HydrogenAudio

Lossy Audio Compression => MP3 => MP3 - Tech => Topic started by: psyllium on 2006-01-21 10:08:50

Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-01-21 10:08:50
Hi all,

Some of you may have seen or used Omion's 'mp3packer' tool in this thread (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32379).

To make it a bit more user friendly, I've created a GUI for it:
(http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1034/winmp3packer104ee3.th.png) (http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1034/winmp3packer104ee3.png)

Download Windows Installer version (http://www.newcastlejams.net.au/filestore/WinMP3Packer-1.13.zip)

A plain zip file without installer (http://www.newcastlejams.net.au/filestore/WinMP3Packer-1.13-base.zip) is also available.

Note: You will need the .NET Framework 1.1 redistributable which is available from here (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=262D25E3-F589-4842-8157-034D1E7CF3A3).

Reasons why you might want to use this tool:
. Reduce the size of high bitrate CBR files, turning them into VBR files. (This is the original idea of mp3packer)
. Take a Variable Bitrate (VBR) MP3 file and convert it into a Constant Bitrate (CBR) MP3 file. WinMP3Packer does this by finding a CBR bitrate that the VBR file will fit into.
This is useful if you want to play the audio on hardware players that do not support VBR files properly (e.g. Pioneer DJ equipment, CDJ-200)
. Strip headers from the start and/or end of the files.

Features in this version:
. Allows for batch processing - multiple files and folders may be selected.
. Allows for processing whole folders. Will also recurse into the sub-folders and process the files in there.
. When processing whole folders, the option 'Recreate sub-folders' will put the output files into the same sort of directory structure as the input files.

Let me know how it goes! There's no doco for this thing ... so if you have any questions just send me a PM.

Changelog:
----------
1.0.13 (22 Oct 2006)
- Includes new version 1.13 of mp3packer.exe
- Improved refresh rate of progress dialog when processing files.
- New option to 'Copy unprocessed MP3s' when using a custom output folder. This option will ensure all the input MP3s end up in the output folder regardless of whether they require processing or not.
- Fixed bug where the settings portion of the screen was not being disabled while processing.
- New option to 'Super-squeeze files' which sends option '-z' to mp3packer.exe
- New option to use an 'Alternate broken frame behaviour' which sends option '-w'
- New checkbox for input type 'All' which basically just checks the CBR and VBR checkboxes. This is just for GUI niceness and no other reason.
- New checkbox to enable/disable the 'Append text to filenames' option.
- When the 'Overwrite existing files' checkbox is enabled and the program has the same input/output filename for an operation, the existing file will be replaced by the newly processed file. The enable this behaviour, untick the 'Append text to filenames' option and set the 'Output folder' to 'Same as input'. This comes with a warning though: The original files will be replaced!
- The installation package now contains some example profile settings. These include the default settings and profiles to convert to CBR or VBR (these will overwrite the original mp3 files). The settings are stored in WinMP3Packer-config.xml. A copy of the new settings is available in WinMP3Packer-config-default.xml.

1.0.4 (15 Jul 2006)
- Includes new version 1.04 of mp3packer.exe
- Settings get saved into the file WinMP3Packer-config.xml in the same directory as the program. You can save different 'profiles' of settings which are all stored in the same file.
- Drag-and-Drop of files and folders into the processing list from Windows Explorer now works.

1.0.3 (10 Jun 2006)
- Includes new version 1.03 of mp3packer.exe
- Individual progress bar for each file is back.
- New 'About mp3packer' dialog accessible from clicking the 'mp3packer' version the status bar. This dialog will show the contents of mp3packer.html and also allows for the upgrading of the mp3packer.exe program.
- Removed the 'Delete original' files option as it didn't seem to work anyway.

1.0 (22 Apr 2006)
- New version based on the mp3packer.exe program. Perl is no longer required. Much faster.
- Created .msi installer package
- Removal of the individual progress bar for updating files for now.

0.4.1 beta (16 Feb 2006)
- Updated bundled mp3packer.pl to version 0.10 (bug-fixes).
- No changes to the front-end program itself.

0.4 beta (04 Feb 2006)
- Support for mp3packer.pl 0.09 (included in package).
- Multiple attempts at converting VBR->CBR are no longer necessary, thanks to the new switch, '-i' (thanks Omion). As a result, the 'attempts' field has been removed.
- Removed the 'Only for VBR input' option which was causing confusion.
- New options to filter out the input files depending on their type.
'Automatic' (the default) will convert only the files that need processing.
This means:
. When converting *to* VBR, only CBR files will be processed.
. When converting *to* CBR, only VBR files will be processed.
If you want all mp3 files to be processed no matter what, untick the 'Automatic' option and tick the CBR/VBR checkboxes as appropriate.
. Message box prompt when processing is complete, informing you of how many files were processed, skipped, or had errors.

0.3 beta (26 Jan 2006)
- Support for mp3packer.pl 0.08 (included in package).
- Support for multiple attempts at making CBR files. Will now loop from the average bitrate of the VBR file up to the largest packet size of the VBR file. e.g. 201kbps file may now be a 256kbps CBR file instead of a 320kbps CBR file. To revert to the old behaviour, set 'Attempts' to '2'.
- File list window now has icons, and will show you the bitrate and VBR/CBR type of the input files. There is no information available on the files within folders (... yet)
- Status window will show % complete in its title bar. Handy for when you are running it in the background.
- New option 'Only for VBR input' when in CBR mode. This is on be default. It means that if the input file is CBR, the output file will be CBR with the same bitrate.

0.2 beta (22 Jan 2006)
- Fix bug where output was not being captured properly - app was not determining VBR files in that case.
- Reduce logging when creating/checking directories.

0.1 beta (21 Jan 2006)
- Initial release
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Merlin744 on 2006-01-21 11:31:18
HOORAY!!!!!     

Last night a DJ saved my life!!


Quote
Hi all,

Some of you may have seen or used Omion's 'mp3packer' tool in this thread (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32379).

To make it a bit more user friendly, I've created a GUI for it:
(http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/9547/winmp3packer01beta9lp.th.png) (http://img43.imageshack.us/my.php?image=winmp3packer01beta9lp.png)

You can download WinMP3Packer version 0.1 beta from here (http://tinyurl.com/bkwqz). The readme.txt in there should tell you anything u need to know... basically u just need a perl.exe available in your path, the .NET Framework (version 1.1), and you are set...

Reasons why you might want to use this tool:
. Reduce the size of high bitrate CBR files, turning them into VBR files. (This is the original idea of mp3packer)
. Convert VBR MP3 files into CBR MP3 files. The CBR files will inherit the bitrate from the largest frame in the file, usually 320kbps. This is useful if you want to play the audio on hardware players that do not support VBR files properly (e.g. Pioneer DJ equipment, CDJ-200)
. Strip headers from the start and/or end of the files.

Features in this version:
. Allows for batch processing - multiple files and folders may be selected.
. Allows for processing whole folders. Will also recurse into the sub-folders and process the files in there.
. When processing whole folders, the option 'Recreate sub-folders' will put the output files into the same sort of directory structure as the input files.

Let me know how it goes! There's no doco for this thing ... so if you have any questions just send me a PM.

edit; You'll need a perl runtime to run the app. Check out http://www.activestate.com/store/languages...x?id=ActivePerl (http://www.activestate.com/store/languages/register.plex?id=ActivePerl) (no reg req'd)
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=358731"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: senab on 2006-01-21 11:46:04
Very nice psyllium 

One thing I would change is the fact that your GUI requires the setting of a minimum bitrate, whereas you can just let the MP3 Packer to scan the file twice and automatically choose.

Other than it's superb 
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-01-21 11:50:32
Quote
Very nice psyllium  

One thing I would change is the fact that your GUI requires the setting of a minimum bitrate, whereas you can just let the MP3 Packer to scan the file twice and automatically choose.

Other than it's superb 
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=358744"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


If you leave the setting on '0', it will figure it out... yeah I can see how it might cause extra confusion... I was thinking of relabelling '0' to 'Auto' ... I might do that for the next version.

A tip for anyone converting VBR -> CBR, if you know what the max bitrate is of the input files already (e.g. 320 or 256), if you select that in the GUI, it should only need to process each file once, as opposed to twice. Only a performance thing

Thanks for the feedback
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: senab on 2006-01-21 12:21:29
Does the switch -b 0 mean auto then? I just leave the switch out usually
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-01-21 12:26:12
Quote
Does the switch -b 0 mean auto then? I just leave the switch out usually
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=358750"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Yeah ... '-b 0' results in the defaut behaviour... which means that the lowest possible bitrate will be used wherever... but yeah I can see why you wouldn't bother typing it then ! 
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Merlin744 on 2006-01-21 12:26:14
Holy smokes!!  I asked him the other day if maybe he could get the program to "deal with" sub folders, so I don't have to move my VBR mp3s around before I run them thru the program.  I simply could not have asked for a better solution!!!  It re-creates the dirs that your original music was in and then fills them full with the files with appended with either -vbr, or cbr, your choice.  So now... I don't have to move any of my vbr  mp3 files around (outside of their dirs), and I sure don't have to move the specific  folders to a main dir for batch processing to begin with (like I'd imagined this might be solved thru)

I could not be any happier at all!    wow!  I don't even have any suggestions!!  You are the MAN!! I wish I could take you to a bar and buy you some drinks!!!  beers, tacos- whatever else you want!! you just saved me sooooo much hassle!!  I'm going to convert hundreds of gigs of VBR mp3s to CBR and now take them out on the road with me to clubs and gigs with my cdj-200 units.  These pioneers are now a rock-solid investment, in my eyes.

do you mind if I make a post over at pioneerprodjforums.com and explain to them how silly it is to recommend Easy CD creator for mp3 conversions like this.  I'm sure they will be super-impressed.  is your software strong enough to handle the massive onslaught of newbies that will surely follow?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-01-21 12:32:12
Glad to hear you are happy with the program  we were both in the same boat with the CDJ-200's... so I put it whatever I thought would be handy for me... heheh... you get em as a bonus

Quote
do you mind if I make a post over at pioneerprodjforums.com and explain to them how silly it is to recommend Easy CD creator for mp3 conversions like this.  I'm sure they will be super-impressed.  is your software strong enough to handle the massive onslaught of newbies that will surely follow?
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=358752")


I've made a post over there already ... I didn't start a new thread cos I'm scared of DJ Pulse  I replied to this post instead [a href="http://www.pioneerprodjforums.com/ubbthreads/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=UBB6&Number=129735&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&vc=1]http://www.pioneerprodjforums.com/ubbthrea...ed&sb=5&o=&vc=1[/url] and made a reply in the CDJ-200 VBR thread as well... I didn't want to plug it too much tho - but you can certainly feel free to post about it on the Pioneer forums...
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-01-21 14:35:22
I've uploaded a new version 0.2 beta to here (http://tinyurl.com/acsur). There was a problem where the application was not capturing the output from the script correctly. This would result in the second pass of the 'Force CBR' option to be skipped. Only seemed to happen on some PCs (fast ones?  )
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: markanini on 2006-01-21 18:03:03
Can I make it ignore files that are allready VBR?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Omion on 2006-01-21 18:04:22
@psyllium:
Looks good! Definitely easier to use than the command line. This also gets me out of supporting folder recursion!

I also see that -M 40 is the default. Is that based on a percentage of the user's memory, or is it always 40? I was planning on making -M * the default, but couldn't figure out what to use, so I'll just take your default. 

One thing about the CBR calculation: I'm assuming that your program takes the highest bitrate from the first pass and makes a CBR file at that bitrate. That works, but it's not always the best bitrate. The problem is that raising the smallest bitrate with the -b switch will increase the bit reservoir, which will tend to lower the highest bitrate. To do it correctly the following has to be done:
1) Figure out the average bitrate of the input file. You can't make a VBR file into a CBR file of lower bitrate unless the encoder did something wrong.
2) Put through mp3packer with -b set to the next larger valid bitrate
3) Keep raising -b until a CBR file is produced.
I think this method may need up to 10 passes, so I didn't bother.

@all:
Just to re-affirm, -b 0 gets turned into -b 32 in the program, which really means to use all the frame sizes. (Well, it turns into -b 16 for MPEG-2 files, but it still means the same)

Also, has anyone confirmed that the program produces files that work for the CDJ-200? I don't see why they wouldn't, but some feedback would be nice.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-01-22 02:21:00
Quote
@psyllium:
One thing about the CBR calculation: I'm assuming that your program takes the highest bitrate from the first pass and makes a CBR file at that bitrate. That works, but it's not always the best bitrate. The problem is that raising the smallest bitrate with the -b switch will increase the bit reservoir, which will tend to lower the highest bitrate. To do it correctly the following has to be done:
1) Figure out the average bitrate of the input file. You can't make a VBR file into a CBR file of lower bitrate unless the encoder did something wrong.
2) Put through mp3packer with -b set to the next larger valid bitrate
3) Keep raising -b until a CBR file is produced.
I think this method may need up to 10 passes, so I didn't bother.

@all:
Just to re-affirm, -b 0 gets turned into -b 32 in the program, which really means to use all the frame sizes. (Well, it turns into -b 16 for MPEG-2 files, but it still means the same)

Also, has anyone confirmed that the program produces files that work for the CDJ-200? I don't see why they wouldn't, but some feedback would be nice.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=358804"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


I understand how the CBR files should behave now - it will make the files smaller, but will take a bit longer to process. Is there a quick and easy way for me to find the bitrate of an input file? I know there's mp3info in the linux world, but we're in windows now

I might make it an option. I might also make the program save your last settings in the registry as well

And YES the CBR files that come out of the app *DO* work in the CDJ-200 - I burnt some to CD and played them (in my loungeroom setup, heheh) last night.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Omion on 2006-01-22 05:13:15
Quote
I understand how the CBR files should behave now - it will make the files smaller, but will take a bit longer to process. Is there a quick and easy way for me to find the bitrate of an input file? I know there's mp3info in the linux world, but we're in windows now

Well, it looks like mp3info has a Windows version, available here (http://www.ibiblio.org/mp3info/). Use "mp3info -x -r a file.mp3" to get the average bitrate.

The easiest way would be to read the LAME tag at the beginning of the file, which has the number of frames, then use that and the file size to get the average bitrate. However, since not everything writes a LAME tag, that's not always possible.

I can easily write something which spits out any LAME info found, then exits. I have the functions to read the tag in MP3.pm, so it wouldn't be hard.

Failing that, you could just start with -b 192, and if it gives a CBR file then try lower -b settings.

Quote
And YES the CBR files that come out of the app *DO* work in the CDJ-200 - I burnt some to CD and played them (in my loungeroom setup, heheh) last night.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=358886"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

GREAT! I was actually having doubts with it. My program outputs a different kind of CBR than most programs. When you specify -b 320, you actually get 319.725kbps, since my program won't use padded frames with that much wasted space. That means my output bitrate is more constant than most CBR files, but I wasn't sure if the machine expected a normal CBR file or not.


One more thing that I noticed with the GUI: the options for -b go up to 448, I'm assuming it's since you read the %mp3::Bitrates variable at the top of mp3.pm. However, much of mp3.pm is more general than mp3packer is, and while mp3.pm can handle mp1 and mp2 files, mp3packer can not.

In summary, the only way to get a bitrate > 320 is to start with an mp1 or mp2, which are both invalid for mp3packer. The valid bitrates are as follows:

MPEG-1 layer 3 (most common):
32 40 48  56  64  80  96 112 128 160 192 224 256 320

MPEG-2/2.5 layer 3: (not nearly as common)
8 16 24  32  40  48  56  64  80  96 112 128 144 160

Specifying -b 320 on an MPEG-2 file will simply peg it to 160, so there's no real need to check for which version of MP3 the file is before processing. Also using e.g. -b 144 on an MPEG-1 file (where it is not a valid bitrate) will use the next higher valid bitrate (160). If that makes any sense.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Madrigal on 2006-01-22 08:53:53
It looks really good, psyllium. Wish I could download it and give it a try. But I refuse to have that [insert expletive here] .NET Framework anywhere near my machine.

Regards,
Madrigal
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-01-22 10:55:02
Quote
I might also make the program save your last settings in the registry as well [a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=358886"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
or in an 'ini' file?



[span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%']EDIT: reads better now[/span]
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-01-22 11:30:16
Quote
It looks really good, psyllium. Wish I could download it and give it a try. But I refuse to have that [insert expletive here] .NET Framework anywhere near my machine.

Regards,
Madrigal
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=358927"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Yeah I can understand where you are coming from... hell, I use linux as my primary OS at home... not Windows  ... I develop in .NET for work though, so it was much easier for me to do it this way... I would have liked to have made a Java version, but I'm not a big fan of GUIs in Java...
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-01-25 12:17:53
A new version is on the way, to cater for version 0.08+ of mp3packer.pl. It is suggested that you use the bundled version 0.07 of mp3packer for now.

Here's a sneak preview:
(http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/7743/winmp3packer03preview8ib.th.png) (http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/7743/winmp3packer03preview8ib.png)
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-01-26 02:14:00
Version 0.3 beta released:
- Support for mp3packer.pl 0.08 (included in package).
- Support for multiple attempts at making CBR files. Will now loop from the average bitrate of the VBR file up to the largest packet size of the VBR file. e.g. 201kbps file may now be a 256kbps CBR file instead of a 320kbps CBR file. To revert to the old behaviour, set 'Attempts' to '2'.
- File list window now has icons, and will show you the bitrate and VBR/CBR type of the input files. There is no information available on the files within folders (... yet)
- Status window will show % complete in its title bar. Handy for when you are running it in the background.
- New option 'Only for VBR input' when in CBR mode. This is on be default. It means that if the input file is CBR, the output file will be CBR with the same bitrate.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-01-26 12:30:30
Thanks for the update and effort put into this GUI.  And of ocurse thanks to Omion for the prog.
Quote
- New option 'Only for VBR input' when in CBR mode. This is on be default. It means that if the input file is CBR, the output file will be CBR with the same bitrate.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=359789"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Does that mean it gets ignored, i.e. nothing happens at all to the file, or that it does go through some processing to amend the file?  I assume nothing happens right?  If so, maybe just reword your update to make it a little clearer.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: gybp on 2006-01-28 16:45:55
CANT GET PERL TO WORK... is there any direct link to the app needed please???
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Madrigal on 2006-01-28 18:16:12
Quote
CANT GET PERL TO WORK... is there any direct link to the app needed please???
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a] (http://index.php?act=findpost&pid=360363")
The perl you need is linked to in [a href="http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32379&view=findpost&p=282556]this[/url] post from another thread.

Regards,
Madrigal
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Merlin744 on 2006-01-29 12:20:54
what exactly does the in-memory option do?  I have 2 gigs of fast RAM.  should I increase the # to a higher one? It seems to make it work faster, but I don't want to encourage the program to crash during a -huge- list of batch commands.

last night I converted almost 30 gigs of vbr mp3s to cbr.  I never thought it could be this easy!!!
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Omion on 2006-01-29 19:09:10
Quote
what exactly does the in-memory option do?  I have 2 gigs of fast RAM.  should I increase the # to a higher one? It seems to make it work faster, but I don't want to encourage the program to crash during a -huge- list of batch commands.

last night I converted almost 30 gigs of vbr mp3s to cbr.  I never thought it could be this easy!!!
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=360510"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The way mp3packer works, it has to pre-parse the file in order to not run into problems with very large frames.
Normally (with the in-memory off) the first pass only returns how much data is in every frame, which is a fairly small overhead. However, this means the file needs to be re-read in order to get the actual data.
The in-memory option will actually read the file data on the first pass, so the file does not need to be read again during the second pass. The number represents the cutoff where all files smaller than that will be parsed in-memory, and everything larger than it will be read twice.

Since each file is processed separately, the max amount of memory taken up is determined by the largest file smaller than the cutoff value, times 2 (since Perl is not that efficient). So a small number of large files will take up more memory than a large number of small files.
With 2GB of RAM, you'd only run into problems with MP3 files larger than about 700MB, which I havenever run into. So you can safely set the limit to 700, but the actual amount of memory taken up will be much less.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-02-02 14:46:20
Quote
Thanks for the update and effort put into this GUI.  And of ocurse thanks to Omion for the prog.
Quote
- New option 'Only for VBR input' when in CBR mode. This is on be default. It means that if the input file is CBR, the output file will be CBR with the same bitrate.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=359789"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Does that mean it gets ignored, i.e. nothing happens at all to the file, or that it does go through some processing to amend the file?  I assume nothing happens right?  If so, maybe just reword your update to make it a little clearer.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=359876"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


I'm back from holidays now ... phew

The description I posted is actually correct - the files *WILL* get re-packed, but the output file will end up being the same bitrate as the input file. Ideally, I would have had time to add an option to decide whether to either ignore the CBR files, or process them anyway. Keep in mind that some people might use the program to strip the non-MP3 data at the beginning and/or end of the file, and would want the files processed no matter what... although I don't use it for that  I reckon a new option, with some form of better description, will be available in the next version...

Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-02-02 17:45:01
ok, cool
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-02-04 12:38:23
New version released. The major improvement in this one is the use of the '-i' switch in the perl script, which means multiple attempts at converting a file to CBR are not necessary. Also, the program will skip files it thinks does not need processing - this can be overridden by changing the 'Automatic' checkbox (and then the VBR or CBR checkbox next to it...)

0.4 beta (04 Feb 2006)
- Support for mp3packer.pl 0.09 (included in package).
- Multiple attempts at converting VBR->CBR are no longer necessary, thanks to the new switch, '-i' (thanks Omion). As a result, the 'attempts' field has been removed.
- Removed the 'Only for VBR input' option which was causing confusion.
- New options to filter out the input files depending on their type.
'Automatic' (the default) will convert only the files that need processing.
This means:
. When converting *to* VBR, only CBR files will be processed.
. When converting *to* CBR, only VBR files will be processed.
If you want all mp3 files to be processed no matter what, untick the 'Automatic' option and tick the CBR/VBR checkboxes as appropriate.
. Message box prompt when processing is complete, informing you of how many files were processed, skipped, or had errors.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-02-08 20:17:31
Will this run on the .NET Framework Version 2.0?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: senab on 2006-02-08 20:24:11
Quote
Will this run on the .NET Framework Version 2.0?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=362823"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Yep 
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-02-08 20:42:43
Quote
Quote
Will this run on the .NET Framework Version 2.0?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=362823"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Yep 
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=362825"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Cool, cheers
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-02-16 10:30:27
Version 0.4.1 beta has been released. The only change is that the bundled version of mp3packer.pl has been upgraded to version 0.10.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-03-29 12:27:40
Quote
I've found there's minimal change required for the GUI, so y'all can expect a new version of the WinMP3Packer soon enough...
If I am a bit slow in doing this though, send a reminder post on the WinMP3Packer thread - I have subscribed to it
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=370983"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-04-09 06:14:42
Just letting you guys know that it shouldn't be too long before a new version of the app is released. Sit tight
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: usaolle on 2006-04-19 21:48:11
hi!
this seems to be a great software!! But i cant get it to work
I download perl and install it. Then i run "WinMP3Packer-0.4.1beta"
But i still get this:

Some idea?

thx in adv.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Firon on 2006-04-20 03:49:38
It looks like you didn't install perl from activestate properly. If you did, try re-installing.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-04-22 05:23:17
Version 1.0 released:
- New version based on the mp3packer.exe program. Perl is no longer required. Much faster.
- Created .msi installer package
- Removal of the individual progress bar for updating files for now. I'll add this again when I get some time .

Sorry for the delay in releasing, folks. I hope the new version (with the msi installer, and no requirement of perl) makes it a bit easier for some people.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-04-22 05:45:31
One small note:
The GUI will now let you know what version of the mp3packer.exe program it is using. You will notice the program says that the version is 1.01-110, despite the actual .exe in the package being the latest available copy of the program, from the 1.02-112 package. I'm not sure whether this exe contains the latest fixes or not. Either way, I would expect it to only be a problem with very few files.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Omion on 2006-04-22 06:01:44
That exe was actually 1.01 (I was up too late  ), but it has been replaced with the real 1.02 build. You're right, though; the bugs were fairly minor and only occured if you ran mp3packer on the output of a previous mp3packer output.

It's all updated now.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-04-22 06:15:40
That exe was actually 1.01 (I was up too late  ), but it has been replaced with the real 1.02 build. You're right, though; the bugs were fairly minor and only occured if you ran mp3packer on the output of a previous mp3packer output.

It's all updated now.


A fully updated version of WinMP3Packer which includes 1.02 of mp3packer.exe is now available from the same URL (http://tinyurl.com/acsur)
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-04-22 08:57:49
many thanks guys
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: rutra80 on 2006-04-22 18:24:01
psyllium, could you please also release no-installer version?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-04-23 11:56:22
psyllium, could you please also release no-installer version?


No-installer version is available here (http://djctm.customer.netspace.net.au/chris/WinMP3Packer-base-1.0.zip) (288.7kb).
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: usaolle on 2006-04-23 18:11:39
thx 4 this version! much easier
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-05-28 15:09:58
mp3packer version 1.03 (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=32379&view=findpost&p=396710) has just been released 
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-06-06 09:37:13
mp3packer version 1.03 (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=32379&view=findpost&p=396710) has just been released 


Hey guys - If you are super keen to try the new version, you can take Omion's new mp3packer.exe and replace the existing one in the C:\Program Files\WinMP3Packer folder. When you run the program next, it will tell you what version of the exe you are running in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

I'll rebuild an installer with the new exe soonish... when I boot into Windows next
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-06-06 17:53:51
^^ thanks psyllium
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-06-10 14:09:11
New version 1.0.3 released:
- Includes new version 1.03 of mp3packer.exe
- Individual progress bar for each file is back.
- New 'About mp3packer' dialog accessible from clicking the 'mp3packer' version the status bar. This dialog will show the contents of mp3packer.html and also allows for the upgrading of the mp3packer.exe program.
- Removed the 'Delete original' files option as it didn't seem to work anyway.

I'm going to try and keep my version numbers the same as the mp3packer.exe, so this version is 1.0.3. It's possible then that my versions might skip a few numbers here and there.

Oh and a non-windows installer version is also available here (http://djctm.customer.netspace.net.au/chris/WinMP3Packer-base.zip)
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2006-06-10 18:43:14
psyllium, you're a star.  Thanks for updating
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: christopher on 2006-07-12 14:16:22
psyllium, you're a star.  Thanks for updating




I have a couple of bug reports / functionality comments re the GUI (1.0.3)... It works really well, and I'm very impressed at how easy it makes it to use the cmdline app, but there's a couple of what I'd call evaluation bugs more than anything else.

Basically, the way I use the software is like this: I load a VBR file into the software, leaving all the settings as defaults (Input Types: Automatic, Output Type: VBR, Minimum bitrate: Auto, Append text to filenames: -vbr, Strip non-MP3 data: no boxes ticked,  Output folder: Same as input).

I do this to remove CRC data from the frames before I stick the MP3s (of radio shows) into MP3DirectCut to losslessly edit them, snip out bits I don't want and fade in / fade out the start and finish of the shows). Of course, if the MP3 has CRC data in when you do this editing, any decoder HATES it and basically just plays back white noise, so I was delighted to find this program which successfully strips out the CRC information without having to reencode. However, if I leave the options as the defaults, as stated above, I put the file in and hit Process, and it doesn't actually process the MP3 - it just skips it. It shows the VBR bitrate correctly in the Information column, and it shows the filename correctly in the Path column, but it just seems to not want to process the file.


The reason for this, it seems, is because Automatic doesn't recognise what flavour of MP3 it is (CBR or VBR) if you don't have any of the 'strip non-MP3 data' options checked (I don't want to strip out any of the non-MP3 data, as doing so strips out the lame header in the MP3s - and I want to keep that!) The way round this is, seemingly, to uncheck the Automatic box for Input Types and manually tick the VBR box (the CBR box is ticked by default if you leave it as Automatic). I'm guessing that the script which evaluates the MP3 file to see if it's VBR or CBR isn't actually called until you specify a command line switch and then hit Process - just hitting Process after loading an MP3 in starts the processing but somehow just doesn't 'see' the file for processing.

The way that only the CBR box is ticked by default if you untick Automatic is a bit annoying too, and I think it would make more sense to tick both the VBR and the CBR boxes, allowing the user to untick the one which they don't need, if they wanted to, as opposed to having to tick the box every time - another click which isn't needed. All in all, to process an MP3, it takes me no less than three clicks more than it should need (I untick CBR just to be on the safe side, as I only deal with VBR files)...


... At the end of the day, this bug isn't going to bring about armaggedon early, or kickstart World War 3, but it's just something I feel should be taken into consideration for 1.0.4 - they're the only two negatives (albeit minor ones, at that) I've found in an otherwise perfect GUI.

One other thing - DDE for the file window. It mildly surprised me that, having been built to use the .Net framework, I couldn't just drag and drop MP3 files straight into the white box which shows the files loaded into the GUI for processing - it's a very slight drag having to use the buttons to load either an entire dir or a particular file (these should be kept, as they're essential for accessibility and they're just plain useful sometimes, but my natural instinct is to drag MP3 files I want to process into the GUI, just like I do with the FLAC encoder frontend, and it frustrates me slightly when I remember - after I've tried to do it - that I can't actually drag and drop directly).

Mayyyyyyybe, if you do implement those changes, you could have the program save its configuration state in a flatfile (.ini/.cfg... etc)? That way changes could be persistent, removing the need to reselect options a second time round - that'd be the final perfect addition.


Please don't see me as the party pooper, by the way - I cannot mention the time, and most importantly of all, MP3 quality!, you and Reed Wilson have helped me save. I'm eternally grateful for your valuable contribution to my AV utilities arsenal, all I'm trying to do is suggest some feedback to help you finally perfect what is already a great combination of software.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-07-12 23:55:51
The way that only the CBR box is ticked by default if you untick Automatic is a bit annoying too, and I think it would make more sense to tick both the VBR and the CBR boxes, allowing the user to untick the one which they don't need, if they wanted to, as opposed to having to tick the box every time - another click which isn't needed. All in all, to process an MP3, it takes me no less than three clicks more than it should need (I untick CBR just to be on the safe side, as I only deal with VBR files)...


... At the end of the day, this bug isn't going to bring about armaggedon early, or kickstart World War 3, but it's just something I feel should be taken into consideration for 1.0.4 - they're the only two negatives (albeit minor ones, at that) I've found in an otherwise perfect GUI.

One other thing - DDE for the file window. It mildly surprised me that, having been built to use the .Net framework, I couldn't just drag and drop MP3 files straight into the white box which shows the files loaded into the GUI for processing - it's a very slight drag having to use the buttons to load either an entire dir or a particular file (these should be kept, as they're essential for accessibility and they're just plain useful sometimes, but my natural instinct is to drag MP3 files I want to process into the GUI, just like I do with the FLAC encoder frontend, and it frustrates me slightly when I remember - after I've tried to do it - that I can't actually drag and drop directly).

Mayyyyyyybe, if you do implement those changes, you could have the program save its configuration state in a flatfile (.ini/.cfg... etc)? That way changes could be persistent, removing the need to reselect options a second time round - that'd be the final perfect addition.

These are all pretty valid responses. The program doesn't actually care what you set the checkboxes for for the parts where it is stripping the headers when determining what files to process. It's all based around the 'Automatic'/'CBR'/'VBR' options. The original idea for the program is to convert either CBR files into VBR files, or VBR files into CBR files. As a result of this, the 'Automatic' option will make it so it will only convert the files that it needs to convert.

I think this will be fixed with a configuration file - it'll save your last settings on closing of the application. This will mean you won't have to change the checkboxes again.

As far as drag-and-drop goes, I hadn't even thought about it. Good idea, I'll hopefully have it going in version 1.0.4.

Thanks for the feedback .
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: smack on 2006-07-13 12:36:32
(I don't want to strip out any of the non-MP3 data, as doing so strips out the lame header in the MP3s - and I want to keep that!)

Are you just guessing this or have you really seen mp3packer stripping LAME tags? The latter could be a bug in mp3packer which you should report to Omion (see this thread (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32379) for details).
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Omion on 2006-07-13 15:53:17
(I don't want to strip out any of the non-MP3 data, as doing so strips out the lame header in the MP3s - and I want to keep that!)

Are you just guessing this or have you really seen mp3packer stripping LAME tags? The latter could be a bug in mp3packer which you should report to Omion (see this thread (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32379) for details).

Yeah... that shouldn't happen. LAME data is actually in an MP3 frame, so mp3packer shouldn't treat it as "non-MP3 data". If it does, or some LAME data is not transferred correctly to the new file (which has been a problem in the past) then it needs to be fixed.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-07-15 12:40:26
I've released a new version, 1.0.4 (http://djctm.customer.netspace.net.au/chris/WinMP3Packer-latest.zip) of WinMP3Packer.

Features:
- Includes new version 1.04 of mp3packer.exe
- Settings get saved into the file WinMP3Packer-config.xml in the same directory as the program. You can save different 'profiles' of settings which are all stored in the same file.
- Drag-and-Drop of files and folders into the processing list from Windows Explorer now works.

The idea behind the different saved profiles is to allow you to save your commonly used settings. These settings are saved when you close the form (so long as you have the 'Save on Close' checkbox ticked). Next time that the form loads up it will recall the settings you had previously. The buttons at the top are to create a new settings profile, copy an existing settings profile (based on the currently selected one) and to delete the currently selected profile.

Here's a new screenshot:
(http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1034/winmp3packer104ee3.png)

Note that I haven't included any settings profiles other than the 'Default' one. Feel free to suggest different settings which I could include in the distribution.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: rutra80 on 2006-07-15 18:10:20
No-installer version please?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-07-16 01:08:24
No-installer version please?


I've been updating it at the same time. It's at the url http://djctm.customer.netspace.net.au/chri...Packer-base.zip (http://djctm.customer.netspace.net.au/chris/WinMP3Packer-base.zip)

Enjoy
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: markanini on 2006-07-16 05:59:52
Could you add an option that simply replaces the the orginial files? This would be nice if you have a big collection of mp3 files and don't want to fo it a folder at a time.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-07-16 06:09:54
Could you add an option that simply replaces the the orginial files? This would be nice if you have a big collection of mp3 files and don't want to fo it a folder at a time.

I've been a little bit scared of doing that - it's not impossible, but I would want to check if the new file is OK before replacing the old one with it. Maybe in the next version.

Don't forget that you can add entire folders to the Input (i.e. processing) list. You could select the output folder to a 'Custom' output folder, with 'Recreate sub-folders' on. Clear out the 'Append text to filenames' field. Once the processing is finished you could copy the outputted folders over the top of the old ones using Windows Explorer, and the old files should be replaced. I'd recommend checking the new files are OK before doing this though .
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: christopher on 2006-08-05 15:42:58

(I don't want to strip out any of the non-MP3 data, as doing so strips out the lame header in the MP3s - and I want to keep that!)

Are you just guessing this or have you really seen mp3packer stripping LAME tags? The latter could be a bug in mp3packer which you should report to Omion (see this thread (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32379) for details).

Yeah... that shouldn't happen. LAME data is actually in an MP3 frame, so mp3packer shouldn't treat it as "non-MP3 data". If it does, or some LAME data is not transferred correctly to the new file (which has been a problem in the past) then it needs to be fixed.



Well, mark that one up to (mayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyybe) user error on my part  I've been only partially able to reproduce the error when I've physically been trying to do it, maybe there is a bug or maybe there's not, but either way it won't stop me from using this app - and now I have full drag and drop and preset saving, you have a diehard fan
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: gybp on 2006-08-16 19:18:12
thx for the app, incredible usefull for my cdj 200 ;P
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: gybp on 2006-08-23 13:10:30
a sugestion for the development of this application is like for the users of the cdj 200, we need only cbr files, myway of doing this with winmp3packer is select the folder in where i have all my mp3, and convert vbr and cbr files to cbr, wich affects cbr files wich shouldnt be affected.

So my suggestion is that there should be an option that converts VBR files to selected folder and also copies the CBR files without affecting them, only a simple copy, so in this way i will have only the VBR files converted to CBR and my CBR that were that way before in teh same folder, also saving proccesing time to this...

thx again for this release
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: bukem on 2006-08-27 12:26:50
@psyllium

I have a small request. With mp3packer version 1.08 there was introduced new switch -w which will throw out an entire frame even if a buffer error only affects one granule of the frame. And with version 1.09 there are enhanced error reporting features. Could you update WinMp3Packer to support that, please.

Edit:
Another thing I'd like to clarify is source bitrate value. It seems that it's calculated using only bitrate from first frame of mp3 and therefore WinMp3Packer shows wrong bitrate value. Am I right? (for example: an mp3 vbr file with average bitrate around 250 kbit is detected by WinMp3Packer as 96 kbit)
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-08-27 22:53:20
@psyllium

I have a small request. With mp3packer version 1.08 there was introduced new switch -w which will throw out an entire frame even if a buffer error only affects one granule of the frame. And with version 1.09 there are enhanced error reporting features. Could you update WinMp3Packer to support that, please.

Edit:
Another thing I'd like to clarify is source bitrate value. It seems that it's calculated using only bitrate from first frame of mp3 and therefore WinMp3Packer shows wrong bitrate value. Am I right? (for example: an mp3 vbr file with average bitrate around 250 kbit is detected by WinMp3Packer as 96 kbit)


Thanks gybp and bukem for your feedback. I'll get onto making a new version once time permits. The source bitrate value is calculated through a class called MP3Header.cs which I have gotten off the internet and it *should* look into the VBR file to determine the average bitrate. Is it possible that the VBR header is missing from the source file? This could possibly be fixed by assuming all files are VBR in order to get them read properly, or perhaps using mp3packer.exe itself to read file information, but I think that could be a little bit slower.

I'll consider all this when I get to making a new version (probably within the next couple of weeks).
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Omion on 2006-08-28 01:29:08
or perhaps using mp3packer.exe itself to read file information, but I think that could be a little bit slower.

It probably would be, since mp3packer reads every single frame. That is the only way to make 100% sure if a file is VBR, but it is also the slowest way.

The best way I've seen to handle VBR files (if the VBR header isn't there) is to seek to some number of random places in the file. At each position sync to the next frame and read its bitrate, then average out all the bitrates. This would be very fast (depending on the number of sample points) and should be able to tell if the file is VBR with only a few samples.

Actually, since you don't need to know the exact bitrate, you can probably do an adaptive approach: get one sample. Then, keep getting another sample until you find one that doesn't match the first sample's bitrate. In this case, it's VBR. After a set number of samples (say, 10) at the same bitrate you can assume it's CBR.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: bluewer than blue on 2006-09-30 16:22:36
Any progress in the new version of the gui;

You have done a great job and I'm grateful to both of you guys!
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-10-22 13:19:56
New version 1.0.13 of WinMP3Packer released today:
- Includes new version 1.13 of mp3packer.exe
- Improved refresh rate of progress dialog when processing files.
- New option to 'Copy unprocessed MP3s' when using a custom output folder. This option will ensure all the input MP3s end up in the output folder regardless of whether they require processing or not.
- Fixed bug where the settings portion of the screen was not being disabled while processing.
- New option to 'Super-squeeze files' which sends option '-z' to mp3packer.exe
- New option to use an 'Alternate broken frame behaviour' which sends option '-w'
- New checkbox for input type 'All' which basically just checks the CBR and VBR checkboxes. This is just for GUI niceness and no other reason.
- New checkbox to enable/disable the 'Append text to filenames' option.
- When the 'Overwrite existing files' checkbox is enabled and the program has the same input/output filename for an operation, the existing file will be replaced by the newly processed file. The enable this behaviour, untick the 'Append text to filenames' option and set the 'Output folder' to 'Same as input'. This comes with a warning though: The original files will be replaced!
- The installation package now contains some example profile settings. These include the default settings and profiles to convert to CBR or VBR (these will overwrite the original mp3 files). The settings are stored in WinMP3Packer-config.xml. A copy of the new settings is available in WinMP3Packer-config-default.xml.

Enjoy  If you have any problems either send me a PM or reply in this thread.

The new version is available here (http://tinyurl.com/acsur) (Windows Installer inside a ZIP).

If you want just a ZIP without the Windows installer, it is available here (http://djctm.customer.netspace.net.au/chris/WinMP3Packer-base.zip)
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: bluewer than blue on 2006-10-23 04:20:38
Great job psyllium. Thanks for this precious little gem.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Omion on 2006-10-23 04:40:15
New version 1.0.13 of WinMP3Packer released today
Very cool. Glad to see you're still working on this!
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-10-23 09:08:39
There's something I forgot - does anyone require an option for the different types of debug output messages? If not I won't bother but if there is a request from someone to do it, I'll look into it.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: bukem on 2006-10-23 20:17:25
Great work Psyllium! Could you add support for the different types of debug output messages, please? 
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Lys on 2006-10-26 07:38:13
I have NET framework 2.0, but it asks me to install 1.1. I'd rather not do this.

How can I get it to use 2.0 instead?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-10-26 07:39:56
I have NET framework 2.0, but it asks me to install 1.1. I'd rather not do this.

How can I get it to use 2.0 instead?


You'll have to install the .NET framework 1.1, unless I bring out a version for .NET 2.0. Most people have 1.1 and not 2.0, so I build it for 1.1...
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2006-10-26 08:50:52
I have NET framework 2.0, but it asks me to install 1.1. I'd rather not do this.

How can I get it to use 2.0 instead?


Lys:
I just realised that a new build isn't required. The solution is to use the non-Windows Installer package here (http://djctm.customer.netspace.net.au/chris/WinMP3Packer-base.zip).

The problem is that the installer doesn't detect the .NET framework 2.0 as being a valid substitute for 1.1. If you *really* need a windows installer based copy let me know I can give you one, but it's probably easier for you to just extract the zip file above to somewhere on your hard disk and run it from there.

Let me know if you have a problem
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Lys on 2006-10-28 12:41:41
I found the zip file after I posted, I'll use that instead. Thanks for the program though.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Martin F. on 2006-12-29 02:39:16
Could you make it start mp3packer with a lower process priority?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: j7n on 2006-12-29 07:37:50
It looks really good, psyllium. Wish I could download it and give it a try. But I refuse to have that [insert expletive here] .NET Framework anywhere near my machine.

Same here.  So command line it is then.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Martin F. on 2006-12-29 14:37:00
Sometimes when converting it stops responding … I tried to optimize a large collection of files and after 7 hours it was freezed and the task manager showed a CPU time for WinMP3packer.exe of almost 5 hours. I use -z and chose to create the new files in another directory. It then looks like this:
(http://250kb.de/u/061229/p/t/63efe02d.png) (http://250kb.de/u/061229/p/63efe02d.png)
It usually freezes like that when there are lots of log entries (the warnings can bloat the log very fast). However, sometimes it looks like that, but continues operation after a while (and the window contents reappear).

Edit: It has problems with subdirectories ending with a dot followed by a non-breaking space (Alt+0160 on the numpad) (without the non-breaking space the dot would be removed in the Windows Explorer).
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Martin F. on 2007-01-04 05:43:52
After repacking 25 files (2.73 GB to 2.67 GB), the following message was displayed:
Quote
---------------------------
WinMP3Packer
---------------------------
25 items successfully processed and 0 items copied (In: −1359929091 bytes, Out: −1424468272 bytes).

0,0% decrease in size.

0 items failed.
---------------------------
OK 
---------------------------

Looks like an overflow.

(Edit: changed commas to dots)
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-01-06 05:31:24
Sometimes when converting it stops responding … I tried to optimize a large collection of files and after 7 hours it was freezed and the task manager showed a CPU time for WinMP3packer.exe of almost 5 hours. I use -z and chose to create the new files in another directory. It then looks like this:
(http://250kb.de/u/061229/p/t/63efe02d.png) (http://250kb.de/u/061229/p/63efe02d.png)
It usually freezes like that when there are lots of log entries (the warnings can bloat the log very fast). However, sometimes it looks like that, but continues operation after a while (and the window contents reappear).

Edit: It has problems with subdirectories ending with a dot followed by a non-breaking space (Alt+0160 on the numpad) (without the non-breaking space the dot would be removed in the Windows Explorer).


Sorry to hear you're having these problems with the program. Was the next error - the overflow problem - only occuring when you were processing files with the non-breaking space etc?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Martin F. on 2007-01-06 05:56:53
No, those files didn't have any special characters in their path. Maybe you (or mp3packer) use signed 32 bit integers, which can go up to 2147483647, but not up to ~ 2931315179 (2.73 [GB] * 1024 * 1024 * 1024), as it would be required when calculating with those large numbers.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-01-06 06:00:27
No, those files didn't have any special characters in their path. Maybe you (or mp3packer) use signed 32 bit integers, which can go up to 2147483647, but not up to ~ 2931315179 (2.73 [GB] * 1024 * 1024 * 1024), as it would be required when calculating with those large numbers.


Ah yeah, you're probably right . I did the whole Bill Gates 'Nobody will need anything past 640k' thing...

I'll try and fix that in the next version. As far as the odd directory names go, the might be a bit trickier... will give it a go at least.

Also, if anyone wants the source for the GUI and want to take over the program, they are welcome to. The only stumbling block at the moment is the icons are not determined to be 'free', which is stopping me from applying the GPL or possibly some other open source license.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Martin F. on 2007-01-06 08:29:03
I wondered why it didn't process all of the MP3s, now I discovered it does a case-sensitive check of the filename extension, so it doesn't work with .MP3
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-01-06 08:30:33
I wondered why it didn't process all of the MP3s, now I discovered it does a case-sensitive check of the file extension, so it doesn't work with .MP3


That's some nice bug hunting you're doing there . Thanks... I'll try and get another version out soon.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-02-12 01:53:47
Hey guys, the original download link is broken. You can use the Softpedia mirror but it only seems to have an old version. I'll try and get up a new copy asap!
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-02-14 08:32:20
I've got the Windows Installer version (http://www.newcastlejams.net.au/filestore/WinMP3Packer-1.13.zip) back online again now on a 'real' file server.

A plain zip file without installer (http://www.newcastlejams.net.au/filestore/WinMP3Packer-1.13-base.zip) is also available.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2007-06-03 14:20:43
I have a 32.56 MB, 17min 46secs mix that has been encoded (not be me) with LAME 3.92 to attain a CBR 256kbps file.

Foobar 0.8.3 reports the file:
Code: [Select]
lame_version = LAME3.92
lame_profile =
lame_profile_index = 0
enc_delay = 576
enc_padding = 2112
mp3_accurate_length = yes
bitrate = 256
codec = MP3
channels = 2
samplerate = 44100
mp3_stereo_mode = stereo
    --------------------
47049600 samples @ 44100Hz
(rounded samples : 47049408)


When I load this file into WinMP3Packer the information column shows the bitrate as 96kbps. This is clearly incorrect.

When I run this file through mp3packer using only the -i switch it outputs the following:
Code: [Select]
INFO:
MPEG1 layer 3
40844 frames
44100 Hz
38.281250 frames per second
1066.945306 seconds
34144384 bytes in file (256.016002 kbps)
34142249 bytes in MP3 frames (255.999994 kbps) = current bitrate
261209171 bits of payload data (244.819645 kbps)
32669016 bytes of payload data (244.953632 kbps)
142957 bits wasted from partially-full bytes (0.133987 kbps)
34139400 bytes of MP3 data (255.978632 kbps) = minimum bitrate possible
2849 bytes of padding (0.021362 kbps)
2135 bytes outside MP3 frames (0.016008 kbps)
0 sync errors
Bitrate distribution:
  256: 3335,37509
Largest frame uses 9740 bits = 1218 bytes = 372.859375 kbps
Smallest bitrate for CBR is 256


Thus, as mp3packer displays the correct bitrate I'm thinking this is a WinMP3Packer issue (although tbh I'm not sure why this would the case since I thought WinMP3Packer would simply display whatever mp3packer reported back).

Thought you might wanna know psyllium.

BTW if I edit the id3 tags in foobar (0.8.3) then WinMP3Packer reports the correct bitrate; it's like the updating of the metadata now allows the correct bitrate to be interpreted correctly.
And WinMP3Packer has no problem in packing the file to make a VBR 250kbps 31.85mb file
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Jojo on 2007-06-03 20:31:04
I noticed that files that contain ID3v2 and APEv2 tags are identified as 160kbps, even though they are 320kbps CBR.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-06-03 23:47:00
Yeah sorry about that guys, there is a problem with the bitrate detection at times. The only sure fire way for WinMP3Packer to determine it would be to read every single packet of the mp3 file... At the moment the program only reads a small sample of the file in order to quickly determine the bitrate so that files can be added to the list and the type of file (e.g. VBR, CBR) and the bitrate are shown.

For now, if you are having problems with this and files are getting skipped in the conversion process, use the saved setting with 'Force' on it, or tick the 'All' checkbox for the input types.

I will have to consider changing the program in the future to 'properly' check the bitrate and type of file. I've been busy working as a programmer lately so don't have as much spare time as I used to... I'll try and make some time soon though.

Thanks for your patience
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2007-06-05 18:57:46
No problem psyllium. Just thought I'd mention it. It doesn't cause me any issues; it was just a wee bit confusing. At least it's a known bug.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: nemoW on 2007-06-05 20:12:01
2 psyllium
Could you make it start mp3packer with a lower process priority?

It seems for me this option might be very helpful.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Omion on 2007-06-06 01:40:35

2 psyllium
Could you make it start mp3packer with a lower process priority?

It seems for me this option might be very helpful.

I completely forgot about this. I just added priority-changing to my working copy, but I forgot to release it. So I just finished it up, and turned it into 1.18 (http://omion.dyndns.org/mp3packer/mp3packer-1.18.rar).

1.18 will default to below-normal priority, but can be changed with the --nice switch. The mappings from --nice value to actual Windows priority are on the mp3packer HTML page (http://omion.dyndns.org/mp3packer/mp3packer.html).

@psyllium:
I released this right now because if you put in the ability to change mp3packer's priority, 1.18 will simply change it back. Instead, simply call mp3packer with the right --nice value.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: nemoW on 2007-06-06 16:31:53
Thanks Omion!
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Jojo on 2007-06-06 20:39:11
Yeah sorry about that guys, there is a problem with the bitrate detection at times. The only sure fire way for WinMP3Packer to determine it would be to read every single packet of the mp3 file... At the moment the program only reads a small sample of the file in order to quickly determine the bitrate so that files can be added to the list and the type of file (e.g. VBR, CBR) and the bitrate are shown.

For now, if you are having problems with this and files are getting skipped in the conversion process, use the saved setting with 'Force' on it, or tick the 'All' checkbox for the input types.

I will have to consider changing the program in the future to 'properly' check the bitrate and type of file. I've been busy working as a programmer lately so don't have as much spare time as I used to... I'll try and make some time soon though.

Thanks for your patience

does that have any impact on the compression of the file? Because I don't care what bitrate is shown as long as it compresses it the right way.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-06-07 01:30:00
does that have any impact on the compression of the file? Because I don't care what bitrate is shown as long as it compresses it the right way.


If you select one of the 'force' preset settings or use the 'All' option instead of 'Automatic' on in the input types section should be a good 'catch-all'. The program uses quick (and sometimes incorrect) bitrate determining method to figure out what files to process in the 'Automatic' mode.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2007-06-12 08:30:26
I've always liked the fact that WinMP3Packer displays the command line that's it's using. And I was just wondering if the command line could be "opened up" for use? i.e. have a checkbox that either allows the user to use WinMP3Packer as it is now (all GUI based with checkboxes etc) or disables all the GUI stuff and simply allows the command line.

Now I know of course that I can do that with mp3packer (indeed I do), however it would allow those that have a preference for a GUI app to do both from the same app.

Also, any changes that Omion makes to mp3packer can then be used by WinMP3Packer without you (psyllium) having to make any modifications. For example, the newest addition is the priority-changing --nice switch. This cannot be used with WinMP3Packer as their is no GUI option to set it. But if the command line was opened up then we could use it and u wouldn't need to change WinMP3Packer until u had time.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-06-12 13:13:49
Hey guys just letting you know that a new version is in the works, Unfortunately it will require the .NET runtime version 2.0 as opposed to 1.1 previously.

If you want to do some alpha testing let me know and I can send you a copy.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: RogerG on 2007-07-23 18:02:35
Hi!
Is the new version written in C#? Could you please release the source code! I'd like to take a look at it and maybe do some developement.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: gramouk on 2007-09-21 13:59:29
Hi everyone!!!

First of all thanx to the devellopers of such great apps!!!


But I've got a little problem over here: I use a wonderfull Apple G4 powerbook, and I really can't figure out how the OSX version of mp3 packer works...!!!
It opens up terminal, writes down the commands an thats it. Seems frozen after that!

Could someone help me!!! I need this program real bad: I use Pioneer CDJ200s which don't support VBR.

Thanx!
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-09-21 14:04:01
Hi everyone!!!

First of all thanx to the devellopers of such great apps!!!


But I've got a little problem over here: I use a wonderfull Apple G4 powerbook, and I really can't figure out how the OSX version of mp3 packer works...!!!
It opens up terminal, writes down the commands an thats it. Seems frozen after that!

Could someone help me!!! I need this program real bad: I use Pioneer CDJ200s which don't support VBR.

Thanx!


It's suggested that you first open up a terminal, and then you run mp3packer from inside it by typing the commands. If you run it on its own it won't let you do much. I'd suggest reading up on how to use the terminal in OSX a bit before tackling this baby... either that or someone knowledgeable in OSX should be able to help you out with it. You'd be better off asking in the mp3packer thread, here: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=32379 (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=32379) as this thread is for WinMP3Packer, the Windows GUI.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: gramouk on 2007-09-21 14:57:42
Here is where I got it: http://kamikazow.fortunecity.de/ (http://kamikazow.fortunecity.de/)

So there is a source code folder and a mp3packer folder.

What on earth am I supposed to do with this???

If only people knew how to ripp there CDs...

thnx
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Omion on 2007-09-22 06:31:45
Here is where I got it: http://kamikazow.fortunecity.de/ (http://kamikazow.fortunecity.de/)

So there is a source code folder and a mp3packer folder.

What on earth am I supposed to do with this???

If only people knew how to ripp there CDs...

thnx


If you are not comfortable with the terminal, then it's somewhat difficult to use. Figuring out where everything is on the OSX file system is actually not easy. But here's how you do it.

Download the Mac OSX version, and it will give you three files: gpl.txt, mp3packer.html, and mp3packer. It will probably put these files in a folder named "mp3packer" on your desktop.

Open a terminal (I click on the spotlight and type "terminal" - it's the top hit) and type:
Code: [Select]
cd ~/Desktop/mp3packer
./mp3packer inputfile.mp3 outputfile.mp3

The problems occur since OSX doesn't really give a good indication where things are in the file system. If you have files on an external hard drive, it's probably located in "/Volumes/harddrivename/filename.mp3". Your music folder is in "~/Music". Oh, and case matters (usually) - "file.mp3" is different from "FILE.MP3"... but I probably just made you more confused with these instructions.

OSX is really easy to use if everybody uses the happy-fun GUI, but they hide so much of the underlying system that very few people know how to get around in a terminal.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: kwanbis on 2007-10-11 14:00:11
Besides the (easy to fix imho), overflow issue, i have found another one.

At least with my laptop, that is using double the dpi font size, if i maximize winmp3repacker, and close it, when i re-open it, the screen is still maximized, but half the controls are out of the screen. So i have to un-maximize, close, and re-open.

Both things are not major, but very annoying.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: gramouk on 2007-10-18 16:42:43
Hi everyone!!!

I'm the bloke using a Mac and cdj's!
The easiest solution was to find a pc, hook on my drive and process all my vbrs.
Thing is: whatever i do, files are always output to 320kbps, whereas they only have a vbr bitrate of eg.182.
I want them to be 192, no point having them at 320.
can somone help me out.
thankyou
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2007-10-18 23:31:04
Hi everyone!!!

I'm the bloke using a Mac and cdj's!
The easiest solution was to find a pc, hook on my drive and process all my vbrs.
Thing is: whatever i do, files are always output to 320kbps, whereas they only have a vbr bitrate of eg.182.
I want them to be 192, no point having them at 320.
can somone help me out.
thankyou


Hey,

The problem there is that some parts of the file require 320kbps, in which case the whole file must end up being 320kbps in order to keep the bitrate 'constant'. There's not a lot that mp3packer can do in this case.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: gramouk on 2007-12-12 14:59:29
Hey seriously guys, I'd pay good money to someone that would release a nice GUI MAC version!!!
That would save my life, as no one is capable of a good ripping out there! My CDJs would love you long time!!! lol
Is somone ready to take the challenge...?
Thanx a lot folks!
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Lys on 2008-03-12 18:55:51
Would it be possible to provide a version that uses multiple files at once? IE 2 for dual core so that 2 can happen at same time for double speed. As this is batch processing, it should be easy to do.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: RobJK on 2008-03-18 08:26:29
Hi,

First: Great program.
Second: Bug report

The following file (http://rapidshare.com/files/100409709/Mich...l_Mix_.mp3.html (http://%5burl=http://rapidshare.com/files/100409709/Michael_Cassette_-_Zeppelin__Original_Mix_.mp3.html)]here[/url]) is shown as being CBR inside of WinMP3Packer, however playing it back in Winamp it's very obvious it's VBR (kbps jumps around all over the place).

I've tried:
1. Selecting Input Types ALL
2. Saved Setting: Convert to CBR in place (force)

but in both cases the file remains as VBR.

Any ideas/suggestions?


Ignore me, I'm being a muppet.

It worked fine.   
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Speckmade on 2008-03-26 22:32:06
Why isn't WinMP3Packer Free Software? (the fact that you're a Linux user sounds like you're familiar with Free Software...    )
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2008-07-18 06:01:03
Would it be possible to provide a version that uses multiple files at once? IE 2 for dual core so that 2 can happen at same time for double speed. As this is batch processing, it should be easy to do.


I've had this thought before but the main bottleneck with mp3packer is the hard disk access... if you were to process 2 x files at once, it'd just result in an excess of seeking around the hard disk and fragmentation of the destination files.

Why isn't WinMP3Packer Free Software? (the fact that you're a Linux user sounds like you're familiar with Free Software...    )


I would like to release the source - I got halfway through setting up a Sourceforge account at once stage and it was taking too long so I gave up (hmmmm see a pattern here, hehe...)

One of the stumbling blocks is I need to get some open source icons for it. I can't release the source as it is as it has some proprietary graphics in it.

If you want, I can send you the code sans graphics if you wanted a play around with it (or indeed, if you wanted to take over the project...)
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: aand16 on 2008-09-18 23:20:19
Links are broken
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2008-10-21 11:21:34
Links are broken

http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=MP3packer (http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=MP3packer) 

I've tweaked the wiki and added a link to where you can download the latest WinMP3Packer version: 1.0.18-alpha.

In psyllium's original 1.0.18-alpha zip download release he included mp3packer.exe version 1.18. 1.0.18-alpha was released on 13-06-2007 and since then mp3packer version 1.20 has been released. I have thus added mp3packer version 1.20 to the zip download. I've also replaced the mp3packer.html with the latest one. All other files remain the same.

Hope this helps 
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: botface on 2008-10-21 14:33:36

Links are broken

http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=MP3packer (http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=MP3packer) 

I've tweaked the wiki and added a link to where you can download the latest WinMP3Packer version: 1.0.18-alpha.

In psyllium's original 1.0.18-alpha zip download release he included mp3packer.exe version 1.18. 1.0.18-alpha was released on 13-06-2007 and since then mp3packer version 1.20 has been released. I have thus added mp3packer version 1.20 to the zip download. I've also replaced the mp3packer.html with the latest one. All other files remain the same.

Hope this helps 


When I run WinMP3Packer I get an error
                                      [indent]"The application failed to initialise properly (0xc0000135)"
I assume it's me doing something silly. Any ideas?


Edit for spelling
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: jaybeee on 2008-10-21 20:58:56
@botface: I just downloaded it and placed it in a clean directory and ran it against a 320kbps mp3 and it worked fine. So, at least it does work.

Do you have .NET 2.0 installed?

Other than that I do not know. I've used both mp3packer & WinMP3Packer (in their many version guises) since they were released. As a user and fan of WinMP3Packer I am just providing webspace for the package to be stored at since psyllium's webspace is dead. I am not looking after it other than that I'm afraid.

Perhaps try using mp3packer on the commandline. It's quite easy. Just read the help first etc and have a play.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: botface on 2008-10-22 09:42:37
@botface: I just downloaded it and placed it in a clean directory and ran it against a 320kbps mp3 and it worked fine. So, at least it does work.

Do you have .NET 2.0 installed?

It seems I didn't have.NEt 2.0. Now I've installed it everything works fine. Many thanks
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: imcclaskey on 2010-02-15 09:19:18
main DL link is broken, but anyone wanting this, i found it here:

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/MP3-...load-33087.html (http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/MP3-repacker-Download-33087.html)

have fun!
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: chrizoo on 2010-03-19 03:22:36
if you can still edit the OP, I would add somewhere that all actions taken by your tool are lossless. It might be obvious, but it is equally important.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2010-06-06 07:10:14
Would be nice if I could figure out how to edit my old posts! Anyway I've found the latest download for this program at:
http://jaybeee.themixingbowl.org/winmp3pac....0.18-alpha.zip (http://jaybeee.themixingbowl.org/winmp3packer/WinMP3Packer-1.0.18-alpha.zip)

My old webspace appears dead, sorry about that everyone. I should check with my friend to see if I can resurrect it somehow.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: kwanbis on 2010-08-14 16:53:26
Would be nice if I could figure out how to edit my old posts! Anyway I've found the latest download for this program at:
http://jaybeee.themixingbowl.org/winmp3pac....0.18-alpha.zip (http://jaybeee.themixingbowl.org/winmp3packer/WinMP3Packer-1.0.18-alpha.zip)

My old webspace appears dead, sorry about that everyone. I should check with my friend to see if I can resurrect it somehow.

Hi psyllium, can you either release the code, or fix the problem, where, if you processes a lot of files, the number of saved kbs overflows the variable, and it shows as negative? I assume you have to make it a longint type.-
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: k5263486 on 2011-03-10 11:29:28
What does the "information" column show?

I have a 128kbps mp3 file but the information column shows 320kbps.

Does it means that the original bitrate is 320kbps? The 128kbps mp3 is transcoded from a 320kbps mp3 file?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Porcus on 2012-02-17 00:27:48
[...]It usually freezes like that when there are lots of log entries (the warnings can bloat the log very fast).


If the developer is still reading this: At jobs with many lines of output (one single file might suffice, it could have 10000 warning lines), then still the speed really goes down. I've played around a bit, and with those really bad files (damn you, Xing) my fairly new computer has been way below 0.05x realtime more than once.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: djonline on 2012-09-01 11:46:10
[...]It usually freezes like that when there are lots of log entries (the warnings can bloat the log very fast).

my fairly new computer has been way below 0.05x realtime more than once.

The same thing.
psyllium, can you make output to log file, not to screen ? Screen output is like bad indian code now.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: psyllium on 2013-12-30 06:24:42
Hi all,

Great to see people are still using this app! Unfortunately, I have lost the source for this long ago .

It's potentially possible for others to decompile it and repackage it, as I see "goa pride" has done here: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....howtopic=103147 (http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=103147)

So all is not lost, but my work on this project is finished :/

Cheers.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: k.eight.a on 2015-04-04 19:31:58
Hello, can you help me with fixing my problem?

I'm not able to save my configuration settings to user profile file. Whenever I close the app error message such as this appears ...

(http://i.imgur.com/aLJaxv3.png)
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: Octocontrabass on 2015-04-04 20:53:25
wdggks0m.dll

That looks suspicious. Are you sure your computer does not have any viruses or malware?
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: k.eight.a on 2015-04-04 21:20:18
wdggks0m.dll
That looks suspicious. Are you sure your computer does not have any viruses or malware?

I'm not sure but I use antivirus SW witth the latest updates. The name of the dll library is always different and when I look into the folder there is never such file.
I tried to delete everything from this temp folder before opening the app once again but there was no difference in behaviour.

Edit: I'll run a full scan for anything that may be harmful to my computer. I've never had any problems for years. This is the first strange behaviour I've encountered.
Title: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: k.eight.a on 2015-04-14 16:22:51
That looks suspicious. Are you sure your computer does not have any viruses or malware?
You were right - there was something. Now it works as it should! Thanks for your suggestion.
Title: Re: WinMP3Packer Beta released
Post by: sanskrit44 on 2018-03-30 17:43:33
anybody knows of a native linux alternative to winmp3packer / mp3repacker?