Welcome to MP3 Decoder, one of *the finest* MP3 Decoders on the internet, IMO. MP3 Decoder specializes in large batch decode jobs and a bullet-proof interface. It's been a wild ride! MP3 Decoder has taken all most of my free time for the two years and then some. From MP3 Decoder 1.0.1026, which really didn't do anything except decode a selected file, to MP3 Decoder 1.1, a better program by far but still lacking in some crucial areas, to MP3 Decoder 1.2 which is becomming more like a MP3 Studio than a MP3 Decoder. And then MP3 Decoder 1.3 which I thought the day would never come where I see minor revision 3. Followed by 1.4, just tweaking to perfection. If I can ever get my hands on an encoding engine, or a CD-DA ripper, you can bet I will turn out a MP3 Studio. Please don't send me cracked or warez codecs. These don't help. I need legal stuff!!! This release is important in many ways. v1.71 features/fixes: ¤ Fixed Access Violation with blank ID3v2 frame header. ¤ Fixed read only MP3 not decoding. ¤ Above fix helps saving the list file. ¤ Fixed change file mask decode failure. ¤ Fixed read only MP3s showing up as 0.0MB size. v1.70 features/fixes: ¤ NEW DECODE ENGINE!!!!! ¤ YAY! 1000 builds+ !!! ¤ Tons 'o bug fixes... where to begin??? ¤ Saves the last 4 playlists opened. ¤ Option to delete list before opening playlist. ¤ File Browser won't refresh if no files are renamed. ¤ Always Saves a backup listing of your File List when decoding. ¤ Less reliance on the MP3 decoding engine ¤ Fixed ID3 I/O Error 103 ¤ Added better error handling to playlist calculator ¤ Fixed some shutdown problems ¤ OnActivate of some forms moved to OnShow ¤ Fixed Rename Files Cancel All ¤ Changed the destination directory select so if you choose one that you already have, it selects it rather than doing nothing. ¤ Reworked the percentage calculations again ¤ Fixed some problems with Registry Settings window ¤ Playlist Calculator now uses it's own routine to calculate length rather than opening the file with the decoder, reading it and then closing. ¤ Fixed some non-standard windows colors issues. ¤ Reworked some dialogs, making them ready for future expansion. ¤ Better support for MP3 information in the ID3 window. ¤ Ctrl+F9 in rename window renames all. Same as clicking on the check box then OK. ¤ Fixed Font Color issues. ¤ ID3 Genre field support. ¤ Support to store relative paths in M3U playlists. ¤ Shaved 1.2MB of memory used by opening forms dynamically. ¤ Fixed .mpeg -> .mwav problem. (3 letter extension being assumed) ¤ Fixed Rename All getting stuck. ¤ Added Windows 2000 Open and Save Dialog support. ¤ Fixed problem with Open MP3 dialog box not using filemask. ¤ Added clear Decode list after conversion. ¤ Added Shell support for new Winamp commands, plus option in prefs ¤ Added Crash recovery. ¤ Log file now stays, rather than being overwritten. ¤ Setup asks you if you want to delete the log file if found. ¤ Multi Select MP3 files from the open window. Aparently this broke sometime. ¤ Better support for Winamp created Playlists with Extended Information ¤ Fixed Performance window again. Range is 0..50000 ¤ Fixed Batch Info window moving back to start when new files are started. ¤ Outputs multiple stop access violations to the log window. v1.45 features/fixes: ¤ Fixed ugly Int64 bug v1.44 features/fixes: ¤ Added support for external backgrounds for the toolbar. ¤ Started work on the MPEG-1 Layer-3 decompiler. ¤ Moved some forms to create as needed. ¤ Added a new command line switch. ¤ Fixed multiple F11 shortcut mistake. ¤ Fixed detecting disk space between NTFS/FAT/FAT32 partitions. ¤ Fixed total decode percentage > 100. ¤ Fixed problem with File List calculation "Skip Intro" not saving. ¤ Fixed 1999 reporting to 2000. ¤ Added email registration support. v1.43 features/fixes: ¤ Reworked how the registry is used. It's now a record of settings rather than reading the registry on the fly. ¤ Added printing support to keyboard help ¤ Brought back current time of decode on the progress bar ¤ Fixed some issues with the status progress bar being in the wrong spot ¤ Tested 100% Windows 2000 compatible ¤ Went into more detail with Keyboard help ¤ Improved Startup sequence, with hourglass cursors ¤ Improved error checking ¤ Moved the menus around a bit. Shortcut keys will stay the same v1.42 features/fixes: ¤ Fixed Save Playlist toolbar bug ¤ Fixed View ID3 tag bug ¤ Fixed Decode with parameters bug ¤ Added option to remove toolbar background ¤ Added warez serial number protection ¤ Added progress bar to status bar ¤ Removed resize restrictions ¤ Reworked the Key help ¤ New online help v1.41 features/fixes: ¤ The released executable of version 1.4 was a prerelease copy, sorry! ¤ Fixed problem with registration ¤ Fixed another divide by zero error when computing frames per second. v1.4 features/fixes: ¤ Reworked the decode interface and output screen ¤ Added future support for other formats ¤ Fixed machine sluggishness / hangs when running mouse over the decode list while decoding ¤ Reduced about 1000 lines of code ¤ Found and killed another access violation ¤ Added mp3 frames information to log window ¤ Fixed VERY small Y2K problem v1.32 features/fixes: ¤ Fixed File List conversion from bytes to megabytes. ¤ Fixed Access Violation while opening files to an empty file list. ¤ Fixed Access Violation while opening playlists to an empty file list. ¤ Added some hints that were missing. ¤ Added command line paramaters to Keyboard Help. ¤ Added registration key support. (See below) v1.31 features/fixes: ¤ Rewrote from ground up the new File List ¤ Fixed File, View ID3 Tag... ¤ Added Keyboard help ¤ Fixed some enabling faults ¤ Added hints that were not implemented ¤ Changed Standard configuration to the first item ¤ Added command line parameters ¤ Fixed a couple typos ¤ Fixed a couple misspellings ¤ Added Window Title Format for customized window titles ¤ Added Synchronize titles option v1.30 features/fixes: ¤ Removed 100k of redundant images from the setup program ¤ Fixed directory hint error with UNC paths ¤ Optimized timer events, file add operations, and file opening routines ¤ Added script commands to the log window. Type help for information ¤ Updated all the status bar help messages ¤ Converted Bitmap backgrounds to JPEG. Save a little disk space... 1.jpg : About Background 2.jpg : Registration Background 3.jpg : Performance Background 4.jpg : ID3 Editor Background ¤ Added Pie Chart to playlist calculator for graphical representation ¤ Added protection from the file browser appearing outside of the viewing area ¤ Added protection from invalid directories when restoring ¤ Open MP3 (F9) now allows multiple file selections ¤ User can select left click + mouse move action as multi-select or file drag ¤ Added support for drag and drop from the File Browser ¤ Fixed failure to enable Apply button on some configuration controls ¤ Source file browser has option to enable or disable snapping ¤ File Mask checking for drag and drop is case-insensitive ¤ Organized startup source code ¤ File Browser follows MP3 Decoder when moved ¤ Auto-Save MP3 Decoder and File Browser locations ¤ Auto-Save last directory/folder viewed ¤ Source Mask is now case-insensitive ¤ Fixed drop file on exe bug ¤ Added multiple instance protection ¤ Added Local and Remote drive/folder browsing ¤ Added Support to auto-show File Browser ¤ Fixed some typos ¤ Fixed default options to correct values ¤ Fixed Apply failure to disable after Applying in Log preferences. ¤ Cleaned out more redundant code ¤ Removed option to hide progress bars ¤ Source File Listing has "snap to" support ¤ Added Drag and Drop support for the decode list ¤ Dragging a file checks source mask. i.e. if your mask does not include *.mp3 you can't add *.mp3 ¤ Converted the decode list calculator into a wizard. ¤ Moved all the Source File listing controls into a seperate window. v1.26 features/fixes: ¤ Fixed List Index out of Bounds (-1) error when stopping the decode. ¤ Added Print function in the Log Window ¤ Log window on startup (under preferences) ¤ Fixed StayOnTop feature for the Log Window ¤ Added Network Drive dialog (press F4) ¤ Cleaned out just a little bit of redundant code ¤ Fixed Divide by Zero error with small mp3 files. ¤ Fixed Calculate Playlist problems. ¤ Added small progressbar to the splash screen. ¤ Added Netscape-Style Splitter to the Source File selection controls ¤ Added full UNC (network address) support for: ¤ Playing ¤ Decoding ¤ Saving ¤ Updated Calculate Playlist so when using speedbutton the dialog box doesn't show, but the menu selection does show it. v1.25b features/fixes: ¤ Added saving support for the log window ¤ Fixed problem with info window popping up when it shouldn't ¤ Added some stuff, decided it sucked and then removed it. Sorry this release only has two fixes... v1.25 features/fixes: ¤ Now using Winzip se for installations, cuts back 450k or so. ¤ Implemented Log Window ¤ Introduced id3.dll ¤ Fixed _MAJOR_ bug with decoding to source directory. ¤ Tweaked some features ¤ Cleaned more code! ¤ Implemented File Listing formatting for the status bar. ¤ Fixed a couple of problems within the 1.25 features. ¤ Tinkered a bit. ¤ Added save decode file list option. ¤ Changed MP3 length evaluator from div to round(), rounding correctly rather than always rounding down. ¤ Implemented more enable/disable buttons to avoid file sharing errors. ¤ Implemented LoadLibrary() function for mp3dec.dll ¤ Implemented FreeLibrary() function for mp3dec.dll ¤ Added "Don't show again" to the disk space warning. (Caused annoyances on some NT boxes) ¤ Added Standard Configuration dialog ¤ Added Delete key support to the decode file list ¤ Added playtime calculation to the decode file list. Configure the compare length in Standard Configuration ¤ Cleaned up some more source code. 14,000 lines is way too much to handle! ¤ Removed Tahoma fonts from setup. Offered as secondary download instead to save download time. v1.24 features/fixes: ¤ Fixed Registry error ¤ Fixed MPEG Library Not Loaded problem ¤ Added Registry configuration dialog ¤ added another background - 3.bmp ¤ some functions exported to mp3dec.dll ¤ exports Registry entries ¤ Registry modification - BE CAREFUL! ¤ cleaned up source code, shaved 1,000 lines approx. and 95k off the exe ¤ Explore popup menu on the source directory box v1.23 features/fixes: ¤ Changed the color of most dialog boxes. ¤ Fixed startup problems when the correct path was not being supplied. (looked like it would open then close) ¤ Fixed set path problem with Setup ¤ Fixed background problem with Setup ¤ Added new features to Setup ¤ Tweaked some typos and annoyances ¤ Try clicking on the colors in the Configure Visual dialog box. ¤ Fixed I/O Error 32. when trying to view ID3 info on a MP3 that winamp / winplay / insert_your_favorite_mp3_player_here is playing. ¤ Fixed I/O Error 103 (File not open) - still says I/O Error 103, this means that the file is not open. This error is much further and far between. ¤ Fixed Saving ID3 info to a playing MP3. It works now! ¤ Code optimizations ¤ Ported proprietary code over to Win32API for better Windows NT support. ¤ Saves info on window state (maximization) ¤ Fixed ID3 problems with read-only MP3 files ¤ Added Explore popup menu to the directory listing ¤ ID3 TAG in switch format (-1 for Artist, -2 for Title, etc.) ¤ Fixed some button sizes and fixed MORE gramatical errors. ¤ Cleaned up some resources that were being compiled in but not used. ¤ Fixed the multiple file rename ID3 TAG bug ¤ Cleaned up Preferences window ¤ Added color changing support to all colored dialogs ¤ killed 3.bmp. only uses 1.bmp and 2.bmp - feel free to change them. v1.22 features/fixes: ¤ Decode Performance Meter ¤ Play All Selection. ¤ Play Selected Selection. ¤ Shows decode time and frames, clarifies what frames are. ¤ Fixed ID3 tag editor remove tag bug. ¤ Window location saved in registry, recalled on startup. ¤ Fixed Access Violation 0046F0FA FFFFFFFF non-fatal registry error. ¤ Reorganized the file viewing pane. v1.21 features/fixes: ¤ Large Playlists load faster. ¤ Problems with Setup fixed. ¤ Fixed ID3 Tag Editor window StayOnTop. ¤ Large Playlist loading progress documented during the load. ¤ Fixed Playlist load with partial directory intact bug. ¤ Fixed problem with closing MP3 Decoder when the DLL cannot be loaded. ¤ MP3 Decoder now closes if the DLL cannot be loaded. Still gives an exception error. ¤ Playlist loading pops up a window to give visual interpretation of load progress. ¤ Playlist loading isn't realtime time anymore. ¤ Playlist loading updates total file status bar panel. ¤ Added Browse... button to Visual Configuration. ¤ Added Clipboard support for renaming files. (Hit Shift+Ins when renaming files) ¤ About Components dialog box. ¤ Fixed I/O 21 error when viewing ID3 information on an open MP3 file. v1.2 New features include: ¤ Total Progress Bar along with the File Decode Progress Bar ¤ Preferences ¤ Registry use for saving preferences ¤ Drag and Drop Decoding (drop a MP3 on the mp3dec.exe file and see what happens!) ¤ ID3 Tag Editor ¤ File Renaming Support ¤ ID3 Tag Information made available throught the program ¤ Shortcut keys added to every feature ¤ Intellimouse Support ¤ Visual Dialog boxes. Not quite skins, but I made the bitmaps external for a reason. Go ahead, make up a background for the dialog boxes. MP3 Decoder will load it like it was it's own. Don't worry about dimensions, either. The dialogs stretch the bitmap to fit the screen. 1.bmp : Team dialog box 2.bmp : About dialog box 3.bmp : Registration dialog box ¤ ShellExtention support. All the play commands launch the default MP3 player. I suggest winamp. (www.winamp.com) ¤ Memory Friendly. (Wouldn't I like to think. From what my diagnostics tell me, it's very good at giving it's memory back to windows) ¤ Windows 98 ready. It was designed on Windows 98. The animated menus and other Windows 98 features are expected to be present. (not required though) ¤ Animated Decode movie so you know if your system is decoding or hung These releases are all build upon MP3 Decoder 1.1. All errors that were brought to my attention have been fixed. So some errors may linger over. Any errors that are not brought to my attention have not been addressed and will still linger in future versions. Thank you for all your input from the people who have emailed me. -==- Note on deciphering the version v1.2.5.398 (This is v1.25 Beta 1) v1 <- major revision .2 <- minor revision of 1 .5 <- minor revision of .2 .398 <- build number -==- People involved in MP3 Decoder some way or another: Coding, design, almost everything: Eric Hoffman Some Graphics, Animation and distribution: Anthony Scudiero Ideas and programming support: Jean-François Marquis Tim Jaeke Proofreading and spell checker: JoAnn Hoffman Thank you to everyone who has sent me an email about this program! It's much appreciated! -==- MP3 Decoder Questions, and my answer to them. I feel like flaming HPL Software. I will laugh and enjoy every tasty vowel! Why does MP3 Decoder crash so much? It doesn't. Most all problems that occur deal with MPEGDLL.DLL and access violations at FFFF-FFFF. This is a system-related problem, and NOT MY SOFTWARE!!!!. Some input stream errors and crazy access violations are at fault of the decode engine I am using. I am working on finding a new one. Why is MP3 Decoder free? Well, it has to do with my views on society. Is capitolism the best? no, but it's the best thing we have. I think that this world should be free. Free to do as you choose, free to take as you please. Of course there is punishment for crimes, but if you want a new watch, why can't you have it? We all inhabit this planet. Why do we take advantage of our fellow brothers and sisters? Yes, it would be chaotic in the beginning, but after everyone has what they want, it will be peaceful. Work where you choose because pay wouldn't matter and experience wouldn't matter. It's free, a company would enjoy your help to take the work load off others. We would be more productive, more advances, and more civilized. Noone would be robbed or held up because they can have what they want. There would be no classes, no social structures. Not only would technology advance faster, the quality of life would increase. So, now that you see my view, I believe in giving away my software... to a limit. I have to live too, and this is damn far from my utopia. So, I have decided to make MP3 Decoder shareware. Send me an email to register it, that's it. To receive the Registered version, send me $10 US. The registered version has only one thing different. In the splash/about dialogs, rather than saying 'Shareware', it says 'Registered'. That's it. You get a general feeling of inner warmpth and general happiness. You know that you helped out another person in this world. I will email you the Registered version, or send it via USPS (send extra $5 for shipping). Why create MP3 Decoder? I created MP3 Decoder, originally, because I had found some really cool components on the Delphi Super Page. I needed a program to use these with, so out came MP3 Decoder. I originally wanted to make a player, but winamp has this market secure. So I went for a decoder. As I watched MP3 Decoder evolve, I noticed that this software is becomming a viable software package. So I had more initiative to get v1.1 out. After that, I had new ideas, and I released each one with a new letter (A-F). Then it was time for v1.2. Rather than releasing each feature in segments, I assembled all the ideas I had over 2 weeks, and produced a very impressive looking MP3 Decoder package. Why not leave MP3 Decoding to Winamp? Well, quite frankly, winamp sux at decoding MP3s. Sorry guys, but that's how I see it. It's great, has a file list and all, but it takes alot of dialogs of navigating through to get the option. MP3 Decoder is specialized (for now) at decoding MP3s. It has many features of winamp, and does a great job of being strait forward and not having users dig deep into dialog boxes. I designed MP3 Decoder to work with winamp to play MP3s. Although it calls the default MP3 player, it issues winamp commands. winamp rox, it is the best MP3 player out there, period. Why use Delphi, Delphi is for lamers and it won't be around for another year? Delphi is becomming a viable software development package. It is just as good as C/C++ with syntax and structure differences. Delphi can do anything that C/C++ can do. Delphi is RAD. Rapid Application Development. It's RAD for a reason. It may cut back on development time, it may make you a sloppier programmer, but this is the direction of the future. Object Orientated Programming, Inheritance, it's Windows. Not to mention Borland is porting the Delphi VCL to Linux. Can you say MP3 Decoder for Linux? When can we expect new releases of MP3 Decoder? Expect a new minor releases every 6-9 months. Yes, there will be updates and additions, but those will go as revisions to v1.x1. Any and all ideas or suggestions are welcome, I can't think of everything! Either I will just release a minor revison of v1.21-v1.29 with new features and fixes, or I will release v1.3 with advanced features. If I can get my grubby paws on an encode engine and/or a CD-DA ripper, I will immediately begin work on a MP3 Studio. You can count on the HPL Software homepage being the first place to have info on this endeavor. Why doesn't HPL Sofware have it's own domain? It does now. I was forced to upgrade, and my bandwidth has been cut to 30GB/mo. I was using 35GB/mo now, and probably would push 50+ if allowed. Why doesn't HPL Software go public? yeah, right. No cash. Insufficent Funds. What kind of software can I expect from HPL Software next? Well, the software that I create is either from one of three sources. I found a new kick-ass component and made up an application to implement it, or I have found a niche that no software program does well enough, or a software package that I can write better. HPL Software is only one person, so I can only work on one software at a time. Are you free tonight for a date? hehe... sure! ;) I downloaded software from HPL Software website and installed it, and I really loved it. Tell me! Send me an email. It won't sound dumb. I get more satisfaction out of knowing that someone ENJOYED my software than someone sending me 10 dollars. Besides, I love email, who doesn't?!?!?! I downloaded software from HPL Software website and installed it, and it really blew. Delete it. Tell me why it was bad. Don't just say 'I hated it you suck'. I need a reason, any input is good input. I'm a person in a high position. Please, please, if you have access to a fast server, a service, or anything of the sort, and think that HPL Software would be great for you to mirror files, please tell me. I won't say no, I'll just add the link on the corresponding program's page. What is HPL Software's address? HPL Software 305 Fifth St Waunakee, WI 53597-1305 Phone: (608) 246-8267 HPL Software email: ehoffman@hplsoft.com Author email: ehoffman@madison.tds.net HPL Software Web: http://www.hplsoft.com/index.html Whoah, that was a long release notes text file. I hope I clarified some things for you. -==- Here is the License Agreement that EVERYONE agrees to by using MP3 Decoder from HPL Software: MP3 Decoder Rules of Usage: "MP3 Decoder" is provided "as is", meaning the software provided by HPL Software, in it's entirety. Any additional features added to MP3 Decoder, that are not provided by HPL Software are not consitered as part of the software. The software provided by HPL Software is officially released on the HPL Software website, or in a portable digital format. MP3 Decoder is to be used as designed, a tool to decode and manage MP3 files. Any illegal actions performed through MP3 Decoder, HPL Software, or any subsidary there of excludes liability from HPL Software. MP3 Decoder is not to be decompiled, reversed engineered, anyway deconstructed, cracked, warezed, or keygened without express written consent from Eric Hoffman and/or HPL Software. All software, except if otherwise noted, was designed, implimented, and coded by HPL Software. The software source code is intellectual property of HPL Software. Although it is under no legal copyright enforcement, the source code is owned by HPL Software. Any attemt to steal, generate, or in anyway obtain the source code of MP3 Decoder without express written concent from Eric Hoffman and/or HPL Software is forbidden. MP3 Decoder is designed to decode MP3 or Motion Picture Expert Group Layer 3 Audio files that you either: 1) Own 2) Have legal ties to 3) Have express written permission to possess Any illegal activies that involve MP3 Decoder used as a tool for the illegal activity are the users responsibility only. Any illegal activities the user partakes in exempts Eric Hoffman, HPL Software and it's software from any wrong doing. By installing, using, or having one or more permanent copies of the software "as is," you agree to the above stated terms. -==- Sorry for the lengthy Legal Agreement, I wanted to make sure that you, the user, were aware that any illegal activites done by the user, using MP3 Decoder as a tool exempts HPL Software from any wrong doing. Please don't use MP3 Decoder to decode MP3s you do not have a right to possess. -==- Registration notes: I have posted the registration address in this file and in the program. Since I am incorporating a registration number, with a simple but unique encoding scheme, there will no doubt be cracks and serial numbers posted eventually. But there is no difference between the registered version and the shareware version. If you like looking at the pretty Registration word w/o sending your money in, feel free. However, By you not registering, I have less insentive to continue the product. I program as a hobby, and in no way live off the revenue provided by MP3 Decoder. If you like the program and/or use it on a regular basis, support your shareware authors. -==- MP3 Decoder 1.7 version 1.7.0.1010 Released 11-9-00 Release Notes 11-9-00 MP3 Decoder 1.45 version 1.4.5.920 Released May 20ish Release Notes Forgotten about MP3 Decoder 1.43 version 1.4.3.840 Released 1-5-00 Release Notes 1-5-00 MP3 Decoder 1.42 version 1.4.2.801 Released 8-10-99 Release Notes: 8-10-99 MP3 Decoder 1.41 version 1.4.01.774 (26242) Released 7-16-99 Release Notes: 7-16-99 MP3 Decoder 1.4 version 1.4.0.765 (16658) Released 7-12-99 Release Notes: 7-12-99 MP3 Decoder 1.32 version 1.3.2.695 (17412) Released 5-21-99 Release Notes: 5-21-99 MP3 Decoder 1.3 version 1.3.1.660 (17148) Released 5-13-99 Release Notes: 5-13-99 MP3 Decoder 1.3 version 1.3.0.613 (16849) Released 4-13-99 Release Notes: 4-13-99 MP3 Decoder 1.27 version 1.2.7. Released !!version is non-existant!! Release Notes: 3-14-99 MP3 Decoder 1.26 version 1.2.6.477 (15835) Released 2-10-99 Release Notes: 2-10-99 MP3 Decoder Release v1.2.5.449 (14402) Released 1-17-99 Release Notes: 1-17-99 MP3 Decoder Release v1.2.5.430 (14244) Released 11-30-98 Release Notes: 11-30-98 MP3 Decoder Release v1.2.3.353 (15300) Released to Testing (RC5) Release Notes: 9-5-98 MP3 Decoder Release v1.2.2.306 (13208) Released 7-8-98 Release Notes 7-7-98 MP3 Decoder Release v1.2.1.300 (12782) Released 6-27-98 Release Notes: 6-22-98 MP3 Decoder Release v1.2.0.268 (12772) Released 6-18-98 Release Notes 6-19-98 Thank you for using HPL Software Products -Eric Hoffman and HPL Software.