Topic: Oddball FLAC error

[TNJazz]

Recorded several 24 bit files for a project this past weekend.  When I go to FLAC them, I get the following error:

ERROR:  block size is 3; must be 0

It doesn't compress any files at all and burns through all 8 of them with the same error.  This happens both in xAct on the Mac and in Frontend under XP.

Anyone seen this before?

[Shawn]

just curious... did you do any processing to the files or are you just FLACing the raw files?


from looking at some quick stuff I found by googling FLAC blocksize it sounds like it might be a bug in the software you are using. without getting too technical it looks like instead of allowing the encoder to estimate the blocksize it is trying to force a blocksize. According to what I read it is best to let the encoder estimate a blocksize.

what software are you using? did you try any other software to flac the files?

[scb]

what software are you using? did you try any other software to flac the files?

xACT just calls flac directly, and i believe frontend does, too, so i doubt anything else would have success. 

where are these files from?

[Shawn]

I guess my questions were a little stupid since they were clearly answered in dirk's first post. you'd never know I fix software for a living 

[TNJazz]

what software are you using? did you try any other software to flac the files?

xACT just calls flac directly, and i believe frontend does, too, so i doubt anything else would have success. 

where are these files from?

These are 8 tracks of 24/48 aif files that I recorded last weekend using the Metric Halo record panel (which writes aif files automatically).

I tried to drop them into mkwAct just for fun, and they didn't even register.  The files seem to work just fine as aif though - when I build a project in Nuendo or Cubase I don't notice any anomalies in the wave files themselves.  Everything plays and works just fine.

[scb]

I thought the Metric Halo record panel wrote in sd2 format?  not aiff?

[TNJazz]

I thought the Metric Halo record panel wrote in sd2 format?  not aiff?

The new record panel has the option to select SDII or aif (even wav, I think).

[scb]

i wonder if it has some strange header info

did you try the -lax setting in xACT?

[TNJazz]

i wonder if it has some strange header info

did you try the -lax setting in xACT?

No, but I'll try it when I get home tonight.  I believe this might be the first time I've written aif files with the Halo...could very well be a MHLabs issue.

[TNJazz]

i wonder if it has some strange header info

did you try the -lax setting in xACT?

No, but I'll try it when I get home tonight.  I believe this might be the first time I've written aif files with the Halo...could very well be a MHLabs issue.

-lax has no effect.  Still the same error at the same speed (immediate).  Very curious.

[scb]

have you tried converting the files to aiff or wav in another program?  i think the MH record console is writing some strange header

[TNJazz]

have you tried converting the files to aiff or wav in another program?  i think the MH record console is writing some strange header

I agree, this sounds like a problem with the MH software.  What can I use to do a conversion?  Is there anything out there that converts aif straight to wav?  I'd rather not open up each file and re-render them if I can help it...

[THE NIZ BIAAAAACH!]

You can open them in cd wave and then save them under save it gives you the option to as many different file types, I have used this to bring a few files back from the dead in similar situations. good luck!

[scb]

have you tried converting the files to aiff or wav in another program?  i think the MH record console is writing some strange header

I agree, this sounds like a problem with the MH software.  What can I use to do a conversion?  Is there anything out there that converts aif straight to wav?  I'd rather not open up each file and re-render them if I can help it...

open them in any editor and just resave