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<h3>LameXP - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)</h3><br>
<a name="6a0b023d"></a><b>Table of contents:</b><br>
<ul>
<li><a href="#6a0b023d">What is LameXP ???</a>
<li><a href="#be0a8459">What platforms does LameXP run on?</a>
<li><a href="#29065b86">What output formats (encoders) does LameXP support?</a>
<li><a href="#4e398a46">What input formats (decoders) does LameXP support?</a>
<li><a href="#96205e91">My anti-virus program raises an alarm when I try to download/install/launch LameXP. Why is that?</a>
<li><a href="#fd53d98a">Who created LameXP?</a>
<li><a href="#de1c5e44">What license is LameXP released under?</a>
<li><a href="#303e5fa7">Do I have to pay for LameXP? / How can I donate to the authors of LameXP?</a>
<li><a href="#054010d9">MP3, AAC or Vorbis - What is the best compressed audio format?</a>
<li><a href="#411d1257">What is the difference between the CBR, VBR and ABR rate control modes?</a>
<li><a href="#71a113b0">How do I enable AAC/MP4/M4A output (encoding) in LameXP?</a>
<li><a href="#126abc5a">Is there a way to output ".m4a" or ".aac" files with LameXP?</a>
<li><a href="#ebf016ab">How do I enable WMA input (decoding) in LameXP?</a>
<li><a href="#9fd53558">How can I use LameXP as a "portable" application?</a>
<li><a href="#3d6684e9">Is there a way to use custom tools (binaries) with LameXP instead of the "built-in" ones?</a>
<li><a href="#df406578">The LameXP startup (splash screen) takes very long on my system. What can I do?</a>
<li><a href="#900a2a6c">Is there a way to hide/show the LameXP console ("DOS Box") window?</a>
<li><a href="#9b0a5c32">Why does application 'xyz' not open the Wave files created by LameXP?</a>
<li><a href="#89cbd3d0">Why does LameXP run only 'n' parallel instances/threads on my computer?</a>
<li><a href="#12d077d5">How can I force LameXP to create ID3 version 2 (ID3v2) tags?</a>
<li><a href="#d83ab3c6">Why does LameXP use LAME v3.99 rather than v3.98?</a><br>
<li><a href="#4213adbc">Can LameXP be used to convert/extract tracks from an Audio CD?</a>
<li><a href="#434f2578">Why is the maximum normalization level limited to -0.5 dB?</a>
<li><a href="#e7c9ae2b">Why do I get the error 'Executable doesn't support Windows compatibility mode' on startup?</a>
<li><a href="#328b0a18">Why do I get the error 'Executable requires Windows XP or later' on startup?</a>
<li><a href="#3ffe490e">Why do I get the error 'The procedure entry point De/EncodePointer could not be located' on startup?</a>
<li><a href="#01922741">Why do I get the error 'LameXP.exe is not a valid Win32 application' on startup?</a>
<li><a href="#491aaad9">Why do I get the error 'A device attached to the system is not functioning' on startup?</a>
<li><a href="#f35cfa24">How can I translate LameXP to my language or improve an existing translation?</a>
<li><a href="#8dba381f">Where can I download the latest version of LameXP?</a>
<li><a href="#9c2e273d">Where can I submit bug reports or feature requests?</a>
<li><a href="#e5694e3e">What programming language is LameXP written in?</a><br>
<li><a href="#982cf1c0">Where can I find the LameXP source code?</a>
<li><a href="#a0c1e92b">What are the prerequisites to build LameXP from the sources?</a></ul>
<br><br>
<a name="6a0b023d"></a><b>What is LameXP ???</b><br>
<br>
LameXP is a graphical user-interface for a number of audio encoders. It was developed to support a huge<br>
number of input formats. File formats are detected reliably using MediaInfo. Compressed audio formats are<br>
decoded to uncompressed Wave files using suitable CLI audio decoders. Furthermore LameXP allows batch<br>
processing of multiple audio files. Multi-threading is implemented by processing several audio files<br>
concurrently. All the third-party tools incorporated in LameXP are listed in the "About" dialog. The Nero AAC<br>
encoder cannot be redistributed due to licensing issues; it is available as a free download from the public<br>
Nero web-site. Note: LameXP does NOT use/need any "external" audio decoders. It neither requires nor supports<br>
any ACM Codecs or DirectShow/DMO filters! And it will NOT install anything of that kind on your system.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="be0a8459"></a><b>What platforms does LameXP run on?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP is currently being developed and tested on the following platforms:<br><ul>
<li>Microsoft Windows XP, Service Pack 3
<li>Microsoft Windows 7, 32-Bit and 64-Bit editions</ul>
<br>
The following platforms should work as well, but aren't tested extensively:<br><ul>
<li>Microsoft Windows XP, Service Pack 2
<li>Microsoft Windows Vista, 32-Bit and 64-Bit editions
<li>Microsoft Windows Server 2008
<li>Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
<li>GNU/Linux using Wine (native Linux version planned)</ul>
<br>
The following platforms are NOT supported any longer:<br><ul>
<li>Microsoft Windows XP, Service Pack 1
<li>Microsoft Windows XP, RTM (i.e. without Service Pack)
<li>Microsoft Windows 2000
<li>Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
<li>Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
<li>Microsoft Windows 98
<li>Microsoft Windows 95</ul>
<br><br>
<a name="29065b86"></a><b>What output formats (encoders) does LameXP support?</b><br>
<br>
Currently the following output formats are supported by LameXP:<br><ul>
<li>MPEG Audio-Layer III (MP3), using the <a href="http://lamexp.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank">LAME</a> encoder [built-in]
<li>Ogg Vorbis, using the <a href="http://www.xiph.org/vorbis/" target="_blank">OggEnc2/libvorbis</a> encoder with <a href="http://www.geocities.jp/aoyoume/aotuv/" target="_blank">aoTuV</a> [built-in]
<li>Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), using <a href="http://www.audiocoding.com/nero_aacenc.html" target="_blank">Nero AAC</a> encoder [separate download!]
<li>ATSC A/52 (aka "AC-3"), using the <a href="http://aften.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank">Aften</a> encoder [built-in]
<li>Free Lossless Audio Codec (<a href="http://flac.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank">FLAC</a>) [built-in]
<li>Uncompressed PCM / Waveform Audio File (WAV/RIFF)</ul>
<br><br>
<a name="4e398a46"></a><b>What input formats (decoders) does LameXP support?</b><br>
<br>
Currently the following input formats are supported by LameXP:<br><ul>
<li>AC-3 (ATSC A/52), using Valib decoder [built-in]
<li>Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), using FAAD decoder [built-in]
<li>Apple Lossless (ALAC)
<li>Apple/SGI AIFF
<li>Avisynth, audio only [requires Avisynth 2.5.x to be installed]
<li>Digital Theater System, using Valib decoder [built-in]
<li>Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
<li>Microsoft ADPCM
<li>Monkey's Audio (APE)
<li>MPEG Audio-Layer I (MP1), using mpg123 decoder [built-in]
<li>MPEG Audio-Layer II (MP2), using mpg123 decoder [built-in]
<li>MPEG Audio-Layer III (MP3), using mpg123 decoder [built-in]
<li>Musepack
<li>Shorten
<li>Speex
<li>Sun/NeXT Au
<li>The True Audio (TTA)
<li>Uncompressed PCM / Waveform Audio File (WAV/RIFF)
<li>WavPack Hybrid Lossless Audio
<li>Windows Media Audio (WMA), using NCH Software decoder [available as separate download]</ul>
<br><br>
<a name="96205e91"></a><b>My anti-virus program raises an alarm when I try to download/install/launch LameXP. Why is that?</b><br>
<br>
Occasionally your anti-virus program may mistakenly(!) detect "malware" (e.g. virus, trojan horse or worm) in<br>
LameXP. This is called a "false positive" and the file is actually innocent/clean. It's an error in your<br>
specific anti-virus software. So in case you encounter such problems, please use <a href="http://www.virustotal.com/" target="_blank">http://www.virustotal.com/</a>,<br>
<a href="http://www.virscan.org/" target="_blank">http://www.virscan.org/</a> or a similar online-service to check the file in question with multiple(!) anti-virus<br>
engines. Especially take care with scan results like "suspicious", "generic" or "packed", as such results are<br>
NOT confirmed malware detections and in almost any case they can be ignored/discarded safely!<br>
<br>
Apparently anti-virus programs tend to suspect installers or uninstallers created with <a href="http://nsis.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank">NSIS</a>. Furthermore some<br>
anti-virus programs blindly suspect all "packed" executables of being malware. Obviously that is a stupid<br>
generalization, so please ignore these nasty warnings! Last but not least: Always keep in mind that LameXP is<br>
OpenSource software. If you don't trust the provided pre-compiled binaries, simply download the <a href="#982cf1c0">source codes</a>,<br>
search the code for "malicious" functions (you won't find any!) and then <a href="#a0c1e92b">compile</a> your own binary.<br>
<br>
Conclusion:<ul>
<li>IN CASE YOU HAVE A CONFIRMED INFECTION, RE-DOWNLOAD THE FILE FROM ONE OF THE *OFFICIAL* MIRRORS!
<li>DO NOT SEND US VIRUS REPORTS, UNLESS YOU HAVE VERIFIED THE INFECTION WITH MULTIPLE ANTI-VIRUS ENGINES!
<li>PLEASE REPORT "FALSE POSITIVES" TO THE DEVELOPER OF YOUR ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE. WE CANNOT FIX THEM!</ul>
<br><br>
<a name="fd53d98a"></a><b>Who created LameXP?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP was written from the scratch by LoRd_MuldeR &lt;MuldeR2@GMX.de&gt;. However it has to be noted that LameXP<br>
uses a number of third-party tools, which have been created by the individual authors. Moreover various<br>
people have contributed LameXP translations. Please see the "About" dialog for details!<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="de1c5e44"></a><b>What license is LameXP released under?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP is free software. You can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public<br>
License (GPL) as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your<br>
option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY<br>
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.<br>
<br>
The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and<br>
change the works. By contrast, the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share<br>
and change all versions of a program &#45; to make sure it remains free software for all its users.<br>
<br>
Please see the <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html" target="_blank">GNU General Public License</a> for more details!<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="303e5fa7"></a><b>Do I have to pay for LameXP? / How can I donate to the authors of LameXP?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software" target="_blank">free software</a>, so you may use it for free and for any purpose. Moreover the authors of LameXP<br>
currently do NOT accept any donations. Therefore you should NOT pay or donate any money in order to obtain<br>
LameXP! However it was brought to our attention that some dubious third-party web-sites offer "payed"<br>
downloads of LameXP and/or include Adware into the LameXP download. We do NOT cooperate with any of these<br>
sites. So if you pay for the LameXP download, the authors of LameXP will not get a single cent! Instead you<br>
should save your money and download LameXP from the official mirrors (<a href="#8dba381f">see below</a>), which is 100% free.<br>
<br>
If you want to support the development of LameXP, you can do so by contributing translations or code :-)<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="054010d9"></a><b>MP3, AAC or Vorbis - What is the best compressed audio format?</b><br>
<br>
This question can NOT be answered in general. The best audio format is the format that works best for you!<br>
<br>
Having said that, there are a few things to consider. First of all: All output formats supported by LameXP,<br>
except for FLAC and PCM/Wave, use a lossy(!) kind of compression. That applies to MP3 and AAC as well as<br>
Vorbis. Consequently with these formats a certain quality loss is unavoidable when re-encoding/converting, no<br>
matter what. This is called "generation loss". Nonetheless all three formats (MP3, AAC and Vorbis) are able<br>
to retain an EXCELLENT audio quality, given that the chosen bitrate (quality level) is sufficient/reasonable.<br>
<br>
Secondly, the audio quality does not depend on the audio format and the chosen bitrate only. It also depends<br>
greatly on the encoder software that is being used. LameXP uses the LAME MP3 encoder, probably the most<br>
sophisticated MP3 encoder out there, the Nero AAC encoder, one of the best AAC encoders available, and the<br>
aoTuV Vorbis encoder, an improved/tuned version of the reference Vorbis encoder. Consequently LameXP provides<br>
you with state-of-the-art encoders, which ensures maximum encoding quality for ALL supported output formats.<br>
<br>
Another thing to consider is hardware support, i.e. support on stand-alone and portable players. The MP3<br>
format still has the best support on hardware players, but support for AAC/MP4 has become widespread too -<br>
especially on portable devices. Hardware support for Vorbis is more limited, but growing. So if portability<br>
is a priority, then MP3 is a good choice. However the MP3 format does NOT support multi-channel audio, which<br>
means that you will have to use AAC or Vorbis for multi-channel files. Last but not least, if you prefer a<br>
truly "open" and patent-free audio format, then Vorbis will be the format of your choice!<br>
<br>
Another resource you might find interesting are Sebastian's Public Listening Tests:<br><ul>
<li><a href="http://listening-tests.hydrogenaudio.org/sebastian/mp3-128-1/results.htm" target="_blank">MP3 listening test @ 128 kbps, includes MP3 encoders (like LAME) only</a>
<li><a href="http://listening-tests.hydrogenaudio.org/sebastian/mf-128-1/results.htm" target="_blank">Multiformat listening test @ 128 kbps, includes LAME MP3, Vorbis AoTuV and others</a>
<li><a href="http://listening-tests.hydrogenaudio.org/sebastian/mf-64-1/results.htm" target="_blank">Multiformat listening test @ 64 kbps, includes Vorbis AoTuV, Nero AAC and others</a>
</ul>
(However be aware that some of the results from these listening tests are not up-to-date anymore)<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="411d1257"></a><b>What is the difference between the CBR, VBR and ABR rate control modes?</b><br>
<br>
CBR means "constant bitrate" and, as the name implies, CBR mode allocates the bits at a constant rate. This<br>
means that each part of the audio will get the same amount of bits, regardless of its content. Obviously this<br>
will waste bits in parts of the audio that are easy to compress. At the same time the quality of parts of the<br>
audio that are hard to compress will be degraded. Consequently using CBR mode is NOT a very good idea, unless<br>
you really have to for some reason. However CBR mode has the advantage that the final size of the compressed<br>
file is perfectly predictable. The resulting file size is defined simply as "duration &times; fixed bitrate".<br>
<br>
VBR means "variable bitrate" and, in contrast to CBR mode, VBR mode allows the bitrate to vary/fluctuate.<br>
Thus the VBR mode enables the encoder to adapt the bitrate with respect to the content of the audio. Parts of<br>
the audio that are easy to compress will get a lower bitrate in order to safe bits. Parts of the audio that<br>
are hard to compress will get a higher bitrate in order to avoid quality degradation. Or in other words: VBR<br>
mode "moves" the bits to the locations where they are actually needed. Therefore the VBR mode achieves a much<br>
better compression efficiency than the CBR mode, i.e. with VBR mode you can get a better quality at the same<br>
file size, or the same quality at a smaller file size (compared to CBR mode). One disadvantage of the VBR<br>
mode is, however, that the final size of the compressed file can NOT be predicted. The resulting file size is<br>
defined as "duration &times; average bitrate", but the average bitrate can NOT be known beforehand. That's<br>
because the average bitrate for a specific VBR quality level can vary greatly, depending solely on the<br>
complexity of the individual audio. Nonetheless VBR mode generally should be the preferred encoding mode.<br>
<br>
ABR means "average bitrate". You can think of ABR mode as a compromise between the CBR and VBR mode. With ABR<br>
mode the bitrate is allowed to vary/fluctuate, similar to VBR mode. However the ABR mode doesn't work with a<br>
predefined/fixed quality level, as VBR mode does. Instead in ABR mode the encoder will continuously re-adjust<br>
the quality level in order to hit the target average(!) bitrate. You can also think of ABR mode as a mode<br>
that pre-allocates the bits in a CBR-like fashion and then redistributes the bits within a local neighborhood<br>
as needed. Thus the ABR mode combines advantages of CBR mode (predictability) and VBR mode (good quality).<br>
The final size of the encoded file is still defined as "duration &times; average bitrate", but with ABR mode the<br>
average bitrate *is* known beforehand. So if you need to hit a specific file size, ABR mode is the solution.<br>
<br>
Hint: The Nero AAC encoder supports a variant of the ABR mode, the so-called "2-Pass" mode. That mode scans<br>
through the entire file once (first pass) before the actual encoding is performed (second pass). This way the<br>
encoder is able to distribute the bits over the entire file and still hit the desired target average bitrate.<br>
It should be obvious that the advantages of the "2-Pass" mode come at the cost of increased encoding time.<br>
<br>
Hint: A common mistake done by people comparing rate control modes is choosing a bitrate that is too high. Of<br>
course only files of an identical (average) bitrate can be compared by quality. But if that bitrate is chosen<br>
too high, you won't be able to draw any conclusions from the test. That's because at a certain bitrate even<br>
the CBR mode will retain excellent quality. In that situation VBR mode or ABR mode can't give an even better<br>
quality for obvious reasons. But drawing the conclusion that there is no difference between CBR mode and the<br>
VBR/ABR modes would be very wrong! The differences will become significant when using a reasonable bitrate.<br>
Another mistake is starting with a low-quality source file and concluding that all modes perform equally bad.<br>
<br>
Summary of rate control modes:<br><ul>
<li>Need to hit a specific fixed file size and still want to retain decent quality? &rArr; ABR mode
<li>Want to retain a certain level of quality and the file size doesn't matter that much? &rArr; VBR mode
<li>Avoid CBR mode by all means, unless there are crude restrictions that force you to use it!</ul>
<br><br>
<a name="71a113b0"></a><b>How do I enable AAC/MP4/M4A output (encoding) in LameXP?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP uses the Nero AAC Encoder for creating AAC/MP4/M4A files. The Nero AAC Encoder is available as a free<br>
download. However the license doesn't allow redistribution! Therefore we can NOT ship the Nero encoder along<br>
with LameXP. Instead you will have to obtain the Nero encoder as a separate download from the official "Nero<br>
Digital" web-site. Currently you'll find the latest Nero AAC Encoder version at this location:<br><ul>
<li><a href="http://www.nero.com/deu/downloads-nerodigital-nero-aac-codec.php" target="_blank">http://www.nero.com/deu/downloads-nerodigital-nero-aac-codec.php</a>
<li><a href="http://ftp6.nero.com/tools/" target="_blank">http://ftp6.nero.com/tools/</a></ul>
<br>
After you have downloaded the Nero AAC Encoder as a ZIP file, you must "install" the encoder binaries, so<br>
LameXP can use them. Simply unzip the files 'neroAacEnc.exe', 'neroAacDec.exe' as well as 'neroAacTag.exe' to<br>
the same directory where your LameXP executable ('LameXP.exe') is located. For unzipping the ZIP file you can<br>
use any suitable archiver, such as <a href="http://rarlabs.com/download.htm" target="_blank">WinRAR</a> or <a href="http://sevenzip.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank">7-Zip</a>. Once the required Nero encoder binaries are located in<br>
the LameXP directory, the AAC encoding option should be "enabled" on the next startup of LameXP.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="126abc5a"></a><b>Is there a way to output ".m4a" or ".aac" files with LameXP?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP uses the Nero AAC Encoder for AAC encoding. And the Nero encoder always puts the AAC streams into an<br>
MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14) container - in almost any case that is exactly what you want/need! The one and only<br>
"correct" file extension for MP4 files is '.mp4'. However sometimes the "incorrect" file extension '.m4a' is<br>
used to indicate "audio-only" MP4 files. Even worse: There are some buggy (hardware) players that will<br>
recognize MP4 audio file only with the "incorrect" .m4a extension, but NOT with the "correct" .mp4 extension.<br>
Of course LameXP will save your MP4 files with the "correct" .mp4 extension. But if you need your MP4 files<br>
with an .m4a extension for some reason, you can simply rename(!) these files. This isn't more or less<br>
"incorrect" than saving the files as .m4a directly. After all, an MP4 file remains an MP4 file.<br>
<br>
Having said that, you should NOT rename any .mp4 or .m4a files to .aac, because these are MP4 files and NOT<br>
"raw" AAC streams. The Nero AAC encoder has NO option to output "raw" AAC streams and usually you don't need<br>
such streams. Still, if you want to extract the "raw" AAC stream from an MP4 file, you can use <a href="http://www.videohelp.com/tools/mp4box" target="_blank">MP4Box</a>.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="ebf016ab"></a><b>How do I enable WMA input (decoding) in LameXP?</b><br>
<br>
WMA input requires the WMA decoder component to be installed on your local computer. Usually LameXP will show<br>
a warning on startup, if the WMA decoder component could not be found. In that case you can simply choose<br>
"Download &amp; Install" in order to install the WMA decoder component on your system. Alternatively you can<br>
also install the WMA decoder component manually by choosing "Install WMA Decoder" from the "Tools" menu. In<br>
any case you must restart LameXP after the WMA decoder component has been installed.<br>
<br>
It has to be noted that the WMA decoder component relies on the Windows Media Format Runtime. All supported<br>
versions of Microsoft Windows should have the Windows Media Format Runtime installed out of the box. However<br>
Wine does not! In case you encounter problems with the WMA decoder component, try downloading and installing<br>
the <a href="http://www.free-codecs.com/download/Windows_Media_Format_11.htm" target="_blank">Windows Media Format 11 Runtime</a> manually. This should also work under Linux/Wine.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="9fd53558"></a><b>How can I use LameXP as a "portable" application?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP always is "portable", in the sense that the application works out of the box: LameXP does NOT require<br>
any additional software, such as codecs, encoders, decoders or runtime libraries, and it will NOT install<br>
anything of that kind on your local computer! All the third-party tools used by LameXP are already built-in.<br>
There currently are two notable exceptions: The Nero AAC encoder and the WMA decoder cannot be redistributed<br>
along with LameXP for legal reasons. Therefore these tools have to be obtained as separate downloads.<br>
<br>
Having said that, LameXP stores its configuration file in the <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd378457(v=vs.85).aspx#FOLDERID_LocalAppData" target="_blank">%LOCALAPPDATA%</a> folder on the local computer.<br>
That's because on a modern multi-user operating this is the only "correct" folder to store user-specific<br>
configuration files. Also it's one of the few folders where an application is guaranteed to get write-access,<br>
even when the application was launched by a "normal" (non-admin) user and did not request elevated rights.<br>
Storing the configuration file in the "install" folder is antiquated and highly error-prone.<br>
<br>
Still some users may want to store the configuration file in the same folder as the LameXP executable file,<br>
e.g. when launching LameXP directly from their USB stick on different computers. For this purpose LameXP now<br>
offers a "true" portable mode. You can enable that mode simply by renaming the LameXP executable file to<br>
"LameXP-Portable.exe". But be aware: When running LameXP in the "portable" mode, the user(!) must ensure that<br>
write-access is granted to the directory where the LameXP executable is located.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="3d6684e9"></a><b>Is there a way to use custom tools (binaries) with LameXP instead of the "built-in" ones?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP uses a number third-party tools. All of these tools are already "built-in" (with a few exceptions) and<br>
thus it is NOT required to provide separate binaries. Usually it will NOT be necessary to replace any of<br>
the "built-in" tools with a custom (user-provided) binary. If, however, you need to replace/update/downgrade<br>
one of the binaries for a good reason, the recommended method is re-building LameXP from the sources. If you<br>
don't know how to build LameXP from the sources, then you probably shouldn't be trying to replace the binary.<br>
<br>
Having said that, there now is a more convenient method for using a custom tool version (binary) instead of<br>
the "built-in" one. This method works WITHOUT re-building LameXP. However note that the following is intended<br>
for testing and debugging purposes only! Also note that LameXP was specifically designed to work with the<br>
"built-in" versions of the tools. It may not work properly or may not work at all with custom tool versions!<br>
<br>
In order to replace a "built-in" binary, simply put the user-provided binary to the following location:
<blockquote>&lt;install_folder&gt;\tools\&lt;build_number&gt;\&lt;tool_name&gt;.exe</blockquote>
If, for example, you want to replace 'lame.exe' in Build #666 of LameXP, you would put it to the this path:
<blockquote>C:\Path to your LameXP install folder\tools\666\lame.exe</blockquote>
(It is intended that the '&lt;build_number&gt;' part of the path has to be adjusted with every update of LameXP)<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="df406578"></a><b>The LameXP startup (splash screen) takes very long on my system. What can I do?</b><br>
<br>
Starting up LameXP shouldn't take longer than approximately 10 seconds. However it was brought to our<br>
attention that badly optimized anti-virus software can slow down the startup procedure a lot! On our test<br>
system (Windows 7 running on an Intel Core2 Q6600 with 4 GB of RAM) starting up LameXP takes about 3 seconds<br>
without an anti-virus software and about 6 seconds with the "real-time protection" of Microsoft Security<br>
Essentials enabled. With other anti-virus software the startup was delayed up to 20 seconds and more!<br>
<br>
So if you think that LameXP is starting up too slow on your system, you should temporarily(!) disable or<br>
uninstall your current anti-virus program and try again. Usually it should be sufficient to disable only the<br>
"real-time protection", "file system protection" or "guard" feature of your anti-virus software. If it turns<br>
out that the startup is significantly(!) faster WITHOUT the anti-virus software, please report the problem to<br>
the developer of the anti-virus software. And, if they don't fix the problem, switch to a better product!<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="900a2a6c"></a><b>Is there a way to hide/show the LameXP console ("DOS Box") window?</b><br>
<br>
It is common for many people to run an alleged "DOS" program inside Windows, using a so-called "DOS Box".<br>
Everything works fine. But when you try to run such a program in DOS, you get an ugly message "This program<br>
cannot be run in DOS mode". What's wrong? Well, the affected program is NOT a "DOS" one. It is a Windows<br>
Console program. "DOS" is NOT a synonym of Console. And "Windows" is NOT a synonym of GUI (Graphical User<br>
Interface). Both, DOS and Windows programs, can be either Console or GUI. Actually Windows programs can be<br>
Console *and* GUI at the same time, i.e. a Windows GUI program can have a Console attached.<br>
<br>
LameXP is a GUI program for Windows. However it can have a "Debug" console attached. The purpose of this<br>
console is providing users an insight into what's happening behind the scenes. While the console is mainly<br>
intended for developers, it may be helpful for "regular" users too. Nonetheless you usually will NOT need the<br>
console, unless something is going wrong. Therefore the LameXP console is disabled by default in all<br>
"release" builds. You can enable the console by passing the "--console" command-line parameter, if required.<br>
At the same time the console is enabled by default in all "beta" (pre-release) builds of LameXP. You can<br>
still disable the console by passing the "--no-console" command-line parameter, if you don't like it.<br>
<br>
WARNING: Any attempt to close the LameXP console window will kill the application immediately !!!<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="9b0a5c32"></a><b>Why does application 'xyz' not open the Wave files created by LameXP?</b><br>
<br>
Some of the decoders used in LameXP will insert an additional 'JUNK' chunk into the Wave/RIFF file, right<br>
before the 'fmt' chunk ("Wave header"). There are technical reasons why this 'JUNK' chunk (placeholder) might<br>
be needed at the beginning of the file. The 'JUNK' type is a standard RIFF type and, by definition of the<br>
RIFF file format specification, any reading application must ignore/skip all 'JUNK' chunks it may encounter!<br>
Evidently most reading applications do so and thus will correctly open the Wave file. Unfortunately it was<br>
brought to our attention that there are a few broken(!) applications, which reject Wave/RIFF files with an<br>
additional 'JUNK' chunk in front of the 'fmt' chunk. It seems that these applications make false assumptions<br>
and expect the 'fmt' chunk to be located at a fixed position, rather than parsing the RIFF structure.<br>
<br>
While it is evident that applications, which reject the Wave/RIFF file because of the extra 'JUNK' chunk, are<br>
broken with respect to the RIFF specification and should be fixed by the respective author, there is an easy<br>
workaround: Re-saving the Wave/RIFF file with <a href="http://sox.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank">SoX</a> creates a file that even the broken applications seem to<br>
accept, as SoX apparently doesn't insert any 'JUNK' chunks (although it would be free to do so!) Re-saving<br>
your Wave file with SoX does NOT change the actual content at all, as long as no additional filters are used.<br>
<br>
You can use a command-line like this:<br>
<blockquote>sox.exe "c:\some path\input.wav" "c:\some path\output.wav"</blockquote>
<br><br>
<a name="89cbd3d0"></a><b>Why does LameXP run only 'n' parallel instances/threads on my computer?</b><br>
<br>
By default LameXP will detect the number of CPU cores that are available on your system and run as many<br>
encoder/decoder instances in parallel as CPU cores are available. This is done in order to maximize the CPU<br>
usage on modern multi-core processors and thus speed up the overall encoding process. However be aware that<br>
the number of instances that can run in parallel is also limited by the number of files you are converting.<br>
Consequently the number of instances that will run in parallel is the minimum(!) of the number of CPU cores<br>
and the number of files to convert. Moreover the number of parallel instances is currently bounded at four!<br>
<br>
Limiting the maximum number of parallel instances to exactly four might seem somewhat arbitrary. But the more<br>
instances are running in parallel, the more instances will be competing for the hard disk. At some point this<br>
will result in "HDD trashing" and actually slow down the encoding process! The limit will prevent this<br>
situation on computers with a lot of CPU cores. If, however, you want to use even more (or fewer) instances,<br>
then you can use LameXP's option to manually overwrite the maximum number of parallel instances/threads.<br>
<br>
Also be aware that LameXP only controls the number of instances that will run in parallel, but it does NOT<br>
control how many threads an individual instance will create! Some encoders use "built-in" multi-threading and<br>
thus a single encoder instance may create several threads - LameXP has no control over that.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="12d077d5"></a><b>How can I force LameXP to create ID3 version 2 (ID3v2) tags?</b><br>
<br>
The LAME encoder automatically chooses the proper ID3 tag version. By default it will create a version 1 tag,<br>
if possible. Only if the information cannot be embedded into a version 1 tag (ID3v1), e.g. because the string<br>
is too long or the string contains Unicode characters, a version 2 tag (ID3v2) will be added. This behavior<br>
is advisable, because devices that support ID3v2 tags should also be able to read ID3v1 tags - but this<br>
doesn't apply the other way around! Moreover embedding an ID3v1 and an ID3v2 tag at the same time, although<br>
the information would have fit into a single ID3v1 tag, means an unnecessary redundancy!<br>
<br>
If, however, you need to enforce the creation of an ID3v2 tag for some reason, you can use the "--add-id3v2"<br>
parameter for that purpose. Simply add the parameter to the "Custom Encoder Parameters" for LAME.<br>
<br>
That's what the LAME help says about ID3 tags:<br>
<blockquote>A version 2 tag will NOT be added unless one of the input fields<br>
won't fit in a version 1 tag (e.g. the title string is longer than 30<br>
characters), or the '--add-id3v2' or '--id3v2-only' options are used,<br>
or output is redirected to stdout.</blockquote>
<br><br>
<a name="d83ab3c6"></a><b>Why does LameXP use LAME v3.99 rather than v3.98?</b><br>
<br>
LAME v3.99 contains the latest improvements and bugfixes of the LAME mp3 encoder, but it's less tested than<br>
the older 3.98 release series. The most important reason why LAME v3.99 is used in LameXP v4.xx is because<br>
LameXP v4.xx focuses on proper Unicode support, but LAME v3.98 did NOT support Unicode filenames or Unicode<br>
meta tags (through the CLI front-end, on the Windows platform). However LAME v3.99 finally does!<br>
<br>
So far we have not encountered any noteworthy problems with LAME v3.99. If, however, you encounter a problem<br>
with LAME v3.99, please report your finding to the <a href="http://lame.sourceforge.net/contact.php" target="_blank">LAME development team</a>. Do NOT submit any LAME-specific bug<br>
reports to the LameXP developers, as we generally cannot analyze/fix problems specific to the LAME encoder.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="4213adbc"></a><b>Can LameXP be used to convert/extract tracks from an Audio CD?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP can be used to convert audio files that have been extracted from an Audio CD, but it can NOT extract<br>
or read the audio tracks from the Audio CD directly (yet). Consequently you will have to extract ("rip") the<br>
audio tracks first, before you can convert them with LameXP. We recommend using the <a href="http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/" target="_blank">Exact Audio Copy</a> software<br>
for that purpose. When ripping tracks from an Audio CD you should always save the tracks as uncompressed Wave<br>
files or as lossless FLAC files! This will avoid a quality loss during the extraction/ripping process.<br>
<br>
Warning: The Windows operating system will show CDA files (such as "Track01.cda") on an Audio CD. These are<br>
dummy/fake files! Actually an Audio CD does NOT contain a file system and thus there are NO files. There only<br>
are audio tracks on an Audio CD. These audio tracks can be extracted as files (e.g. Wave Audio files) using a<br>
ripping software and then the extracted files can be converted. At the same time any attempt to copy/convert<br>
the '.cda' files directly is destined to fail (as the '.cda' files do NOT actually contain any audio data).<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="434f2578"></a><b>Why is the maximum normalization level limited to -0.5 dB?</b><br>
<br>
When an analogue [audio] signal is converted to the digital domain, the signal is sampled at a fixed rate<br>
(e.g. 44100 samples per second) and each "sample" value is stored with a fixed number of bits (e.g. 16 or 24<br>
bits per sample). Consequently [uncompressed] digital audio is represented as a sequence of binary sample<br>
values. The range of possible sample values is determined by the word size ("bits per sample"). For example<br>
with a word size of 16 bit, the minimum value is &minus;32768 and the maximum value is 32767 - assuming the values<br>
are signed. The range of the sample values corresponds to the voltage range of the electrical input signal.<br>
The maximum digital sample value (i.e. 32767 at 16-Bit) often is referred to as 0dBFS (0dB "full scale").<br>
<br>
Performing a Normalization in the digital domain seems straightforward: We simply multiply all sample values<br>
with the same factor. And we choose this factor in such a way that the highest sample value(s) in the track<br>
will become exactly 0dBFS after the normalization has been performed. However one needs to be aware that when<br>
playing back the digital audio track, it needs to be converted back to an analogue signal. The D/A converter<br>
will convert each sample from its binary representation to the corresponding voltage. Then a "reconstruction"<br>
filter will be applied in order to recover a continuous signal from these individual voltages. And for the<br>
reconstructed analogue signal it is possible to have voltages that are higher than the highest digital sample<br>
in the audio track! This is illustrated in the following image (samples are represented as tiny squares):<br>
<br>
<a target="_blank" href="http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9153/sine0dbfs.png"><img src="http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9153/sine0dbfs.th.png" border="0"></a><br>
<br>
Consequently normalizing the sample values to 0dBFS is NOT a very good idea, as this may very well result in<br>
a reconstructed analogue signal which exceeds(!) 0dBFS. And, as the analogue parts of the playback equipment<br>
generally are NOT prepared for +0dBFS voltages, this may cause problems, such as annoying distortions!<br>
<br>
The help document of a well-known audio editing software contains the following advice:<br>
<blockquote>If you're planning to put normalized audio on CD, you might want to normalize the waveforms to<br>
no more than 96% [-0.36 dB] as some audio compact disc players have problems accurately reproducing<br>
bits that have been processed to 100% (maximum) amplitude [0dBFS].</blockquote>
For details please refer to the following article:<br><ul>
<li><a href="http://www.audioholics.com/education/audio-formats-technology/issues-with-0dbfs-levels-on-digital-audio-playback-systems" target="_blank">http://www.audioholics.com/...issues-with-0dbfs-levels-on-digital-audio-playback-systems</a></ul>
<br><br>
<a name="e7c9ae2b"></a><b>Why do I get the error 'Executable doesn't support Windows compatibility mode' on startup?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP was designed to run on all supported platforms natively (except for Linux/Wine). If you see this error<br>
message, that's probably because your system is configured to run LameXP in 'compatibility mode', i.e. your<br>
system will pretend an older OS version than is actually running. In Windows Explorer you can disable(!) the<br>
compatibility mode by right-clicking on the 'LameXP.exe' file, choosing 'Properties' from the context menu,<br>
switching to the 'Compatibility' tab and un-checking the 'Run this program in compatibility mode' option.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="328b0a18"></a><b>Why do I get the error 'Executable requires Windows XP or later' on startup?</b><br>
<a name="3ffe490e"></a><b>Why do I get the error 'The procedure entry point De/EncodePointer could not be located' on startup?</b><br>
<a name="01922741"></a><b>Why do I get the error 'LameXP.exe is not a valid Win32 application' on startup?</b><br>
<br>
You are trying to run LameXP on a platform that is NOT supported, such as Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows<br>
Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000. There is nothing you can do about that, except for<br>
updating to a less antiquated OS. Running an outdated and unsupported OS is a severe security risk anyway!<br>
<br>
LameXP won't run on the 'RTM' release of Windows XP (no service packs) either. Service Pack 2 or newer is<br>
required! If needed, you can download Service Pack 3 for Windows XP as <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4" target="_blank">network installation</a> or as <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2FCDE6CE-B5FB-4488-8C50-FE22559D164E" target="_blank">ISO image</a>.<br>
Finally this error can also occur, if your system has been configured to run LameXP in <a href="#e7c9ae2b">compatibility mode</a>.<br>
<br>
Remark: Executables compiled with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 won't run on Windows 2000 or older (<a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ws0swas0(v=VS.100).aspx" target="_blank">details</a>).<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="491aaad9"></a><b>Why do I get the error 'A device attached to the system is not functioning' on startup?</b><br>
<br>
This error message from the Windows operating system is somewhat misleading. It often appears together with<br>
a second error message and it means that Windows was unable to load/execute the program file. There are<br>
various reasons why this error might occur, but usually it indicates that you are trying to run LameXP or the<br>
LameXP setup/update program on a platform that is NOT supported, such as Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows<br>
Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000. There is nothing you can do about that, except for<br>
updating to a less antiquated OS. Running an outdated and unsupported OS is a severe security risk anyway!<br>
<br>
Remark: Executables compiled with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 won't run on Windows 2000 or older (<a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ws0swas0(v=VS.100).aspx" target="_blank">details</a>).<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="f35cfa24"></a><b>How can I translate LameXP to my language or improve an existing translation?</b><br>
<br>
Please see the guide for translators at:<br><ul>
<li><a href="http://mulder.brhack.net/public/doc/lamexp_translate.html" target="_blank">http://mulder.brhack.net/public/doc/lamexp_translate.html</a></ul>
<br><br>
<a name="8dba381f"></a><b>Where can I download the latest version of LameXP?</b><br>
<br>
The latest "official" release of LameXP can be found on the following mirrors:<br><ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP/downloads" target="_blank">https://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP/downloads</a>
<li><a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/lamexp/files/" target="_blank">http://sourceforge.net/projects/lamexp/files/</a>
<li><a href="http://code.google.com/p/mulder/downloads/list" target="_blank">http://code.google.com/p/mulder/downloads/list</a></ul>
<br><br>
<a name="9c2e273d"></a><b>Where can I submit bug reports or feature requests?</b><br>
<br>
The preferred place to report bugs or request new features is the LameXP thread at Doom9's Forum:<br><ul>
<li><a href="http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=157726" target="_blank">http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=157726</a> (English)
<li><a href="http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=37956" target="_blank">http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=37956</a> (German)</ul>
<br>
Please do NOT send me E-Mail unless you really have to! I receive a LOT of E-Mail and your mail can get lost!<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="e5694e3e"></a><b>What programming language is LameXP written in?</b><br>
<br>
While LameXP v3.xx and all earlier versions were written in Delphi/Pascal, starting with version 4.xx the<br>
software has been re-written in the C++ programming language. LameXP v4.xx is based on the Qt cross-platform<br>
application framework and offers full Unicode support. For the time being LameXP is Windows-only.<br><br>
<br><br>
<a name="982cf1c0"></a><b>Where can I find the LameXP source code?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP is developed using the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(software)" target="_blank">Git</a> revision control system. The LameXP Git repository is mirrored at:<br><ul>
<li><a href="git://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP.git" target="_blank">git://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP.git</a> (<a href="https://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP/commits/master" target="_blank">Log</a>)
<li><a href="git://lamexp.git.sourceforge.net/gitroot/lamexp/lamexp" target="_blank">git://lamexp.git.sourceforge.net/gitroot/lamexp/lamexp</a> (<a href="http://lamexp.git.sourceforge.net/git/gitweb.cgi?p=lamexp/lamexp;a=shortlog;h=HEAD" target="_blank">Log</a>)
<li><a href="git://gitorious.org/lamexp/lamexp.git" target="_blank">git://gitorious.org/lamexp/lamexp.git</a> (<a href="http://gitorious.org/lamexp/lamexp/commits/master" target="_blank">Log</a>)</ul>
<br><br>
<a name="a0c1e92b"></a><b>What are the prerequisites to build LameXP from the sources?</b><br>
<br>
LameXP is currently being developed using the following build environment:<br><ul>
<li><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us" target="_blank">Visual Studio 2010</a> with Service Pack 1, running on Windows 7 with Service Pack 1
<li>Desktop Qt v4.7.3 (MSVC 2008), included in <a href="http://qt.nokia.com/products/qt-sdk" target="_blank">Qt SDK v1.1</a>
<li><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=35AEDA01-421D-4BA5-B44B-543DC8C33A20" target="_blank">Windows Platform SDK v7.1</a> (Windows SDK for Windows 7 and .NET Framework 4)
<li>The minimum supported Windows version is Windows XP with Service Pack 2</ul>
<br>
Also note the following hints:<br><ul>
<li>Run "qtenv2.bat" before launching Visual Studio in order to set up the Qt environment
<li>Visual Studio 2008 solution/project files are still provided for people targeting Windows 2000
<li>In order to make a "fully static" build of LameXP, you need to compile Qt as 'static' libraries
<li>The Windows Platform SDK v6.0A should work as well, but there may be a few limitations
<li>Support for the GNU Toolchain (GCC/MinGW + Make) is planned for a future version</ul>
<br>
In order to use the LameXP deployment scripts you need the following tools:<br><ul>
<li><a href="http://www.7-zip.org/" target="_blank">7-Zip</a> - file archiver with a high compression ratio
<li><a href="http://www.scratchpaper.com/" target="_blank">NSIS</a> - Nullsoft Scriptable Install System (Unicode Version)<ul>
<li><a href="http://nsis.sourceforge.net/UAC_plug-in" target="_blank">UAC plug-in</a>
<li><a href="http://nsis.sourceforge.net/LockedList_plug-in" target="_blank">LockedList plug-in</a>
<li><a href="http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Inetc_plug-in" target="_blank">Inetc plug-in</a></ul>
<li><a href="http://upx.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank">UPX</a> - the Ultimate Packer for eXecutables
<li><a href="http://www.matcode.com/mpress.htm" target="_blank">MPRESS</a> - high-performance executable packer for PE32/PE32+
<li><a href="ftp://ftp.gnupg.org/gcrypt/binary/" target="_blank">GnuPG</a> - the GNU Privacy Guard v1.4.x<div style="height:7px"></div>
<li>Copy 'buildenv.template.txt' to 'buildenv.txt' and edit the paths as needed!</ul>
<br>
Instructions to build Qt as 'static' libraries:<br><ul>
<li>Make sure Visual Studio 2010 and Strawberry Perl for Windows are installed
<li>Install the Qt SDK v1.1 and choose to install the Qt 4.7.3 Sources
<li>Open a new command window (cmd.exe)
<li>Add Strawberry Perl to your PATH (e.g. 'set PATH=C:\strawberry\perl\bin;%PATH%')
<li>Now run 'vcvarsall.bat' form your Visual C++ install directory - within the same console!
<li>Change the current directory to the Qt Sources path (e.g. 'C:\QtSDK\QtSources\4.7.3')
<li>Finally run 'configure.exe -release -static -ltcg &lt;more options&gt;' and wait for completion
<li>You can now open and build the solution files (e.g. 'src\corelib\QtCore.sln' in Visual Studio
<li>Make sure you select the "Release" configuration for your builds!
<li>It is also required to change "Code Generation &rArr; Runtime Library" to "/MT" for all projects!
<li>Libraries you need to build for LameXP include the following:<ul>
<li>lib\qtmain.lib
<li>lib\QtCore.lib
<li>lib\QtGui.lib
<li>lib\QtSvg.lib
<li>lib\QtXml.lib
<li>plugins\imageformats\qgif.lib
<li>plugins\imageformats\qico.lib
<li>plugins\imageformats\qsvg.lib</ul>
<li>Put the static *.lib files into the 'LameXP\etc\Prerequisites\qt4_static\lib' directory
<li>ImageFormat plugins go to 'LameXP\etc\Prerequisites\qt4_static\plugins\imageformats'</ul>
<br><br>
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