Playlist won't play MP3s

[Sausehuhn]

The title explains it pretty well.
I've imported a few of my own MP3s into the game and a few don't work. Yes, the music is at the right place, otherwise the playlist would not even show the tracks.
When I play the tracks in the playlist menu all I get is nothing or the first second of the track repeating itself over and over again.

Something wrong with the MP3s? Too big? Or what's the case with them?

Please help!

[qirex]

i have 57 mp3s on mem stick but only about 40 show up. I dont know why the others wont even show, however the ones that show up play flawlessly.

I would try convert them ( dbPowerAmp ) with different settings to different bitrates until the play... or play around with the filenames?!?

[Sausehuhn]

1st I thought the problem were the filenames, yes. If they are too long the full name won't show. But I have tracks that have too long filenames and they work. And then some non-working tracks have short enough names but they don't work nonetheless.
Ah and you can only use up to 30 own tracks in the game. That's what the manual says. If it's actually 40 they may changed that later when the manual was already done.

[Vincent_VII]

Spaces in the file names? Dashes or odd characters?

[qirex]

no its 30 is correct
didn't thought about the 16 original ones :dizzy

well compare bitrates, vbr settings and stereo - joint stereo settings maybe. But for me its working with vbr and highest bitrate settings...

or maybe one of the devs can comment?

[ZenDJiNN]

I've added about 16 tracks of my own & removed most of the original tracks that came with the game (just to experiment) and it all works as it should. Great fun listening to your fave tunes while doing Time Trials or Zones etc. :)

Oh, and they're a variety of bitrates, mostly encoded at either 256 - 320k by myself from a variety of CD's. So maybe if there's a problem then it's some kind of strange coding, or split stereo or somesuch.

[swift killer]

I think it's the same thing that usually used to happen with Window Media Player, it simply can't read certain mp3's for whatever reason.

Be sure you check your tags, bitrate, sample rate, etc., you might need to tweak your mp3's so they work.

[tapioca]

I've spent much time solving this issue yesterday and here's what i found :

- the mp3 sample rate must be 44Khz in stereo (22Khz or others don't work in Pulse, although it can be played in the PSP's XMB. It's been very confusing to me at first, but i guess it has to match other Pulse sounds sample rate)

- some mp3 encoders signatures don't work (LAME is OK, iTunes too…, but i happened to cut some tracks in an external audio editor - Peak - and the resulting mp3 didn't play in Pulse). In this case, just re-encode it with your favourite app.
I can't tell for Window Media Player, as i'm on a mac.

- long track names don't seem to be an issue (Pulse just doesn't display the entire name).
- i didn't find anything special related to mp3 duration, bitrate (tried from 48 to 320Khz), special characters

[Vincent_VII]

This makes perfect sense. Of the 12 I put in the WipEout folder - 5 were 66khz and will not play.

[Frances_Penfold]

Wow, Tapioca, thanks for that helpful analysis!

(Still don't have the game yet but I will refer to your post when I am working on assembling my custom soundtrack...)

[Rapier Racer]

Just to clarity where does this WIPEOUT folder go? I've tried the PSP->MUSIC->WIPEOUT and MP_ROOT->MUSIC->WIPEOUT just to be sure, MP3s meet the specs above but they don't even show on the playlist

[Hellfire_WZ]

It need to be on the root of the memory stick, so it's a folder on its own outside the MP_ROOT and PSP folders

[qirex]

<YourDriveLetter>:\MUSIC\WIPEOUT

[Rapier Racer]

ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh, I sees. How easy, how could I have interpreted that wrong...

[Hellfire_WZ]

Quite easily actually, I did that the first time as well ;)

[Sausehuhn]

So I imported the tracks that didn't work to Audacity and saved them as MP3s again (Audacity used LAME for that).
And in Pulse's playlist I can now see these tracks twice, though one of them shows just the track's name (no Tags etc, just the file's name) and the other one shows the same name, just with an "._" infront of it (for example: I see "Switchback" in the playlist and then again "._Switchback").

And now I'm very confused.

[tapioca]

Let me guess… You're on a mac like me. I used to have this problem with my mobile first (a sony with memory stick) and found a cure for it. This is due to invisible files that only macs can generate.
Just use that little software and you're done with it : http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/16996

(BTW i love Switchback and its "old B-movie" UFO sound…)

[Vincent_VII]

tapioca, thank you for that program. I have been looking for something that would remove those files.

[xEik]

For such a basic thing I prefer an Automator workflow in my contextual menu (for example I have one for .DS_Store files) instead of a standalone program that seems to phone home.

[Sausehuhn]

You're right, I'm on a Mac. Thanks a lot, tapioca! :D

[tapioca]

Oh, that was nothing Sausehuhn.
>xEik, I don't know much of Automator, but it looks like you're right for the call thing. I also found that the app crashes when preventing home calls. What's strange is that it works fine when i'm disconnected… I wasn't wary of such a tiny app

So i had a search and found 2 apps that seem to do the same job (not tested yet) :
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9105/grimrippercm
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/17341/winfscleanser#descContainer_link

or this one, but it's no freeware (12$95 ?? what)
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/20036/blueharvest

Hope this helps. I'm trying these myself tomorrow

[Frances_Penfold]

While we are on the topic of mac computers and Wipeout, have you stumbled upon any solutions for using the Playstation Network to download demos and games WITHOUT having to use Sony's PC-based software?

[Sausehuhn]

I tried CrossOver (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrossOver) but the installer didn't work. But maybe there's a way to get it working as the program does not seem too big and complecated to emulate, doesn't it?

[Rapier Racer]

Maybe someone should put a little word about MP3s on the main Wipeout-game site I bet there are a few folk wondering why it's not working, the manual isn't exactly a great guide, doesn't say anything about 44 kHz.

[Ash-Omen]

i think ive found fix without all that changing bitrate, update too latest firmware since ive done that the tracks that dint work r now working fine, so if ur having problems with soundtracks try updating to firmware 3.80 unless ur on custom fw ofcourse.

might work seems to have worked for me

[mdhay]

This might be a long shot, but try connecting to your pc, go in to the files, right click and select properties, find keep files hidden, and clear the box. this method is a definite long shot, but it may work.

[Ash-Omen]

i dont think that would work the files shouldent be hidden anyway and i dont think it would effect the psp accessing them anyway try the firmware cos i was randomly playin and Nickleback-Rockstar started playin and that was one of the files that dint work bfore the upgrade havent tested the rest that dint work yet tho

[xEik]

I see "Switchback" in the playlist and then again "._Switchback"

Since I'm on a Mac too and the tracks I ripped from my WO3 game in iTunes display this problem, I created a script that you might want to use. The nice thing is that it deletes the ._ files automatically when you add new mp3 files to the WIPEOUT folder.


Download the script (You can open it to see what it does, it is very simple)
Put the script in the folder "/Library/Scripts/Folder Action Scripts/"
Connect your PSP to your Mac
On a Finder window right click with the mouse and choose "Configure folder actions"
On the configuration window that appears check the option "Enable Folder Actions"
Add the MUSIC/WIPEOUT folder from the PSP to the list on the left
Add the "WipEout Music.scpt" to the list on the right
Close the configuration window


Now, every time you add any kind of file to the MUSIC/WIPEOUT the .DS_Store file and all files beginning with "._" and ending with ".mp3" will be detleted from that folder automatically.

I hope you find it helpful. :g

[Kansas]

I'm so confused.

so...I guess, the custom music feature is flawed? That's lame.

I tried to convert some WMAs to MP3s using Nero WaveEditor and they all caused my PSP to crash.

Then, I used some files that were already MP3s, and only a few worked. The others also caused the PSP to crash.

This is really stupid and annoying.

I think I'll just stick to the regular music list unless someone can help me out.

[wich]

Use a good encoder like lame, some Windows clients:

CDex
Exact Audio Copy
out_lame plug-in for winamp
winLAME
ZLURP

There has been some talk of the new download packs in combination with a custom soundtrack crashing the PSP, but this is not yet confirmed. You could try and see what hapens without the download packs though.

[tapioca]

I realize i didn't thank you for the script, xEik. So here it is : thanks a lot, it works perfectly. Better than buying an app for such a small task…

[Kansas]

Use a good encoder like lame, some Windows clients:

CDex
Exact Audio Copy
out_lame plug-in for winamp
winLAME
ZLURP

There has been some talk of the new download packs in combination with a custom soundtrack crashing the PSP, but this is not yet confirmed. You could try and see what hapens without the download packs though.

I haven't downloaded any packs yet.

so, either one of those encoders would help?

update: CDex didn't work. :(

by the way, how can I tell which MP3s will work fine and which won't? I feel like I'm shooting in the dark here.

UPDATE: the CDex DID work, but it was sending the files to a different folder. Everything works fine now :D

[wich]

Glad to hear it worked correctly.

[xEik]

I realize i didn't thank you for the script, xEik. So here it is : thanks a lot, it works perfectly. Better than buying an app for such a small task…
Don't mention it. :D
BTW here is an improved version. It better handles filenames with non-english characters (Don't even ask why I was putting files of "Le Clavier bien tempéré" in my WIPEOUT folder).
You just have to overwrite the previous script file.

[gnesta_93]

<YourDriveLetter>:\MUSIC\WIPEOUT

Thx, now it works!!!:D

[Primal-Convoy]

APOLOGIES FOR BUMPING THIS PERHAPS OLD THREAD. JUST REMEMBERED I FOUND THIS VIA SEARCH. A THOUSAND APOLOGIES!

Hi! Im new here and I have the same probs.

1/ Some wont play.

2/ If I change the file name, some that didnt play now play and then some that did now dont.

3/ I actually ripped my old 2097 GAME CD tracks (excluding the data track) and after media player butchered the names (it thought it was the SOUNDTRACK), I converted them to MP3 via the great "SUPER" converter (google it if you like. It converts almost any media file into another, like flv into mp3, mp3 into a mov file etc).

4/ Some worked some didnt in the game. Most notably:

- 03 Chemical Brothers – Loops of Fury

- 04 Underworld – Tin There

- 09 Fluke – V Six

- 10 Daft Punk – Musique

- 12 Photek – Titan

- 13 Orbital – P.E.T.R.O.L

It seemed weird that the new wipeout would not accept the old wipeout's music mp3 tracks so I even tried replacing them with poorer versions, first downloaded fromyoutube of all places, converted to mp3 via SUPER and then insterted into the folder.

Still, no dice, even though different tracks converted from youtube etc via SUPER DID work!

So, is there any noob-proof way to check the hertz or whatever it is (44 hertz, right?) and/or the bitrate and then convert a track to be "Pulse friendly"?

Im sure SUPER can do it, but im not that great. If someone could have a look and then either help me by using super OR by suggesting some nice freeware to do the job of converting them then that would be spendifferous!

Cheers!

[Darkdrium777]

I agree, SUPER is great :P It can be a pain to find the download link on their site though.

Anyways, your music has to be in 44.100 Hz in MP3 in order to work, and have a 'normal' bitrate. I know some songs I had were at a bitrate of 206 or 178 or stuff like that, and they wouldn't play. 'Normalized' to a standard bitrate of 192 (CD-Quality) they did work, so make sure they have that kind of bitrate, good numbers are 128kbps, 192kbps, 256kbps and 320kbps for good quality and optimal compatibility.

If that still doesn't work, formatting your memory stick after having everything backed up will work. ;)

[Primal-Convoy]

Thanks! however, consider me a bit "Tim...Tim...Timmy..Tim...TIMMY!" in these matters.

How do I change any of these factors using, say, SUPER? Any idiots guides please?

[Darkdrium777]

http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/9422/supermp3ma5.png

This is the correct settings for good quality music ;)

[Primal-Convoy]

Would you like to have my babies? I'm sure I can spare a rugrat or two? Its either you or the pioneer research lab for extra spiky things into suple young flesh over at the crazy research lab in Maine.

[Primal-Convoy]

Well, I set up SUPER as you said and converted them to 192bitrate and 44mhz....still nothing. The same converted tracks just WILL NOT WORK!

What the HELL is wrong with this game? Was it released unfinished? There are just SO many bugs? When I load up a race sometimes and press pause to see the menu, none of the names of the MP3s are in the playlist but the ones that normally play do work, leaving me with a "guess the soundtrack" option that I could do without.

Honestly, I have little or no sympathy for Psygnos- Sony if others are copying this game. It is'nt a game right now, its a beta test version at best.

Terrible. I suspect those that got a copied version are demanding their money back!

Now, can I ask another silly question please? If, I was a complete cretin and put more than 30 extra tracks into the playlist, would the Options/Playlist menue ignore any tracks that were over the 30 track quota? By that I mean would it not even register the file name?

Or:

1/ Is the limit 30 tracks TOTAL (including original tracks)

3/ 30 EXTRA tracks?

This is driving me NUTS!

[rdmx]

30 EXTRA tracks. :)

[Darkdrium777]

Yep as he said you can have all the tracks included in the game + 30 other tracks, the game will read the first thirty copied over into the 'WIPEOUT' folder on your memory stick.
Also as I said if converting with SUPER to the settings above doesn't work, back up everything on your memory stick and format it.

[Primal-Convoy]

THanks! I removed the "offending" tracks from my game and gave them a dose of "Pendulum" audio goodness (check out their stuff at youtube).

However, I've encountered another problem:

- The game registers some tracks as "louder" than others (even when my PC and other mp3 players, WITHOUT dynamic equalising (or whatever it is called) is not in operation register the track as loud as or if not LOUDER than the other tracks!

Anyone else getting this?

[Harvai]

Yeah, I get this all the time. On my PC, they all have around the same volume levels, but when I put them onto either my PSP or my MP3 player, some are much quieter/louder than some.

This is a pretty common occurence, it's to do with the way the songs are recorded. Off the top of my head, newer songs are usually 'louder' than older ones, or the person who created the file cound have recorded via line-in or some other wacky method (Never actually done it myself - correct me if I'm wrong please!) and its fairly easy to rectify - open the track in SUPER (if you can do it, again never used the program) or download Audacity, and bump up the volume from there.

Darkdrium777 told me about this in the 'Post your Pulse custom soundtrack' thread, and my problem sounds very similar to yours. Cheers once again, mate!

[Primal-Convoy]

You can also try downloading "MP3gain". It kinda "fools" your ears or software into making MP3's appear louder or quieter. And it doesnt actually re-record the file!

Have a look here:

- http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/

[Chill]

Alright I'm stumped on mine... Took the files directly out of iTunes (that should be Good!)..., It doesn't show each track's KHZ... just "MPEG 4"... whatever that means, I'm an idiot when it comes to file stuff, but I have everything laid out just like you gentlemen had discribed earlier... The songs come up in my music folder on the menu, but doesn't appear in the track list... got 18 songs only so far, but none of them show? I don't feel like paying any money just to convert them for Wipeout... are their any other means, as all my music is on iTunes already, and figuring this problem out would help out a hell a lot down the future...

[Darkdrium777]

From iTunes you have to stip the DRM if any and you also must convert to MP3 (If it's an MP4 like you seem to imply), by using something like SUPER pictured above.

[Chill]

Ok so that's what that means... MP4... thanks a lot I'll look around for something free...

[rdmx]

You can covert directly in iTunes. Change the importing settings to 'mp3 encoder' with your desired bitrate.

If you are on iTunes 7 and under, this settings will be under edit->preferences
Then go to the advanced tab, and the importing-tab underneath. Here you will be able to change encoder.

If you are on iTunes 8, it will be under edit->preferences
Instead of the advanced tab, it will be under the general tab. Press the import settings button, and you'll be able to change the encoder.

Once done, right click any file and select 'convert to mp3' or 'convert selection to mp3'.
It will make an mp3 version of the file and hopefully you will have some luck. To aid finding the files, right click the file and press 'show in windows explorer'

Hope this helps!

[Chill]

You rock insertcoin!! It worked!! Thanx a hella man...

Got my Bone Thugs, 2Pac, Slipknot, Korn and Twista favorites all on the game woohoo!! ;)

EDIT: YYEESS!!! This is hella sweet!! Pulse just moved way up on my ranking, mabye it was just the music... Woo-hoo Pulse has just become so much more irresistable!!

[Darkdrium777]

I can't imagine playing WipEout with 2Pac (I'm sticking with the original Dance/Electro style of music) but anyways glad you got it figured out ;) :D

[Chill]

I think Bone thugs and Twista go better because they're ment to be at a faster pace... but I like the agressive feel from these artists, and Wipeout is freakin' aggressive these days, so that's what I have...

Trust me, I didn't like rap until I needed motivation to go to the gym, and now I love it. Yes it sais bad things, but I think those are for motivation to get aggressive rather than to believe, and that's where the stupid gangs and gang-member wanna-be people come from... I like it and call myself "Logangsta"... but that's just to brighten up the mood and get active and aggressive... that's the time when people are happiest, unless they have someone to love, which I don't, so I get active, listen to aggressive music and play Wipeout to stay out of the mope... ;)

[Chill]

"Suicide Silence"

"All That Remains"

Jeeaah!! ;)

[Iwishantigravwasreal]

When I put my MP3 tracks on, they didn't even show up on the playlist - yet I followed the instructions exactly