Ableton Forum

Sorry if this has been dealt with another thread and I missed it, but...

Can anyone confirm whether MP3 export is going to be available in Live 8, for example as one of those *other* workflow improvements mentioned in the initial publicity?

Not a big, but I often record students using Live and it would be a great little time saver to export directly to MP3 without having to reopen the recording in Audition to convert it.

anyone?...

Guess it's wait and see then

there's absolutely no reason to support this. there are hundreds of free mp3 converters out there. if Live made one people would just bitch about its sound quality or which standard they used.

same thing for the users, we're better off choosing our own that being locked into using just one.

the Abes have the same mentality for audio editors, there's no reason for them to go there.

Tone Deft wrote:there's absolutely no reason to support this. there are hundreds of free mp3 converters out there.

Is it possible to use the Lame encoder directly from Live? Or would I need to export to a 3rd party app which is Lame compatible?

For example, with Reaper it doesn't come with Lame but if you get it and put it in the Reaper folder you can then export mp3 directly from Reaper. Which is cool...

The LAME one would be a good solution (and Abes would not be responsible for *quality* issues).

The Reason for the FR is clear in the OP - it's simply a timesaver, useful to some.

Live has no means to export mp3. you do make a good point that if users could specify their own mp3 encoder, Live would be flexible. for example I use CDex for mp3 ripping, with that I specify a lame encoder .dll.

I've just seen these bits as being areas where Ableton has drawn a line in the sand where they don't need to go. a big area is audio editors, I see mp3 export as a similar area. users do seem to want it though, maybe this will change, with Live 8's features they're running out of features to implement.
(who'dve thunk anyone would write THAT!!)

indeed

be realistic here guys
MP3 is the most-popular media format in the world
it is also the most convenient format to send files over the internet

sound quality isn't always the winner when it comes to time and convenience – especially if you are looking to simply send a demo to a friend for some feedback or if you want to upload a mix you made (no one needs or wants to download an hour-long mix in AIFF)

if you put your quality snobbery to the side for a moment (and I'm as guilty of it as anyone) you can't deny that the exclusion of direct MP3 export in Live continues to be a huge oversight, especially as of all the 'DAWs' out there, Live is the most beginner-friendly.

Yes I can convert it to MP3 after I export it from Live, but this is just a hassle I don't need – especially if your MP3-converter of choice is iTunes.

The argument that 'limiting' us to one type of MP3 encoder within Live is a contradiction – you already assume that anyone who is choosing to export to MP3 in the first place isn't doing so in seek of high-quality (and even if they are, nothing would still stop them from exporting as AIFF as normal and converting in third-party software).

The fact of the matter is that, once again, the most popular media format in the world has been overlooked, and for that, there is no excuse.

It's not a make-or-break reason to buy Live, but damn, it gets on my nerves...

The only right answer for all questions from mow on will be: write a MfL patch!

Being able to export goes to the group "Workflow improvements". I don't really care if the MP3s that come out are the best quality in the world. The fact is just that when you send mixdowns for someone just to check it out, it's just simply faster and more convenient to have them exported straight from Live than having to convert them each single time by hand. As simple as that.

That's not really the point – it's still an extra thing that you shouldn't have to do.
Plus, it gets added to your iTunes library – I have about 300 30-second tracks with 'Unkown Artist' attached to them, most of them duplicates (as I have to add the AIFF to convert it). Yes this is mostly down to my lack of organisation, but it stems from Ableton.

However, no one has actually confirmed or denied MP3 export in Live 8 so let's wait and see – I can't see them implementing a 'flawless sharing system' without incorporating it somehow

Tone Deft wrote:there's absolutely no reason to support this. there are hundreds of free mp3 converters out there. if Live made one people would just bitch about its sound quality or which standard they used.

same thing for the users, we're better off choosing our own that being locked into using just one.

the Abes have the same mentality for audio editors, there's no reason for them to go there.

With Live being one of the more expensive daw's on the market, the lack of MP3 export and an audio editor is pretty unacceptable. You wouldn't be locked in to using them if they were included, if you didn't like them you could just carry on using whatever it is you do at the moment.

Actually, it would be really cool if Live 8 had an option to include different output plugins like Winamp and Audacity. Then if you need Live to output a certain filetype, you'd just install whatever extension you needed.

It would probably be a support nightmare though. Lord knows people have enough problems with vst and au.

deklin wrote:
Yes I can convert it to MP3 after I export it from Live, but this is just a hassle I don't need – especially if your MP3-converter of choice is iTunes.

Noone should have to be restricted to iTunes if they dont want to.

Audacity is free and far superior in my opinion.