
  mp3DirectCut
  Version 1.12 alpha7, September 2001
  Copyright  2000, 2001 Martin Pesch


    This is FREEWARE. You may copy and distribute
    the original archive file on any medium if you do
    not make profit with the distribution. This is not
    public domain. You may use and copy the program if
    you do not modify any of the provided files and if
    you retain the copyright note.
    This software is provided "as is" - without any
    warranties. The author is not liable for any damages
    or restrictions resulting from the use or misuse of
    any part of this product.

    For instructions see the embedded manual.



    IMPORTANT NOTE

      Since the program's name has changed to mp3DirectCut
      your ini file must also be named mp3directcut(.ini).
      You should either rename your .ini or make new settings.



    WHAT'S NEW

    2001-09-13: v1.12a7
      - Gain setting implemented!
      - Simple ID3 Tag support implemented (only ID3v1 can be set)
      - Source files were not closed in some cases
      - Play was not stopped after prelistening in some cases
      - Frame size of MPEG2 (Layer3) was wrong calculated
      - Major modifications of accessing the source file
      - Page/line up/down in the scrollbar moves now +/- 1/0.1 percent
      - There was no sync before prelistening around the selection
      - Progress bar implemented for saving to new file
      - One more zoom out level (but dirty, handle with care...)

    2001-08-28: v1.11
      - mp3Direct is now called mp3DirectCut
      - All grapics (MPEG, VU, map) use one bitmap view now
      - The recorded data can now be appended to an existing file
        (only if the record file name has no time stamp)
      - Record file handling modified: saves in larger blocks now
        and closes the file each time
      - Memory error fixed: wave-in buffers were not freed
      - Configuration bug fixed: the state of the "Add date & time"
        checkbox was not loaded from the ini file
      - The record filename is now shown after starting record
      - The window could not be restored when it was closed minimized
      - Some modifications in the frame synchronizing
      - Selecting prev/next cut modified: jumps to beginning of cut now
      - Autoselection of cuts disabled while playing
      - Handling of playing while scrolling/positioning modified
      - Some minor modifications

    2001-06-21: v1.10b
      - New method of editing. The program works now some more like
        a common audio editor. A selection must be set to make cuts
        (but the cuts are still allways shown).
      - New type of .ini file (content of the old .ini will not be
        read so configurations of older versions will be lost)
      - Fixed a crash when play was initialized near the end of file
        and while scrolling to end or jumping into the last cut

    2001-06-11: v1.09b
      - The "Edit" Menu is now called "Cut list"
        and contains every cut - for better navigating
      - Project File operations are now in the File Menu

    2001-06-09: v1.08b
      - Support of mpglib implemented (mpglib.dll),
        but you can still choose the ACM
      - Prelisten around and inside a cut implemented
      - VU Meter enhanced: now shows peak levels and max level
      - Drag and drop support added
      - Cut preview data handling modified
      - Memory error fixed: free wave play buffers did not work
      - Scroll while playing modified
      - End of file handling optimized
      - Some structural modifications
      - Settings window re-designed
      - Priority switch added
      - About window re-designed
      - Support for external player removed
        (please, scream if you want it back...)

    2001-05-10: v1.07b
      - File examination optimized

    2001-05-07: v1.06b
      - File examination modified
      - Some more modifications initializing the ACM play

    2001-05-03: v1.05b
      - Major memory bug fixed
        (Fonts & icons disapeared magically after longer usage...)
      - Fixed a crash when trying to save the ini file to a
        write protected media
      - Some modifications initializing the ACM play
      - Navigation improved. CTRL + left mouse button jumps
        now to the pointed position

    2001-03-31: v1.04b
      - About animation gimmick
      - Modified graphics structure
      - Some minor corrections

    2001-03-21: v1.03b
      - Selectable big play timer added
      - Undo function implemented
      - Cut Autoselect modified
      - Actual cut is now highlighted
      - New recording panel implemented
        (large time display, timeout meter)

    2001-03-15: v1.02b
      - Support for the Lame encoder DLL implemented
      - Error on external prelistening large frames (mp2) removed

    2001-03-10: v1.01b
      - Automatic vertical zoom implemented
      - VU Meter more optimized
      - Error on showing file name removed
      - Error on playing to eof removed
      - Button cosmetics
      - Frame synchronization modified

    2001-03-06: v1.00b
      - mp3Direct now even records direct
      - Keyboard shortcuts for some functions
      - VU Meter optimized
      - Button cosmetics

    2001-02-28: v0.99
      - Now setting cuts by mouse is possible
      - Overview graph (map) implemented
      - User selectable colors implemented
      - Playing with cuts implemented
      - Source structure optimized
      - Bitmaps: no more StretchBlts

    2001-02-21: v0.98
      - System Codec implemented for playback
      - Now displays time positions
        instead of byte positions
      - VU-Meter for ACM play implemented
        This allows serious level analyze while the
        the main scroll graph shows only higher
        frequencies for orientation

    2001-01-10: v0.97
      - Some small cosmetics

    2000-12-28: v0.96
      - Graphics optimization (faster & smoother scrolling
        with bitmap support, no more direct paintings)

    2000-12-26: v0.95
      - First release



    SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

      - 200 MHz
      - Windows 9x, NT
      - MP3 ACM Codec or mpglib.dll
      - Optional: Lame encoder DLL



    KNOWN ISSUES

    mp3DirectCut is tested with a large amount of different MP3
    types. But in some cases it could still behave strange or even
    crash. Because there are many differences in the apearence of
    MP3 files (bitrate, samplerate, mono/stereo, padding bit...)
    and in the handling of the frame structure it is not easy to
    predict when and which errors might occur.

      - Cuts in the output file can differ (about one frame) from
        prelistened cuts.

      - If the MP3 file is not on a local harddrive the play
        function may not work correctly because the source file
        is accessed several times a second to update the graph
        (which is on local drives buffered by Window's or the
        drive's cache).

      - Handling large MP3 files or a lot of MP3 files
        can cause Windows's file cache growing and keeping the
        reserved memory. Since a function that cleans the Windows
        file cache is missing you should prevent Windows from
        using all the RAM for file caching (which makes sense in
        most cases by the way). Set the max file cache in your
        system.ini to about 1/4 of your total memory. Insert
        these lines after the [boot]-section (example for
        a 128 MB RAM system):

		[vcache]
		maxfilecache=32768

      - The main MP3 graph does not really show audio data!
        But this is not an error. The graph contains parts of the
        MPEG frames from the higher frequencies. It does not
        analyze the MPEG data to keep the scrolling fast and to
        avoid file scannings at file opening.

      - When the file is scrolled with the scrollbar or the selection
        is changed with the mouse the graph sometimes could show
        trash and the MP3 information may be incorrect. In these
        cases the program has lost the frame synchronization (should
        occour less since version 1.11). Move further to re-synchronize.

      - The visualized MPEG's level can vary at the same file position
        while scrolling. This is caused by a scale factor which
        makes too high MPEG values fitting to the view.

      - If the computer is too slow for decoding MP3 in realtime
        the program will hang. Try to use a higher value for the play
        buffers at mp3DirectCut's preferences and to zoom in. This
        can help, because even the graphics update takes a lot CPU.

      - In some rare cases the program can crash the whole system,
        especially intense scrolling while an MP3 is playing.

      - If the sound is noisy or interrupted try to set the play
        buffer to a higher value (more "reliable").


    If you find errors when using mp3DirectCut or for constructive
    comments or questions, please, contact the author at:
    pesch@stud.uni-frankfurt.de

    mp3DirectCut's homepage: http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~pesch/
