File types & Downloads

A Former User

Reset mp3s to play in foobar by default yesterday, I'll see what it'll do.
I believe they must put music in mp3s mostly, other mentioned types seem much less common. Well, .ogg I see sometimes, past that mpeg Audio only thing.

sgunhouse

sgunhouse Moderator Volunteer

You do realize, if you are using O12 still then the extension depends on the file type rather than the other way around. That is, if they set the file type as audio/mp3 and then it is actually a *.ogv file Presto will change it to match the correct extensions for MP3 files. I presume Foobar will handle that - I know Irfanview does for images so I don't see why they wouldn't.

A Former User @sgunhouse

@sgunhouse said in File types & Downloads:

if you are using O12

No.

A Former User

For example, I downloaded a piece of Mozart from some archive, the file name was like "Tralala K.666 (Mozart p.2)", see. Then I have a file, undefined, with an extension ".666 (Mozart p", see? Exactly.
Then I think, if I rename it with adding ".mp3", I can't rename back if it's wrong, can I? Or is it wrong just to make it .mp3? If it plays all right?
What if it's not actually .mp3? How do I know?

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer

Changing the extension of a file doesn't change its content. So, you can change extensions back and forth to whatever you want without harming the file content.

To see what type of file it is, you can open it up in VLC or Media Player Classic or whatever and look at the media infromation and it'll tell you want it is. Or, you can open the file in a text editor or hex editor and look to see what header it is. You can look up on the net what the headers look like for raw file types and contains so you know what to look for. Mp3s with ID3 tags for example will usually have ID3 at the start of the file (but could be at the end). You might also see the encoder listed somewhere. "Lame" for example. Besides that, it's more complicated. Other file types are easier. If it's an mp4/m4a file, if you open it with a hex editor or text editor, you'll see the headers right away.

You could also use the Network tab in Opera's Developer tools (disable cache, refresh and try the download again) to examine the headers sent for the file. If it's audio/mpeg for example, it could be an mp3.

Your example filenames seem really weird though.

A Former User @burnout426

@burnout426 said in File types & Downloads:

Your example filenames seem really weird though.

I somehow modify the initial title when saving, usually not entirely.

So you say, opening in Classic might help? The player is awesome, it won't only take HLSs.

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @Guest

@joshl said in File types & Downloads:

So you say, opening in Classic might help? The player is awesome, it won't only take HLSs.

Maybe. VLC might be better though and should play HLS streams (last time I checked in a 4.0 dev build at least). VLC will play mp3 files with no extension, so that'll help too. Ctrl + j will show codec information for the file that's playing so you can tell what it is.

A Former User

Thank you!

A Former User @burnout426

@burnout426 said in File types & Downloads:

Changing the extension of a file doesn't change its content. So, you can change extensions back and forth to whatever you want without harming the file content.

No, I can't.
While the file is undefined, I can choose to add an extension to its name, after which the system takes it "away" to hold it as the file's type determination and it is no longer in its name. I can neither change it back nor to another file type.
Theoretically, MPC could "save as" to another type, but upon such trying I found it either taking too long or failing to proceed, not sure...

CtrlJ doesn't work in MPC, but I found some properties.
For an undefined audiofile: Audio: MPEG Audio Layer 3 48000Hz stereo 320kbps [Audio].
For a "Film" type "audio only" file: Audio: MPEG Audio Layer 3 44100Hz stereo 192kbps [Audio].
For an undefined videofile: Video: MPEG4 Video (H264) 428x240 25.00fps [Video] Audio: AAC 22050Hz stereo 705kbps [Audio].
Does MPEG mean "mp3"?
The "film" type might manifest in an "avi" extension. What extension would manifest this "Video recording" type? It's used by the Windows MovieMaker.

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @Guest

@joshl said in File types & Downloads:

No, I can't.
While the file is undefined, I can choose to add an extension to its name, after which the system takes it "away" to hold it as the file's type determination and it is no longer in its name. I can neither change it back nor to another file type.

Do you have "hide extensions for known file types" checked in Explorer's folder options? It's the default unfortunately and you should always uncheck it.

A Former User @burnout426

@burnout426 How do you do that?
I didn't find it in the folder menu. System settings?

I found a performance issue with some video files.
In the past, all downloaded files ran o'k with my MPC. In some recent years, some start exhibiting sound not synchronised with the picture; but just recently it appeared same files ran o'k in my WMP. The difference would be made if I'm able to ^rename^ such files with .avi instead of .mp4, don't you think?
Well, I like MPC, but it doesn't seem to have any autoupdate function nor does it even have an "update" option - only I found a link somewhere there, not been yet... (I'm not sure if I should: things've been alright with minor issues, what if I update and it stops working?)

A Former User @Guest

@joshl said in File types & Downloads:

@burnout426 How do you do that?
I didn't find it in the folder menu. System settings?

Since I don't know what Windows version you are on, here is a description for Windows XP up to Windows 10.

A Former User @Guest

@yanta

Windows XP

In Windows Explorer, choose Tools > Folder Options.

Click the View tab in the Folder Options dialog box.

In Advanced Settings, select Show Hidden Files and Folders.

Deselect Hide Extensions for Known File Types.

Click OK.

Found it.
But why should I "select Show Hidden Files and Folders"? They're in separate listings and are they at all relevant to one another?

Anyway, if I do this "Deselect Hide Extensions", what possible complications, if any, could it infer? (And I hope I can revert it the same way if anything at all...)

A Former User @Guest

@joshl

But why should I "select Show Hidden Files and Folders"?

The webpage I linked to describes also how to show hidden files and foldes, however, you don't need to change that setting, only what @burnout426 mentioned (= to unhide extensions for known file types).

Anyway, if I do this "Deselect Hide Extensions", what possible complications, if any, could it infer?

There are no possible complications, it's quite the contrary, not to hide extensions for known file types means an increase in safety.

And I hope I can revert it the same way if anything at all...)

Yes, you can.

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @Guest

@yanta said in File types & Downloads:

There are no possible complications, it's quite the contrary, not to hide extensions for known file types means an increase in safety.

Exactly.

A Former User

Funny thing.

I downloaded a video file to which the browser assigned the .mp4 extension.
Funny thing it wouldn't synch in either of my players (WMP & MPC).
I tried stripping it with no extension - no synch.
I tried .mpg - it synched in my WMP.
WTF?
Yeah, the most funny thing is that my MPC said it was actually a MPEG Layer 4 file...
Well, I can't establish a law of physics yet, but the liter the file the less possibility of such synching problems. Meaning density-like: up to a hundred per 40-minute episode, like lower quality or something... Usually meaning 240p is o'k. Usually, maybe...

Thank you for your pointing me out to that setting, I wouldn't do without it.
(:

A Former User

Opened an old video here.
It was a browser download or something. The file downloaded as .avi - so it was .avi. I opened it with my MPC: Shift F10 - second tab said it was Xvid, but I opened the third tab there - it said video was MP4. What does that mean?
Just curious. Plus it might mean something considering better use and knowledge...

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @Guest

@joshl Sound like it's an mpeg-4 video in an avi container (as opposed to an mp4 container). The mention of xvid might be due to the specific version of mpeg-4 (mpeg-4 part 2 asp profile) that's being used.

A Former User @burnout426

@burnout426 I saw something about "advanced video codec", forgot. In the third tab there. I guess it's something like AAC but for the picture...

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer @Guest

@joshl said in File types & Downloads:

advanced video codec

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC