How do I find, at-a-glance, the sample size used in several music files?

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Level 1

9 points

How do I find, at-a-glance, the sample size used in several music files?

Of all the fields available in iTunes, or a FInder Search, "Sample Size" is not available. Finder does offer a "Bits per Sample" field, but it only recognized graphic files and not music files.

Running 10.8.5 on an iMac i5.

I did search through a couple of communities but came up empty.

Thank you,

Craig

iMac (USB 2.0), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4), iMac i5 8GB, Airport Extreme

Posted on May 19, 2014 12:44 PM

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Answer 1

Limnos

Level 10

428,219 points

May 19, 2014 1:19 PM in response to c-squared

I use a much older iTunes but in list view options I have one that lets me display a column for "sample rate".

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Answer 2

c-squared Author

Level 1

9 points

May 19, 2014 2:05 PM in response to Limnos

Thanks, Limnos, but I know the sample RATE.

I am looking for the sample SIZE; i.e. 16-bit , 24-bit, or 32-bit.

Craig

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Answer 3

Ric 2 2

Level 1

43 points

May 19, 2014 2:29 PM in response to c-squared

If you click on the song and and get info it should be in the summary tab, if it was imported from a CD. Thecsongs I've purchased from the itunes don't show that. Podcasts also show the bit rate.

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Answer 4

Limnos

Level 10

428,219 points

May 19, 2014 3:10 PM in response to Ric 2 2

My older version of iTunes doesn't show sample size in the summary tab, just the sample rate and the bitrate. Maybe it's in the newer version, or it may be hidden and would require a special script to dig it out from the data present in iTunes but not regularly displayed. I did that with a hidden file characteristic and stuck it in the "show" field for music (which doesn't really have a show field).

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Answer 5

c-squared Author

Level 1

9 points

May 20, 2014 5:42 PM in response to Ric 2 2

Thank you, Ric 2 2, but I want to avoid clicking on a bazillion songs sequentially.

Craig

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Answer 6

ed2345

Level 9

63,602 points

May 21, 2014 4:41 PM in response to c-squared

C-squared,

There is no View Option to allow display of a column of sample size.

For WAV or Apple Lossless files, it is available on the Summary tab (one song at a time, as you know). For MP3 and AAC it is not available at all.

You can roughly infer it from the files that are larger than expected for their time.

99% of the music we use is at the CD standard of 16-bit, so I can guess that displaying it has never been a priority. However, if you want to make a suggestion to Apple, use this link:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html

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