[How to] foobar2000 v.0.9.2 Tutorial: Mass-transcode of a large batch of files

[DreamTactix291]

foobar2000 v0.9.2 Tutorial: Mass-transcode of a large batch of files

First of all you will need foobar2000. Download the installer.

Next you will need the audio encoder you wish to go to. Most can be found at Rarewares.

My recommendations are:

For lossy

For mp3: LAME 3.97. I personally am using LAME 3.97b2 lately and recently 3.97b2 made the officially recommended version at Hydrogenaudio.org.

For Ogg Vorbis: aoTuV b5 or you can use the official Xiph.Org 1.1.2. Find either 1.1.2 or aoTuV b4.51 and select the appropriate build for your CPU. I recommend aoTuV b4.51 personally. Alternatively you can use a speed-enhanced version of aoTuV b4.51 called Lancer which produces good results too. Like the others select the appropirate build for your CPU.

For lossless

For FLAC: FLAC 1.1.3

For WavPack: WavPack 4.31

Unzip whatever you choose and remember where you unzipped it to. I recommend unzipping it to its own directory and naming it what it is (example: "LAME 3.97b2" or "Ogg Vorbis aoTuV b4.51").

Now, run the foobar2000 installer. Click "Next >" on the first screen and click "I Agree" to the license agreement.

This next step is VERY IMPORTANT. Make completely sure you set the type of install to "Full" before clicking "Next >" It is crucial. Now select a directory to install to or leave it as the default. Hit "OK" and you've installed foobar2000. Now run it.

Click "Foobar2000 > Preferences" and go to "Tools > Converter"

In the "Single tracks" box I put this in:

%artist%\%album%\%_filename%

If you are using LAME to create mp3

Under Encoding presets click Add New and select Custom in the "Encoder" drop-down box.

Browse to find your LAME.exe to fill in the Encoder field. Set the extension to "mp3".

Set the parameters to one of the following:

For LAME 3.97:

-V2 --vbr-new  - %d
-V3 --vbr-new  - %d
-V4 --vbr-new  - %d
-V5 --vbr-new  - %d

-V2 tends to end up in the 190-200kbps range (Highly recommended as a replacement for 192k CBR, but may bloat more in noisy music such as metal, etc. This is due to flaws in the mp3 format itself and its handling of very high frequencies and is no fault of the LAME encoder. You can cut down the bloat by adding the -Y switch if you feel it is necessary, however much over 16kHz won't get encoded. V3 and below use -Y by default as it can be very difficult to ABX sounds over 16kHz in noisy music)
-V3 tends to end up in the 170-180kbps range (Excellent choice if -V2 seems a bit too high for you)
-V4 tends to end up in the 160-170kbps range (Highly recommended as a replacement for 160k CBR)
-V5 tends to end up in the 130-135kbps range (Highly recommended as a replacement for 128k CBR)

Alternatively any number between 0 and 9 is valid. -V0 being highest quality and -V9 being lowest. --vbr-new is recommended with LAME 3.97b1 as not only is it faster than the legacy VBR method but is of equal or higher quality now. If you choose to use a CBR line or ABR line (no reason if your main concern is quality) you can use --abr xxx or -b xxx respectively.

Set "Format is:" to Lossy and "Highest BPS mode supported:" to 24.

For display name I personally use what encoder and commandline I'm using. For example "LAME 3.97b2 -V2 --vbr-new". Now hit "OK" and you're done setting up your encoder.

If you are using Vorbis 1.1.2/aoTuV b5/Lancer to create Ogg Vorbis files

Under Encoding presets click Add New and select Custom in the "Encoder" drop-down box.

Browse to find your OggEnc2.exe to fill in the Encoder field. Set the extension to "ogg".

Set the parameters to one of the following:

-q4 - -o %d
-q5 - -o %d
-q6 - -o %d

-q4's nominal bitrate is 128kbps
-q5's nominal bitrate is 160kbps
-q6's nominal bitrate is 192kbps

Any number from -q-2 to -q10 is valid including decimals up to two digits like -q5.45. Bear in mind that all the -q modes are VBR and that the nominal bitrates are simply a rough average of what many genres hit there. It's not uncommon to have a wayward track or even album go way above or below the range you chose as that's what the encoder needed to achieve the quality you desired.

Set "Format is" to Lossy and "Highest BPS mode supported to 32.

For display name I personally use what encoder and commandline I'm using. For example "Vorbis Lancer 20060616 SSE2 -q6". Now hit "OK" and you're done setting up your encoder.

If you are using FLAC 1.1.3 to create FLAC files

Under Encoding presets click Add New and select Custom in the "Encoder" drop-down box.

Browse to find your FLAC.exe to fill in the Encoder field. Set the extension to "flac".

Set the parameters to one of the following:

-5 -V - -o %d
-8 -V - -o %d

This number simply affects encode speed and the compression ratio. Any number from -0 to -8 is valid. -0 will compress the fastest but have the worst compression, while -8 will compress the slowest but have the best compression. All modes decompress at a similar speed.

Set "Format is" to Lossless (or hybrid) and "Highest BPS mode supported to 16.

For display name I personally use what encoder and commandline I'm using. For example "FLAC 1.1.3 -8 -V". Now hit "OK" and you're done setting up your encoder.

If you are using WavPack 4.31 to create WavPack lossless files

Under Encoding presets click Add New and select Custom in the "Encoder" drop-down box.

Browse to find your wavpack.exe to fill in the Encoder field. Set the extension to "wv".

Set the parameters to one of the following:

-fmi - %d
-mi - %d
-hmi - %d

The setting you choose will affect both the compression speed and the decompression speed as well as the compression ratio. -f is fast mode which gives very fast but moderate compression with very fast decompression times. -h is high mode which gives fast and very good compression with fast decode times. The normal mode is somewhere in between fast and high in speed and compression ratio.

Set "Format is" to Lossless and "Highest BPS mode supported to 24.

For display name I personally use what encoder and commandline I'm using. For example "WavPack 4.31 -hmi". Now hit "OK" and you're done setting up your encoder.

Drop whatever files you want to convert into a playlist and select them all. Right click on them and select "Convert > Convert to". Select from the drop-down box the settings you created. An example would be "LAME 3.97b2: -V2 --vbr-new" and hit "OK". Then select the destination for the new files.

Now watch your files be encoded and will have a copy of the originals tags As long as you leave the "Show destination directory when done" box checked foobar2000 will automatically open an Explorer window so you can have immediate access to your files.

Note: THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR LOSSY -> LOSSY TRANSCODING UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. The ideal usage is for lossless archive -> lossy copy for DAP. foobar2000 will warn you if you are doing a lossy -> lossy transcode but if you acknowledge it it will do the job anyway

Here is a compilation of images to help you through every step of the process.

EDIT: I am aware this FAQ is out of date. Hopefully very soon I will update it.