Resampling and saving down in Sound Forge and Mu-Law vs. PCM

[Crazy A]

Hi all,

Warning--you're dealing with a newbie here.

I have two issues with the same project.

I'm working on IVR (telephone) prompts for a client. We recorded the files at 48 Hz, 16-bit, stereo, PCM, and saved them as .WAV in order to establish the quality of the files at a high level. The client has made a request for us to save them down in order for them to work in his IVR system.

Here's what he asked for:
8 Hz, mu-law mono, pcm format

From what I understand, PCM and MU-LAW are codecs, and you can't have both at the same time. Is this correct?

MU-LAW would make the most sense becaues it was created for the telephone. However, there is yet another problem with this: I can't create .Wav files that are 8-bit, 8Hz, mono mu-law.

I'm using Sound Forge 5.0 (unfortunately). Here is my process:

Open the file. Resample to 8 Hz, Interpolation Accuracy set at 3. Save as. Set Attributes to 8 Hz, 8-bit Mono. Set format to CCITT u-Law. At that point, if I've left the file type as .WAV, it forces the attributes to reset as 8 Hz, 8-bit STEREO. It does NOT give me any other options under Attributes. HOWEVER, if I save it as a .RAW file, I can set the format to CCITT u-Law and the attributes to Hz, 8-bit Mono.

I'm hoping you audio experts can give me the details I need to meet my clients needs.

Many thanks,
Crazy A

[reboot]

Are you sure you don't mean 8khz not 8hz?
Goldwave will resample and save u-law mono.

[Crazy A]

I'm sorry---typo. KHz, not Hz.

I actually found a way around the problem with being stuck with stereo once I save it as u-law--I have to mix the channels after resampling, then save it as u-law. It really seems like there should be a faster way to do this. Does anybody know a faster way to do this in Sound Forge.

The client mentioned Goldwave---I get the impression it allows you to save in batches. Is that correct?

Client confirmed that they were mixing formats: PCM and u-law are both codecs, and you can't have both at the same time.

Amanda

[reboot]

I don't know enough about Goldwave to say it will do batches. I DO know it will easily save a mono U-law 8khz track. No fuss, no muss.
It's got about as many options as Soundforge (well, almost), and I find it easier to use as well as being faster.

[Crazy A]

Reboot, I owe you (and my client, who originally recommended Goldwave) a big THANK YOU. Goldwave has the easiest conversion tool I've ever seen. And, I'm happy to report, the batch conversion works BEAUTIFULLY---and it is VERY FAST. I converted almost 400 .wav files--many of which weren't exactly small--in less than five minutes. This function alone is worth the price of a license. While I won't replace Sound Forge, I do think I'm going to give Goldwave a serious try the next time I record.

Are there any pitfalls to usig Goldwave? What functions is it missing that Sound Forge has?

Crazy A