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Forum Discussion
Does Dropbox compress audio?
Hey dude, you ever get an answer on this? This really concerns me because I use Dropbox to back up all my Logic Pro projects and their source audio files.
Actually it's not the browser. The Dropbox media player itself is transcoding the original audio when you preview it in any browser. This is referenced here (search in page for "Transcoding"):
https://www.dropbox.com/help/files-folders/preview
For example right now I'm playing back a 320k MP3 file. It sounds different when streamed in the browser compared to off the synced folder on my computer. From the browser it has all of the hallmarks of 128k MP3 transcoding. The hi hats sound like there's a flanger on them and overall the track is duller when streamed in the browser. This is in Chrome on Mac.
But your original file does not get changed- this is only when previewing with Dropbox app on a smartphone, or in any web browser.
Yes, this is exactly the problem. The file isn't changed, but when run through the dropbox browser window (when you share link with dl=0), it gets metallic and distorted.
Is this problem known to the developers?
- It isn’t a problem. All cloud storage systems work today way, all media files get compressed in the browser photos, videos and audio. But if you sync the file to your Dropbox folder on your computer, you get the exact original file.
Think of the browser as a convenient way to preview files. Nothing more. If you want the original file, download it or sync it.
The same thing happens with VLC for Android/ iOS, it dies some pretty bad sounding transcoding when you play media off your cloud. Google Drive or Dropbox, sound the same through VLC.Wait! This is very helpful. I'm listening to a master right now on my iphone through earbuds. It sounds as clear as a bell on all speakers, headphones, etc when I'm listening through to the files via my hard drive, or a cd. When I use the dropbox audio player, I'm getting distortion that sounds like clipping.
What you're saying is what I'm suspecting? The dropbox audio player compresses the file and isn't necessarily the best at doing that function? They aren't focusing their attention on creating the best streaming service. It's just a file preview.
Am I understanding that correctly? When I'm listening on my phone thru the amp, it's still playing the cloud file on their end through their browser media player. If I were to download the file onto my phone and play via music, I shouldn't experience the same compression/distortion?
thanks, Liam
I answered my own questions! I downloaded the file to my phone and played it through the phones music player. All the clipping distortion is gone.
Thanks for your reply. But how does services like Soundcloud and Youtube manage to get undistorted sounds through a browser? In fact, I don't hear much distortion when streaming from Google Drive either.
Actually there can be distortion there as well, depending on what format was used for upload. Transcoding, same problem we're hearing here.
But you can't compare those services, that are designed for media streaming, with Dropbox, which is not a media streaming service. There are a bunch of code optimisations that work well for streaming that would not be optimal with a cloud storage system. Checksums, for a start.
