Freesound Forums

Hello,

I am working on a project using the API where I need to download lots of samples. The sound quality isn't super important to me, and it will be alot easier for me to work with MP3's over other formats like FLAC, etc.

Is there any drawback (besides sound quality) to just downloading the preview files instead of the original files? Are the previews always the full length of the original uploaded sample?

Thanks!
R

Lenght is the same. Quality: don't know for sure.

I never knew you could downlad the preiew file! Not that I would realy need to, though.

matthew Galtress
I never knew you could downlad the preiew file!

Me neither. How does this work?

Dstruct

matthew Galtress
I never knew you could downlad the preiew file!
Good question! Anyone know?

Me neither. How does this work?

It looks like it is perfectly possible.
Find the sample you like, or just a random one. You know how each file has a number. For example http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=60285 by Dstruct. Now we can extract the preview file. Two methods:

1. open the source of the webpage. Depending on browser, you should see an option to view the source when you right-click a webpage. In here, you should look for span id="flashcontent_60285" Notice the number 60285, that's the sample's unique id. Right after that, you should find a piece of script with the url to a preview mp3 file. Copy & paste that url and there you have it.

2. using the info we learnt from method 1, we can construct the preview url for every sample. The preview file has the url http://www.freesound.org/data/[x]/previews/[x][y]____[filename]_preview.mp3
[x][y] is the full file id, in our example 60285. [x] is the part which is dividable by 1000, in our case 60. So already we know the url now is http://www.freesound.org/data/60/previews/60285____[filename]_preview.mp3
is Dstruct.
[filename] is Techline.wav, but without the extension.
So we can see the preview file for this sound is located at url http://www.freesound.org/data/60/previews/60285__Dstruct__Techline_preview.mp3

So if a file id is lower than 10000, for example it is 1234, [x] is 1 and [y] is 234, which would make the url http://www.freesound.org/data/1/previews/1234__Freed__180404D_preview.mp3 (note I also updated the and [filename] to the correct values for this sample)

If a file id is lower than 1000, [x] is 0.

a cookie for nemoDaedalus.

- Bram

@Bram: What about using OGG format for the previews? Does the flash applet support it?

I'm asking because of this "fucking" delay which gets added to the beginning of MP3 files. This delay can cause a click at the end of the preview (if there's not enough silence at the end). It also doesn't loop properly.

Can be heard in this file for example: http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=60348 -> WAV plays and loops fine, but the MP3 preview doesn't.

Bram
a cookie for nemoDaedalus.

- Bram

rorys
H
Is there any drawback (besides sound quality) to just downloading the preview files instead of the original files? Are the previews always the full length of the original uploaded sample?