won't import sound files

Please help, on this compouter (OSX version 10.4.8, PowerPc G5) Ardour simply doesn’t want to import sound files. I clicked and dragged sound files from ITunes onto the Music Folder, but that didn’t work.
On the Audio Midi Set-up I have, under System settings/Default Input= MOTU Traveller,
Properties for = Built-in Audio,
Default Output = MOTU Traveller
System Output = Built-in Audio

Audio Input & Output are both Digital In/Out
Format = 44100 Hz, both In/Out.

added to which the console says:

XFree86 Version 4.4.0 / X Window System
(protocol Version 11, revision 0, vendor release 6600)
[DRI] screen 0 installation complete
Screen 0 added: 1280x1024 @ (0,0)
Could not init font path element /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/CID/, removing from list!
bash: no job control in this shell
Ardour/GTK 0.99.3
(built using 1.4.1 with libardour 0.908.2 and GCC version 4.0.0 20041026 (Apple Computer, Inc. build 4061))
Copyright © 1999-2006 Paul Davis
Some portions Copyright © Steve Harris, Ari Johnson, Brett Viren, Joel Baker

Ardour comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY
not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
This is free software, and you are welcome to redistribute it
under certain conditions; see the source for copying conditions.
Loading UI configuration file /Applications/local/Ardour-0.99.3/Ardour.app/Contents/Resources/etc/ardour/ardour_ui.rc
Loading system configuration file /Applications/local/Ardour-0.99.3/Ardour.app/Contents/Resources/etc/ardour/ardour_system.rc
Loading user configuration file /Users/alistair/.ardour/ardour.rc
ardour: [WARNING]: no MIDI ports specified: no MMC or MTC control possible
ardour: [INFO]: Apple VecLib H/W specific optimizations in use
ardour: [ERROR]: LADSPA: cannot load module “/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/mbeq_1197.so” (dlopen(/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/mbeq_1197.so, 2): no suitable image found. Did find:
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/mbeq_1197.so: mach-o, but wrong architecture)
ardour: [ERROR]: LADSPA: cannot load module “/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/pitch_scale_1193.so” (dlopen(/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/pitch_scale_1193.so, 2): no suitable image found. Did find:
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/pitch_scale_1193.so: mach-o, but wrong architecture)
ardour: [ERROR]: LADSPA: cannot load module “/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/pitch_scale_1194.so” (dlopen(/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/pitch_scale_1194.so, 2): no suitable image found. Did find:
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/LADSPA/pitch_scale_1194.so: mach-o, but wrong architecture)
ardour: [ERROR]: KeyboardTarget: unknown action “toggle-recorder-window”
Loading session /Users/alistair/Roads using snapshot Roads

Thanks for any help you can offer,

'60

On the editor, click on the “Regions/name” header on the right of the track canvas. That opens up a menu containing entries “Import audio (copy)” and “Embed audio (link)”. Choose either (you probably want import) and look for the files you want to import in the dialog.

a) Drag-n-Drop between Cocoa apps (typically, native OS X apps) and ones that use X11 does not work, because Apple failed to implement it in their X server. We don’t know why. We can’t fix this until GtkOSX works.

b) You did’t say what kind of audio files you have in your iTunes folder, but stuff you downloaded from iTunes in DRM’ed AAC format cannot be read by other software without being first converted. This is true of other software on OS X too.

c) Under the top level “Session” menu item, there is an item called “Add existing audio” which will do what you want (for file formats that can be understood)

Thanks for your rapid help, Paul.
The kind of audio files were MPEG-4 Audio Files. This is possibly what you meant, so I need to somehow convert this Format into aiff, or wav…
I can’t yet find the “Add existing Audio” under the top-level Session menu item… you mean top-left on the ardour:editor window?

thanks,
'60

Paul gave you directions for 2.0 by mistake. Follow my earlier instructions on how to import audio.

Hi Sampo,
thanks, however I did try to open up “Import Audio(copy)” from underneath the “Regions/name”, as you said, on the upper-right. …but to no avail; the same window opened (as under the ‘Edit’ drop menu) called “Import Audio(copy)”, but the script “Import selected to region list” is scubbed over somewhat, signalling ‘no go…’

Perhaps the next question is; how do I convert MPEG files into aiff?

See the instructions on http://ardour.org/node/302 . What applies to WMA applies to anything mplayer can play. If you are decoding a video, you might want to add the parameters: -vo null . This disables video output.

You can also use iTunes to convert non-DRM’d files to other formats. If you change the “import type” in the preferences, you can then “Convert Selection to…” in the iTunes Advanced menu.

cheers taybin, I really hadn’t thought of that, I was certain there was a way to convert sample formats in iTunes, only I had assumed that iTunes could only downsample.