Be Careful When Importing MP3s Into PT 2021.10

[Tweakhead]

DO NOT IMPORT MP3 INTO PT2021.10 !!
If you do decide to test it, proceed with extreme caution
DO NOT PLAY with your monitors turned up, or headphones plugged in.

read this thread :
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=417555

[jeffro]

Out of an abundance of caution I'm making this a sticky thread. I was unable to repro any problem with import of MP3 in Pro Tools Ultimate 2021.10 (saw the files, imported, played back correctly), but I only tested with Catalina and Big Sur. We'll look into this further and report back...

[Tweakhead]

I think I might have narrowed down exactly what is causing this.
Every other MP3 file that I have chosen to experiment with has actually worked just fine, except for the one that I initially chose to test . . . (just bad luck I guess) . . . but I noticed a peculiarity with that initial file during the Import Audio dialog process.

As soon as I select that particular file in the import window, the entire GUI freezes for several seconds - and then the File Info finally appears.
Here's what I noticed:
In my folder list, that particular file is identified as Kind = "MP3 Audio" rather than a "QuickTime" file, and the Pro Tools identifiers (just above the "Convert" button) include:
Type: MP3
Bit Depth: 16
Sample Rate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2

It seems that any other of my "MP3 Audio" files are identified as Type: QuickTime, with a Bit Depth of 32.
I cannot for the life of me seem to find another file in my system which is identified as an "MP3 Audio" / Type: MP3 / Bit Depth: 16
so I cannot test my theory further.
Quicktime itself has no problem playing the file.
In fact, if I open it in QuickTime, Command+J, Select Sound Track, Extract, Save As "Blah Bah", Change File extension once saved to MP3.
It then imports just fine into Pro Tools but now indentifies during import as Type: QuickTime, still with a Bit Depth of 16. It also does not freeze the GUI when that file is selected.

I'm still seaching for a file in my archives with these properties that I could actually share for testing purposes.

Does this info help ?

[Darryl Ramm]

Can you post this file somewhere we can access? Or look at it with an inspection tool like Invisor (Mac)?

[Tweakhead]

Hi Darryl,
Unfortunately it is a client-supplied file so I cannot share it. But I am more than happy to carry out any surgery on it.

[Eric Lambert]

After more testing today I'm still not having any issues with MP3 import, and I've tried many file/SR/bit-depth combinations.

[Tweakhead]

Eric, did any of your tested files appear flagged during import as I described ? ie Type: MP3 | Bit Depth: 16

[Tweakhead]

I just booted into my Mojave partition with Pro Tools 2021.6.0 and this problem does not occur. There is no GUI freeze during the selection/identification process of that same MP3 file. Fast import with zero corruption of the audio.

[Tweakhead]

OK, I quit Pro Tools, and updated to 2021.10 on my Mojave partition.
Launched Pro Tools, opened my same session, tried to import that same MP3.
GUI freeze on selection, painfully slow import, total data corruption.

Something went wrong in the import code between these builds.

[Cacov]

Anyone has been able to repro this issue?
I could not repro myself (Mojave 10.14.6 (18G9216), PT Standard 2021.10).

(BTW All of my .mp3 files are recognized as "MP3 audio" on the Kind column of the Finder)