Audacity ffmpeg problem with wav files

English Multimedia
1

Hi

Audacity has recently (I’m not sure when exactly) stopped being able to import / load some wav files

I get a window on screen

"Audacity did not recognise the type of file 'MONO-001.WAV'.
Try installing FFmpeg. For uncompressed files, also try File > Import > Raw Data."

This was working earlier this year - the file is from a Zoom R16 Multitrack recording device, and I was recording audio from various Synthesizers for “Lockdown” videos my band was releasing

Those files no longer load into Audacity

The wav files are

file MONO-001.WAV 
MONO-001.WAV: RIFF (little-endian) data, WAVE audio, Microsoft PCM, 16 bit, mono 44100 Hz

The “build information” tab in the Help > About Audacity tells me

ffmpeg (FFmpeg Import/Export) Enabled

I’ve also loaded the files into audiacty on a LinuxMint VirtualBox VM, which has Audacity v2.1.2 and it loads and plays fine

Audacity in Tumbleweed is

Information for package audacity:
---------------------------------
Repository     : openSUSE-Tumbleweed-Oss
Name           : audacity
Version        : 2.4.2-2.2
Arch           : x86_64
Vendor         : openSUSE
Installed Size : 17.0 MiB
Installed      : Yes
Status         : up-to-date
Source package : audacity-2.4.2-2.2.src

FFmpeg is version 4

Information for package ffmpeg-4:
---------------------------------
Repository     : packman
Name           : ffmpeg-4
Version        : 4.3.1-6.2
Arch           : x86_64
Vendor         : http://packman.links2linux.de
Installed Size : 2.2 MiB
Installed      : Yes (automatically)
Status         : up-to-date
Source package : ffmpeg-4-4.3.1-6.2.src

Audacity depends on FFmpeg-4 ie removing FFmpeg-4 automatically removes Audacity, re-installing Audacity re-installs FFmpeg-4

So I’d guess there is something broken about the way Audacity uses FFmpeg-4 (or doesn’t use it)

And, for the record, using FFmpeg manually to convert my WAV file to mp3 works fine, and the converted mp3 file loads into Audacity with no problems

ffmpeg -i MONO-001.WAV -ab 192k MONO-001.mp3
2

I have have tried to convert a wav file to a mp3 file using audacity and it worked fine.

If you want to post your ‘MONO-001.WAV’ file I would be happy to try it on my system. That said, I have the same ffmpeg & audacity versions as you.

3

OK, thanks, I might later

I’ve just done a bit more investigating

So the file in the OP that I used FFmpeg to manually convert to mp3…

If I load that in Audacity, and export to WAV, and then load that exported WAV file into Audacity it loads

So there is obviously something going on here that is a bit strange

I have enabled the multimedia repo so I now have

Information for package audacity:
---------------------------------
Repository     : Multimedia
Name           : audacity
Version        : 2.4.2-163.2
Arch           : x86_64
Vendor         : obs://build.opensuse.org/multimedia
Installed Size : 17.0 MiB
Installed      : Yes
Status         : up-to-date
Source package : audacity-2.4.2-163.2.src

but that made no difference in importing my original file

I’ll revert Audacity to the openSUSE-Tumbleweed-Oss repo and re-check

4

[QUOTE=iDominic42;2954224]OK, thanks, I might later

I’ve just done a bit more investigating

So the file in the OP that I used FFmpeg to manually convert to mp3…

If I load that in Audacity, and export to WAV, and then load that exported WAV file into Audacity it loads

==

By the way

file MONO-001.WAV

and

file audacity_export.wav

(after converting to mp3, loading into audacity, and exporting as audacity_export.wav - using the default)

give the same answer

file MONO-001.WAV
MONO-001.WAV: RIFF (little-endian) data, WAVE audio, Microsoft PCM, 16 bit, mono 44100 Hz

file audacity_export.wav 
audacity_export.wav: RIFF (little-endian) data, WAVE audio, Microsoft PCM, 16 bit, mono 44100 Hz
5

OK, just recorded a few seconds from a Korg Prophecy (monosynth) to a Zoom R16

See

http://www.alienship.co.uk/sounds/MONO-000.WAV

Plays perfectly well in smplayer

Does not load in Audacity

Next to it is the same file I converted using FFmpeg

ffmpeg -i MONO-000.WAV converted.wav

http://www.alienship.co.uk/sounds/converted.wav

loads into Audacity no problem

file MONO-000.WAV 
MONO-000.WAV: RIFF (little-endian) data, WAVE audio, Microsoft PCM, 16 bit, mono 44100 Hz
file converted.wav 
converted.wav: RIFF (little-endian) data, WAVE audio, Microsoft PCM, 16 bit, mono 44100 Hz

Audacity used to load the original files from the Zoom R16. It no longer does (n my computer, at least)

Hope that makes sense

6

I know that generally you need lame to be able to convert to mp3’s. Do you have it on your system?

7

Hi, yes, Lame is installed.

However I’m not trying to use Audacity to convert a wav file to an mp3

I’m trying to load a wav file that previously loaded into Audacity - and does still load into previous versions of Audacity, running on a couple of LinuxMint VirtualBox VMs

So I have a workaround, as above, or I can use FFmpeg to covert my wav file to a wav file that does load into Audacity

But there is a bug / fault in the current version of Audacity in Tumblweed where it does not load (some) uncompressed wav files that did load in earlier versions (and still do)

I’ll submit this issue to the bug tracker later tonight

8

I think that is the right thing to do because a colleague of mine had also problems with the most recent version of Audacity but older versions worked just fine with the same files.

9

bug report submitted

https://bugzilla.opensuse.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1175205
10

This has now been investigated and confirmed as a problem with Audacity being able to find libavformat.so.58 as it doesn’t create a link on install in /usr/lib64

So there is a test, which proves the case, but the developer says this is NOT recommended

cd /usr/lib64
sudo ln -s libavformat.so.58.45.100 libavformat.so.58

which I’ve just tested, and my WAV files now load

I will revert the above change, and try his modified package later

See full technical details on the bugzilla and thanks to David Plater

11

There is a point and click way to achieve this by tying Audacity to the specific libavformat.so.58.45.100 library

I found this after removing my above soft link, and then restarting Audacity gave a blurb that said it couldn’t find it’s FFMpeg Library, and you need to go to Preferences to set it

So if you go:

Edit > Preferences > Libraries Tab

You have LAME export Library, or FFMpeg import /export library and then choose the Locate button

This is where it tells you it is explicitly looking for libavformat.so.58

So first, browse to /usr/lib64/

and then you need to deselect the file option of only “libavformat.so” and pick the “Dynamically linked libraries (.so.)” option

and then pick libavformat.so.58.45 (which is a link to the full library libavformat.so.58.45.100)

And then you will find your wav files (and possibly other formats that had stopped working?) will load.

This is obviously tying you to a specific library, so should only be used as a short term workaround, and you may want to keep an eye on further updates, as it will probably break at some point, as a new version is released

Hope that all makes sense

12

I ought to add the reason for all this

I was going through some cassette tapes - yes, actual physical moving chrome tape - from a 4-Track Tascam PortaOne from the 1980s, where I recorded some guitar stuff, and I wanted to get the individual tracks off, so buying RCA-to-Jack adapter cables, plugging them into 4 inputs on the (digital) Zoom R16, and pressing Record on the R16, then play on the PortaOne, I then had some (rather hissy) individual master tracks…

… which I should have been able to load into Audacity, but couldn’t

So now I’ve got about 6 or 7 C90s (except in 4-track mode there is only 45mins per cassette, as there is only one side, effectively) to record onto the Zoom R16. And then edit and mix in Audacity

So again, thanks to David Plater. You’ve helped me resurrect my memories from the 1980s, and my bad guitar playing…

Not sure the world is ready for this, though . . . I apologise in advance!

13

This is now fixed in version 2.4.2-2.3


Information for package audacity:
---------------------------------
Repository     : openSUSE-Tumbleweed-Oss
Name           : audacity
Version        : 2.4.2-2.3
Arch           : x86_64
Vendor         : openSUSE
Installed Size : 17.0 MiB
Installed      : Yes
Status         : up-to-date
Source package : audacity-2.4.2-2.3.src
Summary        : A Multi Track Digital Audio Editor

If anyone used the workarounds I posted above in this thread, then you should probably revert them

For full details of what the bug was, see the bugzilla report

https://bugzilla.opensuse.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1175205

14

Hi everyone,
Using tumbleweed, I can’t install audacity.
There is a dependency problem, it says nothing provides
**libwx_baseu-suse-nostl.so.3.1.3()(64bit)

Audacity version**Audacity-2.2-3 x86_64

Help is much appreciated

15

Please do not capture an thread with another problem.

See here, scroll down to the comments.
https://build.opensuse.org/package/show/openSUSE%3AFactory/audacity

16

I apologize, anyway thanks for the link.
It’s now fix and installed.