mp3 issues

December 3, 2004 5:53 PM

Why is it that recently some mp3s I try to play don't work? The time keeps advancing, but the visualizer doesn't move and I can't hear anything. It seems to be a recent development, and it's not with all mp3s.
posted by taumeson to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Did you procure them from less-than-legal sources? If so, they could have been plants, uploaded by the record companies--essentially make the signal-to-noise ratio so bad that people stop going to p2p, etc. for songs.
posted by MikeKD at 6:01 PM on December 3, 2004

i've gotten that a lot lately, with the annoying loops as well. i suppose they're the fake files seeded by the record companies on p2p networks to annoy the piss out of you until you buckle and buy the album. you'll notice they're mostly for new releases... but of course, no one downloads mp3s to avoid buying an album or subvert copyright.

just a guess, but i feel your pain.
posted by moonbird at 6:02 PM on December 3, 2004

Response by poster: not me, no sir.

i was just wondering...maybe i missed a new codec or something. thanks.
posted by taumeson at 6:10 PM on December 3, 2004

In the past some MP3 players have had trouble with variable bit rate (VBR) encoded MP3s. VBR uses different levels of compression depending on the intensity (I think) of the content. Could it be that?
posted by coelecanth at 10:25 PM on December 3, 2004

yeah, taumeson, I've come across this as well, lately. I'm pretty sure it's an anti-theft device. Move over to bit torrent.
posted by ashbury at 11:57 PM on December 3, 2004