ''Path'' field put the path where you installed the LAME encoder. That is where ''lame.exe'' and ''lame_enc.dll'' are located. I keep my LAME encoder in my "C:\\Program Files\\Cakewalk\\Shared Utilities\\LAME" folder. You can also copy and paste the extracted contents of the LAME .zip file to your Sonar shared utilities folder and then, when you have to perform this step, click the browse button to find the location.
#:''(Note that you may have to enclose paths containing spaces in quotation marks)''.
# In the ''Command Line'' field write (for example): <code>lame -b 192 -m j %I %O</code> (See [[Sonar_Workflow#Fine-Tuning_LAME_Encoding|below]] for more encoding options).
# Uncheck ''Keep Wave File''.
# Press ''Save'' button.

This will export a constant bitrate 192Kbps joint stereo MP3 file. If you want 128Kbps, replace 192 with 128 in the ''Command Line'' field. The next time you click on ''File'' → ''Export'' → ''Audio'' in SONAR 3, 4, 5 you'll find "LAME MP3 encoder" as a type of audio.

If you want to be able to export to both 192Kpbs and 128Kbps, click ''New'' and then repeat the above steps, but this time use 128 instead of 192 in the ''Command Line'', and also give them different ''Friendly Names'', such as "LAME 192k MP3" for the 192 version and "LAME 128k MP3" for the 128 version. Now you will have both choices the next time you export audio.

[[User:Dcastle|Dcastle]] 12:42, 15 September 2006 (EDT)

=====Fine-Tuning LAME Encoding=====

LAME permits a huge number of options in the command line. It's well worth your while to check out the main ones, as they can greatly affect the quality and file size of the MP3s you produce. These options are specified in the ''Command Line'' field of SONAR, as mentioned above. The syntax is:

: <code>lame <options> <infile> <outfile></code>

In practice, you will only be interested in changing the options, so the syntax can be simplified to:

: <code>lame <options> %I %O</code>

LAME offers three types of encoding: [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=VBR Variable Bitrate] (VBR), [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=ABR Average Bitrate] (ABR) and [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=CBR Constant Bitrate] (CBR). The rule of thumb, following [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=LAME#Recommended_encoder_settings Hydrogen Audio's] testing, is as follows: at a given bitrate, VBR is higher quality than ABR, which is higher quality than CBR (VBR > ABR > CBR in terms of quality). The exception to this is when you choose the highest possible CBR bitrate, which is 320 kbps (''-b 320 = --alt-preset insane''), but this produces very large file sizes for very little audible benefit.

The following are the recommended LAME encoding settings from [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Main_Page Hydrogen Audio]. They all go in the <options> field of the ''Command Line'' entry in SONAR:

'''''Variable Bitrate (VBR)'''''

Use [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=VBR VBR] when the goal is to achieve a ''fixed level of quality'' using the ''lowest possible bitrate''.

* VBR is best used to target a specific ''quality level'', instead of a specific bitrate. The final file size of a VBR encode is less predictable than with ABR, but the quality is usually better.
* Usage: ''-V(number)'' where the number is 0-9, 0 being ''highest'' quality, 9 being the ''lowest''.

Example: <code>lame -V2 %I %O</code>

'''''Average Bitrate (ABR)'''''

[http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=ABR ABR] is a compromise between VBR and CBR modes. ABR encoding varies bits around a specified target bitrate.

* Use ABR when you need to know the ''final size'' of the file but still want to allow the encoder some ''flexibility'' to decide which passages need more bits.
* Usage: ''--preset <bitrate>'' where <bitrate> (desired averaged bitrate in kbit/s) can be any value between 8 and 320 (e.g. 9, 17, 80, 128, 133, 200, etc).

Example: <code>lame --preset 200 %I %O</code>

'''''Constant Bitrate (CBR)'''''

[http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=CBR CBR] encoding is ''not'' efficient. Whereas VBR and ABR modes can supply more bits to complex music passages and save bits on simpler ones, CBR encodes every frame at the same bitrate.

* CBR is only recommended for usage in ''streaming'' situations where the upper bitrate must be strictly enforced.
* Usage: ''-b <bitrate>'' where <bitrate> (in kbit/s) ''must'' be chosen from the following values: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256, or 320.

Example: <code>lame -b 192 %I %O</code>

=====Fine-Tuning Other LAME Options=====

When exporting MP3s from SONAR using the LAME encoder, you can have a series of convenient operations performed automatically. These include:

* '''-c''': Setting the ''Copyright'' bit.
* '''--clipdetect''': Detecting clipping in the encoded MP3 file (you will only see this information if you keep the LAME command-line interface open).

Example: <code>lame -V2 --clipdetect -c %I %O</code>

This will produce a very high quality VBR (''-V2'') MP3, with the copyright bit set and clip detection activated.

The LAME help files detail many more options.

=====Getting LAME=====

The [http://lame.sourceforge.net/ main LAME site], on SourceForge, offers only the ''uncompiled LAME source code'', which is of no use to the average end user. What you need is a compiled binary of the LAME encoder.

You can download the LAME encoder from several sites, including:
* [http://www.rarewares.org/mp3.html Rarewares]
* [http://www.free-codecs.com/Lame_Encoder_download.htm Free-Codecs]
* [http://www.mp3-tech.org/encoders_win.html MP3-Tech]
* [http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~raa110/audacity/lame.html Here].

''Avoid using alpha (a) versions of LAME''. More often than not these are exclusively for testing purposes -- use them only if you want to help developers with feedback.

To manually encode MP3 files using LAME, several graphical front-ends are available, including [http://www.dors.de/razorlame/index.php RazorLame]. Note that RazorLame and most other front-ends require that you install the actual LAME binary encoder separately.

====Exporting Lossless FLAC files from SONAR====

=====Step-By-Step Instructions For Encoding With FLAC in SONAR=====

To export compressed archival-quality files from SONAR, the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=FLAC FLAC] encoder is recommended. [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless Lossless] formats such as [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC] retain all the information contained in the source [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wav .WAV] --the FLAC file can be converted back into a .WAV file with 100% bit-for-bit accuracy-- but are highly compressed, though not nearly as much as [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=MP3 MP3] files.

Here are step-by-step instructions for setting up the FLAC encoder. They have been tested in SONAR 5.2 Producer Edition.

# [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html Download] and install the FLAC encoder.
# Open SONAR and go to ''Tools'' → ''Cakewalk Ext. Encoder Config''.
# In the ''Friendly Name'' field write ''FLAC Lossless Encoder''.
# In the ''Extension'' field write ''.fla''.
# In the ''Description'' field write ''FLAC Lossless Compression Level 5.
# In the ''Path'' field put the path where you installed the FLAC encoder. This is where ''flac.exe'' and related files are located.
#:''(A path without spaces is recommended).''
# In the ''Command Line'' field write: <code>flac.exe --compression-level-5 %I -o %O</code>
# Uncheck ''Keep Wave File''.
# Press ''Save'' button.

This will export an optimally-compressed (compression level 5) FLAC file with no frills.

If you want FLAC to automatically add the few tags that SONAR passes to external encoders, use these options in Step 7:

* <code>flac.exe --compression-level-5 -T "ARTIST=%A" -T "TITLE=%T" -T "COPYRIGHT=%C" -T "COMMENT=%D" %I -o %O</code>

This puts the information found in SONAR's ''File'' → ''Info'' dialog box into the appropriate tags of the FLAC file (with "Description" being placed in the ''Comment'' field for lack of a better place).

In addition to the above tags, which will be different for each tune you compose (assuming you actually update the SONAR ''Info'' box), you can add your own tags with static data:

* <code>flac.exe --compression-level-5 -T "DATE=2006" -T "ALBUM=My Rockin Sonar Tunes" -T "GENRE=Cliched Heavy Metal Power Ballad" -T "ARTIST=%A" -T "TITLE=%T" -T "COPYRIGHT=%C" -T "COMMENT=%D" %I -o %O</code>

Here, you've set a fixed date with <code>-T "DATE=2006"</code> (which will have to be updated annually, of course), a fixed album name with <code>-T "ALBUM=My Rockin Sonar Tunes"</code> (which you will want to update as you move from one record to another) and a fixed genre with <code>-T "GENRE=Cliched Heavy Metal Power Ballad"</code> (which will require profound personal evolution and deep self-examination in order to change). Plus, all the automatic tags will be there, too.

'''''NOTE:''''' There is a limit to the number of characters that SONAR can pass to a command-line encoder. If you get an error when trying to encode using the tag settings above, you must either remove some of the tags from the command line, or reduce the length of the text they contain (e.g. a 12 paragraph description in the SONAR ''Info'' box would cause the encoding process to fail).

=====Fine-Tuning FLAC Encoding=====

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC] permits a huge number of options in the command line, but the truth is you won't really need them. However, in case you decide to experiment, read the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/documentation.html FLAC documentation] for more details.

Although FLAC offers 9 levels of compression (0-8, with 0 being the ''lowest'' compression and 8 being the ''highest''; audio quality is ''identical'' in all cases), the optimal level is 5. Higher than that and you gain only a small increase in compression, at a large processing cost. Lower than that and the level of compression quickly becomes less than ideal. But at the same time, since FLAC is an asymmetric encoder, ''encoding'' a FLAC file at higher compression rates takes up more CPU time, but ''decoding'' one (e.g. listening to it) does not take appreciably more CPU resources.

=====Getting FLAC=====

The [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ main FLAC site], on SourceForge, has everything you need to use FLAC -- the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html encoder binaries], [http://flac.sourceforge.net/documentation.html documentation], a [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html FAQ], and so on.

=====Listening to FLAC=====

FLAC is admittedly not the world's most common format for listening, but it's quite easy to do so.

*[http://www.foobar2000.org/ ''Foobar2000''] is a free audio player that supports FLAC and a ton of other formats you probably haven't heard of, right out of the box.
*[http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ ''VLC''] is a GPU video and audio player that supports FLAC out of the box.
*''Winamp'' can play FLAC files by installing a simple [http://www.winamp.com/plugins/browse.php?search=yes&filter=C&query=flac plug-in].
*''Windows Media Player'' can play FLAC files by installing either the [http://corecodec.org/projects/coreflac CoreFlac] of [http://www.illiminable.com/ogg/ Illuminable] DirectShow filters.
*''J.River Media Center'' can play FLAC files using the [http://mcplugins.sourceforge.net/in_flac.html In_FLAC] plug-in.

There are also FLAC plug-ins for many other media players. See [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=FLAC#Software here] or [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html here] (at the bottom of the page) for lists of programs and plug-in links.

===Transcoding Into Other Formats===

You may want to transcode a file exported from SONAR into another format for any number of reasons -- getting better sound per byte than MP3, getting the same quality as MP3s in a smaller size, archiving mixdowns, and so on. To do this, you need an external codec, either lossy or lossless. These may have built-in graphic interfaces for easy transcoding (drag-and-drop, for example), or they may be command line utilities, with or without a graphical front-end.

====Lossy Formats====

You can convert a (RIFF) WAV file exported from SONAR using any number of [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossy lossy] converters.

These include [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Ogg_Vorbis OGG/Vorbis], [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=AAC AAC], [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=AC3 Dolby AC3] and [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Musepack Musepack].

[http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=WMA WMA] gives you the choice between lossy or lossless compression; the lossy compression is roughly comparable to that of MP3 files at equivalent bitrates, and the same caveats for the MP3 format apply to WMA lossy compression.

Comparisons of lossy codecs are available [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=36465 here], [http://mp3.radified.com/mp3.htm here] and [http://mp3.radified.com/audio_codec_comparison.htm here].

====Lossless Formats====

Assuming you wish to keep archival ([http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless lossless]) copies of your mixdowns, but want to use a minimum of space, you have the option of converting RIFF WAV files to a compressed lossless format (as well as [[Sonar_Workflow#Exporting_Lossless_FLAC_files_from_SONAR|exporting directly]]), which can provide a considerably smaller file than the source WAV, while retaining 100% of the audio information in the recording, unlike MP3 or WAV lossless files. FLAC also provides file integrity information through frame CRCs and MD5 signatures.

One of the most popular lossless encoders is the open source [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=FLAC FLAC]. '''FLAC''' is available for most every operating system around, and in addition to providing substantial lossless compression, it is also directly playable on a growing number of [http://flac.sourceforge.net/links.html#hardware home and car stereos], [http://flac.sourceforge.net/links.html#hardware portable music players], and [http://flac.sourceforge.net/links.html#software software music players]. Furthermore, it is streamable and seekable. Some find it to be the ideal compromise solution for digitizing their CD collection, providing perfect [[Sonar_Workflow#Listening_to_FLAC|playback]] while taking up less space than WAVs (though quite a bit more than MP3s).

FLAC files can be converted back into WAV files that are bit-for-bit identical to the source WAV using the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html command line encoder] (which is also a decoder, tester and analyzer), various [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html#extras front ends], or the built-in file converter functions of some software players, such as [http://www.foobar2000.org/ Foobar2000].

The FLAC command-line encoder can be downloaded from the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC homepage]. A large number of graphical front-ends for making FLAC easier to use are available [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html#extras here].

A filter that allows FLAC files to be edited directly in Cool Edit or Adobe Audition can be had [http://www.vuplayer.com/files/flacfilter.zip here]. See [[Sonar_Workflow#Listening_to_FLAC|above]] for more details on playing FLAC files (not necessary for archival purposes, but it's pleasing indeed to hear ''true'' CD quality sound in a compressed format).

Other lossless codecs are [http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ '''Monkey's Audio'''], [http://www.wavpack.com/ '''WavPack'''] and [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/codecs/audio.aspx '''WMA Lossless'''].

Comparisons of FLAC and other lossless codecs can be found [http://members.home.nl/w.speek/comparison.htm here], [http://web.inter.nl.net/users/hvdh/lossless/lossless.htm here], [http://www.bobulous.org.uk/misc/lossless_audio_2006.html here] and [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless_comparison here].

[[User:Sms|SMS]] 14:02, 15 September 2006 (EDT)

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←Older revision		Revision as of 16:07, 25 September 2006
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-	~~==Exporting Procedures==~~	+	==Exporting From Sonar==
-		+
-	===Exporting From Sonar===	+

	Once you've finished composing, tracking, mixing and exporting your music, you'll end up with one of four file types with SONAR's ''File'' \| ''Export'' \| ''Audio'' function: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wav RIFF WAV], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BWF Broadcast WAV], [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=WMA Windows Media Advanced Streaming] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mp3 MP3] (''if'' you have paid separately to use the MP3 codec that comes with SONAR).		Once you've finished composing, tracking, mixing and exporting your music, you'll end up with one of four file types with SONAR's ''File'' \| ''Export'' \| ''Audio'' function: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wav RIFF WAV], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BWF Broadcast WAV], [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=WMA Windows Media Advanced Streaming] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mp3 MP3] (''if'' you have paid separately to use the MP3 codec that comes with SONAR).
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	[[User:Sms\|SMS]] 14:02, 15 September 2006 (EDT)		[[User:Sms\|SMS]] 14:02, 15 September 2006 (EDT)

-	====Exporting MP3s from SONAR using LAME====	+	===Exporting MP3s from SONAR using LAME===

-	=====Step-By-Step Instructions For Encoding With LAME in SONAR=====	+	====Step-By-Step Instructions For Encoding With LAME in SONAR====

	If you don't want to unlock (buy) the Cakewalk MP3 encoder, you can use the LAME MP3 encoder directly in SONAR. This way you don't need to first export to .wav and then encode to .MP3. The LAME MP3 encoder is high quality, open source and free.		If you don't want to unlock (buy) the Cakewalk MP3 encoder, you can use the LAME MP3 encoder directly in SONAR. This way you don't need to first export to .wav and then encode to .MP3. The LAME MP3 encoder is high quality, open source and free.
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	[[User:Dcastle\|Dcastle]] 12:42, 15 September 2006 (EDT)		[[User:Dcastle\|Dcastle]] 12:42, 15 September 2006 (EDT)

-	=====Fine-Tuning LAME Encoding=====	+	====Fine-Tuning LAME Encoding====

	LAME permits a huge number of options in the command line. It's well worth your while to check out the main ones, as they can greatly affect the quality and file size of the MP3s you produce. These options are specified in the ''Command Line'' field of SONAR, as mentioned above. The syntax is:		LAME permits a huge number of options in the command line. It's well worth your while to check out the main ones, as they can greatly affect the quality and file size of the MP3s you produce. These options are specified in the ''Command Line'' field of SONAR, as mentioned above. The syntax is:
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	Example: <code>lame -b 192 %I %O</code>		Example: <code>lame -b 192 %I %O</code>

-	=====Fine-Tuning Other LAME Options=====	+	====Fine-Tuning Other LAME Options====

	When exporting MP3s from SONAR using the LAME encoder, you can have a series of convenient operations performed automatically. These include:		When exporting MP3s from SONAR using the LAME encoder, you can have a series of convenient operations performed automatically. These include:
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	The LAME help files detail many more options.		The LAME help files detail many more options.

-	=====Getting LAME=====	+	====Getting LAME====

	The [http://lame.sourceforge.net/ main LAME site], on SourceForge, offers only the ''uncompiled LAME source code'', which is of no use to the average end user. What you need is a compiled binary of the LAME encoder.		The [http://lame.sourceforge.net/ main LAME site], on SourceForge, offers only the ''uncompiled LAME source code'', which is of no use to the average end user. What you need is a compiled binary of the LAME encoder.
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	To manually encode MP3 files using LAME, several graphical front-ends are available, including [http://www.dors.de/razorlame/index.php RazorLame]. Note that RazorLame and most other front-ends require that you install the actual LAME binary encoder separately.		To manually encode MP3 files using LAME, several graphical front-ends are available, including [http://www.dors.de/razorlame/index.php RazorLame]. Note that RazorLame and most other front-ends require that you install the actual LAME binary encoder separately.

-	====Exporting Lossless FLAC files from SONAR====	+	===Exporting Lossless FLAC files from SONAR===

-	=====Step-By-Step Instructions For Encoding With FLAC in SONAR=====	+	====Step-By-Step Instructions For Encoding With FLAC in SONAR====

	To export compressed archival-quality files from SONAR, the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=FLAC FLAC] encoder is recommended. [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless Lossless] formats such as [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC] retain all the information contained in the source [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wav .WAV] --the FLAC file can be converted back into a .WAV file with 100% bit-for-bit accuracy-- but are highly compressed, though not nearly as much as [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=MP3 MP3] files.		To export compressed archival-quality files from SONAR, the [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=FLAC FLAC] encoder is recommended. [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless Lossless] formats such as [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC] retain all the information contained in the source [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wav .WAV] --the FLAC file can be converted back into a .WAV file with 100% bit-for-bit accuracy-- but are highly compressed, though not nearly as much as [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=MP3 MP3] files.
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	'''''NOTE:''''' There is a limit to the number of characters that SONAR can pass to a command-line encoder. If you get an error when trying to encode using the tag settings above, you must either remove some of the tags from the command line, or reduce the length of the text they contain (e.g. a 12 paragraph description in the SONAR ''Info'' box would cause the encoding process to fail).		'''''NOTE:''''' There is a limit to the number of characters that SONAR can pass to a command-line encoder. If you get an error when trying to encode using the tag settings above, you must either remove some of the tags from the command line, or reduce the length of the text they contain (e.g. a 12 paragraph description in the SONAR ''Info'' box would cause the encoding process to fail).

-	=====Fine-Tuning FLAC Encoding=====	+	====Fine-Tuning FLAC Encoding====

	[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC] permits a huge number of options in the command line, but the truth is you won't really need them. However, in case you decide to experiment, read the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/documentation.html FLAC documentation] for more details.		[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC] permits a huge number of options in the command line, but the truth is you won't really need them. However, in case you decide to experiment, read the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/documentation.html FLAC documentation] for more details.
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	Although FLAC offers 9 levels of compression (0-8, with 0 being the ''lowest'' compression and 8 being the ''highest''; audio quality is ''identical'' in all cases), the optimal level is 5. Higher than that and you gain only a small increase in compression, at a large processing cost. Lower than that and the level of compression quickly becomes less than ideal. But at the same time, since FLAC is an asymmetric encoder, ''encoding'' a FLAC file at higher compression rates takes up more CPU time, but ''decoding'' one (e.g. listening to it) does not take appreciably more CPU resources.		Although FLAC offers 9 levels of compression (0-8, with 0 being the ''lowest'' compression and 8 being the ''highest''; audio quality is ''identical'' in all cases), the optimal level is 5. Higher than that and you gain only a small increase in compression, at a large processing cost. Lower than that and the level of compression quickly becomes less than ideal. But at the same time, since FLAC is an asymmetric encoder, ''encoding'' a FLAC file at higher compression rates takes up more CPU time, but ''decoding'' one (e.g. listening to it) does not take appreciably more CPU resources.

-	=====Getting FLAC=====	+	====Getting FLAC====

	The [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ main FLAC site], on SourceForge, has everything you need to use FLAC -- the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html encoder binaries], [http://flac.sourceforge.net/documentation.html documentation], a [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html FAQ], and so on.		The [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ main FLAC site], on SourceForge, has everything you need to use FLAC -- the [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html encoder binaries], [http://flac.sourceforge.net/documentation.html documentation], a [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html FAQ], and so on.

-	=====Listening to FLAC=====	+	====Listening to FLAC====

	FLAC is admittedly not the world's most common format for listening, but it's quite easy to do so.		FLAC is admittedly not the world's most common format for listening, but it's quite easy to do so.
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	There are also FLAC plug-ins for many other media players. See [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=FLAC#Software here] or [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html here] (at the bottom of the page) for lists of programs and plug-in links.		There are also FLAC plug-ins for many other media players. See [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=FLAC#Software here] or [http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html here] (at the bottom of the page) for lists of programs and plug-in links.

-	===Transcoding Into Other Formats===	+	==Transcoding Into Other Formats==

	You may want to transcode a file exported from SONAR into another format for any number of reasons -- getting better sound per byte than MP3, getting the same quality as MP3s in a smaller size, archiving mixdowns, and so on. To do this, you need an external codec, either lossy or lossless. These may have built-in graphic interfaces for easy transcoding (drag-and-drop, for example), or they may be command line utilities, with or without a graphical front-end.		You may want to transcode a file exported from SONAR into another format for any number of reasons -- getting better sound per byte than MP3, getting the same quality as MP3s in a smaller size, archiving mixdowns, and so on. To do this, you need an external codec, either lossy or lossless. These may have built-in graphic interfaces for easy transcoding (drag-and-drop, for example), or they may be command line utilities, with or without a graphical front-end.

-	====Lossy Formats====	+	===Lossy Formats===

	You can convert a (RIFF) WAV file exported from SONAR using any number of [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossy lossy] converters.		You can convert a (RIFF) WAV file exported from SONAR using any number of [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossy lossy] converters.
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	Comparisons of lossy codecs are available [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=36465 here], [http://mp3.radified.com/mp3.htm here] and [http://mp3.radified.com/audio_codec_comparison.htm here].		Comparisons of lossy codecs are available [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=36465 here], [http://mp3.radified.com/mp3.htm here] and [http://mp3.radified.com/audio_codec_comparison.htm here].

-	====Lossless Formats====	+	===Lossless Formats===

	Assuming you wish to keep archival ([http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless lossless]) copies of your mixdowns, but want to use a minimum of space, you have the option of converting RIFF WAV files to a compressed lossless format (as well as [[Sonar_Workflow#Exporting_Lossless_FLAC_files_from_SONAR\|exporting directly]]), which can provide a considerably smaller file than the source WAV, while retaining 100% of the audio information in the recording, unlike MP3 or WAV lossless files. FLAC also provides file integrity information through frame CRCs and MD5 signatures.		Assuming you wish to keep archival ([http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless lossless]) copies of your mixdowns, but want to use a minimum of space, you have the option of converting RIFF WAV files to a compressed lossless format (as well as [[Sonar_Workflow#Exporting_Lossless_FLAC_files_from_SONAR\|exporting directly]]), which can provide a considerably smaller file than the source WAV, while retaining 100% of the audio information in the recording, unlike MP3 or WAV lossless files. FLAC also provides file integrity information through frame CRCs and MD5 signatures.