
  mp3DirectCut
  Version 1.18, December 2001
  Copyright  2000, 2001 Martin Pesch


    This is FREEWARE. This is not public domain.
    You may use this software as it is designed for
    and distribute the original archive free of charge
    on and through any medium if you retain the copyright
    note. You're not allowed to modify any of the provided
    files or distribute single files from the archive
    or new files based on the archive's contents.
    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.



    WHAT'S NEW

    2001-12-16: v1.18
      - Normalize function implemented
      - Shift+LMB works now like RMB (in 2nd mouse mode)
      - Layer 2 graph changed its shape when pressing |< / >|
        (thanks Ian)
      - Splitted saving always had the extension .mp3

    2001-11-22: v1.17
      - Layer II support implemented (playback only possible
        with mpglib.dll v0.92 or higher, not with ACM!)
      - Buffer indicator in the recording screen is bigger now
      - '/r' command line option added for immediate recording
      - Program crashed after load errors
      - Minor corrections, manual updates

    2001-10-25: v1.16
      - Splitted file saving implemented
      - Alternative mouse selection method added
        (left button = new&drag, right = change nearest)
      - Added option to show miliseconds
      - Minimize and restore produced an interesting window
        full of trash - fixed (thanks Vlad)
      - Autoselect modified (selects now nearest cut)
      - Save selection saved longer than selection in some cases

    2001-10-13: v1.15
      - Cue Sheet support implemented (but simple)
      - Selection does not hide cuts/gains any more
      - Selection will now be saved with included cuts, gains and ID3
      - Command line and dropped files are checked now for type
      - Cue setting while recording optimized
      - Time information added to cuts shown in the Edit menu
      - The copyright info of frames was not shown
      - Average bitrate implemented for more exact
        time informations, especially on VBR files
      - Added file informations in the Tag ID3 window
      - In rare cases while playing and saving the program did
        hang at the end of the file, hopefully fixed...

    2001-09-30: v1.14
      - Some corrections in the frame synchronization
      - Fixed incorrect recognition of CRC (but be careful
        fading those files, because the CRC will not be adapted!)
      - CRC and Copyright of frames are shown now if present
      - In the MPEG info changed "kpbs" to correct "kbps" ;)
      - [<<<] [>>>] had an initial value of 0, now 100 (thanks Jaroslav)

    2001-09-24: v1.13
      - Reset the scrollbar buttons to fixed movement (+/- 1/100 frames)
      - User defineable skip range implemented and skip button
        design changed to [<<<] [<<] [>>] [>>>]
      - Some graphics corrections
      - Faulty error correction fixed
      - Source MP3 is read in larger blocks now
      - "Select All" option added (Edit menu)
      - "Cut play" switch removed

    2001-09-20: v1.12
      - 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 accessing/playing 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 new files
      - One more zoom out level (but dirty, handle with care...)
      - New format of project files (old format can still be loaded)
      - The window is now resizable
      - Modified layout of buttons and text fields
      - Setting markers (as cuts) while recording implemented
        (with "Set begin" Button)

    2001-08-28: v1.11
      - The program 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



    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 it is not easy to predict which errors might occur.

      - The main MP3 graph does not show the correct audio level.
        But this is not an error! The graph contains only higher
        frequencies. It does not decode the MPEG data to keep
        the scrolling fast and to avoid scannings at file opening.
        The graph can also be too high or too low over the whole file.
        It does not indicate absolute audio levels in any way.

      - Visualisation of Layer 2 is much worse than Layer 3. What
        you see on MP2 has next to nothing to do with an audio level.
        Please, don't complain if MP2 silence is shown at -6dB.

      - VBR files should be editable, but: they are not visualized
        correctly. While playing or scrolling the graph is less or
        more streched. The MPEG graph depends on fixed frame sizes.
        I recommend to cut and fade VBR files "by ear" and
        using the "Set begin" and "Set end" buttons.

      - Cuts in MP3 files may sound noisy or squeeky, especially
        at lower bitrates. This is also not an error but caused by
        the "bit reservoir" used by most MP3. Normaly MP3 is not
        made for cutting, because some frames in a row can depend
        on each other. Solution: make cuts at as silent positions
        as possible and they will be barely perceptable. Cutting
        Layer II on the other hand works excellent.

      - If the computer is too slow for decoding in realtime the
        program will hang. Try to use a higher value for the play
        buffers at mp3DirectCut's preferences and zoom in. This
        can help, because even the graphics update takes a lot CPU.
        Even if the sound is noisy or interrupted try to set the play
        buffer to a higher value (more "reliable"). Use the
        "high priority" option only if your system is fast enough
        for playing.

      - 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.

      - 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 always
        sense 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

      - 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.

      - In some rare cases the program crashed a whole system,
        especially at intense scrolling while an MP3 was playing.

      - If the ID3v2 Tag is bigger than about 58 KByte it will
        not be saved.


    If you find undocumented errors or if you have questions
    you can contact the author at: pesch@stud.uni-frankfurt.de

    Homepage: http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~pesch/
