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Convert audio files to WAV format

Source: R/convert_audio.R
convert_to_wav.Rd

This function converts audio files (MP3, M4A, etc.) to WAV format using the `av` package or a system `ffmpeg` installation. This is useful for resolving compatibility issues with bioacoustic software like BirdNET that may struggle with compressed audio headers.

Usage

convert_to_wav(
  path,
  out_dir = NULL,
  recursive = FALSE,
  delete_original = FALSE,
  channels = 1
)

Arguments

path

Character. Path to a single audio file or a directory containing audio files.

out_dir

Character. Optional. Directory to save the converted WAV files. Defaults to the same directory as the input.

recursive

Logical. Should the function search for audio files recursively? Defaults to FALSE.

delete_original

Logical. Should the original files be deleted after successful conversion? Defaults to FALSE.

channels

Integer or NULL. Number of output channels. Defaults to 1 (mono), matching what BirdNET and training libraries expect. Use `channels = NULL` to preserve the source channel layout.

Value

Character vector of paths to the converted WAV files.

Details

Output is normalised to BirdNET's expected shape: 16-bit PCM at 48 kHz, and mono by default (see `channels`). Training libraries are conventionally mono, so a stereo source is downmixed rather than passed through.

See also

Other audio: analyze_call_properties(), biggest_files(), check_clips_on_disk(), find_duplicate_wavs(), print.training_dataset_summary(), quarantine_clips(), training_dataset_summary()

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
convert_to_wav("path/to/audio_file.mp3")
convert_to_wav("path/to/audio_dir", recursive = TRUE)
# keep the source's stereo layout instead of downmixing
convert_to_wav("path/to/audio_dir", channels = NULL)
} # }