Ring Tones using MP3

[ivorneo]

:lol: can I set MP3 song as ring tones at XDA II.

[menace]

I hope somebody answers this one yes :D

[xda-rocks]

No - but you can convert it to WAV or WMA

[ivorneo]

:lol: Thanks.

[menace]

No - but you can convert it to WAV or WMA

How do you get it to play a wma as a ringtone ?

[danielalvers]

With the WMA loaded on your XDA...

Start - Settings - System Tab - Add New Ringtone

Check the Tone(s) you want, click OK

[yourmate]

or just simply copy it to \windows\rings...

[Arkobad]

or just simply copy it to \windows\rings...

Can I have ringtones stored on memory card?
I just dont want to have 20 WMA files in main memory...

[Seff]

Ring tones are used when your MDA gets awaken (phone call, alarm) and this needs to be pretty fast. Therefore you cannot use a card memory card. Many applications assigned to hardware keys stored on the memory card fail.

[michaelmac]

You can use MP4 for ring tone. I've used Quicktime to convert mp3's to mp4 format. Hope that help!

[xda-rocks]

I have ringtones stored on memory card of XDAII with no problems

[abbas]

Sorry to spoil your fun but check your \windows\rings folder. Whatever ringtone you selected will be copied into that folder before you can use it. You are actually carrying two copies if you think your tones are on the memory card!

[Shadamehr]

Hi folks - this is my first post, so forgive any ignorance of any rule I have missed.

Can I just ask, I'm used to my trusty E200...

Can you set individual ringtones, for specific contacts, on the XDA2, like you can on the E200 Smartphone?

Thanks.

And is it easy to get rid of the O2 Active homescreen/today screen customisation, and use it like a proper PocketPC ?

[ivorneo]

I had convert the MP3 songs (4 MB) to wav files, is about 30 MB, so I use sound recorder (come with Windows) to trim off the file to about first 40 seconds to reduce the files sizes (5MB), since when phone rings, it will automatic stop at about 30+ seconds when nobody answer the call.

[Shadamehr]

Why leave them as wav's though mate? That's where you are going wrong.

Once you have the section you want and have saved this as a wav, then convert it to a tiny little wma file to use as a ringtone - usually around just 500K for a 40 second tone in 96Kps quality - you can even use 64Kps to make them even smaller in filesize.

See below for some examples of the ones I have done. Dance songs make good choices because of the long instrumentals that allow full 40 second tones etc.

[ARZLEB]

Shadamehr

you have a point but i have some WAV files with excellent quality sound on a 22KH and 16BIT have the same size as the WMA files.

I mean you have a good solution there but it doesnt differ allot from my point of view. And i dont see why you need to play an MP3 file as a Ringtone while you only need 30sec of music if you creat an Mp3 for that time it wont differ from the WMA or WAV file size.

So i think a WAV file created with a good software (NERO) will give you a good quality small sound and WMA also...

:)

[Shadamehr]

I don't think ANYONE can or will agree with you about the use of wav's mate as being as small.

Simply put, as wma, or mp3, or mp4 are 'advanced' audio formats, then in short simple terms, WHATEVER you can get, sounding good, at whatever quality you opt for, as a wav file, can be saved as a wma file of the same or even better quality, always at a smaller actual file size.

That's why it's used mate.

Except for one caveat... If you prefer TOTAL PERFECT quality music, then saving as a high bitrate wav file will produce a better quality song, but of course at a MUCH higher file size.

It would be irrelevant however, when used as a ringtone, as the handset speaker, good as it is, cannot do it justice. So no point doing it. In other words, for a ringtone, then the quality of wma is more than good enough (as its actually a good quality format), but at a smaller file size by far than wav.

You CAN use wav if you like, but on the speaker of the XDA2 there is no quality benefit, but it WILL be bigger file size. Thus, the only real terms difference between wav and wma when used as a ringtone, is a larger file size if using wav.

To give an example... The ringtones I attached above as wma... They are around just 500K. The equivalent file as a wav would be around 5MB perhaps, depending on settings used.

I think that should explain the difference.

And I am not sure what you mean about an mp3 for a 30 second clip being no smaller than a 30 second wav file.

Forgive me mate, but I have to ask, what on earth settings are you using for wav, to get a 30 second clip the same file size as a 30 second mp3 or wma file?

PLEASE post an example here in mp3 30 seconds long, and wav 30 seconds long, in a decent enough sound quality format. I challenge you mate, as I suspect it will be at least 5 times larger in actual file size for the wav file...

[Shadamehr]

Just briefly, to clarify the difference between mp3 and wav file formats...

A CD of music, in wav format, would amount to around 10 to 14 songs, and it would take up a full 650MB to 700MB of file space on the CD.

A CD of mp3's, sampled at what is generally accepted to be near 'CD Audio' quality of 128Kb, would allow for around 100 to 150 songs to fill the same 650MB CD - a hell of a difference.

Finally, a CD full of songs, but recorded in 96Kb wma format, which is that level deemed to be of equal quality to CD wav audio, would amount to around 200 full songs on a 650MB cd.

So that being the case (and its simple fact, known to nearly all), how can you say wav and wma/mp3 have a similar file size, when used at the same QUALITY?

No chance.

You CAN fiddle with wav settings to get a NEAR similar file size, but it will STILL be a still slightly larger file. The QUALITY however will be a LOT lower.

So why have a lot lower quality, at still larger file size with .wav, when you can have .wma, at better quality, and lower file size?

That last sentence, is the explanation in final terms, for WHY people use mp3, or wma, as opposed to wav.

Wav for VOICE only is a different matter entirely as you can use REALLY low bitrates for acceptable results, but for true music, no chance mate.

[Rob_B]

Which app do you guys use to convert WAV or MP3 to WMA ?

Thanks,
Rob.

[Shadamehr]

Which app do you guys use to convert WAV or MP3 to WMA ?

Thanks,
Rob.

Windows Media Encoder mate - it doubles up, as it allows me to convert video files too, ready for use on my XDA2.

There is LOADS more out there mate, but its free, and relatively easy enough, so I use that mate...

If it's not already on your system, the link is:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/encoder/default.aspx

Be careful to watch for line splitting if that link is too long for one line.

HTH

[Rob_B]

Ahh.. Allows you to convert vid files too.. ! I'll give it a whirl.

Thanks for the link mate.

Ta,
Rob.

[Rob_B]

I've just copied across some WMA files to assign them as ringtones and stuck them in both My Doc and windows\rings and when I use Add New Ringtones, it doesn't find them or any WMAs. Am I doing something wrong ?

Ta,
Rob.

[xda-rocks]

If you've copied the files to your ring directory, they should appear in your phone settings screen ringtone menu.

[Rob_B]

Yeah, they are there mate. I can do a search and it picks out all the normal WAV files and a few MIDs, but no WMA. :(

Rob.

[xda-rocks]

If they are WMA files, you don't need to use the "Add Ring Tone" - I've got several files that I converted to WMA and just copied them to my rings directory in the windows directory.

[gavinloh]

Guys, I am wondering what is the best sampling rate for wma/wav for ringing tones?

[Rob_B]

If they are WMA files, you don't need to use the "Add Ring Tone" - I've got several files that I converted to WMA and just copied them to my rings directory in the windows directory.

D'oh.! Thanks mate, it was me being a chump. I didn't even need to do the Add Ring Tones bit. Just copy them to the rings directory and they appear in the ring tone list straight away :)

Thanks,
Rob.

[Shadamehr]

Guys, I am wondering what is the best sampling rate for wma/wav for ringing tones?

Given the speaker limitations, I find 96K wma MORE than enough, as in fact this is near CD standard. So 64K should do you too. The simple answer is to experiment with settings to settle on one you are happy with.

My whole ringtone process is as follows:

1) Take an mp3 song, and then convert it to wav (as an intermediate editing format), using Accoustica MP3 to wav converter (its not free however, but a trial is available).
2) Load the wav file up into a sound editor - I use Audacity, but any will do.
3) Clip off any audio you don't want - for me this usually means the beginning and end, to leave the dance instrumental bit in the middle. For spoken songs however, just clip where best, then highlight a bit of the ending, and choose a 'fade out' option usually found in a sound editor.
4) Resample this to highest sound level - again there is usually an option to do this, to gain a little bit extra volume, but without affecting quality. DON'T use the option that DOES affect quality though.
5) Save this new, shorter wav file with a new name.
6) Load the new wav file into the simple, old fashioned Windows Wav Recorder/Editor, and then do a 25% volume increase. If you think your audio sounds quiet, do this a second time too, but no more than that.
7) Save this wav file.
8) Then use Accoustica converter again (as it does many file conversions) to convert the wav file to 96K wma.

And voila, not the shortest way, but my ringtones sound excellent on the phone!

[ezzkht]

Also don't forget to convert it to MONO, since there's only one speaker :wink:

[mephistodan]

this is a long tiresome way to create ringtones...
i use windows movie maker.. it comes with xp.. and you can update it for free(i recommend to upgrade)
you can use this tool to open any mp3 or wav or wma and a lots more extensions..
then you can click on the clip.. move the slider to the begining of your 'cut'.. choose split(a button below the slider)
now you have two clips.. choose the second and again move the slider to the end of your 'cut'.. again click the split button
now you have 3 clips.. the second one is the ringtone you want..
drag and drop it to the bar in the bottom..
now right click on it(in the bottom) you can choose fade in/fade out..
after that choose save clip(maybe save as) and choose more options... select 64kbp

now you have your ringtone...

you can do the same to generate a small movies with wmv extension which can be played on your ppc... choose 320 x 240 and youll get a really tiny great movie..

[Shadamehr]

mephistodan - that's an easier way than mine, and therefore possibly better for most.

But I rely on the more advanced audio filters and effects, such as echo, bass increase etc, that Audacity allows me, to get it to sound ace quality even through a little speaker.

Thanks for the Heads UP though - well worth knowing mate.

As for your comment ezzkht about mono, you can do but it makes little difference file size, and for those rare occasions I have the stereo handsfree in, they sound much better left in stereo.

Cheers all.