WaveConvert Pro 2.3 and BarbaBatch 2.1

WaveConvert Pro 2.3 and BarbaBatch 2.1

Introduction Audio File Input and Processing Sample Rate Conversion and Compression Dynamics, Bit-Rate Conversion, and Extensibility File Output Performance -- How Does It Sound? Picking A Winner

Both programs are very flexible when it comes to organizing the output of a batch process. To process a file in WaveConvert Pro, you need to set all of the settings, including specifying the output folder, and then move the file into the output list for processing. Different files in the output list can have different settings, including different output folders. File names can be changed automatically (extension only or automatic 8.3 conversion) or by double-clicking in the output list and typing in a new name. All of these front-panel settings (including plug-in settings) can be saved as a settings file, which is a long overdue capability in the WaveConvert family.

In addition to the settings, the Joblist saves everything from a session. This includes the path to all of the files to be processed, all of the settings, and the paths for all of the output files. As a text file, it can be edited and then reloaded so that you can run a modified batch without reloading all of the files. WaveConvert Pro even auto-saves a back up Joblist in case you quit (or crash) with out finishing a batch. This back-up Joblist can be reloaded and run at a later time. This is a great feature and a big time saver, but I do have one major problem with the way that it's been implemented: if one of the input files or plug-ins that you use no longer exists along the previously specified path, the Joblist may only partially load. If any of the output folders specified in the Joblist don't exist, it will still load, but may not be able to perform the conversion. This isn't an elegant solution to the problem and seems quite out of place considering the thoughtfulness and care that went into to the rest of the user interface. I take issue with this discrepancy because, in this business, it's common practice to process a large batch of files and burn them (source and output) to a CD for archival purposes. It's great that you can save a Joblist to burn with your audio files, but if I have to restore these files and redo the batch, it's likely that the path for the source files and the output directories won't be the same. Editing the Joblist batch file would be fine for a small batch, but not worthwhile for a large one (such as 2,500 files).

On the subject of interface problems, I have one other issue with WaveConvert Pro. Once you've selected a folder for your output, that folder and any files or folders contained therein no longer appear in the "Add Input File" selection box. This is a problem if you have an existing nested file structure and you need to output your processed files to a higher level in your filing system than where your files to be processed reside. Waves has told me that this is to prevent people from writing over their source files, which is understandable, but a dialog box warning would be a more elegant solution.

Further establishing itself as the more feature-rich application of the two products, only WaveConvert Pro has a preview function (and a very nice one at that), so you can hear how certain processes will affect a file. In BarbaBatch, you must fully process the file to hear what it will sound like.

Overall, file output is handled very nicely. WaveConvert Pro gives you an estimate of how much space the output file will take up on a hard disk or CD-ROM, taking the minimal disk physical block size.

BarbaBatch has a much simpler method for handling file output. It works by creating conversions. A conversion consists of a group of settings and a name, similar to the WaveConvert Pro settings files. The names appear in the conversion window. Once you load up your input files, you just check off all of the conversions that you want to apply. You select an output folder and hit Start. While processing, BarbaBatch creates a new directory with the name of each conversion and stores all of the files processed by that conversion inside. This is useful, if not completely flexible, especially when combined with the ability to input and automatically recreate nested folder structures. BarbaBatch also outputs a comprehensive log file for each batch that it processes.

In the end, WaveConvert Pro has a potentially more powerful tool in the Joblist. There are a few things that you can do with a Joblist that you can't do with BarbaBatch, but for the most common applications, BarbaBatch's methodology is simple and well thought out as to the tasks at hand. As I said at the outset, this one will come down to personal taste.