ArsGeek

Here’s two ways to convert your mp3’s (which are in a proprietary format) into .ogg files. Ogg Vorbis is a free and open format. You could use these files in just about any linux media player and in lots of the more grown up players for other operating systems.

The first way is via command line. You’ll need to install a few tools if they’re not already present. Lets go to Applications-> Accessories-> Terminal and type the following:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install mpg321 vorbis-tools

Once that’s done, you’ll have everything you need to convert your files!

Now, move to the directory where your music is. In my case, it’s in /media/sda4/music

cd /media/sda4/music

I have an mp3 called lameband.mp3 that I want to convert. Type the following to convert it:

mpg321 lameband.mp3 -w raw && oggenc raw -o output.ogg

After a bit of thinking, your computer will spit out the file in Ogg Vorbis format.

Here’s a bit more graphical way to do this via Nautilus Scripts.

Again, we’ll have to install the script. Once we do that, we’ll enable it. Back in a terminal session:

sudo apt-get install nautilus-script-audio-convert

Once that’s done, we’ll enable it by typing:

nautilus-script-manager enable ConvertAudioFile

Now, open up a new Nautilus session by going to Places -> Wherever_your_music_is_at

Once there, right click on a file, choose Scripts -> ConvertAudioFile. This will bring up some options for you to choose.

The first will ask you what extension you want. Choose ogg.

Next it will ask you what to do with the Metatags. If you’re not sure, choose “Pass the metatags on to the new files“.

Last, it will ask you about sound quality. The higher the number, the better the quality.

Enjoy your music!

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