How do I install the program?

Simply put the files of the archive "mp3DirectCut.zip" into an empty folder of your choice. To let the program appear in Windows' Start menu you must create a link there. You can also link known file types (mp3, mp2, cue, mpd) to mp3DirectCut to open them easily from the explorer.

To uninstall the program delete the delivered files, the .ini file (created by mp3DirectCut) and the Start menu link if you made one.

Where must I put the mpglib.dll and the lame.dll?

These decoding/encoding libraries must be either in a directory that is in your PATH (like "C:\Windows" or "C:\Windows\System") or you can put it into mp3DirectCut's directory.

Where can I get an ACM Codec for MP3?

There are several applications that deliver an MP3 Codec for the ACM (= "Audio Compression Manager"). And there are different MP3 ACM Codecs (free and non-free ones). Originally they come from the Fraunhofer Institute, developer of the MP3 format. Since version 3.92 there is also an ACM of Lame available, but this is not tested with mp3DirectCut.

The Codec (*.acm in System dir) must be installed by an application or an installer. Then it can be used by any software that wants to access it. Note: mp3DirectCut can use an ACM Codec but doesn't have to. If you can't get or install it you should use the mglib.dll provided on the Homepage.

What happens if the file info says 'Sync lost'?

Nothing bad if your MP3 is not corrupted. An MPEG audio file consists of a frame structure (about 38 frames per second). The program always looks for a frame beginning when you scroll, select or cut. In some rare cases the program is confused by something that looks like a frame header but isn't it. If you scroll further the message should disappear.

I got 'Sync errors' on saving, what do they mean?

Usually that the program passed by file corruptions and could not find a frame header. In the output file the correct frame structure should be restored but there will be some frames missing. The program saves your file/selection to the end. The progress dialog stays to notify you of the errors. That's how it should be. But as not all types of errors and corruptions are examined it is even possible that the program can hang or crash in some sync fail situations.

Why can't I zoom out further than these three steps?

Because mp3DirectCut is always accessing everything directly. The program is designed not to care about the file size and shows a fixed area around the position your are listening. More zooming out levels would cause longer file scannings every time the display is updated.

Why does the selection not begin where I point to on VBR files?

Because it is more difficult to display variable bitrate files. As a workaround you should drag the selection to reach a position or cut your MP3 "by ear" with the "Set begin" and "Set end" buttons.

Can you implement batch functions, especially for normalizing?

Not soon. May be some time.

Can you add Ogg Vorbis support?

I would if I could. But Ogg seems to be much more difficult to cut than MP3. An MP3 can be cut everywhere and it's still playable. Cutting an Ogg file without adapting anything here and there will produce broken files. I could not find any understandable documentation of a structure in Vorbis files. So if you know clearly readable docs, please let me know.

Can you add WAV/PCM support?

This is planned. But has low pri. I can't say when there's time for making it.

Can I have the source code?

No.

Will there be a german/italian/french/... version of the program?

If there is time enough to replace all the edit and info fields, menus, gadgets and messages with variables which then can be filled with strings from language files. But I think it will come before the WAV support ;)

Known issues and more troubleshooting

mp3DirectCut is tested with many different MP3/MP2 types. In some cases it can still behave strange or crash. As there are many differences in the apearence of MPEG files it is not easy to predict which errors might occur.

• The main MP3 graph does not show the correct audio level. But this is not an error! The graph contains only higher frequencies. It can also be too high or too low over the whole file. In rare cases the display doesn't show anything.

• Visualisation of Layer 2 is (much) worse than Layer 3. In some cases silences may appear as mountains...

• On VBR files the audio graph (including cuts and selection) is shown with a slight displacement from cursor position and mouse pointer.

• The last two or three frames can only be selected together.

• The Duration threshold on silence detection is not accurate. Silences below 2 seconds may not be detected reliably.

• Cuts in MP3 files may sound noisy or squeaky, especially at lower bitrates. This is not an error. Originally MP3 is not made for cutting, because some frames in a row can depend on each other. Solution: make cuts at silent positions and they will be less perceptable.

• If your computer is too slow for decoding in realtime and working the graphics the player will hang. Set the "frames/buffer" to max (8) and then decrease it as far as possible. Zoom in a step. You should also make the window smaller. If the sound is noisy or interrupted try varying the "Maximum wave buffer". Do not use the "high priority" option if your system isn't fast enough for playing!

• If the MP3 file is not on a local harddrive playing and scrolling the file may be interrupted.

• Large files may fill up Windows' file cache. It is (generally) recommended to prevent Windows from using all the RAM for file caching (e.g. with Cacheman).

• In rare cases or on corrupted files setting the position or the selection may cause a synchronization error. The graph shows thrash and the file information may be incorrect. Re-synchronize by moving to another position.

• In some rare cases the program crashed a whole system, especially at intense scrolling while a file was playing.

• Saving a selection or splitting a file may in some cases work with incorrect ranges. It's recommended to check saved selections and split files.

• The Split function should be used for separating large files into different tracks. It is not made for Split+Join purposes.

• Some users reported that trying to save selections from large files after a file position of about 60..80 MB caused the program or the system to crash. Others reported, saving files of seven hours works excellent. I think this depends on different Windows versions and possible file corruptions. The program does not have an extensive file error management.

• If the ID3v2 Tag is bigger than about 58 KB it will not be saved.

• Extra duration informations (like a length tag in ID3v2) are not adapted by the program. If you save a part of a file and keep the tag, the new shorter file will have the wrong duration information of the original file.

• There are several reports that the program does not work at all and opens with a General Protection Fault. In these cases try to close other processes and applications which may interfere with this one.

System requirements

• 200 MHz
• Windows 9x, NT (others should work, not tested)
• MP3 ACM Codec or mpglib.dll
• Optional: Lame encoder DLL