By Jessica Brown, 20 February, 2014
Forum
iOS and iPadOS
Hi. I need an app to convert m4a to mp3 on my iPod. I have a few apps that convert files by uploading them to the cloud and then the conversion is done there and the converted file is re downloaded, but I would like an app that can convert the files on the device and without needing an internet connection. My iPod is jailbroaken on iOS 7.0.4, so I am open to ideas from Cydia or the app store. Thank you.
Comments
Conversion
Hi, I don't know of any apps
why I want to do this
RE: m4a to mp3 on iOS
Using iTunes to convert to MP3
RE: m4a to mp3 on iOS
I can understand your desire
Hi, Okay, AudioShare may be
re: audio share
Is there any solution for m4b file conversion?
Hi, I've been looking for a way to convert audiobooks I've purchased from iTunes to mp3 files in order to play them on other devices. I read through some of the comments here and just wondered if any programs will do this. I've heard about sound Taxi, but the trial only gives you 90 seconds per file... any suggestions? Thanks.
RE: m4a to mp3 on iOS
Have you considered using GoldWave? I just checked their site and, unfortunately, should you be a Mac user then this is not an option for you. But, if you are a Windows user then the program works very well with JAWS.
I personally use this program with Windows 7 and JAWS and couldn't be happier. This program does so much more than I even understand but I certainly get a lot of use from it. It will batch convert files to mp3 without a problem, although I think that the comments from Brotha J. are certainly worth consideration. I, too, want my music to be as pure as possible. The Batch Processing is found under the file menu.
Just a side note, if you are wanting to play the m4a files on a Victor Reader Stream they work on mine.
Also, with regard to the question about conversion to m4B from another commenter, GoldWave does not convert to this file type.
For your convenience, I have pasted the paragraph from GoldWave's site with regard to batch conversion below. Go to www.goldwave.com to see more details. The price for the US is $59.00 with free updates forever or $19.00 for a one year subscription. Frankly, I think the $59.00 price tag is a steal for as much as this program can do and it's very JAWS friendly, which, in my experience is hard to find when talking about a piece of software in this category.
Here is the text from GoldWave's site for batch conversion.
"Batch Process an unlimited number of files in many different formats.Use
Batch Processingto process and convert your complete library of songs: match volume levels of different songs, boost the bass, trim leading and trailing silences, convert to MP3, and much more. Supports
iTunes Plus,
m4a,
wav,
wma,
mp3,
ogg,
aiff,
au,
vox,
FLAC, and even raw binary data. Entire folders and subfolders can be processed with just a few clicks and the entire hierarchy preserved. Advanced users can take advantage of the power and flexibility of command line processing."
Hope this helps you.
That's a perfectly good reason
I also do the same, use mp3 because it's standard as all hell. Alex is right about the lossy encoding, but if you set the bitrate high enough and have a suitably good encoder you will be fine for one shot conversions, just don't encode the same file 30 times. FLAC, although it is a lossless codec is really only good for archiving purposes and as I have stated, high resolution audio has no relevance outside of the recording studio. Confirmation bias is a beautiful thing
audio book binder or handbreak
Hi. To the person wanting to convert m4b audio books to .mp3 I think you need audio book binder or handbreak. I think they are both mac apps that can do this conversion.
encoding
What does don't encode the same file 30 times mean and why would you do that anyhow?
GoldWave
Hi. I have both a Mac and a windows XP pc. But I have tried GoldWave and can't get it working even after reading the instructions. There is nothing about editing or converting audio files in the menus and the main app interface looks more like a bookshelf with 3 books on it then an audio editing and converting program. I can't get past the books and into the editing and converting part of the program.
about encoding
Hi. Ok, explanations...
an mp3 is a compressed audio file, meaning that a lot of information from the file is compressed to keep file sizes small. Unfortunately when this happens, audio quality suffers, especially if you try to take an already compressed mp3 and convert it to something else. You aren't getting the full range of sound. Whenever possible, always, always convert from wav to mp3. Wav is an uncompressed audio format so your file size will be large but the original sound will be maintained. Obviously this isn't ideal for iOS due to file sizes. So you never want to take an already compressed mp3 and make it smaller by chopping the files down. The sound you get will be absolutely awful and you'll not be getting everything you can.
As for goldwave, you can do a whole lot with it, the bookshelf thing you're seeing is the help. Press alt plus f4 to close that down and you'll get a regular interface with different menus and such. Goldwave will even batch-convert files for you, that's an option in there too. Actually, to keep this simple I would just stick to m4a files. They're a bit smaller than mp3s and sound good enough for what you want to do, unless you're transferring these files to a device that doesn't support m4a files.