command line MP3 to WAVE?

[AlanHK]

I want to convert a bunch of MP3s to AC3.

I know there are other encoders, but I would like to use Aften, which takes wave input.

And ideally, I would like to stream the MP3 into Aften rather than making a lot of large WAVE files.
Is there something that streams MP3 to wave so I can make a batch file like:

for %%I in (*.mp3) do (
MP3wave %%I - | p:\aften\aften.exe - %%~nI.ac3
)

[pcspeak]

This works for me. Note you need 'bsn.dll' in the besweet folder. I had problems with a couple of versions of the dll. You may need to experiment.

FOR /F "delims=" %%W IN ( *.mp3) DO "C:\VidAud\Besweet\BeSweet.exe" -core( -input "%%~nW.mp3" -output "%%~nW.ac3" ) -ota( -d 2 ) -ssrc( --rate 48000 ) -bsn( -exe aften.exe -b 384 )

[Soopafresh]

I'll bet mplayer or ffmpeg will do it.

for %%a in ("*.mp3") do ffmpeg -i "%%a" -vn -y - | aften.exe -b 384 - "%%~na.ac3"

Or wrap them in an avisynth script. Use nicaudio as the audio plugin and WAVI to output to stdout

http://www.codeplex.com/NicAudio/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=12395
http://sourceforge.net/projects/wavi-avi2wav

for %%a in ("*.mp3") do @echo NicMPG123Source(""%%a"").normalize() >"%%~na.avs"
for %%a in ("*.avs") do wavi "%%a" - | aften.exe -b 384 - "%%~na.ac3"

hi pcspeak!

[AlanHK]

for %%a in ("*.mp3") do ffmpeg -i "%%a" -vn -y - | aften.exe -b 384 - "%%~na.ac3"

Thanks.
That gave an error "Unable for find a suitable output format for 'pipe:'"
A little research showed it needed a "-f wav" parameter to determine that.

This works:
ffmpeg -i "%%a" -ar 48000 -f wav -vn -y - | aften.exe -b 192 - "%%~na.ac3"
(Also changing the sample rate, as this is intended for DVD.)

Or wrap them in an avisynth script.

I thought of that, but I'd have to create a bunch of AVS scripts.
I'm not that adept at creating them programmatically, I'll keep your method in mind.

If I couldn't get the pipe working I was just going to create temporary WAVE files. Inelegant but works.

[halsboss]

Why use aften and not ffmpeg directly ? Just wondering.

[AlanHK]

Why use aften and not ffmpeg directly ? Just wondering.

Most afficianados rate Aften as giving the better quality.
(Not that I myself could tell, though.)