For lame encoding.. scrap that for ANY encoding with any codec... I always
recommend speeks frontends
http://home.wanadoo.nl/~w.speek/speek.htm
They are simple and just do what you want... I made some changes to the lame
encoder a few months back to add multiple gapless album encoding, and
haven't had chance to really benefit from it since.. my nomad jukebox3 is
nearly full so no need to reencode..
http://home.wanadoo.nl/~w.speek/all2lame.htm : for lame..
This program makes up a batch file and uses the lame.exe to make your mp3s..
it can also use tag to simultaneously add id3 tags to your newly created
mp3s..
The recommended version of lame is not actually the latest one.. its this
one
http://rarewares.hydrogenaudio.org/files/lame-3.90.3.zip
Improvements since haven't really added anything, and it has not been
completely decided yet whether it has broken things.. hence you are
recommended to use this older version.. for maximum quality. As discussed
here (
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?act=ST&f=15&t=478&)
Just extract the all2lame into a dir say c:\program files\lame ... extract
lame into the same dir and you are good to go.. just drag a shortcut of
all2lame onto your desktop and thats all you'll need to to do to run it...
When using lame if quality is important you really need only use 3
settings.. they are the alt-preset settings which are heavily tweaked
settings that provide the best quality.. modified beyond normal lame
switches capabilities.. its the only way to get this mode.. the switches you
want are as follows
--alt-preset standard
--alt-preset extreme
--alt-preset insane
--alt-preset fast standard
--alt-preset fast extreme
--alt-preset fast insane
Here is their descriptions from the help options of lame
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------
The --alt-preset switches are designed to provide the highest possible
quality.
They have for the most part been subject to and tuned via rigorous double
blind
listening tests to verify and achieve this objective.
These are continually updated to coincide with the latest developments that
occur and as a result should provide you with nearly the best quality
currently possible from LAME.
To activate these presets:
For VBR modes (generally highest quality):
"--alt-preset standard" This preset should generally be transparent
to most people on most music and is already
quite high in quality.
"--alt-preset extreme" If you have extremely good hearing and similar
equipment, this preset will generally provide
slightly higher quality than the "standard"
mode.
For CBR 320kbps (highest quality possible from the --alt-preset
switches):
"--alt-preset insane" This preset will usually be overkill for most
people and most situations, but if you must
have the absolute highest quality with no
regard to filesize, this is the way to go.
For ABR modes (high quality per given bitrate but not as high as VBR):
"--alt-preset <kbps>" Using this preset will usually give you good
quality at a specified bitrate. Depending on
the
bitrate entered, this preset will determine the
optimal settings for that particular situation.
While this approach works, it is not nearly as
flexible as VBR, and usually will not attain
the
same level of quality as VBR at higher
bitrates.
The following options are also available for the corresponding profiles:
<fast> standard
<fast> extreme
insane
<cbr> (ABR Mode) - The ABR Mode is implied. To use it,
simply specify a bitrate. For example:
"--alt-preset 185" activates this
preset and uses 185 as an average kbps.
"fast" - Enables the new fast VBR for a particular profile. The
disadvantage to the speed switch is that often times the
bitrate will be slightly higher than with the normal mode
and quality may be slightly lower also.
"cbr" - If you use the ABR mode (read above) with a significant
bitrate such as 80, 96, 112, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256, 320,
you can use the "cbr" option to force CBR mode encoding
instead of the standard abr mode. ABR does provide higher
quality but CBR may be useful in situations such as when
streaming an mp3 over the internet may be important.
For example:
or "lame --alt-preset fast standard <input file> <output file>"
or "lame --alt-preset cbr 192 <input file> <output file>"
or "lame --alt-preset 172 <input file> <output file>"
or "lame --alt-preset extreme <input file> <output file>"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------
All you need to know is to pick what you want.. and add it into all2lames
settings window... clicking the gapless option allows you to try and encode
gapless albums without introducing pauses between tracks.. works pretty well
and is ALWAYS better than not doing on gapless material for me..
Once you are done just click encode and off it goes... alt-presets are quite
slow but you get what you pay for (well its free but u know what i mean.. as
in your pay by encoding time) ... I use --alt-preset extreme as i have a
20gig jukebox and am a sucker at wanting extra quality.. its fairly accepted
that --alt-preset standard is good enough though... the fast options help
speed it up but make slightly larger files.. i avoid it, i can wait..
There you go... ohh and i'd recommend using exactaudiocopy to actually rip
your albums... www.exactaudiocopy.de .. free again.. and the best CD ripper
available.. especially when coupled up with a good cd drive.. the benefits
of using a good ripper is getting high quality rips off the CD.. and being
told when there were possible problems with the rips which may manifest
themselves as dropouts or clicks in the audio... exactaudiocopy even saves
places in tracks where it finds errors.. at the end you can go through these
sections of audios to decide if you can hear the problem... mostly you
can't.. especially if you can use a plextor drive with it..
Enjoy
And besides.. Ogg is good, but as an alternative to mp3, MPC rules for
quality... have spoken about that before tho so wont try again :) enjoy the
best quality mp3s you can make :)
Jim
quoted 37 lines -----Original Message-----
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Irene McC [mailto:substar@iafrica.com]
> Sent: 14 June 2003 09:54
> To: idm@hyperreal.org
> Subject: [idm] OT--LAME-options
>
>
> I have just installed Win-XP and am in the process of putting all my
> software, prog's and app's back on the box.
>
> I have installed Lamewin32.exe using the Razorlame115.zip frontend.
> Problem: I have no drop-down Option menu to set my output path! I
> used to have this on my Win_98 version, which made it possible to
> work from a CD-ROM and select a folder on my h/drive for the output.
> Now it wants to write straight back to the source folder, meaning I
> have to dump everything onto my computer first, before de- or en-
> coding, so that it will be able to write the output file.
>
> Is this dependent on the Razor frontend? If so, should I revert to
> an earlier version that will allow me this selection? Which version
> am I needing, that will run on XP?
>
> (PS for all those who'll argue about MP3 vs OGG - I *am* successfully
> convinced that Ogg is brilliant, however for certain applications I
> require MP3 archives.)
>
> Many thanks for anybody who can help me out!
>
> I
> *
>
>
>
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