                         MP3 FACTORY                      version 1.6b
                         ===========                     by >-Dagoth-<

This program is FREEWARE! Distribute it however you want, as long as
you are not trying to make a profit with it. By the way, I am not
responsible in any way if this program damages anything on your
computer.
This program requires the file VB40016.DLL, plus a few others you
probably have. If you need any of them, download the 'required DLLs'
zip file(s) and if you still need any, then try www.shareware.com, or
e-mail me and I'll send you the DLL you need.
You must also have L3ENC and CDDA to use this program.


==========================

  I. Installation & Setup
 II. Getting Info
III. Main Encoding Options
 IV. Making MP3s
  V. Copyrights and Thanks
 VI. General Info

==========================



I. INSTALLATION & SETUP
    All you need is the main file (mp3fctry.exe) and the Setup file
(setup.exe) in any directory you choose. You can rename them if you
want to (ex. 'MP3 Factory.exe'). You first need to run the Setup
program. If you don't want to configure it yet for some reason (don't
have a required file, etc.), simply hit 'Cancel' and you will exit the
program without setting it up. Once you have completed Setup, hit 'OK'
to save the configuration file (mp3fctry.cfg). You can then run the
main program. If you have previously saved a working configuration then
hitting 'Cancel' will leave your configuration the way it was before
you went into setup. If no configuration file is in the same directory
as the main file, it will make one.
    In Setup you will see 2 tabs, one with CDDA setup, one with
L3ENC setup options. You must locate L3ENC and CDDA somewhere on your
computer. When you have located L3ENC or CDDA you will see the name of
the program in blue below the folder directories. You also choose what
folder the MP3s are put in when they are encoded with the 'MP3
Destination '. The last thing you need is the CD-ROM drive you are
using. All of the requirements must be met for MP3 Factory to continue
With the 'OK' button.
    You will also have the option of turning jitter correction off.
it 's probably a good idea to leave it on so it can catch errors, unless
you have problems with jitter correction on your computer.
    If your CD-ROM drive is not SCSI, but instead IDE, then
check that option. The way you can find out is if it has an error in
CDDA saying that it couldn't find that SCSI device, then you need to
use MSCDEX instead. You can now also choose Windows 95 ATAPI
if that is what you have.
    If you are using a SCSI drive and CDDA misdetects it, you can
choose the SCSI CD-ROM ID # of the drive you are using.
    You will need to specify the path to your Temp directory if it
is not correctly shown.
    If you have problems with MP3 Factory saying there isn't a CD
in your drive when there is one, you can choose 'Skip MP3 Factory CD
checking '.
    You can decide whether to encode the tracks one by one or just
do them all at once. Doing them all at once is the default. Note that
this only applies to L3ENC, and not CDDA, as CDDA can only rip one song
at a time.
    the 'High Quality' option makes L3ENC read and reread the WAV
to make sure it gets the right pitch, etc. This process doesn't usually
improve sound quality much, while taking up to 3X as long as normal to
finish the encoding process. People who want 'only the best' will
insist on using this option.
    You can decide whether or not to use CRC checking while
encoding. This is really only useful for catching errors in low bitrate
songs.
    The Mix chooses whether the MP3 will be stereo or mono. Stereo
is default. A mono song is half the size of a stereo song.


II. GETTING INFO
    In most of the windows there is the command 'About...', which
takes you to the information window. It is the same as this file. If
you have lost the original text file (mp3fctry.txt), hit the 'Make
File ' button to make another.
    If you click the button 'Win CD Player', the Windows CD Player
will pop up. You can then listen to the CD and decide which tracks you
want to make into MP3s.
    the 'Track Info' button will give you info on whatever tracks
you have selected including an approximation of how much hard disk
space each WAV file will temporarily use.
    Whenever you do something that uses L3ENC or CDDA, you
will be able to see what the command line looks like at the bottom of
the main window.


III. MAIN ENCODING OPTIONS
    To choose the tracks you want to make into MP3s, click the
first one you want. Any others you want to encode, hold the CTRL key
while selecting them. If you hold the SHIFT key while selecting
another, it will select all tracks between those clicked.
    The Bitrate decides how many bits/second are used in the MP3.
The lower the Bitrate, the lower quality audio output and the smaller
the final MP3 is. 112,000 bits/sec is the default of L3ENC, but many
people who want 'only the best' use the higher qualities of 196,000
bits/sec. or 256,000 bits/sec. NOTE- There is also a 256,000 bitrate
option for L3ENC, but a WAV ripped from a CD is not even that high
quality. You might get a small, unnoticeable improvement over 128,000
bits/sec, while the MP3 size would most likely at least double. I just
thought I'd clear that up for some people. The new 196,000 bitrate
supported by the latest version of L3ENC is a possible alternative,
offering the highest sensible bitrate if you want flawless audio.
    If you select the option to edit the WAV files before encoding,
it will stop after ripping the songs and tell you what folder they are
in. You can then edit them however you want, and when you are done,
just click the 'Encode' button.


IV. MAKING MP3S
    When you have everything set up the way you want and have the
tracks selected that you want to make MP3s, then click the 'Begin'
button. The Encoding window will then pop up. At the top of the
Encoding window you will notice text indicating in general what you
should do. Below that you will see progress indicators that show which
stage you are at.
    MP3 Factory will then immediately start in with one CDDA
session. The reason for this is that only one session can read from
your CD-ROM at one time. After the first CDDA session is complete,
exit out of it and MP3 Factory will automatically start in on the next
one, or begin encoding if that was the last track to be ripped. It will
continue that way until the last song is encoded with L3ENC, when it
will clean up and finish the process after you exit that session.


V. COPYRIGHTS AND THANKS
    Special Thanks goes to the following people who went to the
trouble of beta-testing MP3 Factory. They have been most helpful in
making sure MP3 Factory actually works:
        Rockwell -------<rcoder@adss.on.ca>
        Shauk ----------<knothing@ieway.com>
        Devildog -------<cjburger@bigfoot.com>
        -=Mach5=- ------<mach-5@usa.net>
        {GriGri} -------<curt@ida.net>
        [DoG] ----------<DOG@videotron.ca>

    L3ENC is copyrighted to Fraunhofer-IIS. CDDA (or DA2WAV) is
copyrighted to Jim McLaughlin.


VI. GENERAL INFO

CHANGES:
        Version 1.1:
    -Added the option to edit the WAV files before encoding them.
        Version 1.15:
    -There was a major error that would keep V1.1 from working at
    all (except on my computer). Thanks to Kevin Dutkiewicz for
    being the only one to point that out. There was also a bug with
    the MSCDEX option that would cause MP3 Factory to mess up on
    some computers. There are also a few other small things fixed.
        Version 1.3:
    -There are now 2 versions, the main one and one that is a
    workaround for the 'Error loading from file' error. Both
    versions now automatically delete any temporary WAV files from
    previous crashes (they sometimes happen). The code is a bit
    more cleaned up now, and I fixed a couple of other small
    potential bugs.
        Version 1.5:
    -Added Temp dir selection, Win95 ATAPI support, MP3 Factory
    CD checking on/off option, new L3ENC 192,000 bitrate. Fully
    automated ripping/encoding/cleanup.
        Version 1.6:
    -Added 256,000 bitrate for those who need the highest quality
    no matter the cost in file size. Also fixed a few other
    problems like adding more possible tracks for those that
    disable MP3 Factory's cd-checking.

    
    This program was written by Dagoth using Visual Basic 4.0 pro
16-bit. If you have bug reports, suggestions, requests, thanks
(hopefully in the form of money or software/hardware ;-) ), or anything
else, you can contact me at:
        <dagoth@hotmail.com>

    My webpage 's address is:
        http://www.roninweb.net/dagoth/


Well , that 's about it. But wait! I have to tell you all about myself.
My turnons are... just kidding :-). Enjoy the program!


Copyright 1997 Brett Flannigan. All rights reserved.
