miraclx/freyr-js

Transcoding to 320kbps is useless

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#440 opened on Feb 24, 2023

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 (4 comments) (7 reactions) (0 assignees)JavaScript (2,279 stars) (154 forks)user submission
enhancementhelp wanted

Description

Because the audio is sourced from YouTube the highest bitrate audio available is 256kbps. Transcoding the already compressed 256kbps audio to 320 kbps AAC will only result in loss of information as AAC is a lossy codec and transcoding is generally an at least somewhat lossy process. I suggest instead downloading the maximum of 256kbps and leaving it be, or if the user specifies a lower bitrate downloading YouTube's copy of the audio at that bitrate (which much of the time does exist). If no such version can be found, download the 256kbps copy and transcode to the lower bitrate.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
javascript
Domain
clitooling
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
JavaScriptaudio codecs understanding
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
60
Research direction
Examine the download logic in the source code (likely in src/ or lib/), focusing on how audio bitrate is selected and transcoded. Look for the code that handles YouTube audio fetching and any flags like bitrate. Then modify the logic to avoid transcoding to 320kbps when input is 256kbps, either by keeping original or transcoding down if a lower bitrate is requested. Check if there are tests for transcoding and add a test case verifying no unnecessary transcoding.