Group: Play Freedom/Convert MP3 to Ogg

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This page describes different tools you can use to convert MP3 audio files to Ogg Vorbis format. If you know about a technique that's not listed here, please feel free to add it.

Note: If you have the recording in a lossless format, you should convert from that. MP3 and Ogg Vorbis are both lossy formats and the loss adds up when you convert from one to the other.

Using Sound Converter

Sound Converter is a GNOME application that makes it easy to convert MP3 files into Ogg Vorbis format. You can use it to convert many files in one batch, and Sound Converter will save all of the metadata tags when you do.

  1. When you start using Sound Converter, go into the Edit menu and select Preferences. Most of these options determine where the converted files are saved, and you can adjust them to your personal tastes. The important thing is to make sure that "Ogg Vorbis (.ogg)" is selected as the result format. Below that, choosing the "Normal" quality setting will make sure that the size of the Ogg Vorbis file is pretty close to the original MP3's. Here's an example screenshot:
    SoundConverter-preferences.png

    Once you're done adjusting the preferences to your liking, close the dialog box.

  2. Next, choose which MP3 files you want to convert. If you're only converting a small number of files, you can choose them individually using the "Add File" button in the toolbar. If you want to convert a whole directory of MP3 files, or even more, use the "Add Folder" button to select the directory where they are; all of the files will be added to your list of files to convert. Files will be listed in the main application window as you add them. Here's an example screenshot with one file selected to convert:
    SoundConverter-main.png


  3. When you get all the files that you want to convert listed in the main application window, just click the "Convert" button. It'll work for a while, and show you a timer to let you know when it should be done. Just be patient; once it's finished, you'll have Ogg Vorbis copies of all the files.