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j2762mm's avatar
j2762mm
Helpful | Level 7
6 years ago

End of Audio Previews Cut Off

Hello!

I have a very regular issue where the dropbox web player is cutting off the very last seconds of audio files.

This issue is NOT pertaining to the playback limits enforced by Dropbox plans. It's just the last few seconds of every audio file I upload, the player cuts off the end. These are all CBR MP3 files. Haven't tested with any other format.

I'm a podcast editor and multiple times per week I have clients come back to me complaining that the end of their piece is cut off. It always turns out that they were listening to the file on Dropbox's web player. Once they download the file, it's perfect.

Total time-waster for me and just not a good experience overall for clients.

Love Dropbox otherwise, and with the subscription fee every month, I would expect not to have issues like these.

Happy to provide further info or test to help resolve this issue!

  • Hello Daphne

    No the issue isn't exactly resolved but I've made a work-around. The Dropbox support team have been in touch a few times but seem baffled. In the meantime, I have had 10 seconds of silence added to the end of the MP3 so that the voice is no longer cut off and that works for me!

     

  • Lusil's avatar
    Lusil
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
    Hey there, j2762mm !
     
    I just wanted to let you know that I was able to locate your open request from my end and have passed your comments along to the member of my team reviewing this matter for you. When they have more info on this, they’ll get back to you as soon as possible via email. 
     
    Thanks in advance! :grin:
    • ZanaLu's avatar
      ZanaLu
      Helpful | Level 6

      I have the same problem as this with just one of my audio files uploaded to Dropbox. If I open the file in another app it plays perfectly, but in preview the last 5 seconds are cut off. The weird thing is, the MP3 is the same length however I open it (it's 35:09 long in Dropbox and in any other app). It's almost as if when uploading to Dropbox the recording has "slipped". It's a spoken track for hypnosis. Near the end I am counting 1,2,3,4,5 and in Dropbox preview I say "1" at 35:04, whereas in any other app I'm saying "1" at 34:59! It's like it's all "slipped" by 5 seconds over the length of the recording. I've deleted, uploaded again a few times but always the same result. It all plays in the sender's Dropbox preview.

      The other files I have uploaded to Dropbox play fine with no cut off endings. The file is not too large: it's about 32MB. I think the limit for MP3 is 1GB?

      Any idea what is going on?!

      • Lusil's avatar
        Lusil
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
        Hey ZanaLu, sorry to hear that you’re also having this issue. 
         
        Could you please let me know if the behavior persists when you play the video:
        • From another browser?
        • While you’re not running any third party browser extensions?
        • From an incognito/private browser mode?
        • After you’ve cleared the cache of your browser?
        Additionally, could you confirm how you uploaded the video in question? Was it through the desktop app, the mobile app, or the website?
         
        Let me know what you find!
  • MrSmallens's avatar
    MrSmallens
    New member | Level 2
    Hi, I'm also a pod producer, also having the exact same issue with mp3 files being clipped in preview, and frustrated that we have to work around it vs DB fixing this obvious flaw.
    • Lusil's avatar
      Lusil
      Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

      Hi there MrSmallens

      Welcome to the Dropbox Community!

      I understand that the workaround isn't the ideal resolution for you. 

      However, I'd be more than happy to send you a ticket to the email address associated with your Community profile so that we can have a more in depth look into this. 

      Let me know how you'd like to proceed!

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