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20 <ul>
25 <li><a href="#96205e91">My anti-virus program raises an alarm when I try to download/install/launch LameXP. Why is that?</a>
28 <li><a href="#303e5fa7">Do I have to pay for LameXP? / How can I donate to the authors of LameXP?</a>
30 <li><a href="#411d1257">What is the difference between the CBR, VBR and ABR rate control modes?</a>
35 <li><a href="#3d6684e9">Is there a way to use custom tools (binaries) with LameXP instead of the "built-in" ones?</a>
36 <li><a href="#df406578">The LameXP startup (splash screen) takes very long on my system. What can I do?</a>
37 <li><a href="#9b0a5c32">Why does application 'xyz' not open the Wave files created by LameXP?</a>
38 <li><a href="#89cbd3d0">Why does LameXP run only 'n' parallel instances/threads on my computer?</a>
42 <li><a href="#e7c9ae2b">Why do I get the error 'Executable doesn't support Windows compatibility mode' on startup?</a>
43 <li><a href="#328b0a18">Why do I get the error 'Executable requires Windows XP or later' on startup?</a>
44 <li><a href="#3ffe490e">Why do I get the error 'The procedure entry point De/EncodePointer could not be located' on startup?</a>
45 <li><a href="#01922741">Why do I get the error 'LameXP.exe is not a valid Win32 application' on startup?</a>
46 <li><a href="#491aaad9">Why do I get the error 'A device attached to the system is not functioning' on startup?</a>
47 <li><a href="#f35cfa24">How can I translate LameXP to my language or improve an existing translation?</a>
53 <br><br>
56 <br>
57 LameXP is a graphical user-interface for a number of audio encoders. It was developed to support a huge<br>
58 number of input formats. File formats are detected reliably using MediaInfo. Compressed audio formats are<br>
59 decoded to uncompressed Wave files using suitable CLI audio decoders. Furthermore LameXP allows batch<br>
60 processing of multiple audio files. Multi-threading is implemented by processing several audio files<br>
61 concurrently. All the third-party tools incorporated in LameXP are listed in the "About" dialog. The Nero AAC<br>
62 encoder cannot be redistributed due to licensing issues; it is available as a free download from the public<br>
63 Nero web-site. Note: LameXP does NOT use/need any "external" audio decoders. It neither requires nor supports<br>
64 any ACM Codecs or DirectShow/DMO filters! And it will NOT install anything of that kind on your system.<br><br>
66 <br><br>
69 <br>
70 LameXP is currently being developed and tested on the following platforms:<br><ul>
73 <br>
74 The following platforms should work as well, but aren't tested extensively:<br><ul>
80 <br>
81 The following platforms are NOT supported any longer:<br><ul>
83 <li>Microsoft Windows XP, RTM (i.e. without Service Pack)
86 <li>Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
90 <br><br>
93 <br>
94 Currently the following output formats are supported by LameXP:<br><ul>
95 <li>MPEG Audio-Layer III (MP3), using the LAME encoder [built-in]
96 <li>Ogg Vorbis, using the OggEnc2/libvorbis encoder [built-in]
97 <li>Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), using Nero AAC encoder [available as separate download]
98 <li>Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) [built-in]
101 <br><br>
104 <br>
105 Currently the following input formats are supported by LameXP:<br><ul>
107 <li>Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), using FAAD decoder [built-in]
108 <li>Apple Lossless (ALAC)
109 <li>Apple/SGI AIFF
110 <li>Digital Theater System, using Valib decoder [built-in]
111 <li>Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
112 <li>Microsoft ADPCM
113 <li>Monkey's Audio (APE)
114 <li>MPEG Audio-Layer I (MP1), using mpg123 decoder [built-in]
115 <li>MPEG Audio-Layer II (MP2), using mpg123 decoder [built-in]
116 <li>MPEG Audio-Layer III (MP3), using mpg123 decoder [built-in]
117 <li>Musepack
118 <li>Shorten
119 <li>Speex
120 <li>Sun/NeXT Au
121 <li>The True Audio (TTA)
122 <li>Uncompressed PCM / Waveform Audio File (WAV/RIFF)
123 <li>WavPack Hybrid Lossless Audio
126 <br><br>
128 <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>
129 <br>
130 Occasionally your anti-virus program may mistakenly(!) detect "malware" (e.g. virus, trojan horse or worm) in<br>
131 LameXP. This is called a "false positive" and the file is actually innocent/clean. It's an error in your<br>
132 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>
133 <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>
134 engines. Especially take care with scan results like "suspicious", "generic" or "packed", as such results are<br>
135 NOT confirmed malware detections and in almost any case they can be ignored/discarded safely!<br>
136 <br>
137 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>
138 anti-virus programs blindly suspect all "packed" executables of being malware. Obviously that is a stupid<br>
139 generalization, so please ignore these nasty warnings! Last but not least: Always keep in mind that LameXP is<br>
140 OpenSource software. If you don't trust the provided pre-compiled binaries, simply download the <a href="#982cf1c0">source codes</a>,<br>
141 search the code for "malicious" functions (you won't find any!) and then <a href="#a0c1e92b">compile</a> your own binary.<br>
142 <br>
143 Conclusion:<ul>
144 <li>IN CASE YOU HAVE A CONFIRMED INFECTION, RE-DOWNLOAD THE FILE FROM ONE OF THE *OFFICIAL* MIRRORS!
145 <li>DO NOT SEND US VIRUS REPORTS, UNLESS YOU HAVE VERIFIED THE INFECTION WITH MULTIPLE ANTI-VIRUS ENGINES!
146 <li>PLEASE REPORT "FALSE POSITIVES" TO THE DEVELOPER OF YOUR ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE. WE CANNOT FIX THEM!</ul>
148 <br><br>
151 <br>
152 LameXP was written from the scratch by LoRd_MuldeR <MuldeR2@GMX.de>. However it has to be noted that LameXP<br>
153 uses a number of third-party tools, which have been created by the individual authors. Moreover various<br>
156 <br><br>
159 <br>
160 LameXP is free software. You can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public<br>
161 License (GPL) as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your<br>
162 option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY<br>
163 WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.<br>
164 <br>
165 The licenses for most software and other practical works are designed to take away your freedom to share and<br>
166 change the works. By contrast, the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share<br>
167 and change all versions of a program - to make sure it remains free software for all its users.<br>
168 <br>
169 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>
171 <br><br>
173 <a name="303e5fa7"></a><b>Do I have to pay for LameXP? / How can I donate to the authors of LameXP?</b><br>
174 <br>
175 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>
176 currently do NOT accept any donations. Therefore you should NOT pay or donate any money in order to obtain<br>
177 LameXP! However it was brought to our attention that some dubious third-party web-sites offer "payed"<br>
178 downloads of LameXP and/or include Adware into the LameXP download. We do NOT cooperate with any of these<br>
179 sites. So if you pay for the LameXP download, the authors of LameXP will not get a single cent! Instead you<br>
180 should save your money and download LameXP from the official mirrors (<a href="#8dba381f">see below</a>), which is 100% free.<br>
181 <br>
182 If you want to support the development of LameXP, you can do so by contributing translations or code :-)<br><br>
184 <br><br>
186 <a name="054010d9"></a><b>MP3, AAC or Vorbis - What is the best compressed audio format?</b><br>
187 <br>
188 This question can NOT be answered in general. The best audio format is the format that works best for you!<br>
189 <br>
190 Having said that, there are a few things to consider. First of all: All output formats supported by LameXP,<br>
191 except for FLAC and PCM/Wave, use a lossy(!) kind of compression. That applies to MP3 and AAC as well as<br>
192 Vorbis. Consequently with these formats a certain quality loss is unavoidable when re-encoding/converting, no<br>
193 matter what. This is called "generation loss". Nonetheless all three formats (MP3, AAC and Vorbis) are able<br>
194 to retain an EXCELLENT audio quality, given that the chosen bitrate (quality level) is sufficient/reasonable.<br>
195 <br>
196 Secondly, the audio quality does not depend on the audio format and the chosen bitrate only. It also depends<br>
197 greatly on the encoder software that is being used. LameXP uses the LAME MP3 encoder, probably the most<br>
198 sophisticated MP3 encoder out there, the Nero AAC encoder, one of the best AAC encoders available, and the<br>
199 aoTuV Vorbis encoder, an improved/tuned version of the reference Vorbis encoder. Consequently LameXP provides<br>
200 you with state-of-the-art encoders, which ensures maximum encoding quality for ALL supported output formats.<br>
201 <br>
202 Another thing to consider is hardware support, i.e. support on stand-alone and portable players. The MP3<br>
203 format still has the best support on hardware players, but support for AAC/MP4 has become widespread too -<br>
204 especially on portable devices. Hardware support for Vorbis is more limited, but growing. So if portability<br>
205 is a priority, then MP3 is a good choice. However the MP3 format does NOT support multi-channel audio, which<br>
206 means that you will have to use AAC or Vorbis for multi-channel files. Last but not least, if you prefer a<br>
208 <br>
209 Another resource you might find interesting are Sebastian's Public Listening Tests:<br><ul>
210 <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>
211 <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>
212 <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>
213 </ul>
214 (However be aware that some of the results from these listening tests are not up-to-date anymore)<br><br>
216 <br><br>
218 <a name="411d1257"></a><b>What is the difference between the CBR, VBR and ABR rate control modes?</b><br>
219 <br>
220 CBR means "constant bitrate" and, as the name implies, CBR mode allocates the bits at a constant rate. This<br>
221 means that each part of the audio will get the same amount of bits, regardless of its content. Obviously this<br>
222 will waste bits in parts of the audio that are easy to compress. At the same time the quality of parts of the<br>
223 audio that are hard to compress will be degraded. Consequently using CBR mode is NOT a very good idea, unless<br>
224 you really have to for some reason. However CBR mode has the advantage that the final size of the compressed<br>
225 file is perfectly predictable. The resulting file size is defined simply as "duration × fixed bitrate".<br>
226 <br>
227 VBR means "variable bitrate" and, in contrast to CBR mode, VBR mode allows the bitrate to vary/fluctuate.<br>
228 Thus the VBR mode enables the encoder to adapt the bitrate with respect to the content of the audio. Parts of<br>
229 the audio that are easy to compress will get a lower bitrate in order to safe bits. Parts of the audio that<br>
230 are hard to compress will get a higher bitrate in order to avoid quality degradation. Or in other words: VBR<br>
231 mode "moves" the bits to the locations where they are actually needed. Therefore the VBR mode achieves a much<br>
232 better compression efficiency than the CBR mode, i.e. with VBR mode you can get a better quality at the same<br>
233 file size, or the same quality at a smaller file size (compared to CBR mode). One disadvantage of the VBR<br>
234 mode is, however, that the final size of the compressed file can NOT be predicted. The resulting file size is<br>
235 defined as "duration × average bitrate", but the average bitrate can NOT be known beforehand. That's<br>
236 because the average bitrate for a specific VBR quality level can vary greatly, depending solely on the<br>
237 complexity of the individual audio. Nonetheless VBR mode generally should be the preferred encoding mode.<br>
238 <br>
239 ABR means "average bitrate". You can think of ABR mode as a compromise between the CBR and VBR mode. With ABR<br>
240 mode the bitrate is allowed to vary/fluctuate, similar to VBR mode. However the ABR mode doesn't work with a<br>
241 predefined/fixed quality level, as VBR mode does. Instead in ABR mode the encoder will continuously re-adjust<br>
242 the quality level in order to hit the target average(!) bitrate. You can also think of ABR mode as a mode<br>
243 that pre-allocates the bits in a CBR-like fashion and then redistributes the bits within a local neighborhood<br>
244 as needed. Thus the ABR mode combines advantages of CBR mode (predictability) and VBR mode (good quality).<br>
245 The final size of the encoded file is still defined as "duration × average bitrate", but with ABR mode the<br>
246 average bitrate *is* known beforehand. So if you need to hit a specific file size, ABR mode is the solution.<br>
247 <br>
248 Hint: The Nero AAC encoder supports a variant of the ABR mode, the so-called "2-Pass" mode. That mode scans<br>
249 through the entire file once (first pass) before the actual encoding is performed (second pass). This way the<br>
250 encoder is able to distribute the bits over the entire file and still hit the desired target average bitrate.<br>
251 It should be obvious that the advantages of the "2-Pass" mode come at the cost of increased encoding time.<br>
252 <br>
253 Hint: A common mistake done by people comparing rate control modes is choosing a bitrate that is too high. Of<br>
254 course only files of an identical (average) bitrate can be compared by quality. But if that bitrate is chosen<br>
255 too high, you won't be able to draw any conclusions from the test. That's because at a certain bitrate even<br>
256 the CBR mode will retain excellent quality. In that situation VBR mode or ABR mode can't give an even better<br>
257 quality for obvious reasons. But drawing the conclusion that there is no difference between CBR mode and the<br>
258 VBR/ABR modes would be very wrong! The differences will become significant when using a reasonable bitrate.<br>
259 Another mistake is starting with a low-quality source file and concluding that all modes perform equally bad.<br>
260 <br>
261 Summary of rate control modes:<br><ul>
262 <li>Need to hit a specific fixed file size and still want to retain decent quality? ⇒ ABR mode
263 <li>Want to retain a certain level of quality and the file size doesn't matter that much? ⇒ VBR mode
264 <li>Avoid CBR mode by all means, unless there are crude restrictions that force you to use it!</ul>
266 <br><br>
269 <br>
270 LameXP uses the Nero AAC Encoder for creating AAC/MP4/M4A files. The Nero AAC Encoder is available as a free<br>
271 download. However the license doesn't allow redistribution! Therefore we can NOT ship the Nero encoder along<br>
272 with LameXP. Instead you will have to obtain the Nero encoder as a separate download from the official "Nero<br>
273 Digital" web-site. Currently you'll find the latest Nero AAC Encoder version at this location:<br><ul>
274 <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>
276 <br>
277 After you have downloaded the Nero AAC Encoder as a ZIP file, you must "install" the encoder binaries, so<br>
278 LameXP can use them. Simply unzip the files 'neroAacEnc.exe', 'neroAacDec.exe' as well as 'neroAacTag.exe' to<br>
279 the same directory where your LameXP executable ('LameXP.exe') is located. For unzipping the ZIP file you can<br>
280 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>
281 the LameXP directory, the AAC encoding option should be "enabled" on the next startup of LameXP.<br><br>
283 <br><br>
286 <br>
287 LameXP uses the Nero AAC Encoder for AAC encoding. And the Nero encoder always puts the AAC streams into an<br>
288 MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14) container - in almost any case that is exactly what you want/need! The one and only<br>
289 "correct" file extension for MP4 files is '.mp4'. However sometimes the "incorrect" file extension '.m4a' is<br>
290 used to indicate "audio-only" MP4 files. Even worse: There are some buggy (hardware) players that will<br>
291 recognize MP4 audio file only with the "incorrect" .m4a extension, but NOT with the "correct" .mp4 extension.<br>
292 Of course LameXP will save your MP4 files with the "correct" .mp4 extension. But if you need your MP4 files<br>
293 with an .m4a extension for some reason, you can simply rename(!) these files. This isn't more or less<br>
294 "incorrect" than saving the files as .m4a directly. After all, an MP4 file remains an MP4 file.<br>
295 <br>
296 Having said that, you should NOT rename any .mp4 or .m4a files to .aac, because these are MP4 files and NOT<br>
297 "raw" AAC streams. The Nero AAC encoder has NO option to output "raw" AAC streams and usually you don't need<br>
298 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>
300 <br><br>
303 <br>
304 WMA input requires the WMA decoder component to be installed on your local computer. Usually LameXP will show<br>
305 a warning on startup, if the WMA decoder component could not be found. In that case you can simply choose<br>
306 "Download & Install" in order to install the WMA decoder component on your system. Alternatively you can<br>
307 also install the WMA decoder component manually by choosing "Install WMA Decoder" from the "Tools" menu. In<br>
308 any case you must restart LameXP after the WMA decoder component has been installed.<br>
309 <br>
310 It has to be noted that the WMA decoder component relies on the Windows Media Format Runtime. All supported<br>
311 versions of Microsoft Windows should have the Windows Media Format Runtime installed out of the box. However<br>
312 Wine does not! In case you encounter problems with the WMA decoder component, try downloading and installing<br>
313 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>
315 <br><br>
318 <br>
319 LameXP always is "portable", in the sense that the application works out of the box: LameXP does NOT require<br>
320 any additional software, such as codecs, encoders, decoders or runtime libraries, and it will NOT install<br>
321 anything of that kind on your local computer! All the third-party tools used by LameXP are already built-in.<br>
322 There currently are two notable exceptions: The Nero AAC encoder and the WMA decoder cannot be redistributed<br>
323 along with LameXP for legal reasons. Therefore these tools have to be obtained as separate downloads.<br>
324 <br>
325 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>
326 That's because on a modern multi-user operating this is the only "correct" folder to store user-specific<br>
327 configuration files. Also it's one of the few folders where an application is guaranteed to get write-access,<br>
328 even when the application was launched by a "normal" (non-admin) user and did not request elevated rights.<br>
329 Storing the configuration file in the "install" folder is antiquated and highly error-prone.<br>
330 <br>
331 Still some users may want to store the configuration file in the same folder as the LameXP executable file,<br>
332 e.g. when launching LameXP directly from their USB stick on different computers. For this purpose LameXP now<br>
333 offers a "true" portable mode. You can enable that mode simply by renaming the LameXP executable file to<br>
334 "LameXP-Portable.exe". But be aware: When running LameXP in the "portable" mode, the user(!) must ensure that<br>
335 write-access is granted to the directory where the LameXP executable is located.<br><br>
337 <br><br>
339 <a name="3d6684e9"></a><b>Is there a way to use custom tools (binaries) with LameXP instead of the "built-in" ones?</b><br>
340 <br>
341 LameXP uses a number third-party tools. All of these tools are already "built-in" (with a few exceptions) and<br>
342 thus it is NOT required to provide separate binaries. Usually it will NOT be necessary to replace any of<br>
343 the "built-in" tools with a custom (user-provided) binary. If, however, you need to replace/update/downgrade<br>
344 one of the binaries for a good reason, the recommended method is re-building LameXP from the sources. If you<br>
345 don't know how to build LameXP from the sources, then you probably shouldn't be trying to replace the binary.<br>
346 <br>
347 Having said that, there now is a more convenient method for using a custom tool version (binary) instead of<br>
348 the "built-in" one. This method works WITHOUT re-building LameXP. However note that the following is intended<br>
349 for testing and debugging purposes only! Also note that LameXP was specifically designed to work with the<br>
350 "built-in" versions of the tools. It may not work properly or may not work at all with custom tool versions!<br>
351 <br>
352 In order to replace a "built-in" binary, simply put the user-provided binary to the following location:
353 <blockquote><install_folder>\tools\<build_number>\<tool_name>.exe</blockquote>
354 If, for example, you want to replace 'lame.exe' in Build #666 of LameXP, you would put it to the this path:
356 (It is intended that the '<build_number>' part of the path has to be adjusted with every update of LameXP)<br><br>
358 <br><br>
360 <a name="df406578"></a><b>The LameXP startup (splash screen) takes very long on my system. What can I do?</b><br>
361 <br>
362 Starting up LameXP shouldn't take longer than approximately 10 seconds. However it was brought to our<br>
363 attention that badly optimized anti-virus software can slow down the startup procedure a lot! On our test<br>
364 system (Windows 7 running on an Intel Core2 Q6600 with 4 GB of RAM) starting up LameXP takes about 3 seconds<br>
365 without an anti-virus software and about 6 seconds with the "real-time protection" of Microsoft Security<br>
366 Essentials enabled. With other anti-virus software the startup was delayed up to 20 seconds and more!<br>
367 <br>
368 So if you think that LameXP is starting up too slow on your system, you should temporarily(!) disable or<br>
369 uninstall your current anti-virus program and try again. Usually it should be sufficient to disable only the<br>
370 "real-time protection", "file system protection" or "guard" feature of your anti-virus software. If it turns<br>
371 out that the startup is significantly(!) faster WITHOUT the anti-virus software, please report the problem to<br>
372 the developer of the anti-virus software. And, if they don't fix the problem, switch to a better product!<br><br>
374 <br><br>
376 <a name="9b0a5c32"></a><b>Why does application 'xyz' not open the Wave files created by LameXP?</b><br>
377 <br>
378 Some of the decoders used in LameXP will insert an additional 'JUNK' chunk into the Wave/RIFF file, right<br>
379 before the 'fmt' chunk ("Wave header"). There are technical reasons why this 'JUNK' chunk (placeholder) might<br>
380 be needed at the beginning of the file. The 'JUNK' type is a standard RIFF type and, by definition of the<br>
381 RIFF file format specification, any reading application must ignore/skip all 'JUNK' chunks it may encounter!<br>
382 Evidently most reading applications do so and thus will correctly open the Wave file. Unfortunately it was<br>
383 brought to our attention that there are a few broken(!) applications, which reject Wave/RIFF files with an<br>
384 additional 'JUNK' chunk in front of the 'fmt' chunk. It seems that these applications make false assumptions<br>
385 and expect the 'fmt' chunk to be located at a fixed position, rather than parsing the RIFF structure.<br>
386 <br>
387 While it is evident that applications, which reject the Wave/RIFF file because of the extra 'JUNK' chunk, are<br>
388 broken with respect to the RIFF specification and should be fixed by the respective author, there is an easy<br>
389 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>
390 accept, as SoX apparently doesn't insert any 'JUNK' chunks (although it would be free to do so!) Re-saving<br>
391 your Wave file with SoX does NOT change the actual content at all, as long as no additional filters are used.<br>
392 <br>
393 You can use a command-line like this:<br>
396 <br><br>
398 <a name="89cbd3d0"></a><b>Why does LameXP run only 'n' parallel instances/threads on my computer?</b><br>
399 <br>
400 By default LameXP will detect the number of CPU cores that are available on your system and run as many<br>
401 encoder/decoder instances in parallel as CPU cores are available. This is done in order to maximize the CPU<br>
402 usage on modern multi-core processors and thus speed up the overall encoding process. However be aware that<br>
403 the number of instances that can run in parallel is also limited by the number of files you are converting.<br>
404 Consequently the number of instances that will run in parallel is the minimum(!) of the number of CPU cores<br>
405 and the number of files to convert. Moreover the number of parallel instances is currently bounded at four!<br>
406 <br>
407 Limiting the maximum number of parallel instances to exactly four might seem somewhat arbitrary. But the more<br>
408 instances are running in parallel, the more instances will be competing for the hard disk. At some point this<br>
409 will result in "HDD trashing" and actually slow down the encoding process! The limit will prevent this<br>
410 situation on computers with a lot of CPU cores. If, however, you want to use even more (or fewer) instances,<br>
411 then you can use LameXP's option to manually overwrite the maximum number of parallel instances/threads.<br>
412 <br>
413 Also be aware that LameXP only controls the number of instances that will run in parallel, but it does NOT<br>
414 control how many threads an individual instance will create! Some encoders use "built-in" multi-threading and<br>
415 thus a single encoder instance may create several threads - LameXP has no control over that.<br><br>
417 <br><br>
420 <br>
421 The LAME encoder automatically chooses the proper ID3 tag version. By default it will create a version 1 tag,<br>
422 if possible. Only if the information cannot be embedded into a version 1 tag (ID3v1), e.g. because the string<br>
423 is too long or the string contains Unicode characters, a version 2 tag (ID3v2) will be added. This behavior<br>
424 is advisable, because devices that support ID3v2 tags should also be able to read ID3v1 tags - but this<br>
425 doesn't apply the other way around! Moreover embedding an ID3v1 and an ID3v2 tag at the same time, although<br>
426 the information would have fit into a single ID3v1 tag, means an unnecessary redundancy!<br>
427 <br>
428 If, however, you need to enforce the creation of an ID3v2 tag for some reason, you can use the "--add-id3v2"<br>
429 parameter for that purpose. Simply add the parameter to the "Custom Encoder Parameters" for LAME.<br>
430 <br>
431 That's what the LAME help says about ID3 tags:<br>
434 characters), or the '--add-id3v2' or '--id3v2-only' options are used,<br>
435 or output is redirected to stdout.</blockquote>
437 <br><br>
440 <br>
441 LAME v3.99 contains the latest improvements and bugfixes of the LAME mp3 encoder, but it's less tested than<br>
442 the older 3.98 release series. The most important reason why LAME v3.99 is used in LameXP v4.xx is because<br>
443 LameXP v4.xx focuses on proper Unicode support, but LAME v3.98 did NOT support Unicode filenames or Unicode<br>
444 meta tags (through the CLI front-end, on the Windows platform). However LAME v3.99 finally does!<br>
445 <br>
446 So far we have not encountered any noteworthy problems with LAME v3.99. If, however, you encounter a problem<br>
447 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>
448 reports to the LameXP developers, as we generally cannot analyze/fix problems specific to the LAME encoder.<br><br>
450 <br><br>
452 <a name="4213adbc"></a><b>Can LameXP be used to convert/extract tracks from an Audio CD?</b><br>
453 <br>
454 LameXP can be used to convert audio files that have been extracted from an Audio CD, but it can NOT extract<br>
455 or read the audio tracks from the Audio CD directly (yet). Consequently you will have to extract ("rip") the<br>
456 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>
457 for that purpose. When ripping tracks from an Audio CD you should always save the tracks as uncompressed Wave<br>
458 files or as lossless FLAC files! This will avoid a quality loss during the extraction/ripping process.<br>
459 <br>
460 Warning: The Windows operating system will show CDA files (such as "Track01.cda") on an Audio CD. These are<br>
461 dummy/fake files! Actually an Audio CD does NOT contain a file system and thus there are NO files. There only<br>
462 are audio tracks on an Audio CD. These audio tracks can be extracted as files (e.g. Wave Audio files) using a<br>
463 ripping software and then the extracted files can be converted. At the same time any attempt to copy/convert<br>
464 the '.cda' files directly is destined to fail (as the '.cda' files do NOT actually contain any audio data).<br><br>
466 <br><br>
468 <a name="e7c9ae2b"></a><b>Why do I get the error 'Executable doesn't support Windows compatibility mode' on startup?</b><br>
469 <br>
470 LameXP was designed to run on all supported platforms natively (except for Linux/Wine). If you see this error<br>
471 message, that's probably because your system is configured to run LameXP in 'compatibility mode', i.e. your<br>
472 system will pretend an older OS version than is actually running. In Windows Explorer you can disable(!) the<br>
473 compatibility mode by right-clicking on the 'LameXP.exe' file, choosing 'Properties' from the context menu,<br>
474 switching to the 'Compatibility' tab and un-checking the 'Run this program in compatibility mode' option.<br><br>
476 <br><br>
478 <a name="328b0a18"></a><b>Why do I get the error 'Executable requires Windows XP or later' on startup?</b><br>
479 <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>
480 <a name="01922741"></a><b>Why do I get the error 'LameXP.exe is not a valid Win32 application' on startup?</b><br>
481 <br>
482 You are trying to run LameXP on a platform that is NOT supported, such as Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows<br>
483 Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000. There is nothing you can do about that, except for<br>
484 updating to a less antiquated OS. Running an outdated and unsupported OS is a severe security risk anyway!<br>
485 <br>
486 LameXP won't run on the 'RTM' release of Windows XP (no service packs) either. Service Pack 2 or newer is<br>
487 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>
488 Finally this error can also occur, if your system has been configured to run LameXP in <a href="#e7c9ae2b">compatibility mode</a>.<br>
489 <br>
490 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>
492 <br><br>
494 <a name="491aaad9"></a><b>Why do I get the error 'A device attached to the system is not functioning' on startup?</b><br>
495 <br>
496 This error message from the Windows operating system is somewhat misleading. It often appears together with<br>
497 a second error message and it means that Windows was unable to load/execute the program file. There are<br>
498 various reasons why this error might occur, but usually it indicates that you are trying to run LameXP or the<br>
499 LameXP setup/update program on a platform that is NOT supported, such as Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows<br>
500 Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000. There is nothing you can do about that, except for<br>
501 updating to a less antiquated OS. Running an outdated and unsupported OS is a severe security risk anyway!<br>
502 <br>
503 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>
505 <br><br>
507 <a name="f35cfa24"></a><b>How can I translate LameXP to my language or improve an existing translation?</b><br>
508 <br>
509 Please see the guide for translators at:<br><ul>
510 <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>
512 <br><br>
515 <br>
517 <li><a href="https://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP/downloads" target="_blank">https://github.com/lordmulder/LameXP/downloads</a>
518 <li><a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/lamexp/files/" target="_blank">http://sourceforge.net/projects/lamexp/files/</a>
519 <li><a href="http://code.google.com/p/mulder/downloads/list" target="_blank">http://code.google.com/p/mulder/downloads/list</a></ul>
521 <br><br>
524 <br>
525 The preferred place to report bugs or request new features is the LameXP thread at Doom9's Forum:<br><ul>
526 <li><a href="http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=157726" target="_blank">http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=157726</a> (English)
527 <li><a href="http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=37956" target="_blank">http://forum.gleitz.info/showthread.php?t=37956</a> (German)</ul>
528 <br>
529 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>
530 <br><br>
533 <br>
534 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>
535 <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>)
536 <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>)
537 <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>
539 <br><br>
542 <br>
543 LameXP is currently being developed using the following build environment:<br><ul>
547 <br>
548 Also note the following hints:<br><ul>
550 <li>The Microsoft Windows SDK v6.0A should work as well, with a few limitations
551 <li>In order to make a fully "static" build of LameXP, you need to compile Qt as static libraries
552 <li>Visual Studio 2008 solution/project files are still provided for people targeting Windows 2000
555 <br><br>
557 eof</body></html>