When ripping CDs to MP3 using Rhythmbox, by default they are VBR, because this is the default preset that is used in /usr/share/gstreamer-0.10/presets/GstLameMP3Enc.prs (cbr=false). The problem is that the VBR headers aren't added to the MP3 files, for example:
$ mp3val 01\ -\ Gregory\ Alan\ Isakov\ -\ Dandelion\ Wine.mp3
Analyzing file "01 - Gregory Alan Isakov - Dandelion Wine.mp3"...
WARNING: "/home/bmaupin/Desktop/Gregory Alan Isakov/This Empty Northern Hemisphere/01 - Gregory Alan Isakov - Dandelion Wine.mp3": VBR detected, but no VBR header is present. Seeking may not work properly.
INFO: "/home/bmaupin/Desktop/Gregory Alan Isakov/This Empty Northern Hemisphere/01 - Gregory Alan Isakov - Dandelion Wine.mp3": 9559 MPEG frames (MPEG 1 Layer III), +ID3v2, no VBR header
Done!
This causes most programs to report incorrect track lengths, including Rhythmbox itself and Ubuntu's default Nautilus file manager. This seems to be a huge oversight considering this is the default behavior using the default apps. I'm not sure when this started because I only use the LTS versions of Ubuntu, but I know it wasn't a problem in 10.04, because it was using a gstreamer pipeline with xingmux as opposed to gstreamer presets, which from what I understand don't support xingmux (which I believe adds the VBR headers).
I currently have to fix any MP3s that I generate with Rhythmbox like so:
sudo apt-get install vbrfix
cd /path/to/mp3s
find . -type f -iname '*.mp3' -exec vbrfix {} {} \;
rm vbrfix.log vbrfix.tmp
This bug is related to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/rhythmbox/+bug/945987
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: rhythmbox-data 2.96-0ubuntu4.3 [modified: usr/share/gstreamer-0.10/presets/GstLameMP3Enc.prs usr/share/rhythmbox/rhythmbox.gep]
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.5.0-39.60~precise1-generic 3.5.7.17
Uname: Linux 3.5.0-39-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: fglrx
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu17.4
Architecture: amd64
Date: Wed Sep 4 09:54:54 2013
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS "Precise Pangolin" - Release amd64 (20130213)
MarkForUpload: True
PackageArchitecture: all
ProcEnviron:
TERM=xterm
PATH=(custom, no user)
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: rhythmbox
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
---
ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.2
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-07-09 (12 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release amd64 (20140417)
Package: rhythmbox 3.0.2-0ubuntu2
PackageArchitecture: amd64
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-32.57-generic 3.13.11.4
Tags: trusty
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-32-generic x86_64
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
UserGroups: adm cdrom dip lpadmin plugdev sambashare sudo
_MarkForUpload: True
Related bug (not sure if it's an exact duplicate): https:/